Latest News

October Newsletter

October Newsletter

What a mixed bag our weather is these days! The other weekend I spent a sunny Saturday morning in the ponds at Black Dam followed by a very wet trek around Old Down looking for fungi on the Sunday. Not the ideal conditions for conservation but it is heartening to see so many groups making the best of it (great […]

September Newsletter

September Newsletter

The summer now seems like a distant memory, even though we were fortunate enough to have a few nicedays before the latest rain. The next season’s work is now well underway with mowing taking place on many sites and seed collection progressing well (both via NB groups organised by Marion Wolstencroft and by the Rangers using their brush harvester). We […]

July 2024 Newsletter

July 2024 Newsletter

It’s been another busy month for summer events, including Sherfest, Old Down Bioblitz and the Hatch Warren Festival. If any groups would like Natural Basingstoke’s support for local events in the future, please let me know – they are a great way to both recruit volunteers and encourage communities to support local biodiversity. We are now getting to the end […]

June 2024 Newsletter

June 2024 Newsletter

As predicted, this has been a busy month with both training and summer events in full swing. On the training front Steve Goodwin’s ‘Introduction to Invertebrates’ training provided an in depth look at key invertebrate ‘orders’, and their features, followed by a practical ID session at Down Grange Meadow. This popular course is being re-run in September for those who […]

May Newsletter

May Newsletter

The late May Bank Holiday weekend promises to be a busy one, with the Invertebrate ID Training taking place and NB participating in an event at the Willis Museum. I look forward to meeting some of you at the training– Steve has produced an amazing flow chart for invertebrate ID which I’m very excited about. At the Willis Museum we […]

April Newsletter

Now that the 2023/4 work season is over attention has turned to summer events and planning. Over thecoming weeks, you’ll all be hearing from Charlie who is arranging visits to each site to plan the work to beundertaken in 2024/5. I am hoping to join as many of these as I can, to ensure that NB is lined up to […]

March Newsletter

Another season of conservation work parties is almost complete and what a rainy one it has been. Thank you all for the work you do to support our local nature in all weathers! Now that the spring is (allegedly) on its way, it’s time to start thinking about training and summer events. This month the invitation has gone out for […]

Response to Local Plan

Join the fight to protect our local nature! Basingstoke and Deane is on the brink of major development, with 17,000 new houses planned over the next two decades. But amidst this growth, we must safeguard our precious biodiversity. The Local Plan must act as the blueprint for responsible development. It dictates where and how new constructions take shape and needs […]

Newsletter – February 2024

A big thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the first Natural Basingstoke Newsletter. My aim is to issue these (roughly) monthly and over time I hope that we can showcase the fantastic work that happens on sites around Basingstoke. At the point that I’m writing this more than half of you have returned your questionnaires. Aside from the […]

A New Conservation Group

We’re working with BDBC to launch a brand new conservation group for the Sherfield Park area! The Larches was recently felled, as it used to be ancient woodland, but was replanted as a timber crop in the 1940s. As part of a nationwide restoration scheme, we will be working towards restoring the Larches to its former glory as ancient woodland, […]