2000 and onward

2000 and onward

2000

In spring, we planted in and by the pond various native waterside species, to speed up the maturing of the pond habitats. You can see the results here.

Also, we produced our brochure. Its designer was Ashley Francis, who created a much-admired layout. This is a full-colour leaflet, with a map of the Wildlife Area on one side (reproduced here) and explanatory text on the other. Send an email if you would like one or some.

April brought with it the news that we had failed to win a Millennium Marque. This, which we had not entered for or even heard of, is a kind of merit badge for having a neatly-presented reserve. Despite this public disgrace, the plants and animals on the reserve have loyally stayed put. They perhaps share our views on the irrelevance of such municipal thinking. (The scheme was organized by something called The Tidy Britain Group, which has since given itself the inscrutable name of ENCAMS. Here is its Web site.)

Of greater significance was the inaugural meeting, in October, of the Surrey Wildlife Areas Network (SWAN), which we were pleased to be able to host. This is a new, informal association of owners and managers of private and public nature reserves in Surrey. Its aim is to foster the sharing of ideas, information and experience. For more about it, visit its Web site, here, or click on the logo. (Because SWAN now has members in Hampshire, Kent and Sussex, in 2002 it was renamed the Southern Wildlife Areas Network.)

Our National Tree Week activities in November 2000 took place in a downpour, in what was already one of the wettest Novembers on record. Despite the weather, 40 devoted volunteers turned out for duty on the Reserve and on Centenary Fields. Among their achievements on LWA was to plant a double-rowed hedge between the Scout Hut and the pond, and to do yet more planting on the side of the ponds. See here for pictures.

2001

A continuing practical task is tending the 2,000 or so shrubs and trees we have planted in the hedges and copses. New plantings need to have grass and other encroaching growth kept clear of them; older saplings need pruning or thinning out. We shall probably lay Cobham Hedge this year or next.

In early June - Derby Day, in fact - we were visited by a coach party of members of the Kingston group of the Surrey Wildlife Trust. The group then went on to visit the nearby British Wildlife Centre, at Newchapel.

2002

Of our three objectives - conservation, amenity and education - the last has received the least attention so far. Now there is something to show people, we intend to make LWA and Centenary Fields available as outdoor classrooms. We are making a start this year. Send an email if you'd like to know more.

We have also started systematic biological recording. With the major upheavals out of the way, we want to know what effect our efforts have made and whether our management methods are suitable. We have therefore appointed John Madden as Surveys Coordinator. He and a small group of volunteers are recording three main groups - plants, butterflies and birds. In each, the more species that occur the better. (See here for some of our records.) If you would like to help, please contact John on 01342 835698 or here.

The main administrative change is that, after four years of trying, we have taken a lease on the two fields. This will make no difference to the way we look after them or finance our activities, but has allowed us to be designated a Local Nature Reserve. This was formalised on 12 September 2002. You can read the wording of it here.

Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) are a government-run scheme to denote sites that are valuable in their locality. See here for more. If nothing else, becoming an LNR will give overdue public recognition of the hard work of the hundreds of people who have helped create and maintain the reserve these last eight years.

In the week beginning 14 October, Surrey County Council renovated the main path from the M1 to St Margaret's Gate (see the reserve map here). The contractors scraped back the encroaching grass, which reminded us of how wide the paths had originally been, and laid granite dust on top. This has made a beautifully smooth surface, allowing us at last to be able to say that the reserve is wheelchair-friendly. The work was done under the auspices of the County Council's Safe Routes to School programme, at a cost of £5,000. We are very grateful to SCC for this.

Although the existing paths were robust, with good foundations, their surfaces were too pebbly for easy transit with a wheelchair or pushchair. (The picture on the 'About the reserve' page shows the problem). We have not found it easy to create and maintain a surface that is, on the one hand, smooth and durable and, on the other, visually unobtrusive. A tarmac path, such as we inherited near the vicarage, would be functionally ideal but completely out of keeping with a rural setting. We are always conscious that this is primarily a nature reserve and try not to make it look urban.

While this was going on, 3B Ramps began work on constructing skateboard ramps on a newly-laid Tarmac base on Jenner's Field. This work is part of a district-wide project to give young people access to ramps in their locality and is funded by Tandridge District Council. The base for the ramps is on the closely-mown part of the field, near Centenary Gate (see the reserve map). Since this area is for games and recreation, the LWA Management Committee had no objection to the ramps being put there. We feel they are an important amenity for the community. There are some pictures of them here.

On Saturday, November 16, for our National Tree Week activity, we laid Cobham Hedge. Once again, the South of England Hedgelaying Societ y did the technical work. LWA volunteers cleared up the cuttings. We also celebrated being declared a Local Nature Reserve.

The future

One of the many things we have learned though this project is that nature conservation work seldom goes according to plan. Even if you succeed in your initial objective, there is often an unforeseen consequence.

This is the case with the hard-surfaced path that runs east to west near the pond. In prolonged wet weather, such as in 2000, the path collects the water running off Bloomer's Field and directs it down to Cobham Gate, near the Scout Hut. The two-way slope of the field is such that, some days, the path is more like a water chute and the gateway becomes submerged.

Our proposed solution is to put in a 'longitudinal environment enhancement feature' - a ditch - parallel to the path but some distance away from it, to the north. This should intercept the groundwater flows from the direction of Coldharbour. The ditch will deposit the water into the existing north-south ditch just above Cobham Gate. We will use the spoil from digging it to create banking on its south side, which we will plant with suitable shrubs and trees.

All this will need planning (probably including planning permission) and a lot of money. Doing the one and raising the other will take us some time, which is why we are leaving it until next year.