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Volunteering - Saturday
8th February
Woodstock Community Woodland
10
am-12 noon
Meet new people
or meet up with "old" friends or both!
Children are very welcome but if they are under 16
they must be accompanied by an adult.
Where?
Woodstock Community Woodland
Meet in the second glade after
entering from the Hill Rise entrance of the woodland
- see map later
in newsletter.
What?
A number of jobs that
we'd love help with before the Spring.
What
shall I bring?
We have some
tools but if you wish to bring along secateurs or
loppers of your own that would be great.
What
should you Wear?
Wellies, walking boots or stout outdoor shoes
and gardening gloves. And
suitable clothing for outdoor work and the weather.
What
Else?
There are no toilets on site.
You don't have
to stay the whole time.
You can just
come once and if not for you - at least you gave it
a go.
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Woodstock
Live
Making a
Stand Against Plastic Pollution
The
organisers, all voluntary, are trying
to invest in reuse and are working hard
to have the event as single-use plastic
free as possible and keep down the costs
for everyone. So please support this
event by buying drinks from the
organisers on the day so they can
continue holding this wonderful free
musical event and without single-use
plastic. In the past they used
recyclable but the single-use plastic
glasses often ended up in rubbish bins …
even when recycle bins were provided.
Let's do this.
Woodstock Live is a fabulous, free music
event held at the end of August.
Make a Difference
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PLEASE SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS
AT THE CO-OP.
Biodegradable or not it is still a plastic
that will take a lot of time and energy
to degrade .....and degrade into what?
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WOODSTOCK
COMMUNITY
LITTER PICK
DATES
PLEASE JOIN
US FOR A COMMUNITY EVENT
Or if you
prefer to litter pick a street near you when
it suits you but please, please let
us know so
we don't waste time sending
volunteers to your street.
Don't Be Indifferent
Make a Difference
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Local Organic Farming
- Another Perspective
Robert Crocker
Introduction
I farm a 600-acre mixed
farm, situated between
Freeland, Long
and Church Hanborough
and Eynsham. My farm
diary will give some
insight in to the
interaction between the
farming operations and
the natural world. I
hope that you find the
monthly reports
interesting
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For centuries, farming
and nature enjoyed a
symbiotic relationship.
Every farmer, by
default, a
conservationist. The
pace of farming allowed
nature to adapt and
thrive but now, things
are very different. Our
natural world is under
threat from decades of
industrialisation and
our indifference to the
delicate, natural
balance that once
existed. Intensive
farming has played an
undeniable part in the
demise of our wildlife.
Through the 1960’s and
1970’s wholesale removal
and fragmentation of
habitats, indiscriminate
use of crude pesticides
and artificial
fertilisers initially
set in motion, a
collapse of many
species. Most of the
early chemicals have
long since been
withdrawn from use.
Practices such as aerial
application of
fertilisers and sprays
out-lawed and straw
burning banned.
Today’s modern farmer
has the benefit of
hindsight and realises
the enormous challenge
of feeding a nation
whilst being custodian
of the natural world. A
healthy ecosystem is the
by-product of good
farming practice and yet
our wildlife continues
to decline.
Although farming today
is more sophisticated,
with applications of
chemicals and
fertilisers carefully
targeted, the sheer
scale and speed of
operations gives nature
little chance to adapt
and evolve to this new
world. Monoculture
creates vast deserts of
no-go areas and wildlife
is pushed to the
margins.
Today, for most modern
farmers, the management
of the wildlife that
inhabits our farms,
biodiversity, healthy
soils, field margins,
hedgerows and clean
water are as important
as our crops and
animals. Profit can no
longer be at the expense
of nature. My diary is
below.
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FARMING WITH NATURE.
Farm Diary January 2020.
Ultimately, everything
revolves around the
weather and what weather
we have had. 2019 ended
with three and a half
months of rain and the
new decade has yet to
see any change.
The calves, aged 9 to 10
months, have now been
weaned from their
mothers. Our Aberdeen
Angus cows produce one
calf per year and the
cow’s dual purpose in
life is to suckle their
calf whilst grazing and
maintaining our
biodiverse pastures.
Their presence, as an
Organic herd, supports a
raft of wildlife. During
the winter, they are
housed in open strawed
yards; producing much
needed manure…they are
my fertiliser factory!
Ensuring that the soil
is replenished with
nutrients and organic
matter. From the worms
to the insects, to the
birds (who pluck the
cows moulting hair to
line their nests) these
munching ruminants keep
the eco system healthy
whilst preserving the
carbon sink pastures.
My vet gives good news,
that his ultra-sound
scanner confirms all bar
one cow is in calf…well
done bulls!
Gestation is similar to
that of humans. The
bulls join the cows on
June 2nd (my
birthday) a treat for
all and the first calves
of the year will be born
in early March.
The cattle yards are
frequented by numerous
birds in winter, feeding
on the tiny seeds that
fall from the opened hay
bales, the timber slats
in the hay barn allow
easy access to a safe,
warm roost.
Whilst walking across
the waterlogged fields
towards Eynsham, on my
way to inspect the water
level of a newly
constructed pond, I see
that the Pied wagtails
have already claimed it
as their own. It will be
interesting to see which
other species colonise
the pond this
year. Flocks of linnet
rise from the oat
stubble and descend in
to one of the many large
hedges whilst a small
murmur of starlings
perform their aerial
display before roosting.
We grow only spring sown
cereals which, after the
wet autumn just passed,
is a blessing. My
neighbours have
struggled to establish
autumn sown crops.
The overwintered stubble
harbours many insects
and, being organic, also
harbours many weeds.
Amongst them, on the
lighter patches, is
Speedwell…the earliest
plant to flower and set
seed. Speedwell is a
lifesaver for small
birds, when other
sources of winter food
are exhausted.
February beckons, the
nights are noticeably
drawing out and, as
twilight descends, two
Pied Woodpeckers hammer
out their last
reverberating message of
the day.
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Cycling Ticks all the Boxes- Safe Routes
Government at all levels recognise the
need to tackle climate change, traffic
congestion, air pollution, public health
and obesity. What is the magic bullet
to solve all these problems? Tick all
that apply:-
CYCLING!
Er …..
that’s it! So government is ready to
make available to Oxfordshire £300
million (yes, that’s 3 with eight
noughts) over 10 years. It has the
not-so-catchy title of the Local Cycling
and Walking Infrastructure Plan or
LCWIPS for short. The
catch? Oxfordshire have to demonstrate
that they can increase cycling by around
33% over the same period. No easy
task. And the County have concluded
that it can only be achieved with the
major increase taking place in Oxford
City where, at present, some 25% of
journeys are undertaken by bike, 25% as
pedestrians, 25% by bus and 25% by car.
Does this leave Woodstock out in the
cold? Well, not quite because OCC
accept that many journeys in the city
start out in the environs, particularly
from Wheatley, Abingdon, Eynsham and,
yes, Woodstock. But what is missing and
what us country bumpkins from Woodstock
have to persuade the slick politicos in
County Hall to recognise is that the
Bladon, Hanborough, Witney corridor is
important too, especially with
Hanborough Station is likely to be
upgraded.
So how is this £300 million going to be
spent. Actually it’s considerably more
than £300 million because on top of this
large cheque there is further money for
a raft of proposals called “Connecting
Oxfordshire” that will pave the way to
ensure that cycling in the city is more
attractive. Connecting Oxfordshire will
actively discourage vehicles from
passing through the city centre with
restrictions on all but essential
traffic. The proposals will include a
“workplace parking levy” on city
businesses that have staff car parks and
measures will be provided to cut off rat
runs on other non-principal roads (like
Walton Street or Margaret Road,
Headington Quarry). With less traffic,
bus lanes won’t be needed and good, wide
and safe cycle lanes can be
provided. These high quality fast
commuter routes on all the main routes
in the city centre will be called
“Quickways”. Alongside the Quickways
will be “Quietways” which will be routed
along mostly traffic free routes
although often they may not be so direct
(average 20% to 30% longer). They will
appeal to the less confident cyclists.
So where does this leave Woodstock? It
means we have to continue to press OCC
to recognise the importance of the
Woodstock, Bladon, Hanborough railway
station missing cycle link. Blenheim
recognise this is a vital link for their
Green tourism agenda and we know that
with more houses in Woodstock and at
Eynsham Garden Village and at Hanborough
the significance of Hanborough Station
will grow considerably. It means that
there is a good chance of improvements
to the sometimes poorly maintained cycle
tracks alongside the A44, and we may
even be able to persuade the Authorities
to continue some segregated cycle
provision north of the town as far as
Judds Garage (B4437 junc.) Woodstock
Safe Routes will continue the campaign
when and where we can.
Colin Carritt – January 2020 Email Ideas
Safe Routes, a sub-group of Sustainable
Woodstock are lobbying for new and
safer cycling/walking possibilities in
Woodstock with links with the
surrounding area.
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January at Perdiswell
Farm
James Price
Where has this month
gone to? It seems like
only yesterday that we
were busy shutting down
for Christmas and
wondering what the New
Year would
bring. January has been
quite quiet with yet
more rain, no snow but a
few dry days which meant
we actually managed to
do some farming for a
couple of days.
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 Our
wildlife has been fairly
quiet this month; we
kept our feeders full of
wheat around the farm
and it’s nice to see the
wheat being eaten. If
we have a cold spell
then it’s a vital source
of food for a number of
species. We had a
couple here one morning
to catch birds in a fine
net so that they could
be weighed, measurements
taken and ringed before
being released. It was
amazing to see how small
and light weight they
are but also good to see
the numbers, Blue, Great
and Long tail tits made
up the majority. They
are going to come back
as often as possible to
check on numbers and see
how the ringed ones are
progressing.
This time of year, we
hire in a big trailer
and run cattle muck from
a stock farmer, John,
who we work with at
Kirtlington. During the
summer John bales straw
here and then takes
bales back for his
cattle, in the winter we
get the straw back after
the cows have been on it
for a few months. It’s
a great arrangement and
one which we have done
for a long time, at the
same time we have
started doing the same
with two other farmers
as well. We’ve been
able to tip in the field
so that the heap is
ready for the muck
spreaders after the
crops are cut in the
summer. You may have
noticed the large black
heaps of sludge that
have arrived over the
past few weeks on the
old Showground. This is
treated sewage sludge
from Thames Water and
it’s an amazing source
of nutrients and organic
matter for the soil. We
have had one field
spread with it on the
airfield and started
ploughing it in last
week. This sounds as if
it went smoothly but in
one day, we had two
tractors stuck trying to
tip muck in the field
and the tractor
ploughing got a bad
puncture which meant the
tyre had to be sent away
for a week to be
repaired. Then the
forklift loading the
muck had a fuel issue
before promptly getting
a puncture itself!
Sometimes those long
days in the office and
the workshop look very
appealing.
 All
the muck and sewage that
we apply is aimed
towards improving our
soil health and we had a
fascinating visit from a
soil scientist in the
middle of the month who
provided a picture of
where we have got to so
far. We have been
applying muck since 2003
and since 2008 the total
quantity per year has
often exceeded 8000t on
the 1100 acres here at
Woodstock. This means
we haven’t applied any
compound fertiliser
(Phosphate or Potassium)
since 2005. Our soils
are full of calcareous
limestone (stones!)
which means we have a
very high soil pH as
well as limited water
availability. Nutrients
only make themselves
fully available when
they are in a soil with
a more neutral pH so
artificial fertilisers
get locked up in the
calcium and don’t make
themselves available to
the growing crop. By
using organic manures,
the nutrients are in a
form that is much more
available and at the
same time they improve
the water holding
capacity of the soil
which is a great help in
a dry year. The visit
proved that our soils
are in amazing health,
in fact the results were
questioned as they
didn’t match what was
expected given our
location but when I
explained what we do
here year on year it
became clear that they
are correct.
We also had our Red
Tractor audit this month
which is always a good
opportunity to make sure
all our records are up
to date. To be able to
sell grain in the UK we
have to be inspected
once a year by an
independent company to
make sure we comply with
all current
regulations. The
three-hour audit covers
many areas but the
majority of the time is
unfortunately spent in
the office. However,
the grain stores are
inspected for
cleanliness and security
from vermin (birds and
rodents) and our
temperature records
checked to make sure we
are monitoring the crops
in store. In the office
all our field records
are inspected to make
sure we are applying
products correctly -
this covers fertiliser,
seed, chemicals and
molluscicides. We then
demonstrate that we use
Integrated Pest
Management and are fully
trained for applying
products on farm whilst
also having enough CPD
(Continued Professional
Development) points for
the year. It’s quite a
rigorous inspection but
good to pass and to know
that we are up to date
on all current
legislation.
James Perdiswell
Farm www.perdiswellfarm.co.uk
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Extinction Rebellion XR
XR is
planning a presentation in Woodstock soon
and we hope the council agree to host and we
will help plan. XR's strategy past, present
and future can be discussed in a long Q & A
session after the main presentation ...where
anyone can register their opinion.
The aims of XR, through non-violent action,
are to compel government action on climate
breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the risk
of social and ecological collapse.
If
you'd like to find out more about XR please
view the following site that will give
everything you need including local groups.
https://rebellion.earth/act-now/join-us/
Individual action and
local actions such as school strikes, Greta
and XR do effect policy-making and
"embolden politicians" to take action within
government.
Don't be Indifferent - Come Along and
Hear for Yourself
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Woodstock's Community Orchard
Thanks to all the
sponsors in the community
Only 14 trees
left to sponsor.
Unsure of
the orchard site-see below
To read
more about community orchard benefits CLICK
HERE.
Email for
enquiries
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Local
Town Taking Action
on the Climate Emergency
After
Charlbury council declared a climate
emergency they felt compelled to follow
with more information for residents.....
and so they hosted a meeting that was
packed out .... standing room only. The
council has also organised
a workshop for businesses and other
groups to share ideas. The Council
Chair encouraged those with an interest
in acting on the emergency to consider
putting their names forward for new
council elections.
As well as the main presenter there
were short presentations by Cosy Homes
(retrofitting homes), Southhill
community solar farm and EV driving
experience/EV car portal plans from “men
from the pub”. Various local interest
groups gave 2 minute presentations
demonstrating other related activities
happening in Charlbury and included:
ECP Evenlode Catchment Partnership
(river restoration and habitat),
Extinction Rebellion Charlbury,
Charlbury Action Network (encouraging
improvement to lives by taking action),
Charlbury Green Hub (affiliated CAG),
Sustainable Charlbury (Southhill Solar
benefitting community projects), Friends
of the Earth (Oxford).
Mike Thompson gave the
main presentation. Mike is an economist
working at the Committee for Climate
Change (CCC) that gives "Independent
advice to government on building a
low-carbon economy and preparing for
climate change". Mike lives in
Charlbury, has been working at
the Committee for 10 years and was
recently appointed as Director of
Analysis, a new post that spans the
Committee’s analytical work on climate
change mitigation (reducing greenhouse
gas emissions) and adaptation
(seeking to lower risks posed by the
consequences of climatic changes).
He now leads the
Committee’s work on the delivery
challenges of net-zero across the
economy.
He
presented data on climate change, causes
and how global temperatures continue to
increase. He explained why the global
temperature should not go above 1.5
degrees, that we are heading
for at least 2 degrees, and probably 3
or 4. There was small encouragement that
the UK’s carbon emissions are slowly
decreasing and are currently at a level
last seen in 1880 (and he highlighted
that 1880 emissions were already high
during the industrial revolution in this
country). He made it clear that we have
a long way to go and spoke of how
individuals collectively, and the
choices we make, can make a
difference. He commented that
increased lobbying gives the government
a mandate to act but stressed that
everyone had to act ...... business,
public and government. He
also said that individual action and
other local actions such as school
strikes, Greta and XR are having an
effect on policy-making and does
"embolden MPs" to take action within
government. Personally, I'm
not sure...a lot more action is needed
by the public to affect the status quo.
A recent comment by George
Monbiot's was that he believes
the CCC began with hope and promise of
holding the government into account but
now appears in favour of political priorities and
is abandoning some of the scientific
realities. It's an interesting
short read give
it a go and see what you think.
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30 Years of Badgers
Woodstock Natural History Society
Illustrated Talk - Julius Bright Ross
Tuesday 11th February
Community Centre, New Road, Woodstock OX20
1PB
7 pm for tea/coffee. 7:30 start £2
Visitors.
Tailoring conservation strategies to modern
challenges
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Sustainable Woodstock
