Weekly update, 25th July

Happy Summer Holidays! The kids are loose and finally free for a whole six weeks... Did you know that our Conservation Groups are open to ages 14 and up if a guardian comes along? So if any of you would like to bring along a son/daughter/young relative while school is out, just drop me a line so I can send you the relevant permission form. Young adults (age 16/17) can come along independently as long as we have a signed permission form. So now you know! It could be something different to try while summer is here and there is time to pass...!

Have a fab week,

Hannah

Volunteering Development Manager

What the volunteers have been up to:

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 21st July

Last week the group were over at the North Farm part of our site (near Shillingford) doing some weed control in Ferry Field. Quick growing thistles, ragwort and dock were all removed which will give other wildflowers a chance to flourish and make it much easier for the sheep to graze! The next session is 28th July.

Helping hoist a flag!

Our volunteers' hard work at Wallingford Castle Meadows is definitely paying off... this lovely local reserve has received an incredible 10th consecutive Green Flag! It's also been awarded Green Heritage Site Accreditation for the fourth year running. Great work everybody!

Summer holiday events

As you know, the summer holidays are officially underway - last week we kicked things off with Woodland Adventure, Tree Climbing and a Night Safari at Thrupp Lake, to name but a few. See below for upcoming opportunities to help out!

Coming up...

More summer holiday events!

Drop us a line if you're able to help with the August Sunday Drop-in (6th) - the always popular Pond Dipping - or the Woodland Adventure for 5-8yr olds on Tuesday 8th. Plenty more activities coming up too...!

Weekly update, 18th July

Thank you to those who are coming along to help out at the outdoor theatre event tomorrow, it's set to be a dry evening (good luck rituals and dances are still appreciated) and we can't wait to see the show! Please get in touch if you haven't had your briefing email from Hannah.

As we all now know, Alison will be leaving us this week, with her last day being this Thursday. We all wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours!

What the volunteers have been up to:

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 13th July

It was the last week of weed pulling for the Thursday Group volunteers. They've done an excellent job of pulling thistles and ragwort at Thrupp Lake. The next session is 27th July.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 14th July

Last week the group were out fencing (installing posts, not fighting with swords!). They were replacing posts for the stock fence that runs along the green lane from Church Meadow around the base of the Clumps. This fence makes sure the cattle that graze on the Clumps don't wander where they're not supposed to! The next session is 21st July.

Coming up...

Summer holidays on the horizon!

It's nearly school holidays o'clock and that means there are lots of holiday drop-ins coming up, for kids to come and get stuck in with a bit of fun and nature. This means and lots of opportunities for volunteering! These sessions really do benefit from the addition of volunteers. No prior experience is needed, we're just looking for folk that are energetic, enthusiastic and enjoy having fun with the smaller humans! For starters we have the following dates coming up:

• Tuesday 25th July: Woodland Adventure
• Tuesday 25th July: Night Safari at Thrupp Lake
• Wednesday 26th July: Wildlife Wednesday at Thrupp Lake
• Thursday 27th July: Oxfordshire Play Association Play Day at Blackbird Leys

If you're available or would like to find out more about what's involved just get in touch.

Volunteer carpenter needed

Across the Earth Trust Farm we have 35 pedestrian gates, 75 vehicle gates, 16 benches and 22 information boards, as well as bird hides, boardwalks and countless other wooden structures. With over 150,000 visits to the site every year, they are well used! We’re looking for someone who’d be able to help us with carrying out ongoing repairs on the various structures. Someone with woodworking skills and experience would be fantastic as well as a more general practical skills and a 'can do' attitude. We can provide space in our workshop, tools, any PPE needed and lots of cups of tea! The work would make a huge difference to the Trust and the visitors to our site. If you’re interested please drop us an email.

Weekly update, 11th July

What the volunteers have been up to:

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 7th July

It was back to weeding for George and the team last week - they were pulling thistle, ragwort and dock from Ferry Field at North Farm. The next session is 14th July.

Sunday Group (Little Wittenham), 9th July

This month the group got to visit Bushey Bank. Bushey Bank is a fascinating part of the Earth Trust Farm - it's an area of chalk grassland that benefitted from the UK's first formal biodiversity offsetting agreement. Work was carried out in 2013 and within a couple of years our surveys showed that things had already vastly improved for wildlife. The bank is fully of different wildflowers and plants, including pyramidal orchid and wild licquorice. Adam and the team spent the day doing some weed control, which helps to keep the right balance of species. The next session is 13th August.

Coming up...

A Midsummer Night's Dream

This is our final call for volunteers to help with A Midsummer Night’s Dream next week. On Wednesday 19th July, The HandleBards pedal-powered, all-male theatre troupe arrive by bicycle at the Earth Trust Centre and we're still looking for a few more volunteers to help with ticketing, car parking and assisting people to the seating area. Drop us a line if you want to see (most of!) the show for free! Let's hope the weather gods are smiling on us next Wednesday... And if you or your friends and relatives are planning to attend the performance you'd better be quick, there's only around 40 tickets left! 

Farewell from Alison

"It is with sadness that, as one of your two Volunteer Development Managers, I need to say farewell. I’m off to pastures new at the end of next week to help some of the low carbon community groups in and around Oxford. It has been an absolute pleasure meeting so many of you at events and out with the Land Management Team. My favourite memories of the Earth Trust will be the fun and productive times I’ve had with our wonderful volunteers!"

Weekly update, 4th July

What the volunteers have been up to:

Wallingford Green Gym, 27th June

Warden Lucy was joined by Wallingford Green Gym at Wallingford Castle Meadows on Tuesday for some meadow management.

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 29th June

It was a continuation of the weed control in the conservation area at Thrupp Lake for the team last week. It's not glamorous pulling thistles and ragwort but somebody's got to do it! The next session is 13th July.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 30th June

George and the group were collecting timber from Little Wittenham Wood to store for the winter. Our wood-burning boiler heats the office and centre buildings during the colder months so this is a really important job! The next session is 7th July.

Summer Picnic, 2nd July

A HUGE thank you to you lovely volunteers who came and helped out at Sunday's Summer Picnic. The site was looking gorgeous thanks to the mountain of hand crafted decorations made at the craft evenings last month and we think the effort really paid off! We got super lucky with the weather too with the sun coming out for families to have a lovely chilled out afternoon with us. We had party hats and placemats, campfire popcorn, singing and dancing, smoothies, music making, tea, birthday cake and ice cream and NONE of this would have been possible without you. So, once again, thank you... and please come and do it all over again at the Autumn Water Festival on Sunday 1st October!

Coming up...

Are you handy?

We're in need of some extra pairs of hands to help us keep the Earth Trust Centre looking in tip top shape. The list of tasks is ever growing and we just don't have the people power to tick things off it! We're talking grounds maintenance, a spot of fixing things up (e.g the bike shed roof), keeping the gardens and car parks looking neat and tidy and, most importantly, safe. If this sounds like your kind of thing, drop us a line to the usual address.

10K Run

In case it's dropped off your radar, don't forget the Earth Trust 10K is on Sunday 10th September. If you'd like to help promote this event by distributing flyers or posters please get in touch. We'd also like to hear from anyone who's interested in being a marshal on the day. And if you'd like to participate don't forget to sign up!

Weekly update, 27th June

Who's relieved the sun's gone in for a bit?! We're all enjoying the cooler weather after last week's mini heatwave. Though with preparations for the Summer Picnic in full swing, we are keeping every digit crossed for a decent day of sunshine on Sunday!

What the volunteers have been up to:

Craft evening, 21st June

The third and final craft evening took place last week. Thanks to all who took part in these sessions and helped make some fab decorations for Sunday's Summer Picnic

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 23rd June

The weed pulling work continues! The team continued their work in the fields around the aroboretum and took a break to enjoy the celebrations (and canapes!) at the Supporters' Day and Rose Ceremony (see below).

Supporters' Day and Rose Ceremony, 23rd June

We're delighted that so many of you could come along to the celebrations. The traditional midsummer Rose Ceremony is always a highlight and it was great to be able to share some of our successes of the last year and look forward to the future.

Sign painting, 27th June

Just this morning we had some much needed help from a couple of volunteers who've painted the signs ready for Sunday - thanks guys!

Coming up...

Summer Picnic, this Sunday!

Last call for volunteers for this weekend! There's still time to let us know if you'd like to come and help out at the Summer Picnic on Sunday. It should be a great day with loads going on: make a smoothie on the smoothie bike, mini melodeon workshops, craft a party hat or natural print placemat, pop some corn on the fire, join in a family ceilidh or sit back and enjoy some live music... Plus party games, DIY face painting and a barbecue - what more could you ask for? It would be great if you could join us as a visitor if not a volunteer! And yes, there will be cake and party bags...

Weekly update, 20th June

It. Is. Hot.

How are we all coping folks? It's not escaped us at Volunteering HQ that it's pretty toasty out there! Happily it's looking like it's going to be a fine and beautiful day for the Supporters' Day and Rose Ceremony this Friday, and we're looking forward to seeing lots of you here to celebrate with us.

Take care in the heat (and use it as an excuse to eat all the ice cream!).

What the volunteers have been up to:

Craft evening, 14th June

More successful crafting last week in preparation for the Summer Picnic (which is only 12 days away now!). The third and final craft evening is tomorrow (more below).

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 15th June

The group were back in the conservation areas pulling ragwort and thistle from the meadow - long sleeves and trousers were needed to avoid the biting insects! Meanwhile, the derelict building was coming down in the background! Volunteer Mike Towndrow sent some images from earlier in the week (one below). The next session is 29th June.

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 16th June

This week the team were back to doing some weed control. They were working in the field next to the arboretum, pulling docks and thistles. The next session is 23rd June.

Coming up...

Final craft evening, 21st June

Your last chance to join us for some crafting! We've had a great couple of weeks making decorations for the Summer Picnic but there's still a bit more to do. Tea, cake and materials provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us.

Sign painting, 27th June

Summer Picnic preparations continue with a session to paint the chalkboards that we use to help people navigate the site. We'll start around 10am, please drop us a line if you'll be coming along.

Summer Picnic set up, 30th June

We need all hands on deck the Friday before a festival to help set up the site! If you could spare a couple hours any time during the day (9am-5pm) it would be very much appreciated. As always, let us know if you can make it.

Weekly update, 13th June

We hope you are all enjoying the return of summer! We have lots on the horizon that requires the help of lovely volunteers so have a scroll down and see what we have coming up.

Firstly though, We're also pleased to let you know that the derelict Sandles building at Thrupp Lake is finally being demolished this week! Work starts today with site preparations and the building itself will come down on Thursday or Friday. It will take around two weeks to complete and the circular walk and byway will remain open during this time. Click here to find out more.

What the volunteers have been up to:

Craft evening, 7th June

We made a great start crafting decorations for the Summer Picnic last Wednesday. We're meeting up again tomorrow evening if you'd like to join us (see below)!

Thursday Group (Abingdon), 8th June

The final new wildlife feature at Thrupp Lake is complete! The sand martin bank installed a few weeks ago was filled up with sand by the volunteers, ready for its new tenants. This was part of a project supported by TOE2 with funding from Grundon Waste Management which saw an otter holt, tern rafts and bird and bat boxes also installed on the reserve. The next session is Thursday 15th June.

 

Friday Group (Little Wittenham), 9th June

The group were busy repairing the deer fence in Little Wittenham Wood - it was a really successful day clearing the fence line and installing around 16 new posts. The next session is Friday 16th June.

Sunday Group (Little Wittenham), 11th June

This month the group were out in one of the wildflower meadows, Sires Hill West, pulling thistles before they go to seed (and enjoying the sunshine!). The next session is on Sunday 9th July.

Coming up...

Craft evening, 14th and 21st June

Two more opportunities to help with make decorations for the Summer Picnic/Earth Trust Birthday Party! Tea, cake and materials provided. Get in touch if you think you'll be joining us.

Oxfordshire Play Association Play Day, 24th June

The OPA are hosting two Play Days, with the first being in Didcot on Saturday 24th June. Earth Trust is attending with some fun nature-themed activities to get involved with, including sawing wooden discs to create animal badges and we need your help. About 1,500 are expected so it'll be a busy day! You'll be fully supported by Earth Trust staff and no prior experience is necessary - just bags of energy and enthusiasm. Let us know if you're interested in this or the second Play Day in Blackbird Leys on 27th July.