Warden's Diary - Winter 2009
Lorretta Waters is the Trust's Neighbourhood Wildlife Warden and manages Wallingford Castle Meadows, Riverside Meadows, Crowmarsh and Mowbray Fields Local Nature Reserve, Didcot.
As I write this Wallingford is shrouded in a thick blanket of fog and I can’t see any further than the end of my nose – but the wildlife is still out there! The snowdrops are pushing their way through the soil and the winter aconite – one of the first flowers to come through in January – will be blossoming in Castle Meadows before the month is over.
Despite the freezing temperatures our volunteers have been very busy. This winter we have planted a new copse at Castle Meadows with the help of local residents, school groups, and volunteers. This is a predominantly hazel copse with oak and ash standards and will make a fantastic home and food source for birds, mammals, and insects.
In the future we hope to harvest the copse to provide materials for our woodland craft courses at the Northmoor Trust. We have also replaced or repaired a number of water troughs at Castle Meadows and installed a new trough in the area known as Queens Arbour, ready for when the herd of cows come back in the spring.
Before this winter is over we will have completed work on repairing the cattle drink at Riverside, where the cattle have severely eroded the riverbank, and we will have finished clearing along another section of the ditch at Castle Meadows to improve the habitat for water voles.
Another important development at Castle Meadows is the installation of a new interpretation board showing a fantastic artists impression of how the castle would have looked in its heyday around the 13th Century and we have completed the self guided trail leaflets which are available in the leaflet dispensers at all site entrances and from the Town Information Centre.
Both Riverside and Castle Meadows look spectacular shrouded in mist or glistening with frost so why don’t you pay them a visit before the warmer weather is here, or join one of our volunteer groups and get stuck in!
If you would like more information about the sites and events or are interested in getting more involved with one of our volunteer groups or as a warden please contact me, Lorretta Waters, on 01865 409410 or 07982 218493, or email Lorretta Waters
We're now taking bookings for Wallingford Castle History Walk on 11th April, Dawn Chorus Walk at Wallingford Castle Meadows on 3rd May and Bats at Riverside on 7th May. For more information and bookings please visit our 2009 events page.
