WINTER - WORK GOES ON IN ALL WEATHERS

Winter has brought more than enough rain already but work continues for Hills Farm Conservation Group.

(please click on the headings above to find out more, such as NEXT MEET

or scroll down here to see previous posts )

Our meet on 22nd December 2013 started in relentless rain. Here

are some of the group suitably dressed for the very muddy work.

Is there no end to this ? The Skypliers proved to be very effective

at grabbing the booms from the river - note the water level!

 The pollution incident upstream last September left a number of soak up booms in the river around the surface-water pipe outfall across Guildford Road some distance upstream. These were left by the EA, became detached during heavy rainfall and washed downstream, eventually reaching our area.

To date we have retrieved 5 of them! 

WHILST WE WERE REMOVING ONE OF THE BOOMS - A KINGFISHER MADE A FLYPAST ALONG THE RIVER

That's why we do what we are doing!

AUTUMN 2013 ON THE RIVERSIDE

HILLS FARM CONSERVATION GROUP

After a very busy Summer, autumn has arrived quite suddenly.

The River Arun on 28th October 2013 - after the 'Storm' the river is running high and fast,

quite normal for this time of the year and looking as it should do, with rich river bank vegetation and willows with roots binding the banks, preventing erosion and collapse and providing shelter and backwaters where small creatures can take refuge

Road works nearby have added to our list of tasks - here we are

salvaging a WSCC Highways wheelbarrow, thrown into the river.

It has now been repaired and may be useful to us in the future! 

Never ending - throughout the year, trolleys will always

appear.

HILLS FARM CONSERVATION GROUP JULY 2013 NEWS

Some of our group members ready for action along the Riverside

July so far has been very warm and dry,  good weather for butterflies ranging along the banks, for Bumblebees on the Bramble flowers and clover - and for damselflies emerging from the river.

A news briefing on the local development has been send to members, giving updated schedules for the various phases.

We are already planning for winter work - can we do more to improve our natural environment? We hope to plant more early-flowering native plants and bulbs in places where they will be of benefit to wildlife in the spring, where at present there are only empty stretches of 'amenity grass'

Please scroll down this page to find out about our group and how to join us. Click on the headings at the top of the page for more information about dates when we meet, tools and safety, wildlife and conservation

Midsummer and still Singing

Loud song from many birds along the river during the past few days, even during very dull, overcast and misty weather. Song thrushes are the loudest and are singing most of the day, with chiffchaffs, wrens, whitethroats, blackbirds, robins and chaffinches all joining the daytime chorus. This indicates more nest-building and more broods of young to come during the next few weeks and months.

Flowering Guelder Rose on the river bank amongst luxuriant undergrowth, good for butterflies, dragonflies, bees and birds. The bright red berries of the Guelder Rose attract the mistle thrush and bullfinch during the autumn and winter.

Summer arrives on the Riverside

HILLS FARM CONSERVATION GROUP

Scroll down to find out about the area we cover and where we meet. Click on the headings at the top of this page to find out about our next meet, tools and safety, our history, wildlife and conservation and the group in action.

FROM THE TOP: COMMA butterfly basking on last years dry nettle stems,

 SMALL TORTOISESHELL basking on the wooden bridge,  BRIMSTONE on fresh Bramble leaf and PEACOCK basking on nettles, all on the River Bank here.

Our Banner which we display on days when we are working along the riverside.

The date of the next meet is shown so that interested passers-by can take note

and maybe join us! We don't wait for spring to arrive however but meet each month

all through the year.

A view of early 2013

HILLS FARM CONSERVATION GROUP

A view of the river Arun looking towards Highwood Hill.

February 2013 was a cold month and this was taken on a rare day when the sun appeared.  This stretch of the river, together with its tributary, Boldings Brook is 'our patch' where we work.

Please see all the information about our Group on the previous post and by clicking on the headings at the top of the page.