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Whitchurch
Branch
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Events
on Google Maps
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Greenfields
Nature Reserve
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Water
vole project
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Contacts
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Links
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December 2017 The raffle held at the Members' Night on 13th December raised £41 for the Trust's Curlew Appeal [details on main Trust website] |
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November 2017 A small number of Silver-studded blue butterflies were found this year on one of the Trust's newest reserves, still known as Plot 15, on the north -eastern edge of Prees Heath |
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January 2016 Greenfields
extension almost fenced
Greenfields
Local Nature Reserve is being extended up to the road at Greenfields Rise.
This new section is to be called Staggs Meadow and our volunteers have been
busy with fencing it so that, like the rst of the reserve, it can be grazed
by Dexter cattle. This work is nearly complete with probably two more work
parties needed. The photograph shows some of the team enjoying their lunch
break. |
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7 August
2015 Dexters are back at Greenfields Local
Nature Reserve After
an absence of two years we have a group of 7 dexters grazing the reserve once
again. After less than a week there is planty of evidence of where they’ve
been! Many thanks to Alan Ball for agreeing to graze the site and deliveing
the animals last Saturday. The
dexters arrive on Facebook. |
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8 July 2015 Aqualate
visit a sell out
Almost
30 SWT members attended an interesting walk around Aqualate Mere National
Nature Reserve near Newport on a bright, dry but rather cool evening. The
event was led by Tim Coleshaw of Natural
England. The mere, although a mile long is ever more than a metre deep.
Plans are in the pipeline to do some dredging involving the removal of half a
million m3 of silt. |
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November
2013 LJC
grant for Greenfields leaflet The
branch has been awarded a grant of £393 by Shropshire Council’s Whitchurch and Surrounding Area Local Joint
Committee to update and reprint the Greenfields Nature Reverve guide leaflet
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November
2013 New
Water Vole website – The Water Vole Channel goes live The
Whitchurch Community Water Vole Project’s website previously attached to the
Wood Lane Reserve website has been replaced by The Water Vole Channel. A
big thank you to John Harding for his hard work in creating this new and
attractive site at http://www.whitchurchwatervoles.co.uk/
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22 July
2013 Dexters
return Two
dexters from Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s conservation grazing herd have arrived
at Greenfields to manage the meadows. |
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April
2013 Sewer
replaced Contractors
working for Welsh Water have replaced the problem sewer with a new pipe
running just inside the fence. To avoid disturbance to the water voles, the old
pipe was left in place at the top of the bank. The manhole has also been
totally rebuilt. |
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8 February 2013 Camera
crew visits Greenfields
For
several years we’ve been having problems with the sewer that runs along the
top of the bank and and across the brook near the bridge. These are mainly to
do with the manhole shown above coming loose and it’s mounting cracking, but
now there is another leak further along the bank. A camera was sent along
this length from both ends but couldn’t see much due to it being a low point
and therefore being full of water and a lot of silt. The silt was flushed out using a high-pressure
Warthog ™. This was
quite eerie – you could hear it pass you as it travelled through the pipe
under ground! The leak is due to be repaired this weekend and we’ve been promised
a “scheme” to deal permanently with the manhole. |
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26 Ocober 2012 Dexters
due to go home for the winter
As
most of you will know, Bill and Ben [see below] spent only 2 weeks at
Greenfields and were replaced in late August by three dexters. The problem
with Bill and Ben was their over-familiarity with having people around.
Unlike most cattle, if they were lying on a path in the woods they would not
get up and move away when approached. Understandably some people were
uncomortable with this. The dexters, friendly as they are, tend to move away
if you get too close – unless of course if you are carrying beef nuts! It is
now time for them to go back to Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s Bickley Hall Farm
for the winter but so far the young male has had other ideas and several
attempts to corale him on the bridge along with the two cows have ended in
failure. |
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30 July 2012 Longhorn
cattle due at Greenfields
Two Longhorn
cattle known as “Bill” and “Ben” are due to arrive at Greenfields today. They
are instead of the usual Dexters which are all busy munching their way across
nature reserves in Cheshire. Despite their large horns, they are quite placid
and are used to seeing people and sensible dogs. These pictures were taken a
couple of weeeks ago when some members of our group took a walk through the
Longhorns at the Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s Bickley Hall Farm. |
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14 May 2012 Greenfields
Nature Reserve Boardwalks opened by Lady Veronica Cossons, President
of Shropshire Wildlife Tust
Around 60 people
gathered at Greenfields Local Nature Reserve on Saturday 12th May
on a gloriously sunny afternoon to join with Lady Veronica Cossons, President
of Shropshire Wildlife Trust in the formal opening of the new boardwalks and
steps which have been constructed over the last fifteen months by a team
totalling of nineteen volunteers. This was no cutting of a ribbon event but rather something more energetic [see
above]. In her opening speech, Veronica paid tribute to the volunteers and
the huge amount of work [around 600 man-hours] that they had put in. She also
mentioned that this year is the 50th Anniversary for the
Shropshire Wildlife Trust and that from the beginning, the Trust had always
striven to connect people with nature, something at the very heart of
greenfields Local Nature Reserve. After the opening ceremony, visitors were
invited to explore the reserve, talk to members of the branch, do a bit of
pond-dipping, look out for water vole [one lady did see one!], hunt for
butterflies and other insects and finally, enjoy tea and delicious cakes.
Pete Boardman, leader of the Invertebrate Challenge, was also with us talking
to visitors. Not only did Pete find 13 species of crane fly, but also a
nationally rare solitary bee associated with speedwell. Greenfields All the Year Round –
a project to improve access in the reserve has been
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26
November 2011 Small Mammal Survey A small
mammal survey was carried out at Greenfields over the days 11-13 November
using Longworth live traps. Eight people attended the release session early
on the Sunday morning. Wood mice, bank voles and a field vole were
recorded. The results will be fed into the Mammal Society’s Mini Mammal
Monitoring Scheme. |
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A
local branch of Shropshire
Wildlife Trust
193 Abbey
Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6AH |
01743 284280 |
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Protecting
wildlife where you live |
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