General Meeting of the Friends of Yate Common 19 September

There will be a General Meeting of the Friends of Yate Common at 7 pm on Tuesday 19 September in the Tesco community room at Yate Shopping Centre.

Bicycle Safari – discover local nature on two wheels - Sunday 24 September

Think "Nature Ramble on wheels" - that's what this event is about.

Discover local nature guided by expert Ian McGuire of Wild Owl TV.

Free event, family friendly, under 12s must be accompanied by an adult.

Bicycle Safari sets off at 11.00 am from Riverside car park next to cinema BS37 4AY.

(Organised by the Joint Cycleway Group)

Come along and meet Dr Bike from 10.15 am to have your bike checked or find out more about safe cycling with family and friends (South Gloucestershire Council Bikeability Team)

Kennedy Pond & River Frome Workday Saturday 23 September

We shall be carrying out general management works on the reserve including vegetation clearance at this local wildlife haven.

Meet at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre, 10.00am (parking is available at the Yate overflow car park also on the eastern side of Link Road, BS37 4AY).

The Conservation of British Owls – illustrated talk - Friday 22 September

The Conservation of British Owls – an illustrated talk by local expert Ian McGuire of Wild Owl TV.

7.30 pm at Yate Library - free event.

(Organised by Wapley Bushes Conservation Group and sponsored by South Gloucestershire Council)

Community Spaces Network Celebratory Event 2017

Are you involved in a community spaces volunteer group? Then come along to the annual Community Spaces Network Celebratory Event on Wednesday, 27 September 2017 from 17:30 to 21:00 at the Nest Cafe and Community Centre in Page Park, Staple Hill, BS16 5LU.

It's a good event and an excellent opportunity for networking and getting new ideas.

You'll need to register - if your group hasn't received an invitation, please email the Community Spaces Team 

Ridge Wood Family Owl Prowl - Wednesday September 20th

Meet at Quarry Road entrance for a 7:30pm start - see map here

Join Ian McGuire (of Wild Owl TV) for an evening stroll through the wood and hear about the many types of owl and their hunting preferences etc.

We may even be lucky enough to hear and see one or more of the wood’s resident owls.

Booking is not required but there will be a voluntary donation, collected at the beginning of the walk. Adult - £2 Child - £1

Wear sensible footwear and suitable clothing, also bring a torch.

Friends of Ridge Wood Woodland Work Morning - Sunday 17th September

Work Morning, 10:00am to 12 noon

Work days are a fantastic way to make a contribution to the future of this important local nature reserve, and they are great fun. Suitable for all abilities. New volunteers always welcome, just turn up.

Meet at Melrose Close entrance to woods. (see map here)

Gloves & tools provided

Lilliput Park - September work mornings

A small band of enthusiasts - the Lilliput Conservation Group - is spending a couple of hours on the first Tuesday of each month, and also some Saturday mornings, tidying up the hedgerows and plantings in Lilliput Park.

The September work mornings will be on Tue 5 September and Sat 16 September. Please come along and help us improve this historic park. We shall be meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear suitable footwear.

You can check out the Lilliput Conservation Group on Facebook for more information.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve Workday Sunday 10 September

We shall be undertaking the annual stream clearance and other reserve maintenance walk on this autumn workday. Please wear stout footwear.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am.

Explore the environment and history of Lilliput Park (5 August) and work morning (1 August)

Instead of the Saturday work morning in August, there will be an opportunity to explore the park's environment and history.

Have you wondered what the park was originally, before all the houses were built? Do you know where the water in the streams comes from? (well, admittedly not at the moment!)

Come and join us at 10.00 am on Saturday 5 August, and find out what the volunteers of the Lilliput Conservation Group have been up to over the last few months. We'll be starting from the Kingfisher Road gate.

And how about giving the volunteers a hand to get the park ready for the event? We'll be up there from 10.00 am on Tuesday 1 August for a couple of hours to make sure that the area looks its best, again meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate.

We look forward to seeing you at either event.

Sixth Green Flag Community Award for Wapley Bushes

Local environmental volunteers have been delighted to hear that Waoley Bushes Local Nature Reserve and the Orchard for the Future have gained the Green Flag Community Award for the sixth year running. The Reserve is among a record-breaking 1,797 UK parks and green spaces that will today receive a prestigious Green Flag Community Award – the mark of a quality park or green space.

The Nature Reserve is an area of meadows and woodlands which is very popular with local people of all ages. It is managed by the volunteers of the Wapley Bushes Conservation Group on behalf of site owners Dodington Parish Council.

Committee member Paul Hulbert said “We are absolutely delighted to receive a Green Flag Award for the sixth time. We know how much quality green spaces matter to residents and visitors, and this award celebrates the dedication that goes into maintaining Wapley Bushes to such a high standard”

“The real credit for this award must go to our hard-working volunteers, and to Dodington Parish Council for their unfailing practical and financial help”

"Our reserve is a mixture of flower-rich meadows, ancient woodland and younger plantations. We work closely with South Gloucestershire Council and the Southwold Group of the Wildlife Trust, who provide us with very valuable advice"

Please support us at Waitrose this month!

We are please to tell you that amonth the good causes for Chipping Sodbury Waitrose customers to support this month are. Wapley Bushes Conservation Group AND the Southwold Group of the Avon Wildlife Trust - both very local enviromental organisations.

Wapley Bushes Conservation Group looks after the meadows and woodlands of Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve plus the Orchard for the Future. AWT Southwold Group members help at Wapley and maintain other local wildlife areas such as the Nature Reserve area in Kingsgate Park, and the Link Road Pond opposite Yate Shopping Centre.

Please support these very worthy causes - by placing a token in the Community Matters box at your local branch you’re helping your community. At the end of your shop in branch, you’ll receive a token to place in a box of the good cause you’d most like to support. The more tokens a cause gets, the bigger the donation they receive. Each month every Waitrose branch donates £1,000 (£500 in Convenience shops) between 3 local good causes chosen by customers.

Good work morning - with added radio!

Radio Bristol's Martin Evans and Sach with our volunteers

We began Sunday's work morning with a visit by BBC Radio Bristol's radio car. Presenters Martin Evans and Sach were starting off their popular treasure hunt programme Clueless, and we told them a little about the nature reserve. You can hear us on the 16 July programme here for the next 28 days - we start about 13 minutes in.

Our eight volunteers trimmed round the fruit trees to give them some room for growth. We also gave the area a really good tidy up.

The meadows are just starting to go past their best, but there are still plenty of butterflies and moths to be seen as you walk through the long grass.

Butterflies and bees at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve

There is a wide range of insects on the meadows at the Reserve at the moment. As well as the bees and the butterflies, you may catch a glimpse of lovely dragonflies (no photos of them, sorry!)

Wapley Bushes Summer Fruit Tree Pruning Sunday 16 July

As well as pruning stoned fruit trees such as plums and gages, we shall also be attending to odd jobs on the reserve.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am.

Wapley meadows are at their best now

The flowers, butterflies and other insects are at their best now. Pick a dry day and walk through the long grass on either meadow or the strip alongside the Common. Here's a small selection of what you can see at the moment.

Interesting species identification walk (with a rhyme)

We had a very good species identification walk today, led by Pauline Wilson. We walked around both meadows, trying to identify trends in the species we saw.

There was a marked range of colours in these Common Spotted Orchids. It was a pleasure to walk though the grassland and to be suddenly surrounded by a flock of butterflies.

We also found out a bit about distinguishing green things:
Rushes are round
Sedges have edges
And grasses have knobbly knees!

Shire Way Conservation Group Meeting Tuesday 20th June

The next Shire Way Conservation Group meeting will be at 7.00pm on Tuesday 20th June 2017 at Shire Way Community Centre.

The aims of the meeting will be:

• To adopt a Constitution and elect a committee
• To agree several policies that are needed so that the Group can apply for grants
• To plan future project and events

There will also be a short talk on Solitary Bees.

Lilliput Park - July work mornings

A small band of enthusiasts - the Lilliput Conservation Group - is spending a couple of hours on the first Tuesday of each month, and also some Saturday mornings, tidying up the hedgerows and plantings in Lilliput Park.

We've recently weeded the rockery and nearby shrubs (see above) and started clearing overgrowth on the stream (supervised as usual by our local robins), but everything is growing really quickly now - especially the weeds! Our wildflower seeds have germinated and the perennials are coming up well.

We've entered for South West in Bloom again, so there's lots of work to do to prepare for judging.

The July work mornings will be on Sat 1 July and Tue 4 July.Please come along and help us improve this historic park. We shall be meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear suitable footwear.
You can check out the Lilliput Conservation Group on Facebook for more information. 

Wapley Bushes Plant Identification Session Sunday 25 June

We shall be taking an afternoon tour of this wildlife-rich local nature reserve to look at, and identify, many of the wildflower and grass species which are in the meadows. Anyone is welcome to join us. Please wear stout footwear.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 2.00pm