Sustainable Woodstock
Hilary's Newsletter
This month, we say thanks to Sustainable Woodstock in Vermont and to some new local legends and hotel builders; we tell you about an exciting online after-school careers club for teenagers who'd like to consider jobs related to climate and sustainability; we encourage personal climate action and encourage you to plant a tree during National Tree Planting Week and while you're at it why not talk to Andy Howard about a heritage fruit tree for your home as well .... and if it's not your home then why not suggest to your landlord to plant a tree for the climate and you ....but please look after it in the early years. We also hear again from our local heroes, our farmers and their teams, with their recent diaries and our resident Woodstock birder letting us know what to look out for; we also have much more so don't forget to scroll right down to the bottom.
Sustainability is all about our local community as well as the bigger picture and I was heartened this month when a friend shared her idea to organise a COVID-secure street meeting to start a conversation on encouraging a sense of community. I was heartened because many of us hear so much negativity at the moment ... she was being imaginative, positive and I think quite brave. I thought it was a good idea and very soon afterwards she produced a note for everyone’s letterbox and held a meeting just 2 days later. About 50% of households fed back; the day turned out to be a cold and windy evening; chairs were arranged in a circle and everyone introduced themselves; concerns were aired around COVID and lockdown experiences. Discussion included: ways of contacting each other; an exchange of ideas around possible equipment lending and trading services such as childcare, etc. Meeting face to face at this time , even at a distance, was good for everyone and especially to meet the new faces who had moved in recently. Everyone agreed to try and meet face to face again and for a short newsletter to be produced for those who couldn't make it. I've read that initiatives like this help residents feel safer, can bring generations together, the street feels friendlier and helps people feel less isolated and lonely .... and let's face it we probably need that right now. One person doesn’t make a community though and it will be down to us all to try and make it work. So thanks for the proposal.....it already feels friendlier. What about where you live?
Hope you're all keeping and staying well. Hilary
THANKS
TO:
Our friends in Sustainable Woodstock Vermont USA who happily shared a
free screening of the film with us in September
ICE ON FIRE Recommended documentary.
Ice on Fire
film explored the ways we can reduce carbon in our atmosphere and
explains clearly why reversing climate change is now urgent. Visiting
visionaries and scientists young and old, the film explored the deep
hope that we can turn away from the brink. The film says: "Is it game
over? Or is it game on? We have the ability, the capacity, and solutions
to reverse global warming ....but we have to act now.
Careers Advice for Teenagers
From people working in jobs related to climate and sustainability.
About this Event
The Big Picture ....
Keep painting your small part of it
CLIMATE ACTION
National Tree Planting Week will be upon us soon
November 28th – December 6th
Living in Woodstock we are so very lucky to have Blenheim's parkland on our doorstep and to have free access to such a wonderful ancient and natural woodland ….. but it’s not the same across the UK or even in Oxfordshire. The UK has less than half the tree coverage of countries such as France and Germany ….and yet trees are one of our best natural solutions in our fight against climate and nature breakdown ….. why .... because they capture carbon, remove pollutants from the air, provide shade and provide habitat to our pollinators and other wildlife.
A campaign called More Trees Please is being fronted by Dan Snow on behalf of Friends of the Earth (FOE) and is calling for our government to commit to doubling woodland cover. I’ve mentioned OXTREES before who are working together with FOE on a project to double tree cover in Oxfordshire and hopefully some of you will have contacted OXTREES about being part of this project or a similar campaign group.
Please think about whether you have the site and of course the money to spend on a tree or a few trees. Sometimes schools can have trees for free. Remember to seek advice for the right tree for your site, a tree that will make you happy too, find out how to care for it in early years, those that are best for wildlife, ask about naturally pest resistant fruit trees that taste and keep best, ……. please remember to water frequently during first few years.
So, throughout the pandemic you can make a difference by planning to plant a tree and if you have no room then you can also donate to one of the UK schemes … usually starting from £3.
COMMUNITY ORCHARD UPDATE
September 2020
CLIMATE ACTION - Now is the perfect time
for planting a fruit tree or orchard
National Tree Planting Week ?
Graham and I spent a valuable and interesting morning with Andy Howard of Heritage Fruit Company ... our local fruit tree and orchard expert. We examined each tree for growth and health and in a single morning, we learnt of different approaches to pruning depending on whether the fruit has stones or seeds (pips); we carried out summer pruning of apples to encourage flower and fruit production; were instructed on winter pruning to encourage growth next year that will help shape the future tree. We were reassured to hear that the smaller trees were not doing as badly as we first thought but were on smaller rootstocks (M27). We were also reminded that some of our varieties will blossom early and others later and so once established will give a beautiful prolonged experience during spring and an extended fruiting season. Overall the orchard has been given a clean bill of health by Andy. If you're thinking of having a fruit tree, orchard or need some help with an old tree or orchard then Andy is your man (see below for contact information) Location of the community orchard towards the end of newsletter.
ANDY HOWARD - ORCHARD SUPPORT & GURU
If you are thinking of a tasty fruit tree or an orchard, cutting carbon
or supporting wildlife ..... or all of the above ...then we highly
recommend Andy's
Heritage Fruit Company.
Andy is not only local but
also a fount of knowledge on all things orchard. He surveyed the land,
helped plan our orchard, advised us on planting and maintenance....and
much more. His Heritage Fruit Company is helping to save our fruit tree
heritage by bringing back traditional varieties of rare and tasty apples
and other fruit, many of which are now endangered. He has a love and
passion for his work that comes across when you meet with him and is
also enthusiastic about wildlife and runs courses for
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
(BBOWT), Earth
Trust, Greensands Trust and is a founding member and a trainer for the
Mid-shires Orchard Group.
He supplies trees for local
and national organisations including the National Trust, BBOWT,
Woodlands Trust and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. He's often in attendance
at local county fayres such as the local Wychwood Fayre and he's booked
by gardening groups, Women’s Institutes and community, regional and
national organisations for talks on all aspects of fruit tree growing
and orchard management ....and is a qualified teacher and trainer (PGCE
FE).
He'll also prune for individuals, private
business, councils and charities and offers orchard surveys and
consultancy advice on all aspects of orchard management and orchard
renovation.
CLICK HERE
: All
About Apples - 6 min YouTube of Andy at Treefest at Forestry
Commission`s Westonbirt Arboretum.
Contact Andy
October at Perdiswell Farm, Woodstock
A Change of Thinking
James Price
Autumn,
meteorologically starting on the 1st of September but astronomically
starting on the 22nd, I think the latter is more relevant this year.
Following my closing paragraph last month, we have completed harvest,
the sheep arrived last Wednesday (30th) and our Oilseed Rape has on the
whole grown, a success on all fronts. Harvest 2020 will be one that we
talk about for many years to come but always in the context of “it can’t
be as bad as 2020!” The benefit we have though is that we wipe the
slate clean and start again and so far, we have nearly 40% of this
autumns planting finished already in excellent conditions. Our worry is
that the terrible weather forecast in the first few days of October is a
repeat of last year but as was pointed out to me, we don’t trust a
forecast for one day in the summer and yet we’re all convinced that a
long range one is going to come true at this time of year.
The exceptional period of
dry throughout most of the month has meant that we have been flat out
again, and once again we have all had a few late nights. George is
currently holding the record, he finished rolling to beat the rain at
0200 last week, generously I let him come in at 1000 and then we ribbed
him about stretching the job out for the rest of the day. A lot has
been achieved though, our Winter Barley is planted, some of the wheat
to, the footings are in for the new cattle shed, muck has been spread
and ground worked. We’ve got about 5 more good days of planting to go
which we got even in the awful October last year. Normally we wouldn’t
start planting cereals until mid-October as we want as many weeds as
possible to germinate first, blackgrass being our number one enemy but
rye grass and brome are important to. There is a magical period though
where the weeds have germinated and yet the yield potential of the crops
is still at maximum, the trouble is no one has told the weather this and
so it doesn’t always coincide with being able to actually plant
anything.
Our cows are coming in from
the fields on the 10th and with the 350 sheep happily munching their way
through the mustard we are back to being a mixed farm again. Everything
has grown so well though that I had to invest in a new topper to mow the
cover crops and also the oilseed rape volunteers (the seeds left behind
from the combine). It’s quite a change of thinking for us as we would
traditionally use a herbicide to keep the fields clean however having
things growing is much better for the soil as it keeps it alive. The
growing plants absorb energy from the sun and push exudates into the
soil, at the same time they act as water pumps so help to dry things out
after heavy rain and also shelter the soil from the weight of water that
falls from the sky. The flipside (there is always a flipside) is that
they also encourage slugs to breed and can act as a green bridge to
carry disease in to the following crop.
A first for me this month
was drying the mustard that we grew using only sunshine and wind. We
have a large drier for conditioning the crops we grow before they go
into store as they will not keep unless we do and we can’t sell them if
they’re too wet. However, the drier needs nearly 40t (metric tons) to
fill it before we can turn it on and yet our mustard yielded a rather
disappointing 1.25t and a lot of very green weed seed. I tried blowing
air through it using a special fan we have but it wasn’t working so when
we had some really hot windy days I spread it out across the concrete
about 10mm deep and then pushed it back into a heap at night. After two
days it’s lovely and dry and is now in bags waiting to be cleaned ready
to plant next summer.
It’s been fantastic being
out and about so much as I’ve seen a lot of wildlife again this month.
The swallows and house martins have now all left and I can’t say I
blame them, the youngest hung on for a long time and I hope they are
safe on their long journey south. There are 5 roe deer that seem to be
enjoying the fields by my house and I’ve been hearing tawny owls calling
when I’m laid in bed. Both our beekeepers have been very pleased with
all the additional flowers that have been around and the bees have been
busy building up reserves for the winter. Tradition says that an
abundance of hedgerow fruit is a sign of a hard winter and this year
there seems to have been an awful lot. The blackberries are
particularly sweet this year but that is probably a sign of sunshine at
the right time. One thing I have noticed is the huge number or acorns,
I don’t know if it’s significant in any way, perhaps someone could
enlighten me?
Fingers crossed that
everyone stays safe and that the second wave of COVID doesn’t affect
you, short days and long nights lie ahead and I hope we don’t have to
endure them locked away.
Woodstock Birder in
October
Bob Pomfret
But, isn’t that the good thing about living here? You just never know. A week or so ago it was warm enough for a swim in the River Cherwell, this week the Cherwell would probably eat me if I was mad enough to jump in. Next week? Well, truth be told, I probably won’t be swimming in the river. However, our late summer butterflies are amazingly hardy. There's a decent chance the weather will be good enough to find them out on the nature reserve and back in our gardens. It is worth keeping an eye out for three species in particular: speckled wood, comma and red admiral. The red admirals seem particularly spectacular at this time of year. The best place to look for them is feeding on ivy blossom. On the OWL reserve they love the ivy on the dead elms close to the entrance from Budds Close.
Looking forward into October and beyond, more birds will find their way onto the reserve and other hedgerows. If they are looking for berries they should be happy. It has been a brilliant year for both haws and sloes. One particular bird to listen out for is the chiffchaff. After going quiet in mid summer they begin to call again in September and I’m sure one or two will hang on into October before heading to southern Europe and Africa. I managed to hear one today before the rain really set in.
That’s another good reason for enjoying October, it’s a transition month. The winter thrushes, redwing or fieldfare, will turn up soon. Redwings are usually the first to arrive. It makes me smile that for a few days they may meet up with any late departing chiffchaffs or swallows. It’s always a good day when I get to see both summer and winter migrants at the same time.
So, let’s not despair. Hopefully by next weekend the sun will be out, and we can pick up our rakes and get to work in the woodland and orchard.
*I wasn’t sure if Alex was chosen as a male or female name. I’ve just looked it up. I still don’t know, but just in case you’re interested, Alex turns out to be a French storm. When we get round to naming a storm it will be Aiden, followed by Bella. You can find out more on the Met Office website.
Redwing, Fieldfare and Song Thrush.
HOLLYHOCK WALK LEGENDS -
THE SEQUEL !
Pictured below in the Community Orchard,
top to bottom and left to right
Graham, David, Tom, John, Nicola, Joanne, Wendy and Trevor.
BEES & BUTTERFLIES LOVE HOLLYHOCKS
So now we have New Woodstock Legends to add to the story. Those who prepared the hard ground, those who collected seeds and sowed the seeds for Hollyhock Walk 2.
Progress ? - the section between the end of the Community Woodland and the first glade in the Orchard is sown. It will take a little while to get going but hopefully we will see some growth next spring but likely flower in their second year. Next year - we'll try and sow the next section, between the glades. So please all remember to collect those seeds next year as well. Thanks to Robert Edwards and Dave Baldwin who also collected and donated seeds.
PS. You never know ..... we told the story to the Blenheim developers and they liked it so much they hope they can recreate the walk in the new development.
FARMING WITH NATURE August 2020
Robert Crocker, Glebe Farm *
Early August sees temperatures well in to the 30’s. Perfect weather to cut and bale the wildflower meadows and, despite the shortage of straw this year, my neighbour kindly sets aside 80 acres of wheat straw for our cattle’s winter bedding. August 31st records one of the lowest temperatures for an August Bank holiday. The air is cool, autumnal and the early morning is wonderfully quiet – no traffic noise at all.
This is my first opportunity to assess the damage the recent strong winds have left behind. Huge limbs have been torn from mature oaks, heavy with the weight of wet leaves and acorns. The withering leaves release a pungent aroma that fills the air. Several large willows have been ripped apart and lay strewn, as if hit by an explosion…it will keep us busy this winter (clearing up) but, the log shed will be full!
The spring oats were not quite fit (ripe) when the weather broke and have now lost their golden colour to a rain stained grey. I fear their milling potential will have also been lost but, they are still standing and will be harvested at the first opportunity of dry weather.
I am drawn to the sound of multiple bird song; flocks of linnet descend from the hedges to feed in the standing crop.
One of life’s simple pleasures is the picking and eating of field mushrooms. The heavy rain has triggered the emergence of a multitude of different fungi. It is particularly pleasing to pick my first field mushrooms from the middle of our large field named “Lancashire” (if anyone with local knowledge knows the origin of the name, I would be most interested). Upon taking on the tenancy, I reinstated the fields to their pre-intensive arable status of pasture. Each year has seen the pastures improve and with the help of the cows (some 12 years on) conditions are favourable for mushrooms.
Walking downhill in the direction of Eynsham, I climb over the wooden gate that takes me from my own land to City Farm. Ten years ago, I began the management of this unique 250-acre farm. Entered into a Higher-Level Stewardship scheme, the main objective has been to lightly manage a mosaic of arable and pasture, encouraging and enhancing flora and fauna…it has been a great success. City Farm has never been farmed intensively, resulting in a time capsule of a bygone rural era. Ten years have passed quickly; I feel fortunate to have been custodian of what I call ‘West Oxfordshire’s last piece of rainforest’. As the yellow planning notices display the inexorable progression towards the Garden Village development (which will adversely affect City Farm) I reflect on the countless hours spent at Public meetings in an attempt to highlight the ecological value of this entire area. It will be interesting to see if both promoter and District Council stick to their stated objectives of a net ecological gain for the Garden Village …time will tell. Meanwhile Autumn beckons.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Thanks to those who made it to the Community Orchard on a lovely September morning and to all those who donated redundant materials from your garages, gardens and work places and especially Chris Liversedge of Trinity Properties. The Bug Hotels are now finished and weatherproof (we'll see!) .... we plan to just add a 'green' lid to each one so we can add some additional interest for us and the insects by growing something different on each of the hotels.
The hotels will become home for things like solitary bees, frogs, earwigs, spiders, hedgehogs, voles, lizards, etc. Insects are generally unappreciated for their role in the food web; they are the sole food source for many amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals and will be very useful as pest controls for our organic fruit.
Passersby have been admiring everyone's handywork and some decided to make one for themselves. Here's a link for ideas on how to make one ... from the Eden Project and for schools from the RHS .
RE-USE
Freegle, Freecycle, Charity Shops
&
We Love Woodstock Facebook
SAVE THE LINKS
https://groups.freecycle.org/group/WitneyUK/description
https://www.ilovefreegle.org/explore/Witney-Freegle
https://www.facebook.com/groups/574397086086540/permalink/1278522385674003
FRIENDS OF THE COMMUNITY WOODLAND & ORCHARD
OUTDOORS
& COVID SECURE SOCIAL DISTANCING
Children and vulnerable are warmly welcome but
No obligation at all - we will simply add you to a volunteer list and when you're ready you can join us.
TO ADD YOUR NAME
Email sustainablewoodstockuk@gmail.com
CLICK ON LINK BELOW
9 THINGS
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/climate-action/
Extinction Rebellion XR is a global environmental movement with the aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action so that we avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse. For those who think they might like to be more active take a look at https://www.xroxford.org and sign up for their newsletter. Other groups are out there that may be of similar but different interest such as Greenpeace https://www.greenpeace.org.uk or Friends of the Earth https://friendsoftheearth.uk.
We generate funds for our
projects by selling bags to you or your business
- one at a time is fine by us.
Prices
Jute bags @ £2
Canvas large and small Reduced to £3