It would be true to say that 2013 has been a much quieter year after the flurry of activity in 2012 as a result of generous grants for the pond area and front entrance. We have also had a much less straightforward route in our grant applications for the side kissing-gate and entrance to be brought up to the accessibility standards we’ve achieved at the front entrance. We have unfortunately been unable to get full funding from one source nor, indeed, the full amount. At the time of writing this report, we have been successful in achieving two thirds of the cost from County Cllr Keith Witham's local allocation and from Windows on Woking and we are planning to undertake the labour ourselves to get the job done. The need to replace this entrance was made all the more necessary by the damage done in the high winds and storms before Christmas and many thanks are due to Nigel Emerson and hopefully one or two colleagues from Network Rail for being so willing to do this 'in house'.
Our current funding priority is to replace the trusty mower which has given us excellent service for 13 yrs with servicing and loving care provided by Roy and Nigel and which is definitely on its last legs... Many years of experience in undertaking the type of mowing needed in the Wildlife Area means that we have a clear idea of the sort of sit-on mower which is required – a rather heavier duty one than our current machine. We have just heard that our application to Fields In Trust who are administering funds from the Surrey London Legacy Fund has been successful. We will therefore have an immediate and significant benefit of £5495 from our recent designation as a QE2 site.
Last summer we were very grateful for the help of a band of local volunteers who joined a working party to undertake various jobs including the herculean task of keeping the rampant himalayan balsam at bay. We are also indebted to the small band of volunteers who keep the green path network mown and the site safe for all our visitors. Many thanks are also due to Barbara Carr, our Secretary, and Steve Hull who were active in creating swathes of wildflowers in the fenced area and planting perennial wildflowers in the Wildflower Meadow which have added very welcome colour. I'm also pleased to report that the yellow rattle trials in the wildflower meadow, led by Nigel and Julie, are showing evidence of suppressing grass growth to enable more flowers to survive such as Borage, Meadow Buttercup and Foxgloves so these trials will continue. At Christmas and for many weeks afterwards, the site has been battered by wind and rain. At one stage, the pond and both brooks seemed to merge into one huge lake! Site Managers Roy Johnson and Nigel Emerson and volunteers have again been very busy removing fallen trees on the path network and shoring up some of the Hodge Brook bank which was undermining the path alongside.
We were disappointed that once again, due to the necessity of keeping the parish precept increase to 2% in 2013, Pirbright Parish Council was unfortunately not able to fund the seasonal mowing of the wildflower meadow as part of their paths and greens contract but this was done by another local contractor at our expense who did a very good job flailing the sides of the path network and cutting and baling the wildflower meadow.
On another negative note, we have to report a break in at the secure store and the theft of some petrol and also the theft of the fox on the far entrance into Bullswater Common. Even the Wildlife Area is not immune from theft and vandalism... We have reviewed our locking arrangements on the secure store and hope that it will soon be safely housing our new mower...
It is v encouraging to see how the Wildlife Area continues to be a popular place to visit - from the regular local visitors to a wider range of groups who find us from our website. We are v grateful to Heather Coverley who has expertly managed our website and to Carolyn and Chris Guest for taking it over again due to Heather's work commitments. Our other form of publicity is our attractive leaflet. We have finally used up the first 5000 and we are now seeking funding for the next 5000. Apart from being available on site, the leaflets are stocked in local libraries, sent to local schools and used to impress potential funders. In our annual newsletter, I made an appeal for a volunteer to help us with our PR and publicity – is there anyone here this evening who might like a little challenge like this...?
Our membership tally during 2013 was 170 members plus 35 U16s. Once again, almost every member has indicated a willingness to donate either time or money, the great proportion of which is gift-aided. More detail on this later from Julie Harland.
I need hardly say that we are always open to suggestions for improvements or projects from our members. Last year, we were unable to organise our annual BBQ for a variety of reasons. The Management Cttee would like to know if you missed it...?!
As always, I would like to finish by thanking the hard-working Management Committee, all those who have contributed by helping with maintenance jobs around the site and all our members who give us generous donations to keep us going and encourage us with their positive comments.
Catherine Cobley
April 2014
Derek Smith from the Surrey Bat Group gave an enthralling, illustrated talk on bats found locally and nationally and even brought along 2 of his rescued bats for us to see 'up close'!
