Volunteers or mudlarks?
Volunteering on 9th April turned into an "experience"! Moving chippings to the hedge line as a mulch suddenly became more serious as the tractor and trailer became bogged down in a foot deep morass of mud. After trying for a short time to pull the trailer out with the tractor we abandoned the task for some 'brain food' - coffee and custard creams!Energy replenished, and with everyone helping, we disconnected the tractor and trailer and managed to get the tractor out by pushing chippings un...
April 11, 2024Hedge Laying on Rye Meadows
The Rye Meadows volunteers have started to lay the hedge alongside Footpath 24. The hedge was planted some years ago and has now matured enough to lay down. Amongst our team we have an experienced hedge layer and he has been instructing us in the art of hedge laying. Slow progress to start with as he had to instruct, manage and do all at the same time, but we hope next volunteering day we will progress a little faster as we become more confident.Next autumn we are looking to lay the hedge a...
February 14, 2024Heritage Open Days - 2024
Heritage Open Days are between 6th and 15th September 2024 and Rye Meadows will be open to the public to enjoy from 10am to 4pm. On Sunday 8th September Rye Meadows volunteers will be on hand with their stand on Footpath 596 from Fairholme Crescent next to Centenary Field to give out leaflets and maps, and to explain what they do. There will be an opportunity to buy Rye Meadows mugs and tea towels (£5) and the new book on Rye Meadows - Restoring the Great Marsh (£10). This would be an ide...
February 14, 2024Nature News from Surrey Wildlife Trust
This edition of Nature News contains details of news, events and information all relevant and local to Ashtead. Click this link to access the pdf. The document has links to various events and podcasts....
July 1, 2023"Restoring the Great Marsh" - Summer Sale
If you are interested in local history, having a good read or just looking at the 200 colour photographs, this book is good value. Written by local Ashtead people, it charts one woman's inspired ambition to create a wildlife corridor in Ashtead between Ashtead Common and Leatherhead.Started in 2011 it recounts how she enthused local people to turn her vision into a reality. It tells of her generous personal support to place her private land under Fields in Trust so it can never be built upon.It ...
June 14, 2023Skylarks
Text below courtesy of Ashtead Common NewsletterThe arrival of spring means that we will soon see the return of skylarks to the Woodfield meadow. This little brown ground nesting bird is sadly considered a rare sight in the South East as their numbers are rapidly declining due to loss of habitat. Likewise, disturbance from humans and dogs has a negative impact on skylark; visitors and dogs who flush out nesting skylarks can cause them to leave their eggs which become easy pickings for predators ...
March 10, 2023Sad News
We have just heard that very sadly Wyn James has passed away.Wyn was a loyal, reliable, and hard-working supporter of Ashtead Common and Rye Meadows. Although it looked as though a puff of wind would blow him over, Wyn was never one to shy away from the hard tasks. He was one of the volunteers who came to help lay the new hard surfaces on Footpaths 24 and 596 when we originally repaired them. He took wheelbarrows of hardcore and raked the surface as much as anyone else.When we had a curry evenin...
February 26, 2023Log removal that was blocking the brook
12 hardy souls braved the freezing weather today to work in Rye Meadows. Despite the low turnout this time (and who can blame people for staying indoors in the warm) much was achieved including the moving of a fallen willow trunk in the stream that was collecting all the debris flowing downstream (one football, 6 tennis balls, one dog ball, one rugby ball and assorted litter). Thank you everyone for coming along today achieving so much....
January 17, 2023Adding to the Queen's Green Canopy
Much earlier this year we received free trees from The Conservation Volunteers and intended planting them. The weather turned against us, not rain and snow, but heat. It marked the start of a long very hot summer when the ground dried out and tuned into concrete. Had we planted the trees then, they would now all be dead.Instead, they were given care and attention in David Curnow's raised vegetable bed where they thrived. October, November is the optimum time to plant trees and we'd planned to pl...
November 22, 2022New supply of Rye Meadows Tea Towels in a new colour.
We have ordered a new supply of tea towels to be sold to bolster our income to help pay the expenses we incur regularly. The new supply comes in our purple colour which matches our volunteer uniform polo shirts. The tea towels are priced at £5 each and available via the web site shop. Free delivery to any KT21 post code. For other area please email to request a price plus P&P....
October 9, 2022New Owl Box for Barn Owls
Rye Meadows have erected an Owl Box to try to attract Barn Owls to the area. During the peace and quiet of lockdown many heard the hooting of owls so we know they are round and about, and we hope a pair will nest here and raise their young. Last year we had Kestrels nesting in Rye Meadows and their young chicks were seen roosting on the barn and practising their flying and hunting in the woods and fields in the area. As always, please respect these nesting birds and keep away from the box and an...
January 31, 2022Dead Hedge to prevent access to Centenary from Kestrel Field
Yet again walkers are crossing from Kestrel Field into Centenary Field despite the dead hedge. As a consequence we've had to extend the dead hedge across to the brook itself. There is no path across from Centenary Field to Kestrel Field and vice versa. Do not break down the dead hedge. That is there for a reason. Kestrel Field is privately owned and there is no Right of Way. Anyone using that field is trespassing....
January 11, 2022Ragwort and the Cinnabar Caterpillar
The pretty yellow daisy like flower that you often see if fields and hedgerows is the Ragwort. This plant is injurious to horses and can cause liver damage and death. People with horses regulalrly pull up the ragwort in their fields and even those without horses should pull it out because once it seeds, the wind blows them away, just like dandelion seeds, and the infestation starts all over again. You should always wear gloves when handling ragwort as it can cause problem for humans too. Imagine...
May 13, 2021 Posts 1-13 of 13 | Page