Willow Holt - 1999 & Ongoing.
Background.
F.R.E.G were delighted to be offered the opportunity to form a partnership with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to help with the site management of the "Willow Holt" nature reserve situated at the far end of the Village .
This 24 acre site is a national treasure on the Village's "doorstep". It is one of the last remaining survivors of the working willow holts that were once a feature of many Trentside Villages like ours. Complete with Retting pools it offers a fascinating insight into the Village's recent past .
The area was first protected, then expanded, by the well known local botanists, the Howitt family. Inherited from them by the Wildlife Trust, in the later years of their lives, it needed some restoration and general care .
Their fantastic legacy to the Village & wider public contains one of the finest, internationally known, collection of over 36 different Willow species and their hybrids .
The Trust's stated aim for the Holt reads as follows :
"The Trust will work to restore natural hedging, pollard the large willows and manage the Willow Holt to restore the collection and to improve the wildlife habitats.
The Trust will work with the Tenant farmer to ensure that the pasture is managed to enable an increase in the number and diversity of the wildflower species".
F.R.E.Gs Partnership with the Trust.
It would have been criminally negligent for the group not to have become involved in such a laudable project!
The Wildlife Trust have also partnered the Frandon Watch Group. They meet every second Saturday and encourage youngsters from 8 to 13yrs old to get a better understanding of our local wildlife and environment. They are an award winning group (see the article below).
The group were pleased to assist with the construction of a hut in the grounds of the Holt to allow a "nature watch" program. This idyllic enclave, situated in the heart of the Holt, also allows the Children from the Village schools to attend a program of events. This will be designed to teach them to appreciate the wildlife and plants native to the area and learn of the history & tradition associated with their own Village .
Nothing could better suit our own mission statement, "To encourage everyone to work together to improve our village for the future", as they most directly represent that future .
Progress to date.
Our initial efforts saw us accepted as local wardens for the reserve. "Eyes and ears on the ground" keeping a watchful eye on the area and lifting a burden from the Trust members .
The hut is now complete and in use by St Peter's school and the local Village Watch group. The Holt also now features in our planned walks around the Village which visit wildflower and wildlife habitat sites in an attempt to broaden interest in our local environment .
We regularly join with the Notts Wildlife team and their excellent local leader, John Black, to assist with site maintenance. We are connecting with the Watch group on these events where it offers them opportunities to be involved.
In 2006 we were very proud to participate in a major replanting program on the site. Follow the link below to learn more.
There is plenty more to do, the more the merrier!
From the Wildlife Trust:
The site is used regularly by children from the local Wildlife Watch group and there are plans to open up a circular walk around the site starting at the car park by the river in Farndon. Restoration and management work carried out over the last few years has made the site more accessible and it is hoped that the new willow collection will prove popular with both local residents and botanists.