Local Eco News 📰
Well the darling buds of May are out and blooming, and so can you be – with help from this month’s guide to eco news and events!
New Accessible Planters at Exeter Hall
With funding from Cherwell District Council the Kidlington Growing Spaces initiative have purchased four new accessible planters for outside the back of Exeter Hall as well as a water butt, compost, and extra tools etc. The new planters are designed to be usable for wheelchair users and those with mobility challenges.
An enthusiastic group has come together around these and has decided to fill them with edibles – flowers, herbs and vegetables – to showcase what can be grown in a small space and through companion planting.
Here is the new sign for Ron Groves Play Area planters, wonderfully decorated by a couple of young helpers 😊
On How it is Actually Very Easy to Become a Local Naturalist (and Biodiversity Hero)
One way to help local conservation efforts, and check the wanton encroachment of concrete onto our beleaguered local green belt, is to become an amateur naturalist and help document local biodiversity. You can begin right now, by reaching for your mobile, opening your phone’s ‘app store’, and searching for and downloading the free iNaturalist app. Go on, do it right now. I don’t mind waiting…
All done? Next time you’re out and about on a walk in St Mary’s fields, or on the land behind the Moors, in Park Hill copse, or along the canal towpath, why not open it up and use the app to take a snap of an interesting wildflower, or mushroom, beetle, or bird? Not only will the app help you identify it, it’ll also log its location and thereafter provide local conservationists with a data point they can then use in their advocacy for local biodiversity and advise to local government.
The Kidlington Canal Towpath Task Force had a go last week at their monthly meet up. Alex Higginbottom, of the Canal & River Trust, reported back: ‘It was super successful, with a great number of endangered species of plant and animal catalogued. On Tuesday, more ‘observations’ were added to iNaturalist along the canal than in the whole of 2024’.
Why not have a go yourself next time you take a stroll? Enjoy nature today, and help safeguard it for tomorrow.
A final few snaps showing the colour-rich and filigreed explosions of Coronation Garden this month!
Have your Say 📢
A last chance, if you haven’t yet done so (deadline is today – 19th May) to feedback to the initial review stage about the local rights of way plan. Is there a footpath you know that’s been overrun with brambles? A gate or stile that’s fallen into disrepair? A supposedly ‘accessible’ route that no longer deserves such an adjective? Let the county council know by submitting a response via their survey page by clicking here.
Calendar 📆
Want to know what ecological things are going on locally over the next few weeks? Keep an eye out for some bonus extras in celebration of Big Green Week (9th-15th June)!
| May 2025 | |
| ㉔ | Eco-Café | St Mary’s Church, Church Street (OX5 2BB) | 10:30 to Noon – Come along for St Mary’s monthly café in the church – with tea, coffee, conversation about things ecological and, well, anything else you want to chat about. |
| ㉖ | Growing Spaces Gardening Session | Mon 26th May, 10-11am | Lyne Road Green (OX5 1AE) – Join us as we meet to tend the community planters on the green. All very welcome; tools provided; no experience necessary. For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk |
| June 2025 | |
| ② | Growing Spaces Gardening Session | Mon 2nd June, 10-11am | Exeter Close Play Area (OX5 1AB) – All very welcome; tools provided; no experience necessary. For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk |
| ③ | Kidlington Towpath Taskforce | Tues 3rd Jun, 10am-2pm | Roundham Lock, Partridge Place OX5 1SL – Come and help improve the canal environment through Kidlington at these drop-in volunteer working parties run by Canal & River Trust. Something for all skill levels. Come for all or part of the time. Sign-up at Canal & River Trust Minimum age 18. |
| Growing Spaces Gardening Session | Tues 3rd June 1.30-2pm | Meet by the planters at the back of Exeter Hall opposite the doctors surgery for some lovely company and light gardening tasks as we grow edibles in our accessible planters for the community to enjoy. For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk | |
| ANHSO Talk | Tues 3rd June, 8pm | Kidlington Methodist Church – Liam Crowley – “A biodiversity baseline of the Begbroke development” The Begbroke Innovation District is a major new infrastructure development that provides a unique opportunity for research on implementing sustainable developments and achieving biodiversity net gain (BNG). We are establishing a biodiversity baseline to lay the foundations for this long-term research. The baseline data will provide the template and platform for re-surveys during and through the life of the Begbroke development.Dr Liam Crowley is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology, University of Oxford. He is an ecologist, specialising in entomology and biodiversity monitoring.Free to ANHSO members, a £3 donation from visitors is appreciated. | |
| ⑤ | KEG Meeting | Thurs 5th June, 1pm | Committee Room, Exeter Hall (OX5 1AB) – Join representatives of different local eco groups and enthusiasts to connect, communicate and collaborate. |
| ⑦ | St Mary’s Fields Work Party | Sat 7th June, 10am-12pm | St Mary’s carpark (OX5 2BA) – Join the team of volunteers working on some early summer tasks, encourage nature and monitor river quality. Also enjoy a well-earned slice of Julia or Rosie’s homemade cake at half time! |
| BIG GREEN WEEK (9th – 15th JUNE) | |
| ⑪ | Creating Mini Ecosystems for Insects | Weds 11th Jun, 3.15-5pm | West Kidlington School (Oxford Rd, OX5 1EA) – Join us at West Kidlington Nursery School to create your very own mini ecosystems to help our insect friends thrive. These mini-worlds will be made in trough planters with real plug plants, water dishes and stick and stone piles. Feel free to get creative – why not make little tunnels or underground sections too?For more information and to book a ticket see the Wild Oxfordshire eventbrite page here. |
| ⑫ | Woodland Trust Stratfield Brake Task Group | Thurs 12th Jun, 10am-1pm | Stratfield Brake, Frieze Way (OX5 1UP) – Sign up to help carry out a variety of practical tasks under the guidance of the Woodland Trust Site Manager, to keep the site looking great and pathways accessible, as well as help manage the woodland in line with management plans. A great way to learn skills and meet new people, the Working Group also directly contributes to the care and upkeep of valuable habitats. Volunteers need to sign up via the Woodland Trust volunteers page here. |
| Wildflower Species Surveying Training Session | Thurs 12th Jun, 10am-12pm | St Mary’s carpark (OX5 2BA) – Join Wild Oxfordshire’s Community Ecology team for a session learning how to survey for and identify different wildflowers at St Mary’s Fields. Please bring suitable clothing for an outdoor session, a bottle of water and a clipboard if you own one. Any wildflower identification guides you may have may also be helpful. For more info and to book a place visit the eventbrite page here. | |
| ⑯ | Growing Spaces Gardening Session | Mon 16th June, 7.30-8.30pm | Ron Groves Play Area – come and muck in as we care for the planters in the play area, growing herbs and flowers to brighten up the park and provide a stop-off for passing pollinators! For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk |
| ⑲ | Growing Spaces Gardening Session | Thurs 19th June, 1.30-2.15pm | Meet by the planters at the back of Exeter Hall opposite the doctors surgery for some lovely company and light gardening tasks as we grow edibles in our accessible planters for the community to enjoy. For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk |
| ㉑ | Park Hill Monthly Garden Work Party | Sat 21st Jun, 10am – 12pm| Park Hill Recreation Ground (OX5 2DA) – Come and join the volunteers planting, socialising and developing the community garden space in the park. For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk |
| ㉘ | Eco-Café | Sat 28th Jun, 10:30am to Noon | St Mary’s Church, Church Street (OX5 2BB) – Come along for St Mary’s monthly café in the church – with tea, coffee, conversation about things ecological and, well, anything else you want to chat about. |
| ㉚ | Growing Spaces Gardening Session | Mon 30th June, 10-11am | Lyne Road Green (OX5 1AE) – Join us as we meet to tend the community planters on the green. All very welcome; tools provided; no experience necessary. For more info contact growspace@kidlington-pc.gov.uk |
If you have any local eco news or events to feed in to our next monthly digest please email: kidlingtonecogroup@gmail.com
Our next KEG meeting is on Thurs 5th June, from 1pm @ Exeter Hall in the committee room. All welcome!
Kidlington Eco Group 
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