Weekly update, 31st October

Happy Halloween! I was looking for a bit of Halloween trivia to add in today's bulletin but instead found this joke far more amusing:

Q: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a jack-o’-lantern by its diameter?
A: Pumpkin π!

Moving on! We have lots coming up on the volunteering front, read on to see what's happening...

Have spooktacular week,

Hannah

Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 26th October

Last week the group were scything willow in one of the conservation areas at Thrupp Lake; this field floods in the winter and keeping it nice and open encourages more wading birds to visit. The next session is 2nd November.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 27th October

Coppicing, coppicing, coppicing! The group were back in Paradise Wood last week for more coppicing. They'll get a break from it next week though when they're off to Mowbray Fields in Didcot for a change! The next session is 3rd November.

Lending a hand

We had three new maintenance volunteer start with us last Wednesday, helping to keep the Earth Trust Centre in good condition - thanks guys!

Coming up...

Oxfordshire Art Weeks

Next May Earth Trust is going to be throwing open the doors to become an exciting new exhibition space for Oxfordshire Art Weeks! We are currently meeting artists and getting plans in place and would love to hear from you if you would like to be involved in a committee to make this an event to remember. Maybe you've had experience of Art Weeks or a similar art exhibition before? Perhaps you'd like to be part of the team to get this event off the ground and build a strong base for the future? Whether you have experience in this area or not, we'd love to hear from you! We're really excited for this one and would love to have some brilliant volunteers on board with us. To find out more, please drop us a line to the usual address.

Weekly update, 24th October

And just like that, we're nearly done with October! Hope you're all well. It's short and sweet from me this week, though we have lots going on with the Thursday and Friday Groups as usual. We're well into the autumn/winter work now and there's plenty more to get done!

The snap above is possibly my favourite 'in action' shot of Friday Group ever! Not a bad life eh...

Have a splendid week,

Hannah
Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 19th October

The group were at Thrupp Lake finishing off cutting back the vegetation on the circular walk, putting down some woodchip, fixing the bridge and starting on some coppicing. The next session is 26th October at Thrupp Lake.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 20th October

The coppicing continued in Paradise Wood this week. This woodland is a vitally important resource for researchers and this kind of work is crucial to keep it in good condition. The next session is 27th October.

Coming up...

Half term is happening!

Half term is well underway but we're still after extra pairs of hands if you can spare a few hours. Please get in touch if you can help with Wildlife Wednesday at Neptune Wood or Discover and Play (Friday 27th).

Weekly update, 17th October

It's officially coppicing season - hooray! There are some that would say this is the best part of the conservation calendar, where we get into serious lopping and chopping to manage our woodlands and enhance biodiversity. It's a good time to get stuck in with the groups if you haven't given it a go before and no prior knowledge is required, just bags of enthusiasm!

Never heard of coppicing before? The good old RHS gives a handy definition: "Coppicing is a pruning technique where a tree or shrub is cut to ground level, resulting in regeneration of new stems from the base." It's hugely important for our woodlands and we couldn't get this done without the help of you lovely volunteers. We provide all the tools and safety equipment so why not pack a lunch and come on down to try something new?

Have a super week,

Hannah
Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 12th October

The team were back at Abbey Fishponds carrying on cutting back encroaching vegetation along the long footpath and scything and raking in the fen. The next session is at Thrupp Lake on 19th October.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 13th October

After intending to be scrub clearing on Round Hill there was a last minute change of plans and the group were called upon to start coppicing in Paradise Wood. It's important to keep our research woodland in top condition. This was the last work party for our Land Management Apprentice George who has reached the end of his one year apprenticeship with us and is off to start his new job in the next few weeks! The next session is 20th October.

#EnviroLeaders

It's been great to have your support over the last couple of weeks - please keep liking, sharing and retweeting our #EnviroLeaders posts, it's really helping to spread the word and raise awareness (and funds!).

Coming up...

Half Term

The Engagement Team could really use some extra help for our upcoming half term activities:

• Mud Pie Mania, Tuesday 24th, 10am-11.30am 
• Wildlife Wednesday at Neptune Wood, Wednesday 25th, 2-4pm 
• Discover and Play, Friday 27th, 10am-12noon

These are super fun sessions supporting children and families enjoying the great outdoors and getting up close with nature! If you're a fan of fun then get in touch at the usual address.

Weekly update, 10th October

Hope you're all keeping well in this beautiful autumnal weather! A great big thanks to all who came out for the bumper four days of conservation groups last week, you got a huge amount done.

A huge thank you for getting involved with our Environmental Leadership campaign on social media; your likes and shares really help us increase our reach and they are much appreciated. This week we’re introducing some of the people who work with and support Earth Trust, so look out for a few familiar faces! If any of you are willing to be profiled on social media, please do get in touch as we’d love to hear from you.

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 5th October

The group were back at Abbey Fishponds to finish cutting the Daisy Bank area, add in a drainage channel along a small section of rather boggy footpath and make a start on the fen cut. Thursday group is back to its weekly occurrence now we're properly into the cooler season, so the next session is 12th October.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 6th October

The long task of clearing scrub on Castle Hill continued last week - great effort everybody! The next session is 13th October.

Saturday Group (Abingdon), 7th October

The team were joined by Abingdon Green Gym at Abbey Fishponds this month. The main task was cutting and raking the reed/sedge in the fen areas of the reserve. The next session is 4th November.

Sunday Group (Little Wittenham), 8th October

Yet more scrub clearing and burning on Castle Hill for the team this month! The next session is 12th November.

Coming up...

#EnviroLeaders

Please continue to support our Environmental Leadership Scheme! Next week we're going to be asking everyone to get involved by sharing why they're an Environmental Leader so please do post your own 'I am an Environmental Leader' photo and help raise awareness (and donations!).

Weekly update, 3rd October

Autumn has well and truly arrived and it's a busy old time... It's a bit of a bumper week for conservation groups next week - it's one of those funny months where the first Saturday and second Sunday of the month are in the same weekend so there's a double barrel of conservation goodness on the way! Plus it's the launch of our Environmental Leadership Scheme this week. 

Read on for all the latest news and have a fabulous week.

Hannah

Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 28th September

Last week, Adam and the group continued with the scything and raking of the grassland areas at Abbey Fishponds, focusing on Daisy Bank which runs through the centre of this enclosed little reserve. As we're moving into the autumn/winter work programme the team is going to be meeting every week, so the next session is 5th October.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 29th September

There was more scrub clearance on Castle Hill last week for George and the team, ensuring the ramparts keep looking like ramparts! Sturdy footwear was required as they are quite steep in parts. The next session is 6th October.

Autumn Water Festival, 1st October

A HUGE ginormous thank you to all of you who came and helped out on Sunday at the Autumn Water Festival. A lovely day was had by all and even the weather held out in the end so good work on the offerings to the sun gods folks! We really couldn't have done it without you! (I say that a lot but it's true...)

Coming up...

Environmental Leadership Scheme

Thanks for all your interest in this week’s launch of our Environmental Leadership Scheme. There’s lots happening on social media and our JustGiving page is now open for donations! We really hope you will support our work protecting important greenspaces and helping people connect to nature. 

It would be especially great if you lovely people would help us out with some 'micro-volunteering': by sharing, commenting and liking (or maybe even loving?!) our posts on Facebook, and retweeting on Twitter. It makes a huge difference to the numbers of people who can see our posts so please, if you do just one thing this week, help us expand our reach and share away!

You can also join in by posting a photo of yourself holding an 'I am an Environmental Leader' sign on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #EnviroLeaders!