December 2022 Newsletter

Welcome to the latest Newsletter from the Friends of Ballard Water Meadow (FBWM).

Firstly, a big thank you to all our members who have supported us during the year. We would not be able to do any of the work we do in Ballard Meadow and Woodland, for both our local communities – wildlife and people, without your generosity.

If you recall, I was a little concerned about the effects of the long, dry summer on our newly planted trees in Woar Copse. It is good to be able to let you know that the recent rain (and there’s been a lot of it!) has helped enormously. Many of the tree saplings that appeared to be in difficulty are now in healthy bud ready to burst in the spring, although a few have succumbed. We hope that this prolonged mild autumn does not fool them into leaf too early. This summer has certainly caused strange things to happen to some plants, with reports of Horse Chestnut trees in full flower in October!

The Friends of Ballard Water Meadow have been busy, as always, as we implement our autumn and winter work programme.

Conservation Management Work

The FBWM have adopted the small clearing (Green) between Woar Copse and Fawn Gardens in order to increase its value to wildlife. We are implementing a new cutting regime where only half the area is cut each year. All cuttings are removed. By cutting and removing the arisings we will reduce the nutrient input, making it more attractive to the more delicate wild flowers. These in turn will attract more invertebrates and pollinators. By leaving half uncut and long, this allows invertebrates to go through their life-cycle undisturbed; many of which overwinter as eggs or larvae in upright, hollow plant stems and around their bases. This year we cut one half and removed the cuttings in late August which were bagged and removed for composting by the Town Council, for which many thanks.

We are embarking on a plan to create a more diverse woodland ride through Woar Copse. As we move through the woodland, clearing individual compartments, the edge of the gravel path will be kept clear of bramble and lengths of timber. Eventually, both edges of the gravel path through the woodland will be cut to a metre or so wide. Over time this will encourage grasses and woodland flowers to grow instead of the bramble making it more attractive to invertebrates.

The cattle came back onto the Meadow in early September, only to break-through the fencing and into Ballard School grounds a day or two after. The staff at the school were none too pleased, so the cattle were removed.

The north and east sections of fencing were replaced in October, as well as the kissing-gate framework at the end of Hazelwood Avenue, and the bridge across the north-south ditch. This work was arranged through the Town Council who called-in local fencing contractors to do the work.

Now the fencing work has been completed, 5 Dexter cattle were back on the meadow on Sunday 20 November.

Our two permanent woodland glades (compartments W4 and W11) have been cut and cleared of bramble and last years’ vegetation, ready for a wild flower show in the spring. This work started in autumn 2020 and already there are signs that the woodland ground flora is spreading and becoming more varied. We have also started to clear the bramble and small shrubs from the area of woodland near our workbase. This is the next section on our coppice cycle (W12) and once cleared, we will plant the area with more hazel saplings, probably in late February or early March.

We are fortunate in being able to apply to the Woodland Trust for free native hedgerow shrubs and this year we planted around 50 saplings along the new fence line at the eastern end of the meadow in compartment M12.

During the winter storms last year, a large, old willow collapsed across the ditch in M12 near to the Guide Hut entrance. For the last couple of years, we have been reducing the spread of the willow in this corner of the site, so cutting and clearing this was added to our programme.

Cutting the old timber back, causes the willow to sprout new, fresh growth (like pruning) as well as opening-up ground below to allow meadow plants to spread. If left, it can act as a holdfast for bramble which tends to smother the more delicate meadow flora.

As with any cutting or clearing that we do, it creates material that we have to get rid of. The most efficient way of dealing with this material is to burn it, so we’ve had a few bonfires in the last month to keep on top of things. We are mindful of wind direction and the amount of wood-smoke burning may generate, and each time we burn Hampshire Fire and Rescue are informed. Any material not burnt is stacked into habitat piles in selected locations or piled near the entrance gate, ready for removal and composting by the Town Council.

Recording

The exceptionally hot and dry end to the summer meant that the stream dried-up fairly early-on, so no recording has been possible. It is only now that there is water flowing again, so the monthly chemical analysis and wildlife recording has started again. Caddisfly larvae and a mosquito pupa have already been added to the list of species found.

Plant recording continues throughout the year. This autumn seems to have provided the perfect conditions for fungi with many varieties on show, particularly in the woodland. The Butterfly Transect and Bumblebee Walk concluded for the year in September, as did the Insect Survey. It may be some time before the results of the latter are available, as our surveyor, Bryan, suffered a stroke at the end of September. He’s in hospital, receiving excellent physio and rehab and is, thankfully, recovering.

Results from all our surveys are displayed on our website when they become available.

Membership and Finance

At the time of writing the total membership stands at 59. Grateful thanks to all members for subscription monies and the generous donations. All monies go towards funding our ongoing work to benefit wildlife and we are grateful. Membership forms are available on our website but if anyone wishes to have a paper copy, please let me know and this will be arranged.

We have working parties on at the Meadow and Woodland on Friday and Sunday mornings. Currently we are actively looking for people to join our working party on a Sunday morning 9.30 – 12.30. You do not have to work for the full 3 hours nor commit yourself to working every Sunday. We would love to have you as part of our team. Please contact the Membership Secretary if you are interested or require more information. See below for contact details.

The end of year accounts were verbally presented at the AGM due to technical issues with my Internet provider and subsequent lack of printing facilities. The accounts for the group are available on request.

The Government changed the rules this year regarding bank charges for charitable/nonprofit making groups. HSBC now charge for all activities on our account which is an expenditure we can look to eliminate for the coming year by changing to another Bank. I will contact all members when this is in place to inform of new bank account details.

Lastly, I have pleasing news to announce as I applied for a grant to fund our ongoing hazel replanting in the woodland and am delighted and grateful to New Milton Friends Group who have kindly agreed to fund this project. Planting hazel is planned for February 2023 according to the management plan.

Contact Pam, Treasurer/Membership Secretary: 07484 830772 or pampetherbridge8@gmail.com

Community Engagement

We’ve been using notices, our website and social media to let people know what to look out for at Ballard Meadow and Woodland. There really is so much to see for such a small site.

To keep up with all the news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or here on our website ( www.friendsofballardwatermeadow .co.uk ) .

If you have any pictures taken at Ballard, please feel free to post them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or send them to us and we can post them for you. We’d love to see them!

Meetings are ongoing with New Milton Town Council regarding the new signage around the site and we hope to have further updates by the next newsletter.

And finally, it’s a pleasure to walk round Ballard Meadow and Woodland. The litter pickers and Ballard PUPS (Pick Up Poo Squad) are doing a fantastic job. A huge thank you to everyone who does their bit 😊.

Liaison

For the first time, we held a Member’s Day in September at the workbase in Lake Grove Road. This event was arranged to say a big “Thank You” to all our members for their support. It also coincided with our founder-member Enid Knight’s leaving the area for pastures new to be with family in South Wales. Enid, with others, was instrumental in setting-up the Friends of Ballard

Water Meadow in 2005. We said, “Goodbye” to Enid and we hope that she has a long and happy time with her family in new surroundings. Thanks to Pam for all the hard work and organising the lovely food.

At the end of October, we held our Annual General Meeting. This year we were invited to the meeting room at the new Crematorium. Thanks to Graeme, Kyle and Amanda for providing the accommodation and refreshments on the night.

At a well-attended meeting we reviewed the events, membership, finance and community engagement for the past year, re-elected the Chairman, Secretary, Membership Secretary/Treasurer and members present elected two new Committee Members: Mandy Hayes (Media/Community Engagement) and Steve Love.

Coming up

Please make a note that the FBWM will have our stall on New Milton market on Wednesday 7 December 2022 . We will once again be selling small packets of wild flower seeds ready for spring sowing. All monies raised at this, and other events, go towards supporting the Group enabling us to promote our cause locally and buy and replace tools and equipment required to manage habitats for wildlife.

We hope that everyone has a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Bob Lord

Chairman

Friends of Ballard Water Meadow

December 2022