logo

October 2023 - Newsletter

head
Winter work-party project AGM decisions Kings Field Open Day Wild Child Bus Walk Becoming a shareholder

badger-skull

Photo: Mecha Morton

A box of skulls from Saffron Walden Museum gave children a chance to learn about the differences between the teeth of plant and meat-eating mammals. This badger is an omnivore and so is the boy.

Kings Field - open day success

meet-sheep

Photo: Mecha Morton

Meet the sheep

Most of these sheep have moved to Noakes Grove:

the five ram lambs are now at Kings Field

bubblles

Photo: Mecha Morton

We want our open days to be fun: we aim to make our nature reserves miniature versions of pre-war farms. The local villagers had fetes and fun as well as looking after the farm plants and animals.

Open Day visitors

Our first Kings Field Open day did not attract quite as many visitors as our well established ones at Noakes Grove but, for many of the visitors, it was the first time they had discovered they had a nature reserve close to home. We hope they will come regularly, to enjoy visits just with friends or family.

 

Making Apple Juice the hard way

Our electric apple-scratter broke down, so it was all done by hand. The juice still tasted good: what there was of it!

 

Photo: Peter Savic

 

 
applesquash

Winter work-party project AGM decisions Kings Field Open Day Wild Child Bus Walk Becoming a shareholder

AGM

Open air business meeting September 2023

All the following items were approved (you can read them on our website: Click here for copies of the documents that were on the meeting's agenda

  • Minutes of 2022 AGM
  • Company report y/e 31 Jan 2023
  • Accounts y/e 31 Jan 2023
  • Election of Directors
  • Nature reserves' reports

Our existing directors were re-elected and Dave Law was elected as a new director. Dave runs the forest pre-school sessions at Noakes Grove and is an excellent photographer of our wildlife.

Especial thanks to Michael Chappel, our honorary accountant - he prepares our accounts, gets them accepted by Companies House, gets our VAT refunded and helps with keeping all our financial matters in order.
Winter work-party project AGM decisions Kings Field Open Day Wild Child Bus Walk Becoming a shareholder

iron

Photo: David Corke

Snake at home

A corrugated iron sheet at Kings Field (put down as a nesting site for voles) has attacted a grass snake.

Photo: Wikipedia commons

 snake

Wild child - bus ride to a country walk

Our Wild Child Club is now in its fourth year. It meets on Friday afternoons every two weeks, usually at Noakes Grove, sometimes at one of our other reserves.

.

The bus walk

Their most recent meeting was a new adventure: they walked a mile from Noakes Grove to the Ashdon Road, where they boarded a 319 bus for Ashdon. The helpful driver seemed a bit surprised to have a group of 15 fare-paying passengers flagging down his bus at a place so remote from a marked bus stop.

Photo: Sophie Cottrell

 bus
stream

Entering Ashdon, the bus stopped near the museum and the children started their three-mile walk back to Noakes Grove along a lovely footpath with a stream to play in.

 

Photo: David Corke

Then along a country lane from Water End to Mortimers Farm and a bridleway back to Noakes Grove.

David Corke, the Wild Child Club leader, said "A bus ride is an excellent start to a country walk, it avoids the need to take a circular or "there and back" route to get back to your car park."

walk

Photo: Helen Hirst

The Wild Child Club is for home-educated children from 6 – 10 year old. It is run by Walden Countryside and meets at Noakes Grove or sometimes at one of our other nature reserves.

Click here for more details about Wild Child

Please contact david@walden-countryside.co.uk if you would like your youngster to join a sample session and see if s/he would like to be a full member of the club.

There is no charge for membership but many parents choose to make donations from time to time

 

Winter work-party project AGM decisions Kings Field Open Day Wild Child Bus Walk Becoming a shareholder

Winter work parties

Next work party: Sunday 15th October - Noakes Grove

and every third Sunday until March
Come any time after 10am and before 3pm.

The long hedge on the west side of Noakes Grove is too wide and encroaching on the path. The project for this season is to cut one side of the hedge and making a "dead hedge" as the new boundary. The existing hedge will still be a wide one and will shelter the re-generating elm trees.

The dead hedge will improve our side of the hedge for wildflowers and butterflies while leaving plenty of high hedge for nesting birds.

hedge

Photo: David Corke

Winter work-party project AGM decisions Kings Field Open Day Wild Child Bus Walk Becoming a shareholder

Want to be a shareholder in Noakes Grove?

Walden Countryside is a community interest company

That means it is a normal limited company, the only difference is that CICs exist to benefit the community rather than pay dividends to their shareholders.

While we depend on the donations and voluntary work of over 200 "friends" it is the 45 shareholders who have provided the capital that has bought Noakes Grove for the CIC.

Although generous shareholders provided much of the cost of Noakes Grove, we still have a loan that enabled the purchase to be completed and which we need to repay.

If you would like to become a shareholder (minimum "investment" £100 which will pay for 25 sq metres of Noakes Grove), please contact info@walden-countryside.co.uk for all the information you need.

Being a shareholder is like being a life-member of Walden Countryside except that your membership can live on if you leave or give your shares to someone else.

PS our reserves at Kings Field and Scotch Patch are not owned by us: we have a tenancy agreement for Kings Field while Scotch Patch is managed by us in an agreement with the owners

 
Winter work-party project AGM decisions Kings Field Open Day Wild Child Bus Walk Becoming a shareholder

Copyright 2023
Organic Countryside Community Interest Company
Trading as Walden Countryside
Company number 06794848 - registered in England
VAT No: 947 3003 31

23 Tye Green, Wimbish CB10 2XE

01799 599 643

Updated 6 October 2023

Top of document