"You have to lift your head up out of the mud and just do it." - Teri Garr

S.W.A.M.P. Session - Monday June 23rd 2025

Teri Garr's quote (above) is often interpreted as an encouragement to persevere despite difficulties and challenges, urging people to overcome obstacles and move forward. The quote emphasises the importance of taking action and not being held back by adversity.

This sums up the attitude of our S.W.A.M.P. team perfectly and this session was no different.

Sometimes the only way forwards is to get down and get dirty (excuse the mixed language) and it was decided to attack the Crassula on three fronts. The southside was weeded carefully on hands and knees while the roadside was carved out by stirrup hoe and garden fork. The centre of the pond was then covered by the simple method of grabbing the roots and heaving the evasive plant into punctured bags and then piled on the pond's edge.

As we learn from the changing weather conditions and water levels of the pond, we are keen to adapt our techniques and develop ideas and theories as to how to navigate between clearing the unwanted Crassula while maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our biodiversity.

One notion put forward of rolling up the very dry Crassula like turf is proving difficult, as the pond is heavily laden with stones and flint, making scything through the vegetation rather tricky. The more moist areas of growth are easier to cut through, but this naturally means the work is harder, as the soil is heavier and also needs to drain.

Heading into the water to manually remove the plants by hand is a proven method, although the downside means the water often clouds (making visibility difficult) but also has the uncertainty of what biodiversity we may be disturbing.

Nevertheless, we like a challenge and spirits always remain high ...