Page 9 - Wildlife News August 2018

Ground force: Volunteers brave the chilly
water at Spiceball Park.
(JUDE VERDON)

Wild Banbury A boardwalk through
Hanwell Brook Wetland gives close-up encounters. (JUDE VERDON)
Following in the footsteps of Wild Oxford is Wild Banbury, a
partnership with Banbury Town Council that’s approaching its volunteers from Banbury Museum’s Times Gone By group share
third year. The aims are similar to its Oxford counterpart, and its their memories of a site, while we offer the environmental context.
volunteers just as committed! These walks help people relate to how things were before their
own lifetime, an essential skill if society is to appreciate the true
Wild Banbury currently has two focal points: Spiceball Park, scale of our damage to nature and the ambition required for its
Banbury’s largest green space, and the Hanwell Brook Wetland. restoration.
Volunteers have quickly made dramatic improvements on both
sites and the project has already reached more than 1,000 people, Town and country
many new to BBOWT.
n Explore the hidden gems of Oxford, discover what’s on
Recent work in Spiceball Park has focussed on opening up in the city and check the latest work party dates at
an overgrown pond next to the main path. Volunteers donned
waders, braving rain, snow and ice to re-profile its edge using bbowt.org.uk/wildoxford
natural materials. Creating a planting shelf for marginal species n Be a Banbury conservation volunteer, browse upcoming
and planting 800 plug plants tested their mettle, but the reward
will come next year when it should be awash with colour, events and learn more about the town’s wildlife hotspots:
attracting bees, butterflies and dragonflies to this sunny spot. bbowt.org.uk/wildbanbury
Newly installed log seats offer front row viewing to take to it all in. n Join in and get closer to wildlife through our
Community Nature Reserves, special places managed
Meanwhile two winters of coppicing over at the Hanwell for wildlife and as a community resource for all to enjoy:
Brook Wetland have halted encroaching willow scrub, maintaining bbowt.org.uk/what-we-do/local-communities
the variety of habitats packed into this small space, a stone’s
throw from the nearest housing estate. The wetland is great for
birds and a boardwalk enables close-up encounters. Here too
walkers can stop to enjoy the peace, on a viewing platform over
the newly dug pond.

Wild Banbury has helped us reach people in a town that
had been on the periphery of our work in Oxfordshire. We
have worked with local primary schools, are planning activities
for a secondary school and have funded a trip to our Sutton
Courtenay Environmental Education Centre for a club supporting
disadvantaged ethnic-minority families in Banbury.

One of the most engaging guided walks organised through
the project is the annual Wildlife and Heritage Walk, where

Wildlife news / August 2018 9