Wild Thistle Picnic

Thistle Pull and Picnic – Thursday 3 August 2023

People loved the work party, something positive to do when the news is so desperate, and linking up with others who care helps too.

We’d been crossing our fingers and consulting our weather apps several times a day – and were blessed with good weather for the Thistle Pull.

When I arrived a bit ahead of the start time, five people were already pulling out thistles from the fence just to one side of the stile, their backpacks and discarded fleeces abandoned jauntily to one side of the path.

People joined in as they arrived, spreading out along the fence, with some people walking up the field to pull out ragwort. Thistles and nettles were left in large heaps, to be alternative habitats as they rot down. Ragwort was removed and will be disposed of responsibly.

All told, 19 people came and helped out. One man brought his 11-year-old daughter and her friend, and there were a scattering of white-haired people energetically getting stuck in. Another man was using one of the days from his employer’s new volunteer scheme to give all staff two days a year when they can volunteer in work time. Most were local, including surrounding villages like Kirk Ireton, and many conversations happened as people pulled and pulled, or straightened their back for a rest.

During the forty hours of volunteer time, all the thistles, nettles and ragwort were cleared from the bottom fence, and much of the left-hand side as you look up the field, with some scattered patches on the field left for butterflies and other pollinators.

“It was lovely to take our gallant Thistle pullers over to see the wild maple for the first time, all very impressed”

- Rosemary Blenkinsop

In the sunshine, volunteers saw crickets and butterflies, and lots of different small flying creatures on the different grasses, while harebells nodded in the welcome breeze. Tiring work, but so satisfying to see the progress – and it was so beautiful to sit in the field amongst the wildlife.