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 photos on your social media Down Grange Orchard!). Despite the atrocious weather, mowing has now largely been completed, based on the plan circulated with the September Newsletter. There are a few sites where some activity is outstanding, or a second mow may be beneficial (where initial mowing was at the start of the programme). The changing climate has meant that this work has to be completed over fewer days and this presents some challenges that still need to be resolved and we will work on with BDBC after reflecting on this season’s mowing programme. Please do get in touch with the Rangers if you have any observations on issues that need to be addressed in the short-term (for example, one site has already reported that the need for further work to collect arisings). As outlined last month, NB is working with BDBC to ensure that volunteers are able to be actively involved in the process of seed sowing at their sites should they wish to do so. I have contacted Group Leaders for key sites individually to start discussions on scheduling seed sowing sessions, Marion will be leading this initiative on behalf of NB. Over the coming months we are aiming to grow the expertise of volunteers in relation to seeds to ensure that we can help shape the future programme. BDBC’s Nature Engagement Officer has recently launched a new initiative – Wild Wednesdays – which involves social media posts about nature (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18gPVRT4Lk/ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/181xmZKVMH/ ). This is a great way to both promote interest in nature and to potentially recruit new volunteers for our groups. Please help us to make the best use of this by sharing posts and providing photos of any interesting nature spots that can be shared on social media (to wildlifeconservation@basingstoke.gov.uk with the subject ‘#WildWednesday’). Finally, it is dispiriting to see just how much litter there is in our borough, if this is a problem for you, here’s a quick reminder of how to organise a community litter pick https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/content/doclib/3283.pdf. These are generally very popular with residents and your local Councillor is often prepared to step up and arrange one on behalf of the community. This month I have stuck with the Newsletter format adopted last month, short updates from groups. I’d love to feature interesting news from all groups in the future. If you’d like to include something in a future newsletter, please contact me via the email address below. Best wishes Gill | ||||||
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| NB Groups/ Our ‘Green’ Partners NB Groups Old Down Old Down is the premier chalk downland site in the area and a haven for flora and butterflies. BDBC has recently launched a consultation process to seek input from the local community on where funds paid by developers should be invested in ‘social and community infrastructure’ on the Old Down site (see https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/old-down ). If you are local, please help us by completing this survey to influence the outcome of the consultation towards more ‘nature friendly’ investments. Marnel & Popley The Popley Ponds group is one of the most challenging in terms of attracting volunteers, so we were delighted to get a dozen attendees at our last work party. Thankyou in particular for the support from members of the Mill Field, and Chineham groups. If you enjoy practical conservation there are lots of opportunities to get involved with other groups across the borough, these are advertised in the Events calendar on the NB website (https://naturalbasingstoke.org.uk/events/ ). | ||||||
| Black Dam & Crabtree Following a recent Work Party, a small group undertook the Plantlife Waxcap Watch Survey at Crabtree, which proved to be a prolific site for this important species (see Nature Notes). The group has also started some exciting work, planting test strips, to explore how to improve floral diversity in the long meadow. | ||||||
| 3rd Party News No updates this month. Voice for Nature March for Clean Water On 3rd November, River Action have organised a march to campaign for clean water (further details can be found here; https://riveractionuk.com/tag/march-for-clean-water/). This is important to us given the shocking state of the River Loddon. If you are interested in attending, we are meeting at 8.45am outside Basingstoke railway station. Please note this is not a Natural Basingstoke event, we are all attending as individuals. Nature Notes Wonderful Waxcaps UK grasslands are amongst the most important in the world for grassland fungi, which include brightly coloured Waxcaps. After the October Work Party at ‘Black Dam & Crabtree’ a few of us explored the site with a view to completing the Plantlife Waxcap Watch Survey, some of our finds are shown below. It is particularly rewarding to see such diversity at Crabtree as they prefer unimproved grassland, this land was once farmed, and their abundance suggests that recovery from previous agricultural treatments is well underway. | ||||||
| Training Courses/ Events Training/ Events – Dates for your diary 3rd November: March for Clean Water 17th November (2.30pm): ‘Wilding’ film screening, Viables Community Centre. The event is free; however, booking is required, please see the Natural Basingstoke website or Facebook for further details. 29th December to 31st January: New Year Plant Hunt (https://bsbi.org/new-year-plant-hunt ) run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI). This is a nice family friendly post-Christmas activity that groups can run themselves. Coming soon: Identifying Trees in Winter Live and dead hedging Seeding Programme Group Management and Planning Workshop Reminders….. NB Website In response to requests from groups a member’s only area is being created on the NB website, where useful information and documents will be shared. Watch this space for future developments: https://naturalbasingstoke.org.uk/members-resource-hub/ | ||||||
| Email: admin@naturalbasingstoke.org.uk | Website: https://naturalbasingstoke.org.uk/ | Facebook: Natural Basingstoke | ||||
