THANKYOU all 16 who came to Forge Dam! And it was great to meet Barbara Masters, recently appointed Councillor for Ecclesall ward joining us in the clearance tasks. Lovely weather and lots done .... ground drains cleaned out along the brook side path in Whiteley Woods; 2 wild camps near the dam broken up and cleared; nettles and persistent selfset ash and alder cut away along the dam edge; and a mass of weeds lugged out of the rockery bank by the cafe. Chris Roberts identified Japanese Knotweed (BAD NEWS!) down near the brook edge in the woodland and we were told of Himalayan Balsam already flowering near Wire Mill Dam. So Parks Dept will professionally treat the former, and we need to scour the valley and remove the latter on ourJune work mornings. I collected over £17 in donations to the green restoration bucket and recruited a new volunteer ( I hope!). Lots of questions about what we were doing in our bright yellow High Viz jackets, when the restoration of the dam will start, what has been done so far: and praise for the landscape improvements achieved ..... all good interactions! And alas we also had a fly tipping report on the Mark and Clough Lane junction. Sheer vandalism. Glyn Mansell will coordinate the next work morning on 13 June which will start at Forge Dam Cafe. Well done everyone! Ann le Sage
