The tree in front of the Old Gaol was chopped down last week as development work moved to the Old Gaol itself and the waterfront.
The Old Gaol Heron will have to find another roost.
Here is a flash back to how the tree used to look – pictured for posterity.
Thanks to Steve for some pictures.
He says “The first was taken at 7.30am yesterday. Not sure if you’ve seen the various rubber marks in the new road surface along Preston Road? But clearly the local nutcases are enjoying the quicker, smoother tarmac. And this car was buried in the hedge outside Thameside School!”
Steve also send a picture of some of the new artwork on Preston Road.
And “a Coots nest along Wilsham Road, sited among the rubbish.”
(Thanks to David from the Abingdon Naturalists for the Report and Jo for the picture)
The wildflower meadow in Barton Fields was cut last Wednesday. This year, the farmer who mows it for us was unable to bale the hay, as his baler had broken down. But the hay needs to be taken off the field, as if it is allowed to rot where it is cut, it would fertilise the ground and encourage rank grasses and nettles to flourish. So we called on the help of our Green Team, who turned out in force. Fifteen volunteers took on the task of raking and stacking the hay with pitchforks, from two and a half acres on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday we were joined by thirteen members of the Abingdon Green Gym, who completed the task for us and also helped with a couple of other tasks on site. In total, about a hundred hours of effort was put in by volunteers over the three days.
Members of our Green Team undertake annual botanical surveys and weekly butterfly counts in transects across the wildflower meadow and adjacent grassland. The meadow was sown and planted in 2009 and since then we have recorded over 50 species of flowering plant who’s abundance has increased year on year. The number of butterflies in the herb-rich meadow is three times that found in adjacent unenhanced grassland. Bees and other insects also benefit from the meadow flowers.
Details of these surveys can be found on the Abingdon Naturalists website: abnats.org.uk/survey.html .
Stonehill House is in the neighbouring parish of Drayton, but with a fence that runs along the south of Abingdon. There was an open day today, with a chance to view the extensive grounds and hear how the current owner would like to see them developed.
One of the guides taking us round said it was an excellent place to watch badgers, bats and deer, and there is a fine wild flower meadow. The sites of the badger sets were very clear to see.
The field separating the grounds of Stonehill House from Abingdon is the one that a developer is currently looking to build 160 houses. That would effectively mean that there would no longer be fields between houses in Abingdon and Drayton.
The owners have plans to create a community garden, and area of wildlife conservation on this site. A representative from the Bridewell Organic Gardens charity near Witney spoke about how they would like to develop a therapeutic gardening project at Stonehill House – for people who have experienced mental ill-health difficulties.
There will be another Open Day, about May next year, to allow more local people to find out more about all the plans for the grounds of Stonehill House.