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About us
About us
The management committee
From its inception,
work on the Nature Reserves has been planned and managed by a committee
of local people. They represent nearby schools, district and parish
councils and local conservation organizations. The committee also works
on getting grants to finance what we do and manages those funds.
The present officers and members, from July 2009, are:
David Hadley - ChairmanMrs Joy Matthews - SecretaryMrs Sally Cole - Treasurer (and noticeboards and risk assessment)Full Members:
Mrs Stephanie Dickson and Mrs Rosemary Madden - jointly representing Lingfield Primary SchoolParish Councillor Mrs Mary Edwards - representing Lingfield Parish CouncilParish Councillor Graham Marks - representing Lingfield Parish CouncilMrs Julie Hearn - Publicity (a local Tree Warden)John Madden - Surveys ManagerDistrict Councillor Michael Sydney - representing Tandridge District CouncilTony Anderson - representing Surrey Wildlife TrustMrs Anne Richards - Grants Secretary (a local Tree Warden)Associate Members:
Mrs Sarah Henderson - Local Youth GroupsDavid Netherclift - AllotmentsRichard Lowe - RSPBThe membership of
the committee has a stable core. Anne Richards and Graham Marks have
been on it uninterruptedly from its first meeting, in March 1994,
giving a helpful continuity.
We occasionally
invite officers from Tandridge District Council and other guests to
attend meetings whenever we need specific advice and help.
Volunteers
Practical work on
the reserve, such as planting shrubs and trees and maintaining existing
hedges, is done by committee members, by young people on their Duke of Edinburgh's Award
and by a hardworking group of volunteers, the Friends of Lingfield
Nature Reserves. We are deeply indebted to the Friends and other
individual volunteers for what they have contributed over the years.
If you are interested in helping with the practical work on the reserve, just turn up on one of the working days, listed here. You'll get a warm welcome - we're a friendly bunch and always happy to see a new face.
From time to time, we get help from conservation groups such as the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (paths and pond structures) and the South of England Hedgelaying Society (hedging). Some work, such as digging the pond and mowing the fields, is put out to professional contractors.
Where does the money come from?
The Wildlife Area is
funded entirely by voluntary donations and grants, usually gained in
competition with other reserves and conservation groups. Almost every
grant has come about through the efforts of our inventive and
indefatigable Grants Secretary, Anne Richards.
Many of these grants have come from environmental organizations and programmes, such as Barclays SiteSavers, Community Service Volunteers, the Countryside Agency, Forestry Commission, Rural Action for the Environment (now defunct), Shell Better Britain Campaign and the Lingfield and District Conservation Society.
Grants have come also from British Airports Authority (Gatwick), Lingfield Marathon Fun Run, Lingfield Parish Council (also in its previous form, as Lingfield and Dormansland Parish Council), Surrey County Council, Tandridge District Council, Toshiba Pride of Place Awards, plus many private and anonymous donations.
Details of these and other organizations that have been helpful to us are given here, as well as being accessible through the individual links above.