Ace first trailfairy session of the year and 2010 Trailfairy session details

Hello,

Thanks very much to everyone who made it along to the first volunteer trailbuilding session of 2010 (after 2 cancelled sessions). 22 fairies strong, we made good progress doing some maintenance work on Magic Mushroom - resurfacing the trail and improving drainage on the section leading up to the hump back bridge.

With such a great turn out we spread the work out over a 50m stretch with open drain digging out the first job to do. It's a really wet part of the hill so this time of year, seeps pop up every where. The drains dug along the top side of the trail capture the water and send it to a pipe under the trail, meaning in theory the trail riding surface stays a lot drier and less prone to wear, puddles and general muddiness. The aim on the approach to the hump back bridge is to resurface with fresh type 1 stone, raise the tread height and increase the camber to better hold riders on the turn. Messy, muddy work but it should really improve what's always been a problem section of trail, and the fairies didn't seem to mind!

We're going to keep this section closed until the next fairy session on Sat 20th Feb (with a short diversion down an old line to the bridge), giving the trail a chance to dry out as the new drainage channels get to work. It'll then be in much better condition for surfacing. And if I don't talk so much at the start (!), there's a good chance we could get this section resurfaced and reopened at the session.

For fairies who couldn't make it along I mentioned a few things at the start of the session about the fairy sessions in 2010:

# sessions are going to run on Saturdays every fortnight throughout the year. Next one is on 20th Feb then 3rd Apr etc.

# my fairy new year resolution no 1 is to finish sessions on time! Cue much laughter as I mention this (we never finish on time and it's usually due to my fettling and getting a little obsessive about the finish of the trail!). So I aim to get a little more organised at the start of sessions so we get going a little sooner then are back down at the depot for 1pm. Didn't do too bad on Saturday, back down for just after 1. ; )

# we'll be running some Wednesday eve sessions in the summer again - around 6-8 sessions, dates to be announced soon. These usually run from 7pm - 9pm ish. We'll make sure to post up work site details in case folk fancy some mid week building but can't make it down for 7pm on the dot.

# we'll be providing a free 2011 parking permit as a thank you to fairies who can make it along to 5 or more sessions in 2010. We'll also be doing a new run of tee shirts and also some stickers to pimp out your toolbox.

# a good logo is something that we've never really got nailed down, so if you have any ideas, please get the crayons/drawing package out! We'll set up a gallery page on the fairy website for logo ideas then hopefully come to a consensus on the best one.

# Tools - with such great numbers out trailbuilding, we are a little short on numbers of some tools, especially spades. We (FC) are going to get the tools we need ordered up very soon to sort this.

# Karl Bartlett, Community Officer with the FC (and also chairman of IMBA UK) came along to the final session of 2009. He was very impressed with the Fairies - the numbers that volunteer, the diverse mix of people and ages, the quality of work we're doing and especially the home baking element! He's doing a review of volunteering opportunities in out forest district and has offered me a few suggestions to improve things - mainly paperworky things, risk assessments, making sure the volunteers are well looked after. Nothing to worry about though!

I'm always very keen to improve the fairy sessions, so if anyone has suggestions or comments please post them up here, grab me at a fairy session or get in touch on 07900 138901 or andy.wardman@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

# 2010 promises to be a good year for the fairies - we have some exciting projects lined up (some awaiting approval, others needing the initial planning documents putting together). There should be a healthy mix of hand building new/replacment sections of trail as well as maintenance work on the existing trails. I know both types of work are really appreciated by riders out on the trails. I'll put some details of planned projects in another email soon.

Phew, that's enough from me. Hopefully see you out at fairy session soon!

Cheers,

andy