Weekly update, 26th September

We hope you're all well! Just five more sleeps until the Autumn Water Festival! Thanks to everyone who has been in touch to say they can lend a hand - your briefing will be on its way to you very soon.

In other news we have our Environmental Leadership Scheme officially launching next week so we thought we'd fill you in on what's planned so you can see how you can get involved. Read on for more info.

Enjoy the autumn sunshine and have a superb week!

Hannah
Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 22nd September

The scrub clearing continued on Castle Hill this week - it's a big job but really important to keep the Scheduled Ancient Monument in good condition. The next session is 29th September.

Coming up...

Environmental Leadership Launch

Next week Earth Trust will be launching our Environmental Leadership Scheme to the public. As Earth Trust volunteers, we think you are all Environmental Leaders: joining us in our mission to get people outdoors enjoying, experiencing and understanding nature. That’s what Earth Trust’s Environmental Leadership Scheme is all about, supporting the range of opportunities we provide for people of all ages to experience nature, and understand how they can play a proactive role in its protection and preservation.

We’ll be asking the public for their support and donations to help us continue our work and we would be immensely grateful if you could help get the word out amongst your friends and family. Please like, comment on and share our social media posts (look out for #EnviroLeaders), visit the webpage (launching later this week) and if you feel able to make a donation, we would be very grateful indeed to have your support.

Weekly update, 19th September

Good news from Community Reserves Warden Lucy this week: the memorial bench installed with the help of volunteers at Abbey Fishponds recently is already frequently being used by visitors - good work everyone!

Read on for our one big ask of the week... can you guess what it is?!

Have a great week,
Hannah
Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 14th September

For this session the team headed to Abbey Fishponds to work on the grassland areas. They used scythes to cut the grass before raking up.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 15th September

Scrub clearance continued on Castle Hill for another week. This is a long task but worth it to keep the Iron Age ramparts in good condition.

Coming up...

Water you doing on Sunday 1st October?

Can you believe it's just under two weeks till the Autumn Water Festival?! If you have Sunday 1st October going spare then we would love to have you on board helping out at this exciting day out. We're expecting double the number of visitors from the Summer Picnic so it's a big one! We'll need a small army of you brilliant lot to have fun with visitors and make it a day to remember. We'll need helping hands on children's craft and game activities, the running of the water rockets being launched across the Clumps, Poem Tree Cafe will be open for refreshments, admissions will need smiling faces to welcome visitors... there's something for everyone!

As with all our festival days, volunteers can expect to be part of a friendly and enthusiastic team. We'll feed you lunch on the day and keep everyone going with oodles of cups of tea and maybe even the odd biscuit. If you would like to be part of the fun, please drop me a line. We need you! If you have any preference to where you would like to be stationed do just let me know - we do our best to take that into account when getting the schedule sorted.

Weekly update, 12th September

A huge great big thank you to everyone who came and helped make the Earth Trust 10K a success. We really couldn't have done it without you! All the runners and entrants in the children's fancy dress race had a great time.

Have a great week everyone!

Hannah
Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Friday Group and Sunday Group (Little Wittenham), 8th and 10th September

Last week the groups were clearing scrub on Castle Hill and tidying up by burning the cuttings. Clearing the vegetation helps conserve the Iron Age ramparts.

10K Run, 10th September

A team of volunteers helped ensure this year's Earth Trust 10K ran (no pun intended) smoothly! We had helpers registering the runners and volunteer marshals across the site. Thanks for giving up your Sunday morning guys!

Coming up...

Autumn Water Festival

There's still plenty of time to let us know if you're able to help out on Sunday 1st October! Activities this year will include water rockets, pond dipping, mini rafts and apple pressing.

Weekly update, 5th September

Autumn is here! Schools are back! Normality is restored!

It's a busy week here as we get ready for the exciting Earth Trust 10K and Children's Fun Run on Sunday. Thanks to all who are coming to lend a hand - further information is on it's way to you so keep an eye on your inbox.

Have a great week everyone!

Hannah
Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 1st September

Adam and the team finished of the fencing on Castle Hill before moving on to a seasonal task - September heralds the start of scrub bashing season! The main task was starting the annual scrub clearance around the Castle Hill ramparts. This work helps to keep this scheduled ancient monument intact and is stipulated by English Heritage. The next session is 8th September.

Saturday Group (Abingdon), 2nd September

The group got stuck into long list of tasks to carry out at Abbey Fishponds last weekend, including: cutting and raking the grassland/reed in front of the largest of the ponds; pulling any Himalayan balsam left in the reedbed/fen areas & the stream; cutting back encroaching vegetation from the main footpath through the reserve; litter picking; and more! The next session is 2nd October.

Coming up...

Autumn Water Festival

Don't forget to let me know if you're available to help out at this year's Autumn Water Festival. Join us for a fun-filled aquatic adventure on Sunday 1st October!