"Many Machines Make Light Work" (anon)

S.W.A.M.P.
Jul 16
2 min read

Updated: Jul 18

Double S.W.A.M.P. Session Monday 14th & Tuesday 15th July 2025

And so ... we finally hit upon almost perfect weather conditions for removing the highest amount of Crassula in a session. The unnaturally dry spring and summer months meant the pond was possibly at its lowest we had seen. This gave us the opportunity to access parts of the invasive aquatic plant we hadn't previously been able to reach or had great difficulty in pulling out by the root.

In parts, the dense Crassula was 6 to 8 inches thick, which needed slicing and dicing (like cutting and dishing up a sponge cake) but at least it was removed in large portions. Similarly, slightly thinner sections could be scraped and rolled like turf. It was back-aching, sore-knees work but ultimately a morale boosting session as results were instant.

Many thanks once again to Charlie Ward for helping us out with dried and bagged Crassula from the previous weeks' session!

DAY TWO 'Man vs Machine'

*We carefully considered all aspects around the impact on biodiversity before we agreed to letting the machines help us. Watch the YouTube video by following this link ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypp0_GL33YI

Huge thanks go to Nigel and Adam from the team at Morrissey Builders and Contractors Ltd who joined us bright and early on Tuesday morning. Taking advantage of their kind and generous offer to help us with our 'dig' - the team set about scraping away at the stubborn-rooted Crassula, deeply embedded in intransigent flint, stone, clay, chalk, sand and mud.

We were also lucky enough to have the services of a 'dumper truck' (well, that's what I would have called it as a child!) to instantly remove the debris cleared by the digger to our 'pit' for burial.

Essentially, what would have taken one person a couple of hours was swiftly dealt with within minutes. Equally as importantly, the digger was able to get to the edges of the pond, which have proved more than troublesome to our manual efforts as the rocks and roots made excavation not just onerous but nigh on impossible. The pond now has a sharper edge in places, which in anticipation of a wet winter/spring should prevent Crassula overspill onto the grasslands.