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Annual General Meeting - Tuesday 12th September - Noakes Grove - 7pm
Open air social evening with refreshments
AGM agenda - Organic Countryside CIC (trading as Walden Countryside):
- Minutes of 2022 AGM
- Company report y/e 31 Jan 2023
- Accounts y/e 31 Jan 2023
- Election of Directors (any shareholder may nominate any other shareholder with the permssion of the nominee)
- Nature reserve report
- AOB
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Kings Field Open Day
Sunday 17th September
10am - 4pm
A date for your diary: full details in September newsletter
Kings Field is well worth a visit - no need to wait for the open day.
The footpaths and new footbrdge enable you to expore the whole reserve (both side of the Bumpstead Brook.
For printer friendy visitor details - click here |
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Goodbye to some old girls
When we bought Noakes Grove, we started our flock of sheep by buying eight ewe lambs (in 2009 when thety were about eight months old) from a breeder of Wiltshire Horns in central Essex. Two of them were impossible to catch for us rookies (as we were then), so we sold them to a friend to join his flock. Then another youngster (Plum) arrived with us from someone in Wimbish, so we ended up with seven. The following autumn, we borrowed a ram (Big Boy was his name) and in spring our girls gave birth to the first of many batches of lambs.
Since then, all our ewes that form our breeding flock, have been born at Noakes Grove – the children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of the original flock.
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Gatekeeper at5 Noakwes Grove - photo Dave Law
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Here is the butterfly count at Noakes Grove - made by the Wild Child Club members:
- Meadow Brown `` ` 25
- Gatekeeper `````` ` `19
- Marbled White ``` ` ``9
- Ringlet ````````````` `` `8
- Peacock ``````````` ` ``2
- Brimstone ````````` `` `1
- Green-veined White 1
- Common Blue `````` `1
- Holly Blue `````````` ``1
- Purple Hairstreak ```1
A count in the adjacent farm field produced only four butterflies (three species)
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Brimstone at Noakes Grone - photo Dave Law |
Common Blue at Noakes Grove - photo Dave Law |
Marbled White at Noakes Grve - photp David Corke |
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Help needed
Almost all the tasks on our nature reserves are done by volunteers: our two sheep teams ensure that the Kings Field nd Noakes Grove flocks get a visit every day. The monthly work parties at Noakes Grove concentrate managing the vegetation and small groups use our brushcutters, chain saws, tractor etc for many tasks: the most recent success being the creation of the path system, bridge and pond at Kings Field and managing the grassland pastures.
There are two tasks where we really need a couple of new volunteers:
- Treating the haybarn and feed shed at Noakes Grove with wood preservative
- Helping with grassland management, fallen timber and erecting a kestrel box at our Scotch Patch, Ellis Green reserve (a traditional orchard)
If you would like to help in any way, on one of yout nature sereves, please email david@walden-countryside.co.uk
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Essex Lottery helps fund Walden Countryside
Each week a £1 ticket could win you £25,000
It's certain that it will give 50p to fund Noakes Grove and our other reserves.
| Weekly Prizes |
Odds per ticket |
£25,000 |
1,000,000:1 |
£2,000 |
55,556:1 |
£250 |
5,556:1 |
£25 |
556:1 |
3 extra tickets |
56:1 |
50p to fund Walden Countryside |
Certainty |
Recently one of our supporters won £250 and 3 others have won smaller prizes. Next week it could be you and might be £25,000
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