The Lambourn Environmental Group has been set up to alleviate climate change, increase biodiversity and enhance the local environment.
November 2023
We have also created a new Eco Patch habitat at the top of Close End to support biodiversity. We have established a lavendar hedge, shrubs and polinator friendly plants. If you would like a similar patch near you please contact us. We get full permission from the council first.
February 2023
On the cold windy afternoon of Wednesday 1 February, Lambourn School Year 5s were ferried down to Bockhampton Meadow, at the Eastern end of the village, to perform the task of planting 60 native sapling species as part of a hedgerow. After an enthusiastic interactive session on how hedgerows are important to wildlife and livestock all the children set to with boundless energy and increasing competence to complete the planting in less than 45 minutes!
The plants, canes and guards were all provided free as part of a set of 420 by the Woodland Trust, to Lambourn Environmental Group. LEG has planted the other 360 there, as well as 25 larger trees provided by West Berks Council as part of the late Queen’s Green Canopy project.
This is the second year in which LEG and the School have collaborated and we have every intention of making it an annual event. Permission to plant and help planting the larger trees was graciously provided by the landowner, Rooksnest Estate.
December 2022
Our lovely volunteers planted 250 hedging whips at Bockhampton Meadow on Tuesday 27 December at the eastern end of Bockhampton Road, beyond the surgery entering the meadow via the footpath.
If you’d like to help with future tree and hedge planting, please e-mail [email protected] or ring Adrian Neal on 07919 555744.
June 2022
The State of Britain’s hedgehogs report from February 2022 surprisingly revealed that although urban populations are stable, it is rural hedgehogs that are in sharp decline with three quarters of them being lost in the last twenty years.
So we decided to ask local residents to report their sightings of hedgehogs in Lambourn.
We have had a slow but steady response of sightings.
The red areas on the map indicate their reported whereabouts so far.
As you can see they appear to be all around the village but we still have lots of gaps.
So if you see hedgehogs please keep sending the reports to [email protected] with the postcode of the location.
Hogs are out and about now and we have frequently seen mating or pecking order behaviour on our own garden video camera. Who knows, you might even see the first litters of hoglets from now on.
So please keep your reports coming in and help us to fully understand the range of Lambourn’s hog community!
If you think there are hogs in your area do leave out a shallow bowl of water for them to drink from, especially in hot weather. Dry cat food or special hedgehog food are best if you want to feed them.
And please also seriously consider creating a ‘hedgehog highway’ (as promoted by campaigner Hugh Warwick) in and out of your garden so the hogs can travel freely to find food and a mate. This simply involves making a ground level hog-sized hole in your garden fence.
March 2022
On 15 March Year 5 pupils at Lambourn C of E School visited North Fields to plant over 60 young trees called ‘whips’ as part of their Science week. The following day it poured with rain so the little trees were well watered! That completed our first big planting project.
The LEG volunteers who worked with the children reported that “It was a splendid example of REAL EDUCATION based on first hand experience. The children all fully engaged and extremely well behaved and polite. A credit to Lambourn Primary School.”
February 2022 Planting on Sheepdrove Field
On Saturday 12 February thirty larger trees from West Berkshire Council for the Queen’s Green Canopy Project were planted by 17 willing volunteers from the village. The weather was dry with a bitter wind but then the rain the following day watered them in nicely.
A big thanks to all the supporters of this great ‘green’ community project. A special thank you goes to Paul Hendry from West Berks Council and district councillor Howard Woollaston for his help with the negotiations for the trees and to Mike who works at Sheepdrove who transported trees, compost, stakes etc to the site and stayed all morning working hard.
Thank you to Oliver Steed for the photography (see more photos on lambourn.org here).
January 2022 Planting on Sheepdrove Field
A community orchard of over 30 fruit trees has already been planted on North Farm Close Open Space which is land owned by West Berkshire Council near Sheepdrove Road. They are a mixture of apple, pear and gages with the addition of a quince donated by Lambourn Cllr Mrs Elizabeth Spence who is a knowledgable horticulturalist.
Peter Kindersley from Sheepdrove has very kindly offered land near the community orchard and the Wantage Road for more tree planting to create a community woodland.
Thanks to all the volunteers who turned up on Saturday 29 January to plant 500 whips on Sheepdrove Field. The weather was kind and it took less than 2 hours as about 40 people turned up to help.
400 whips (saplings) provided by the Woodland Trust included hawthorne, birch, goat willow, crab apple and oak. The Women’s Institute also contributed 100 trees in celebration of their centenary.
West Berkshire Council are also donating 55 larger trees as part of the national Queen’s Green Canopy Project to help protect the small trees.
Access is allowed from three points.
Blossom in Spring – Prunus Tai Haku
