Co-op team digs in at nature reserve (From The Oxford Times)

Co-op team digs in at nature reserve

3:00pm Saturday 31st July 2010 in

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VOLUNTEERS donned hard hats and armed themselves with gardening equipment to lead a clean-up of one of Oxford’s most important geological sites.

Eight staff from Midcounties Co-op shops in Oxfordshire got their hands dirty to spruce up Magdalen Quarry nature reserve, in Headington, which boasts rocks laid down in the Jurassic period more than 140 million years ago.

The volunteers cleared vegetation from the Site of Special Scientific Interest, off William Kimber Crescent.

Their hard work means visitors to the reserve will be able to get a clear view of the rock formations.

Oxfordshire Geology Trust project director Denise Dane said: “Magdalen Quarry was well and truly overgrown but the team have now cleared a lot of the vegetation.

“This is one of the most important geological areas of Oxford.

“Oxford was much closer to the equator when these rocks were formed millions of years ago and would have had warm tropical seasons with temperatures above 20C, like the Bahamas.

“The quarry teaches us about climate change and continental drift.

“It’s a very valuable educational site and we takes groups from the universities and colleges there several times a year.

“These volunteers have achieved a great deal in a short time.”

The reserve is now owned by Oxford City Council. The quarry closed in 1949.

Previously the quarry had been owned by Magdalen College and its stone was used to build the college’s buildings in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Another team from the Co-op will return to the site in September to carry out more clearance work, with help from members of Bicester Green Gym.

Lian Peploe, 23, a duty manager at the Mersey Way Co-op, in Didcot, said: “This was my first time on a community challenge with Midcounties and I really enjoyed it.

“I didn’t realise the quarry was here. It was a real eye-opener.”

Team leader Russell Chapman, manager of the Mersey Way store, said: “It was something different and good to get together and help in this way.

“We learned a lot about the site’s geology and history.

“In fact it was such a worthwhile experience I will get another team together to return in September.”

Once the work is completed the trust is hoping to stage an open day . A similar event held at the nearby Rock Edge reserve last year attracted 300 visitors.