Dear Members,
Firstly, a heartfelt apology from me that this letter will be arriving much later than normal. It has been an exceptional year for us all and nothing is yet back to ‘normal’. One of the continuing restrictions is to prohibit meetings inside so we have decided to defer our AGM for 2020 from April to a date, to be confirmed later, in September when we hope to be able to hire the Church Room. Another option would have been to hold the AGM via Zoom but we don’t hold email addresses for many of you so couldn’t set up a proper link. The Charity Commission recognise that it will be necessary to defer AGMs this year in the circumstances. What with cancelling our AGM last April, it feels like a long time since we last met!
Apart from giving you the headline news, this letter acts as our invitation to you to renew your membership into 2021. The enclosed membership form shows details of any members listed at your address. As you may recall, our membership arrangements assume that you wish to continue to be a member unless you indicate otherwise. If you wish to discontinue your membership, if the information shown is incorrect or if you wish to add other residents at your address, please make any necessary amendments and send it back to the Secretary at the address shown below.
The Management Committee hasn’t been able to meet since March last year but we have kept in touch by email and Nigel Emmerson and his great team from Network Rail have continued to do excellent work on the site as part of their charity initiatives ably assisted by John Sawyer, Roy Coverly and Barbara Carr. So life certainly hasn’t stood still! We are also very aware that the Wildlife Area has been a welcome escape for very many so our green path network and main spine path have needed to be maintained for good access.
On site, it has been a bit of a contrast with our triumphal year in 2019 with the grand opening of the New Winter Bridge but none the less worthwhile!
Key work undertaken in 2020:
* work to repair the cobble wall and shore up the bank between the Stanford Brook and outlet of the pond to contain water within the Brook, which proved successful during periods of very wet weather and high water levels
* extensive path repairs with digger and motorised barrow along the green path adjacent to the Stanford Brook followed by grass seeding and closure of the path during an exceptionally wet and muddy period
* further works to strengthen the bank planking adjacent to the New Winter Bridge
* skilful repairs to the hinge of the far gate and the Fox sign at the front gate
* creative renewal/replacement of the 2 leat bridges and handrails
* further clearance work and spraying of Himalayan Balsam to try and curb this invasive plant which spreads and grows so rampantly
* partial clearance of debris at the junction of the Stanford and Hodge Brooks
* in-house repair of the mower
* cutting hedges
General
Due to the excellent work carried out on the Pirbright Institute outreach day in 2019, the pond did not need any clearance work in 2020. We look forward to rejuvenating our partnership in 2021 when restrictions are reduced. We continue to be a popular venue for local scout, guide and brownie groups. Nigel Emmerson has again helpfully supervised a D of E student undertaking his silver award during 2020 and 2 more are starting their bronze awards in 2021 - clearing ditches, coppicing, fencing, clearing brambles and path edges, planting wildflower seed – useful for all parties!
Looking forward, we will pick up other projects again – the updating of our front Noticeboard and site interpretation boards, the ongoing review of our yellow rattle (a natural grass repressant) project in the wildflower meadow areas and looking at tree management work across the site especially in areas where trees and shrubs are becoming too dense.
Finally, it is important to record the wealth of wildlife which is regularly using our wildlife area – kingfishers, slow worms, small fish in the pond, deer, herons, ducks, frogs and toads are just some. The Management Committee would like to encourage all our members to join our “Wildlife Watch” to tell us what you have spotted on your visits. Email us via the website – foxcornerwildlife.org.uk – or telephone any of the officers on this newsletter. We would love to hear from you!
Every year, we are very encouraged to receive donations of all sizes from Association members, the vast majority of which is gift-aided which adds 20% through tax reclamation. Needless to say your continued support and generosity is still very much needed as it costs around £1000 pa to run our Wildlife Area. This is true with or without the restrictions of Covid-19 as our work programme shows. In 2020 we were very encouraged that members’ donations were generally increased so that we were able to achieve our aim of donations covering our outgoings and to look optimistically into carrying out future projects. Thank you! If you are a UK taxpayer, you only need to sign the Gift Aid declaration when sending your donation – we will process the rest. Our Secretary can also supply standing order forms if you wish to set up a regular donation which we would greatly appreciate as it makes our forward planning so much easier.
And please don’t forget that another very straightforward way in which you can help us to increase our income is by shopping online through easyfundraising.org.uk. Of necessity during the pandemic restrictions, the popularity of online shopping has significantly increased and each time you shop, you can raise money for the Wildlife Area – a real positive out of these difficult times! Participating retailers include Amazon, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, M&S, Ebay etc. All you need do is to register at easyfundraising.org.uk and then log in each time you shop. Search for the Fox Corner Community Wildlife Area in the listing and then shop in the usual way by clicking on the link to access the retailer’s site and make your purchases as normal. The retailers then give us a percentage donation which could mount up and transform our finances! Our Treasurer, Julie Emmerson, would be delighted to advise you further – her contact details are at the bottom of this letter.
With all good wishes and thanks for your support.
Yours sincerely
Catherine Cobley
Chairman
P.S. We will be in touch regarding our planned AGM in September once we have firmer news about meeting inside.