Wenhaston- Alan Miller / Ann Follows –

Blyth Woods Blyth Woods – Creating community wild spaces in Suffolk

Wenhaston Commons Group Wenhaston Commons Group » Wenhaston with Mells Hamlet (onesuffolk.net)

Wilder Wenhaston Wilder Wenhaston » Wenhaston with Mells Hamlet (onesuffolk.net)

Save our Swifts Action Group Wenhaston Save Our Swifts Action Group » Wenhaston with Mells Hamlet (onesuffolk.net)

Wenhaston Commons group. Established 40 years ago. Manages the five village commons including 50 acres of Blackheath which is under a Countryside Stewardship agreement, the remainder are self funded.

Blyth Woods CIC, which grew out of Wenhaston Energy group searching for sustainable firewood. Purchased 2 fields, adjacent to the ancient woodland of Vicarage Grove. Mix of natural regeneration and planting. Two large ponds have been restored.The local primary school children are involved in raising and planting trees from local sources.

To date over 8000 trees have been planted, including black poplars and wild service trees.

Two BW members are Tree Wardens

The Wenhaston Save Our Swifts Group was established in 2017 educating and erecting boxes throughout the village.

A 20 month long what was initially a Garden Birdwatch during Covid resulted in a Wildlife Audit of Wenhaston. This gave birth to Wilder Wenhaston which now has a number of projects running including;

A Heritage tree project, mapping significant trees. ‘If it ain’t recorded it don’t exist’ motto.

Pond and hedges projects in the wider countryside.

Wenhaston Wilder Gardens project.

Blyth river monitoring group, led by Will Harvey monitoring water quality in the River Blyth working with Anglian Water.

Here are the links to the various Wenhaston groups web sites for you to add to the ASH website

Halesworth Millennium Green – Nicky Rowbottom

https://millenniumgreen.halesworth.net 

Biggest Millennium Green in the country – 50 acres of public open space in the floodplain of the Blyth. Made up of grazing marsh, wildflower meadow, species-rich fen, mature and young woodland, acid grass heath, ponds and stretches of river. Purchased in 2000, prime mover Richard Woolnough.
Constituted as a charity, runs weekly with work parties. Conservation management all done by volunteers and (in summer) cows.
Arthur’s Wood planted 2005, community orchard planted 2008, Angel Wood planted 2015. Several waterways run through the Green: the Town River, the New Reach (a navigation dug in 1760), and the River Blyth.
Coordinates the Blyth Otter group, monitoring otter activity on the Blyth and tributaries. 

Ed Flaxman / Wissett

Landscape Architect and founder of environmentally conscious design practice Studio 31.
Wissett Parish Councillor and lead on a biodiversity action plan for Wissett.
Working with Natural Habitat with a focus on connectivity and access across local landscapes.

Carrie Phoenix / Natural Habitat, Bramfield
www.naturalhabitat.org.uk or instagram: @naturalhabitatcommunity 

Founder and Executive Director of Natural Habitat, a new local environmental charity, using collaborative, participatory projects to create accessible learning opportunities focusing on conservation and positive land-use. 

The charity was founded in early 2023 with a small group of diverse local people, including ecologist Jonanthan Vaughan MBE who is now Natural Habitat’s Chair of Trustees. The charity aims to create a combination of outreach projects within the local community, as well as providing showcasing and collaborative opportunities via a headquarters site in Bramfield that is being secured at this time. Projects will engage schools and local communities to strengthen connections to land, nature and each other.

Forthcoming projects in 2024 include activity generously funded by Farming in Protected Landscapes, that will work with Blyth Valley Cluster Farms, local primary schools, refugee organisations and an array of experts from artists to ecologists. 

You can find out more about Natural Habitat and get in touch via the website or instagram page.

Holton Pits CIC  

Holton Pits Community Interest Company constituted in February 2023, to buy and manage the 20 acre former gravel quarry known as Holton Pits which had been put up for sale by its then owners CEMEX and which was at risk of development. The site has effectively ‘rewilded’ since quarrying ended in the 1960s, and has been used by the local, and wider, communities as an open space and fishing lake since then.
The essential vision for the site, as determined by the community, is to keep the site as a public open space and maintain its biodiversity.

Ecotherapy East, Bramfield – Sebastiana and Rob Black-

Regenerating and increasing biodiversity on the lovely 12-acre Church Farm meadow we steward in Bramfield with the help of community and volunteers since 2020. We planted over 500 trees, mostly in hedgerows, a few in groves, and patches of wildflowers. We take care of a pond.

We have 3 broad goals:
– To promote well-being, personal growth, and healing through nature-based activities and ecotherapy work which includes cultivating a sense of reciprocity, respect and reverence towards the more-than-human world
– To increase awareness of the natural world and deepen our relationship with it using walks, talks and active learning
– To help regenerate natural ecosystems and biodiversity employing practical tasks on and with the land

Fiona Ryder – Bramfield Village Green

Bramfield Village Hall (Charity number 304710) is transforming a 1.3 acre former grazing field site in the centre of Bramfield into a new village green; a bio-diverse, community centric space for the village, with wildflower meadow, community orchard and space for children to play. The village has been campaigning for just over a year and has raised a significant sum to fund the purchase of the field and begin the transformation process. 

Halesworth tree warden – Lisa Simmonds –

Tree warden for Halesworth. Sits on Leisure and Environment Town Council meeting. Grows trees from seed. Member of Suffolk Tree Warden Network

Geoff Wakeling – Brimwood Farm , Bramfield

https://www.brimwoodfarm.com/

Brimwood Farm Regenerative farming in Bramfield over 37 acres. Also East Suffolk Councillor.

Kaliwood and Land – Rachel Kellett https://kaliwood.wordpress.com/

Kalwood, oak-nuttery, bought back into coppice cycle. Now 10 years (purchased 2014)
Home to Kinda Forest School.
Rachel’s Field – 17 acres recently purchased – natural regeneration, community projects.

Halesworth Town Councillor. Coordinator of Halesworth Climate Action Conference with Blyth Valley Churches/)