John Killick led a tour of the garden at St Ethelwold’s House on the theme of biodiversity.

He spoke about how, throughout history, humans have spread across the world and hunted many animals to extinction. In more recent times, large areas of the earth’s surface have been covered with hard materials such as aggregate which reduces natural habitats.

The group visited a rock supporting lichens, a cooperative growth of fungus and algae, before learning about grasses, which are wind-pollinated and do not rely on insects. John discussed which flowers best support insects, and the role of trees in providing habitats. The garden’s walnut tree, though not native, still benefits many creatures – and an oak tree would support even more.

Afterwards, thanks to Susie and other volunteers, scones were served

Donations were invited for the St Ethelwold’s building appeal, which is now well over halfway to its £70,000 target (currently at £44,000). Thanks to a generous supporter, any contributions made this month (from the 10th Sept to 10th Oct) will be matched – up to £10,000 – doubling their impact.

Here is an update on three infrastructure projects that this blog has reported on recently:

The hole in the retaining wall and the bridge uprights at the site of the former Upper Reaches Hotel are being repaired.

The new footbridge at the Kings Gate estate is now in use, although one sign still reads ‘Footpath Ahead Closed.’

The Cattle Market car park, once the poor relation of Abingdon’s car parks, now has brickwork parking bays in place of tarmac.

On arriving at the Tesco Superstore in Abingdon, visitors are now met with blue fencing enclosing large areas of vegetation.

The fencing surrounds the trees, bushes, and undergrowth, as well as the deep water storage areas and ditches.

In the area with a ditch between Tesco and the new hotel, the undergrowth and smaller trees have been cut back and chipped.

The fencing carries signs saying: “Building Infrastructure Improvement – Improving your environment for the better.” However, no details have been provided in what way it will be better.

Clearing vegetation will make the site more accessible for further development. As no planning applications are visible, my first guess is that this is a drainage improvement project — to try to reduce the frequent flooding of the Tesco car park.

But if anybody knows better then please let us know.

Work has begun on replacing the gas boilers at the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre in Abingdon. The contractor has taken over the centre’s overflow car park.

The new heating will be Air Source Heat Pumps, powered by 600 new solar panels on the roof. The project is funded by the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, Community Infrastructure Levy (developer funding), and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

There should not be much disruption to users as most of the work is outside or on the roof. Similar work will be carried out at the Wantage Leisure Centre. It is expected to be completed by March 2026, and the council estimates it will reduce overall carbon usage by over 25%.