News
News from the Wychwood Project office and the Friends of Wychwood
Wychwood V celebrates their 2nd birthday - 16 June 2010
A great gang of young volunteers gathered on Friday 18th June to celebrate two years of the Project. True to form the main focus of the get together was a delicious cake made by James’ Mum but it was also a good opportunity for volunteers from different groups in the project to meet each other and to see what they had been doing on their different sessions. We were also delighted to present Anthony with his vfifty certificate and a Wychwood v hoodie as he has contributed 50 hours of volunteering to the Project.
1815 Map of Wychwood - 6 May 2010
View a map entitled “Whichwood Forest with the Park and Purlieus in the county of Oxford, drawn for the Right Hon Lord Francis A. Spencer, Lord Warden and Ranger” (1815).
Wychwood Project Annual Review now available - 6 May 2010
Click here to see a copy of the 2009 Wychwood Project Annual review.
CAT volunteers complete new footpath at Eynsham - 1 May 2010
Volunteers worked hard on Saturday the 1st May to complete a new footpath at Eynsham Abbey Fishponds.
Finstock Hedge Planting - March 2010
Volunteers with the Wychwood CAT (Countryside Action Team) and Wychwood v planted 1000 trees to create a hedge 180 metres in length at Finstock. As well as creating a significant landscape feature and habitat for wildlife the hedge planting enabled the Wychwood Project to offer students from Oxford Brookes Ethical Geographer course and Witney College STEP 4 programme the opportunity to put something positive back into the environment. The young volunteers learnt about the practical difficulties of tree planting; very hard digging in stony ground, very cold wind whipping across the site, as well as the historical significance of hedges in the English landscape and the benefits for wildlife of creating a new hedge.
The BIG story - 14 January 2010
Nick Mottram, Project Director is delighted to announce that, together with the Friends of Wychwood, the Project has recently secured nine hectares (twenty two acres) of farmland on the north-east fringe of Witney with the intention of creating Wychwood’s newest and largest community woodland. The site of the proposed new woodland is part of Southdown Farm to the west of a public bridleway known locally as Milking Lane.
Learn more about this new project.
The Wychwood CAT - 14 January 2010
The Wychwood Project Hedgelaying Group ran a successful amateur hedgelaying competition at the end of 2009. Eight entrants worked under the watchful eye of two experienced judges. First prize went to Andrew Deller (see photo).
Learn more about this new team.
Launch of Wychwood CAT (Countryside Action Team) - 26 November 2009
The Friends of Wychwood are pleased to announce the launch of the Wychwood CAT (Countryside Action Team) to further the aims of the Wychwood Project. On the morning of Saturday 7th November the new group, which spanned the age range from 16 to 60+, met at Swinford Lock in Eynsham to clear vegetation from around 600 young trees. The trees, a mixture of ash, hazel and other native species were planted earlier in the year by the Wychwood v Project for young people aged 16 - 25. Learn more about this new team.
English hedgerow seminar - 18 October 2009
Thirteen hedgerow enthusiasts enjoyed a one day seminar on The Natural History of the English Hedgerow, delivered by Alan Spicer and Nick Mottram of the Wychwood Project, as part of the CPRE / Wychwood Path-side Hedgerow Programme. The seminar covered hedgerow ecology, surveys, legislation and maintenance and finished with an afternoon field visit to practise survey techniques, in the field.
Brown trout spawning for first time in 20 years - 23 April 2009
The Wychwood project in partnership with the Environment Agency and Oxfordshire County Council has been making improvements to the countryside upstream of Eynsham weir. As part of this work the Environment Agency carried out improvement work in an area of the river on spawning grounds for fish. This has resulted in brown trout spawning in the river at the exact location of the improvement works, for the first time in more than 20 years. Brown trout are an indicator of good water quality and habitat so this is great news for this part of the countryside.
Protecting hedgerow trees - 23 April 2009
Researchers at Oxford University’s wildlife conservation unit have highlighted the need to protect hedgerow trees. Their research suggests that shelter provided by hedgerows significantly boosts moth numbers and species diversity. More needs to be done to protect hedgerow trees to stop the decline in biodiversity in Britain. For more information see http://www.wildcru.org/
Eynsham Lock - 03 April 2009
Eynsham Lock woodland: this site is now completed with over 600 new trees planted alongside the Wharf Stream by young volunteers from the Wychwood v programme and Base 33 in Witney. All we need now is a bit of rain – just not too much!
It just takes two clicks on your mouse! - 13 February 2009
Change your book-marked search engine page to the Friends of Wychwood easysearch page and for every search you make you raise valuable funds to help conserve the beautiful landscapes in the Wychwood area. It just takes two clicks on your mouse to set up - it couldn't be more simpler!New community woodlands website pages - click here - 13/02/09
The Wychwood path-side hedgerow project
In October 2008 CPRE Head Office received a legacy from a member requesting it to be used to promote hedgerow surveying. Branches were invited to submit plans for projects costing up to £5000. An application was made by Alan Spicer (Hedgerow Consultant for CPRE Oxfordshire) with help from the Wychwood Project. This body works with volunteers of all ages and is currently helping land-owners and farmers to survey and manage hedgerows in West Oxfordshire.
The Wychwood Path-side Hedgerow Project is intended to organise the surveying and recording of hedgerows adjacent to public rights-of-way within the parishes of the former Royal Forest of Wychwood. Volunteers from within CPRE and the Wychwood Project would be provided with training in hedgerow ecology, species identification, current management techniques and data recording.
In November CPRE Oxfordshire in partnership with the Wychwood Project was awarded £4,950 to undertake this project.
For more information contact Alan Spicer.
Email: alan@laspicer.plus.com
Sustainable community strategy for West Oxfordshire
We were pleased to have the opportunity to make a short presentation about the work of the Project at the launch of the Sustainable Community Strategy for West Oxfordshire, prepared by the West Oxfordshire Strategic Partnership. The launch attracted a large diverse audience and provided some unexpected new contacts with whom we are already exploring future joint opportunities. Further details on the strategy can be found at http://www.westoxon.gov.uk/living/Community.cfm.
Dormice and the Wychwood Project
Julie Kerans our Ancient Habitats Programme Officer recently attended a Dormouse Ecology and Conservation training course in Cheddar. On this course Julie learnt how to handle dormice, how to identify them, and their habitat requirements.
Julie said “the dormice are true to their image and appeared very dozy and docile when held. It was joy to get up close and personal with the dormice and learn much more about this fascinating creature”.
One of the dormice examined on the course. This female was of course released happily back into the wild, none the worse for the experience.
