Friends of Hollingbury and Burstead Woods
Twice-Yearly Newsletter
Home Activities Contact Us Newsletter	Current Newsletter - Autumn 2008
	NEWSLETTER, autumn 2008 ________________________________________________________ Workdays Sunday 2 November: dead hedge work, bulb planting Saturday 6 December: dead hedge work Sunday 4 January: live hedge work, New Glade clearance Saturday 7 February: planting hazel, sweet chestnut, yew Sunday 1 March: tba All sessions start at 10:00 near Upper Roedale Cottages. Actual programme may be changed to take account of weather, numbers attending, etc. Change of ranger We were very sorry to say good-bye in June to Katharine Birch, who has been appointed to the Kingley Vale Nature Reserve in West Sussex. In the few months Katharine was with us she had provided support and leadership in an exemplary fashion. During the summer there were substantial changes to the structure and personnel of the Council’s Ranger Service. The outcome, so far as FHBW is concerned, is not yet confirmed, but we welcomed Paul Gorringe as ‘our’ ranger in September. We hope that he will continue with us. Downs School visit On Monday 29 September two committee members accompanied a visit to the woods by teachers and year 5 pupils from Downs School, together with teaching assistants and parents. This followed a preliminary walkabout, with three FHBW members and several teachers, on 18 September, during which updates to the school’s present handout for pupils were identified, and various aspects of the woods and their management were pointed out for possible inclusion. This was the first such involvement with a local school. The woods have the potential to be a valuable resource for pupils at several stages, and it would be good to develop more of a partnership with not only Downs School, but also others in the neighbourhood. We already know of several members who are Downs parents, and we would be glad to hear of others who are parents who would be interested in helping to promote the woods with their children’s schools. Summer events – and two requests for next year During the summer the FHBW programme extended well beyond the monthly workdays. Brief notes follow. 10 May AGM. This was unusually well attended, and featured a most enjoyable talk by Tony Whitbread of the Sussex Wildlife Trust. Among the formal business the existing committee was re-elected, and last year’s accounts were accepted. 8 June Springwatch Festival, Stanmer Park. Although our ‘pitch’ was rather smaller than expected we were able to offer all the displays and activities we had planned. As well as the usual leaf identification challenge we asked visitors to identify bark specimens (much harder!). And bark rubbing proved immensely popular with young visitors. 28 June Blaker’s Park. We had not had a stall at the Friends of Blaker’s Park annual fair before, and were agreeably surprised by the proportion of visitors who were interested in it. 6 July Awayday. A visit to Woods Mill attracted 12 members. Seeing kestrel chicks was one of the highlights. 12 July Dorothy Stringer Envirofayre. Another regular event with a good proportion of visitors who are sympathetic to our work. Attending events is both enjoyable for participants and valuable publicity and awareness raising for FHBW; there is even a good chance of a (small) cash inflow for our funds. We would very much like some more members to come along and help run the stall, so that the same people aren’t called upon every time. When next year’s dates are known, please consider reserving one or two in your diaries, and let the committee know you have done so. We wouldn’t expect offers to cover the full opening hours of an event (though that would of course be nice!) – just a couple of hours at some point in the day would make a lot of difference. The display panels which we take around to events have seen better days (they were hand-downs from a bank branch) and are less robust than we’d like – finding equipment which is stable on windy days, yet easily portable, is not easy. Has any member suggestions as to sourcing replacements, please? (Actual equipment would be best, but even an informed recommendation as to brand would be welcome, as it could be the basis of another grant application.) Children policy It has been delightful in recent months to welcome more parents with children to work sessions. This has required some rethinking of work programmes, tool provision, and refreshments, and we may sometimes have been a bit slow in making sure that younger helpers were properly and adequately welcomed. However, we hope that by now we have adjusted as necessary. Please let any committee member know if you have suggestions which would further improve our workdays so far as children are concerned. Whatever initiatives the committee takes with regard to children it has to remain the responsibility of the accompanying parent or other adult to ensure that children are safe at all times, in respect both of their own activities and keeping a prudent distance from the activities of others. Looking after their children may well limit a parent’s own contribution to a workday, but the committee cannot, and does not, accept responsibility for the welfare of children during work sessions. Noticeboards The saga of the noticeboards continues. The Spring Newsletter implied that installation was likely to be arranged in the near future, but staffing and equipment problems at the manufacturer, Norbury Wood Products, led to substantial delays in delivery. Then the changes in the Ranger service (see ‘Change of ranger’ elsewhere in this Newsletter) meant even more delay. However, there is hope that progress can now be made, and details of the exact siting of each of the five boards are now being specified. Bulb planting October’s work session included planting wild daffodil bulbs in the Forget-me-not glade (the glade closest to the Golf Club road). More will be planted in November. Two varieties have been bought. From previous experience it may be spring 2010, rather than next year, before there is much of a showing, but walking up to the glade in 2009 just might give one some first sightings. New grant FHBW received a grant from the Council’s Sustainability budget to enable us to get a new membership leaflet designed and printed.  We will have a consistent set of images and text about the group so that we can promote ourselves more effectively. The new images will be used on other materials such as the website and newsletter. So this may be the last newsletter displaying the logo which has served us almost from the beginning. FHBW Officers Chairman: John Higgs (550578) Secretary: Gill Taylor (505060), gtwizardy2k@hotmail.com Treasurer / Membership: Adrian Peasgood (508620), adrian@peasgood.plus.com Projects: Lesley Brown (707289), lesleyannbrown@yahoo.co.uk Publicity: Brenda Pollack (553044), brenandchris@zoom.co.uk
	Page last updated	01 November 2008	Friends of Hollingbury and Burstead Woods