Puttenham Common Update February 2024
The first 2024 update on Puttenham Common! As ever, thank you for all your support, I had the most beautiful walk around the heathland last weekend and was serenaded by woodlarks singing their hearts out. Seems spring is on its way!
We are now into the second year of our heathland restoration project, and things are getting really exciting. A few plans/activities to update you on:
Puttenham Common Working Party – March 15th 2024 10-2pm
We thought it would be fun to all get together for a Working Party on Puttenham Common. Essentially a day to be outside, doing some important nature restoration together. We are going to host our first Working Party on Friday 15th March, meeting in the Top Car Park at 10.00am, and finishing by 2.00pm. We will be clearing birch scrub off the Hillfort, which is important to do for the archaeology and also encourages heather growth. We will provide all the necessary hand saws, loppers and training. We will also cook some Hampton venison sausages for everyone to enjoy, but you are also welcome to bring your own picnic, the more the merrier. We’d love to see as many of you as possible, do bring friends and family too! If you would like to join us, please fill in this form so we have an idea of numbers.
The Little Coffee Pantry
Hopefully you have met Rochelle who is running The Little Coffee Pantry from her beautiful horse truck on Top Car Park. She is open Thursdays and Fridays 9am – 12pm and Saturdays and Sundays 9am – 3pm. She serves the most delicious coffee and epic selection of home made cakes and treats. Do pop up and say hello to her if you haven’t already!
Species monitoring and BioBlitz
A real focus for us this year is on species monitoring on Puttenham Common, we want to collect more information on the animals and plants that we find on the common. We are preparing a monitoring plan and are planning to host a BioBlitz on Puttenham Common in the summer, partnering with Surrey Wildlife Trust and Heathland Connections. This will be a really exciting event for everyone to enjoy and learn more about the common’s biodiversity, so watch this space as we release more details.
Cows, trees and birds
The cows will be returning to Puttenham Common in May and we will host more Meet The Cows events after their success last year. We have started the timber extraction from the boggy mire valleys, please excuse the track marks as the timber is collected, once it is finished we will tidy it back up. Finally, bird nesting season will begin soon (March – Sept) so we will be putting some signs up to remind people to keep their dogs under control to give our precious heathland birds the best chances of survival.
As ever, any questions or exciting sightings do let us know.
Best wishes, Molly