September has arrived and this must qualify as the strangest year that most of us have lived through; certainly so far. The Garden Groups on Camposol have not only had to cope with personal difficulties, especially lockdown-related, but also the disruption in our activities around the urbanisation. Spring is normally a busy time of year, so having to leave areas untended was particularly frustrating, especially knowing that Summer was not far away and that would also prevent the volunteers from working due to the high temperatures.
All of the Garden Group Volunteers on all sectors of Camposol deserve a round of applause considering how much they have achieved in the small amount of time that was made available to them between the end of the lockdown working ban and the rapidly increasing temperature which has been unrelenting. In this situation, it is quite remarkable to note that the urbanisation is looking pretty good and has yet to revert to Spanish scrub. Our Volunteer Work Team on Camposol B has really worked miracles with just a handful of dedicated residents turning out and getting far more done than one could have expected.
At the time of writing, the August heat is continuing well into 30º, so it will be a while before much can be done on the gardening front. Where practical, some litter clearance is continuing and new plants are being looked after ready to be planted out when the temperature drops to manageable levels. For the time being we can at least relax and enjoy the sun and warmth without feeling too guilty so the batteries will be recharged for the coming season.
Sadly, the virus situation has prevented us from organising some of the social events we usually have which give members a chance to get together and socialise which is normally an important part of our annual calendar. Hopefully, we will be able to get something organised when it is safe and practical to do so and, as always, it will be nice to welcome some new faces. Our Volunteers are not only those who dig and weed, but also those who man the collection buckets and assist generally. If you live on Camposol B, please consider joining B Clean and become part of the team helping to keep our locality looking good. You can contact us through our Facebook page as usual and we would love to hear from you.
For the time being, we wish everybody well and look forward to being back out and about. Please don’t forget to drop a donation into the collection buckets and give the hard working Volunteers a wave when you see them.