The AGM took place on Monday 4th April 2005 at 8.00pm in the Clubroom at Lord Pirbright's Hall
2004 has been another good year for the Association with one major project in the Woodland Area together with the usual round of maintenance and general enhancement. We continue to be very much at the heart of the Fox Corner community as exemplified by another well-attended Summer BBQ in partnership with the Fox Corner Neighbourhood Watch. If the sun shines on the righteous, we were once again considered very worthy...! During the year, we welcomed another class from Gosden House School. Gosden House provides for children with severe learning and behavioural difficulties and the Wildlife Area is the perfect secure place for a day out in the country. The pond provided particular pleasure and the children were the first visitors to take advantage of our newly acquired pond-dipping equipment which is geared to primary school age children. Their second favourite activity was playing Pooh-sticks under the Winter Bridge. One particularly important visit was by the new Principal of Guildford College, Clive Cooke, who took up his appointment in July. He and Guildford College are keen to be involved in a variety of local activities and partnerships which all dovetails in well with the Wildlife Area. He was a very enthusiastic visitor! Not only can we hope to see the return of Merrist Wood students as part of their studies but also a willingness to share whatever facilities the College has to offer as part of the partnership.
ON THE SITE
The major project on the site this year has been the restoration and clearing of the woodland area and the cutting of a proper access through the ancient bund to form the beginning of a delightfully meandering path which completes the circular route from one end of the site to the other. The Association is very grateful to Paul Wickham, Director of Surrey Wildlife Trust, who helped us to prepare our bid for £4500 from the 'Living Spaces' Grant Scheme and to the trusty Roy who spear-headed the whole project. The Forestry Commission participated by visiting and giving the official go-ahead for a 50% reduction in trees. There already appears to be an increase in the number of birds and we will see in due course whether the number of small mammals improves. We have been advised not to plant at this stage but to wait to see what ground cover is achieved naturally. You will see in the accounts that the Association was able to contribute an additional £500 towards the project thanks to the generosity of our members through donations. During the year, John Arnott has again taken a wildlife lead by initiating a bird song survey in May. In a fascinating couple of hours a group of members learnt a huge amount under John's expert tutelage. We now have a list of the most common species resident around the Wildlife Area which we hope to update each year with John's help. In the second half of the year, there have been various access issues arising in relation to the green path to the rear and side of Pirbright Cottages involving the Land Registry. At the time of writing my report, these have yet to be resolved although the Committee has agreed in principle to the granting of easements to give vehicular right or way for domestic use only by Guildford Borough Council. The Association continues to be very grateful to the small but faithful band of volunteers who have kept the green path network mown and the site tidy and safe. We are also v grateful to Pirbright Parish Council who included the Wildflower Meadow in their Paths and Greens contract again. Their new contractor has proved to be excellent. The only negative aspect of the year was the theft of the Fox from our Wildlife Area sign which had been enscribed with a personal dedication by the craftsman who made and donated it. Further graffiti on the secure store both remind us that nowhere is sacrosanct and we need to maintain reasonable levels of security. We hope that local residents adjoining the site will continue to act as our ears and eyes.
OFF THE SITE
The main areas of the Committee's work come under 4 headings - Site Management led by Roy Johnson; Fundraising led by Linda Farren and Paul Wickham; Membership led by Carolyn Guest; and PR/Publicity led by Mike Nevins and Linda Farren. On the membership front, there are 144 members including 30 U16s) Once again, almost every member has indicated a willingness to donate either time or money, the great proportion of which is gift-aided and adds a further 28% through reclaim from the Inland Revenue. More detail on this later from Doreen Tonkin. On the publicity front, the Association continues to run its own website which up to now has not been updated on a regular basis. We are delighted that Carolyn Guest got so enthused about updating the site that she attended a web design course and is now our official web master. We plan to put up current photographs and news on a regular basis. It adds distinction to the Association in a world where everything of any note seems to have a place on the www and gives a good impression to potential funders. Linda Farren and Mike Nevins have been busy gathering together information and photographs for a colour leaflet. We will now be able to go ahead with this with the help of grants from GBC, SCC and PPC which is v exciting. Whilst designing the leaflet, the Committee decided to commission a new logo which will be used for the leaflet and for our letter heads. A simple but effective design by David Greenland has now been adopted. I should also not neglect to mention the truly splendid flower arrangement designed and made by Anne Mountjoy for the Church's Flower Festival in July. It depicted in dramatic style, some of the plantlife on the site and was generally acclaimed as one of the best in the show. This all reflects so well on our efforts in Wildlife Area.
WORK/PROJECTS FOR 2005
As always, I would like to finish by thanking the hard-working Management Committee and all of you who have contributed by helping with the many maintenance jobs around the site. We would like to add to this band of helpers during 2005. Local estate agent details still extol the virtues of living with a beautiful wildlife area on the doorstep and we are all playing a part in keeping it that way.
Catherine Cobley
March 2005