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!
 

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!