Our fourth expedition along Coston’s Brook took volunteers deeper into Grove Farm, opening up pathways through the site for future management tasks.

A group of volunteers from Friends Of Grove Farm Deborah, Susan, Sue and Fred were joined by Good Gym Ealing volunteers Giles, Jo, Sevan, Kash and Afshin to tackle the next stage of the project.

Armed with hedge trimmers, shears, loppers and rakes, the team continued to expand the path into Grove Farm clearing brambles, fallen branches and rubbish. Our work is steadily making this previously hard-to-reach stretch of Coston’s Brook more accessible and bringing more light to this section of the Local Nature Reserve.

There were plenty of discoveries along the way:

• A rusty shopping trolley

• A tyre and a single wellie

• Fox dens signs of previous ponds

The biggest surprise of the day was waiting beneath a fallen willow: a geocache. Inside was a soaked logbook containing an entry dated 23 May 2005, along with an Elvis CD. A small, strange piece of history hidden in the woodland for more than two decades.

Before heading home, the team also watered the black poplar planted with GoodGym volunteers last December which has struggled during this summer’s heat wave.

From restoring access along the brook to caring for the next generation of trees, every session helps strengthen Grove Farm’s habitats for wildlife and the community. Join us for our next session.