GET INVOLVED
We have a schedule of events for the year ahead. Join us on one of our practical days which offer the chance to learn new skills and get your hands dirty doing conservation tasks. Come and learn more about species in the park on our wildlife walks or become part of the Friends Committee which meets to discuss the functioning of the group.
FoSNCP hold a practical workday on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month to undertake conservation projects within the park.
At present we’re meeting at the council compound – the locked gates right by the tramline, on the vehicle access road at 10 AM. We usually finish around midday and enjoy a hot drink & biscuits.
Training and tools are provided. Please wear clothes suitable for outdoor activity and the weather, bring your own gloves if you have them.
We recommend sturdy footwear. Activities are subject to change at short notice.
If you would like to register to join us, please contact us by email – friendsofsncp@gmail.com. We can then let you know if we can offer you a space on a Saturday morning.
WORKDAYS 2024
For previous years – see the archive!
January 13th 2024
January 27th 2024
Our second workday of 2024 saw us welcome another three new volunteers. Sixteen volunteers in total tackled two tasks. The smaller group of 6 went over to the Harrington Road brook area to do some more path restoration. This is the area where The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) repaired the path last summer using roadstone purchased by the Friends from a Thames Water grant. Due to time constraints, they were unable to complete every damaged section so the Friends volunteers are completing those areas when they can. It’s a hard job because the volunteers have to transport the roadstone in wheelbarrows from where it is stored. It is worth it though as we can see how, even after so much recent rain, the restored path is so much easier to navigate.
The second task for our workday was to remove a fallen elder tree that was partially blocking one of the paths and also to cut back back some vegetation – mostly brambles and tree branches, from alongside the path. There were two reasons why the vegetation needed cutting back. One was to allow access for a tractor that will need access to mow the meadows later in the year and also to allow clear ‘sight-lines’ for people walking along the path. We used saws & loppers to cut the tree into manageable pieces which were stacked well back from the path and the more untidy brambles were formed into a pile on the other side of the path. Both of these will create suitable homes for insects during the winter months and maybe encourage some fungi too. We noticed how the trunk of the elder had beautiful rings as these became exposed when the trunk was cut up.
February 10th 2024
March 9th 2024
With another good turnout and two new volunteers, we headed to the seasonal path. The last workday report detailed our full day of hedge laying on one side of the path. The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) had continued hedge laying on the other side of the path on their workdays in SNCP. Three FoSNCP volunteers did a bit more work on this section of hedge laying. The other volunteers processed blackthorn that had been previously cut back behind the newly laid hedge. The processed blackthorn was then used to make hibernacula or habitat piles and a dead hedge.