AGM 2024
The Chairman presented his annual report for 2023-2024. He also presented the accounts for 2023-2024. The balance was £711.94.Adam Bows presented the outcomes of rewetting the fen funded by the FHT. The report is on the website. He described the dedicated work of conservation volunteers who have helped in the management of the park throughout the year.
Barbara Witkowski presented the successful final year of four of the Oxford Badger group doing badger vaccination.
The Secretary gave a report on the bird feeder which was well used.
Bob Cowley, Deputy President of the Oxford Mammals Group, gave a fascinating presentation on how to identify mammals that frequent the Park from their trails, scat and scratch marks including distinguishing fox and dog paw prints and a demonstration of how stoats and weasels leave their paw prints.
Two signboards funded by the Friends have been installed by the OCC at entrances to the site. A further one is planned.
Butterfly egg hunts and walks should resume in 2025.
Best of Botley Thursday 13th March Seacourt Hall
The Friends had a stall displaying the recent works in the Park at theBest of Botley event and Annual Parish Meeting.
The Friends were awarded a Highly Commended at the Best of Botley Awards for the
Conservation and Environment Group by the Botley and North Hinksey Parish Council
in December 2024.
Scrub clearance to restore the fen
As part of the ongoing restoration of the fen and enabling the rare plant community to expand to its former extent, beginning of October there was some clearance of scrub and small trees by Freshwater Habitats Trust. This is to expose a nice flush on the northern bank above the main fen, removing the encroaching bramble and reconnect the bridleway fen with an area of fen to the east which has the rare blunt flowered rush. Some alder and willow stumps in the main fen were also winched out, creating more shallow pools and lightening the load on the volunteers.Work also involved clearing a 5m wide margin of trees & scrub on the boundary line of the Tongue with the development plot to the north. This is a prerequisite to the City Council fencing the tongue so that cattle can then graze the area and to ensure no boundary creep from the developers who saw a worthless ditch not a high ecological value fen.
Later in the winter Rod D'Ayala will also install new dams in the causeway fen and block shallow ditches to the north to further rewet the fen.
These works are funded by Natural England Project 5 The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Freshwater Network, delivered by Freshwater Habitats Trust and include a payment to the City Council to sustain fen management over the next 10 years.
AGM 2023
The Chairman gave his report for the year. Adam Bows' documentation of the excellent progress in the rewetting of the fen was presented by the Chairman. Summary Report - Raleigh Park & Chilswell Valley Surveys 17092023. Appendix 1 - Chilswell Valley Botanical survey data 2023. Appendix 2 - Raleigh Park Botanical survey data 2023. Appendix 3 - Principal and Rare Fen Plants 2023.The Chairman gave a brief reflection on the contributions of Carol Kramer, who passed away on 18 August in his report.
Clive Smith gave a nest box report. Many of the bird boxes need to be replaced or resited due to damage or wear and tear. The bird feeder was well used.
Barbara Witkowski presented the successful work of the Oxford Badger group doing badger vaccination.
OCC led the Oxford Volunteers installing a gravel path down a muddy incline. They have not yet installed a proposed bench at a viewpoint.
Two signboards funded by the Friends are to be installed by the OCC at entrances to the site. A further one is planned.
The Chairman presented the accounts for 2022-2023. The balance of £626.94 includes a generous gift of £150.
A memorial birch tree has been planted but because of the problem it would cause by seeding the fen it will be replaced by a disease resistant elm.
Butterfly egg hunts and walks should resume in 2024.
Cag Oxfordshire was suggested as a source of volunteers.
Green Spaces Walk
The Botley and North Hinksey Parish Council organised a walk on Saturday 13th April for a guided walk around Raleigh Park (led by Friends of Raleigh Park) among other visits.OPT award
The Friends received the Oxford Preservation Trust 2022 award for our work on the restoration of the fen.
Boxing Day Walk 2023 was on 26 December
We started with mulled wine and mince pies at the Viewpoint, and enjoyed a bracing walk round the Park. We noticed on the walk:- CONDUIT STONE
- Areas restored by BBOWT, OCC, and the Freshwater Habitats Trust
- ROMAN ROAD
- New steps
- Mulled wine at the Viewpoint
- Blackthorn stands (brown hairstreak butterfly eggs)
- Bird feeders
- Location of noticeboards (to be installed in 2024)
- Carol's Tree
Brown Hairstreak egg hunt
Our annual hunt for the eggs of the rare brown hairstreak butterfly took place on Monday 15th January at the bottom of the Park, by the big gates to Harcourt Hill, where most of the Park's blackthorn bushes are concentrated. For those who had time and energy, the hunt for the tiny white eggs was continued at the top of Harcourt Hill, on the blackthorn bushes by the bridleway.
We located and tagged at least 10 egg sites with twelve eggs, plus some eggs from a different species.
Butterfly Conservation are keeping track of the numbers of this rare butterfly
GroWet project
We hosted an event with the Freshwater Habitats Trust on December 2 2023 GroWet project to plant out the bog plants Common cotton-grass, Ragged Robin, Flea Sedge and Marsh Arrowgrass mostly in holes made by cattle hooves in both the areas raked. The plants are marked by flags.Path construction
New house building next to Raleigh Park
The planning application to develop land owned by the Warburg family on Yarnells Hill, which adjoins the Raleigh Park fen and the Long South Western Tongue was objected to by the Oxfordshire Badger Group, the Chairman , the ecologist Judy Webb and the City among many others who have responded in full to this planning application for the building of houses next to and in the catchment area of Raleigh Park in a position below the level of the main sewer.The Vale of White Horse Councillors overruled the Officer recommendation to grant planning and instead unanimously voted to refuse planning consent for the 3 houses that had been proposed to be constructed on the slope immediately above the fen. Had this development gone ahead it would have posed a serious threat to the quantity and quality of groundwater and set a dangerous precedent for cumulative damage to the fen's groundwater catchment which could have seen the end of this lovely and rare Alkaline Fen. Thank you for all your support in resisting this development and writing to oppose it.
AGM 2022 (by Teams)
The Chairman gave his report for the year. Adam Bows reported that work parties with volunteers to rake hard rush previously cut by the Parks Dept. was successful and fencing to keep the cattle off the fen while the orchids were in flower had been installed. He gave a presentation on the excellent progress in the rewetting of the fen.Wild flower seed collected by Judy Webb has been sown. 430 common spotted orchid flower spikes had been counted.
Clive Smith gave a nest box report. Of the 11 boxes checked all had been used and had not been damaged by squirrels or woodpeckers thanks to the installation of metal plates reinforcing the entrance holes. The nests were bagged for Linda Losito to examine for invertebrates. The bird feeder was well used.
Barbara Witkowski presented the successful work of the Oxford Badger group doing badger vaccination.
OCC have resited the dog poo bin which partially blocked the Raleigh Park Road entrance and will pay half towards the Oxford Volunteers installing a gravel path down a muddy incline. They have not yet installed a proposed bench at a viewpoint.
Two signboards funded by the Friends are to be installed by the OCC at entrances to the site. A further one is planned when funds permit.
AGM Thursday 11 November 2021 (by Zoom)
The Chairman presented his Chairman's report and the accountsAndy Gunn (BBOWT) reported on Wild Oxford. No volunteer sessions could take place due to the Covid-19 epedemic and the resulting financial constraints. However Community Group Team Wilder was launched by BBOWT to provide training for leadership roles in work parties for volunteers.
Wild flower seed collected by Judy Webb has been sown.
Adam Bows reported that a work party was planned with volunteers to rake hard rush previously cut by the Parks Dept. Creeping thistle and bullrushes need also to be pulled out. He gave a presentation on the fungi in the Park and reported that works to rewet the fen downstream of the pond have been successful and his study of the outcomes of the Wild Oxford initiative shows the benefit to the wildflowers and wildlife. Julian Cooper wrote to suggest the Parks Dept would trial cattle neck vibrators to keep them away from sensitive areas such as orchids in flower.
Clive Smith gave a nest box report. Of the 14 boxes initially erected three had blue tit and 5 great tit nests. The nests were bagged for Linda Losito to examine for invertebrates. She found fleas and body parts of weevils and click beetles. One weevil, Grypus equiseti, is a specialist on horsetail plants. One bag contained 7 live sap beetles, Soronia grisea, which must have been trying to hibernate.
The bird feeder was well used.
Swifts find it difficult to find holes for their nests and Clive has also made nest boxes for placement under the eaves of people's houses to help them.
Barbara Witkowski presented the successful work of the Oxford Badger group in the Raleigh Park badger vaccination report . The video shows a badger after inoculation. She reported that there could be no badger cull of vaccinated badgers.
The Freshwater Habitats Trust funded an invertebrate survey . They also funded the work done in rewetting the fen involving constructing leaky dams, filling in the ditch, digging ponds and clearing scrub.
OCC are to draw up a management plan for the Park in collaboration with interested parties and will lead eight work parties next year. They replaced the wooden gates with metal ones and will resite the dog poo bin which partially blocks the Raleigh Park Road entrance.
The Friends contributed to a bench erected in memory of Sue Cassettari who had given a presentation to the Friends with Jenny Miller (Forest School Leaders, North Hinksey Primary School) on Forest School Learning.
Jubilee
We had a stall by the Botley shops in the Jubilee celebrations on Saturday afternoon, 4 June 2021, 2-6pm with a display and Clive Smith showed some of his bird boxes.
AGM Thursday 24 September 2020 (by Zoom)
The Chairman's Report and a report on Wild Oxford were given by Stephen Parkinson. Adam Bows reported on the increase in wild flowers this year. and Carol Kramer reported the success of spreading ox-eye daisy seed and planting wildflowers such as wild liquorice raised from seed.Clive Smith gave the nest box report.
The work of the Oxford Badger Group on badger vaccination was received from Barbara Witkowski. Julian Cooper reported that there would be no badger cull on City land.
A full report from the Freshwater Habitats Trust was received from Eleanor Mayhew. The range of mammals and birds at various sites including the Park was identified by their environmental DNA signatures.
An application for funding for accessibility improvements by Adam Bows with Michael Woods (Parks Support Officer) providing the information and planning required to TOE (Trust for Oxfordshire?s Environment) was unsuccessful. Julian Cooper indicated that the City had materials to construct paths and boardwalks to the pond and round the fen and a dipping platform with disabled access at the pond.
David Brown and Stephen Parkinson reported on the Viewport Signage project. The spires visible from the viewpoint in the Park have been identified and signage similar to that on other Wild Oxford Sites costed. Crowdsourcing is envisaged as a way to raise a portion of the funding required.
Adam Bows described his research project in the Park.
Judy WebbCongratulations to the indefatigable Judy Webb for her inclusion in the Woman's Hour Power List. A just recognition of all her work for wildlife, wetlands and Wild Oxford.
Articles
The work of the Friends has been described in articles in the Sprout local magazine: Sprout article Dec 2018 and Sprout article Oct 2019 (Stephen Parkinson).
The Oxford Theatre Guild filmed the Forest of Arden scenes in Shakespeare's "As you like it" in the Park in summer 2020.
2019 AGM
The 2019 AGM was on Thursday 12 September 2019 at the Pavilion, Arnolds Way.SPEAKERS:
Wild Oxford (Andy Gunn)
Chairman's AGM Report (Stephen Parkinson)
Wildflowers (Carol Kramer, Adam Bows)
Nestboxes (Clive Smith/Stephen Miller)
Butterfly AGM Report (Barbara Witkowski)
Butterfly surveys (Barbara Witkowski)
Badger Vaccination (Barbara Witkowski)
Bats(David Brown)
Freshwater Habitats Trust (Eleanor Mayhew)
Accessibility improvements (Michael Woods/Julian Cooper/Adam Bows)
There were around 20 Friends present who enjoyed the presentations and a glass of wine.
