News

Following the successful installation of a new bench seat in the Old Churchyard our work on that site has continued apace. The headstone damaged by an over-energetic tree in the hedgerow has been repaired for us by the Stonemason and on Thursday 9th September a small team undertook the annual task of trimming the front hedge. Undeterred by the drizzly weather conditions this went extremely well. In part this was due to our cordless trimmer purchased last year which really proved its worth on this occasion although our Secretary, Richard Sandars, still prefers the traditional use of hand shears. Either way, there is always a large volume of cuttings to be disposed of, which was accomplished by our equally traditional method of a trip to the Recycling Centre with well-filled sacks.

Continue reading “A Busy Start to Autumn” →

This article was recently published in the Farnham Herald. It was submitted by the Farnham Biodiversity Group – credit should be given to Martin Angel.

The Herald has published recent articles from the Farnham Biodiversity Group that drew readers’ attention to the plight of threatened species, such as swifts, stag beetles and hedgehogs. This article is about a plant that is both commonplace and much misunderstood: ivy, and its role in biodiversity.

Continue reading “The importance of ivy for wildlife” →

With autumn not so far off and Covid regulations relaxed, a team of six adults and two Duke of Edinburgh’s Award students met in the Old Churchyard on Sunday 22nd August to complete a number of outstanding tasks. With excellent support from Max Grover, one of the DofE students, a second replacement bench, made up from two rather distressed predecessors, was firmly anchored to give a good view across the site. With everything having grown so prolifically this summer, the willows around the pond were definitely due their annual cut back as was the bramble patch beside the pond which had completely overgrown the pathway round the pond. Our second DofE student did valiant work in clearing weed off the surface of the pond. There is always more to be done but we feel that we have made good progress. Thanks to Richard Sandars for leading the team, with support from committee member Charles Fearnley.

The Farnham Society is once again organising a full programme of Heritage Open Days from 10th to 19th September. As in previous years, the Bourne Conservation Group is leading a guided walk as our contribution to understanding the heritage of our area.

Continue reading “Heritage Open Days 2021” →

The Group is pleased to be able to return to a regular Work Programme, which will be published on this website when finalised. The key factors in making this possible are:

• The ending by the Government of all restrictions on activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The good news that our Chairman, Noel Moss, has been able to resume his involvement in running the Group.

To get the programme up and running again after the big effort we made for Farnham In Bloom, Calling Notices have been issued for four mini-sessions to allow us to catch up with urgent tasks:

They are:

29^th July. Balsam Bash. A difficult but always enjoyable task in the nicest part of The Bourne Valley

1^st August. Much needed trim in the Old Church Yard

3^rd August.    Footpath clearance in the Sturt Walk area

5^th August.   Check on the state of Middle Bourne Lane garden, including some hedge trimming.

Those who have signed up for these already are thanked.  There are still vacancies, so any others please contact Noel without delay:  info@bourneconservation.org.uk

Our intention to return to a published work programme for the Group has been put on hold because of the current indisposition of our Chairman, Noel Moss. Our existing commitments are being managed by members of the Committee and co-ordinated by Richard Sandars, who will continue to issue calling notices requesting members to help with work sessions.

Members and Friends of the Group have been informed by email about Noel’s health, which has necessitated a major operation followed by a long period of recovery. Many people have sent messages to Noel, and we all join in wishing him a safe return home and a full recovery.

We are pleased to announce that the Committee has been strengthened by the addition of Dr Wendy Scoble, who has recently agreed to join. She brings her knowledge and interests to the running of the Group and will be very welcome.

Our Vice-Chairman and biodiversity expert Dr Martin Angel recently gave an online talk to a local primary school about insects found in Farnham. He was representing the Farnham Biodiversity Group. We consider the quality and variety of photographs in his PowerPoint presentation are of potential interest to many members and others, so it is available on request from info@bourneconservation.org.uk

The photos of a stag beetle and dragonfly show two to be seen at this time of year.

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Our winter this year seems to have been a series of unusually warm periods separated by chilly spells with particularly cold nights. This affected the migration or frogs and toads on Boundary Road to the extent there were only three nights when large numbers had to be rescued from the passing traffic. However, our teams went out most nights all through March just in case and we are extremely grateful to them and their helpers who did such a good job. The exercise was called off for this year on 1st April. Since then there has been much enjoyable spring sunshine which happily provided a wonderful day for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral for which Windsor Castle looked absolutely stunning. The weekend of 17th -18th April also coincided with the easing of lockdown regulations, bringing out lots of people walking and driving, with the Fox car park once again noticeably full to overflowing. Daffodils have all died back now but the tulips at the
Crossroads are fully in bloom as pictured.

Continue reading “The Sun Shines” →

It is greatly to be hoped that Coronavirus remains under control in the UK in the coming weeks and that the Government’s cautious lifting of the restrictions on our lives continue as planned in the Road Map. This should allow the country and BCG in particular to get back to something like normality.

Continue reading “BCG Plans for Summer 2021” →

The Easter issue of the Parish magazine contains an illustrated article about the wildlife of the Old Churchyard, contributed by our Group. Thanks to Noel Moss and Martin Angel for providing it.

We are proud to maintain this historic and peaceful corner of The Bourne which is much appreciated by visitors, both people and wildlife. Our good relationship with the Church as owners of the site is important.

The magazine is available online here:

https://thebourne.org.uk/whats-on/the-bourne-magazine-online/