Events related to the appeal
All at Minsterley Parish Hall or at the meadows, EXCEPT Dragonfly Safari which is a Pam’s Pools https://pamspools.co.uk/
To book into these events email conference@middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk
Hedge & meadow walk and picnic at Minsterley Meadows- Friday 5th July
Join Megan & Rob
Megan Gimber (People’s Trust for Endangered Species) is a hedgerow enthusiast and expert.
Rob Rowe is an ecologist with a particular interest in plants and fungi.
This is a joint CPRE Shropshire & Middle Marches Community Land Trust event to raise funds for the Minsterley Meadows appeal
Friday 5th July book via conference@middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk
Minsterley Meadows Fundraiser event: The Natural Garden – Sunday 7th July, Minsterley Parish Hall – Callow room, 10 am – 2.30pm
Join Nancy Lowe for a day about natural gardens – that hum with life, where gentle, organic gardening methods are used to control pests and weeds; where enjoyment of a beautiful and bountiful environment can be shared with birds, butterflies, frogs, hedgehogs, ladybirds and other welcome wildlife visitors.
Nancy is an RHS qualified organic gardener, ecological garden designer and permaculturalist
Bookings via conference@middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk
Dragonfly safari Thursday 11 July, 10-3 at PAMS POOLS https://pamspools.co.uk/
(fallback date if weather unsuitable is Thursday 25 July)
Join Shropshire Dragonfly Recorder Sue Rees Evans for a walk in the wilds at Pam’s Pools.
The aim of the day is to identify and record as many different species of dragonfly and damselfly as we can whilst taking the opportunity to learn about their fascinating lifecycle.
The reserve is fairly large and so the full day will cover a distance of around 4km, partly over rough wet ground.
An opportunity to hear about the lifecycle of these fabulous fliers and practice your dragon/damselfly ID skills around the pools.
Bookings via: conference@middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk
https://middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk/dragonfly-safari-11-7-24/
SSSI Meadows and their importance: A talk by Simon Cooter – Tuesday 23rd July , 7-9pm
Minsterley Parish Hall – Callow room
Simon is the Natural England Senior Reserves Manager at Stiperstones National Nature Reserve
Music & supper event , Val Sinclair & Shades of Indigo – Friday 16th August
Minsterley Parish Hall – Hall
Details to be confirmed
Barn Owl Talk, Tuesday 17th September , 7-9pm
Minsterley Parish Hall – Callow room
Come and hear the Shropshire Barn Owl Group talk about how Barn Owls are faring in the county.
SBOG over the last 22 years have installed 530 nest boxes around the county.
Please come along and see if their nestboxes have made a difference.
We will learn about the main reason for Barn Owl decline and what we can do to help these beautiful birds increase and thrive.
Report – bird walk at Roundton, 12th May
We enjoyed a walk in lovely weather – catching the last day of what for 2024 has been a unique warm and dry spell – around the Roundton nature reserve, spotting and/or hearing a total of 25 species.
The usually resident peregrines were not around, but highlights included excellent views of redstart, whitecap, linnet and stonechat, as well as this chap, since identified (thanks Rob!) as a speckled yellow moth.
Many thanks to Leo Smith for his leading of the walk.
Plant Group events 2024
The new programme of Plant Group events for the upcoming year is now out. From trees to rare species and fungi, there is something for everyone!
Check out the programme here.
Stepping Stones News
The Stepping Stones project has announced its Species Action Plans for twelve key species. Three of the species are Mountain Pansy, Cowberry and Devils Bit Scabious. If you spot any of these, the Stepping Stones team would really like you to record when and where and to let them know.
There’s full instructions on how to do all this – including how to identify the species in the first place! – here.
Yellow rattle collection – volunteer dates
It’s meadow season again! Our local meadows are once again looking beautiful – full of flowers and the hum of insects.
Many of you will know about yellow rattle, an important meadow species and one that plays a key role in meadow creation. It is semi-parasitic on grass species, so can help to suppress the more dominant, coarser grass species and give finer grasses and wildflowers a chance to establish.
We are organising two volunteer sessions to collect yellow rattle seed from Jinlye Meadows, All Stretton. You can either collect for your own use, or if you don’t have a specific need for it yourself you can help us collect some for distribution to other local meadow/verge creation projects.
There are two planned dates:
1. Tuesday 9th July, 2-4pm;
2. Wednesday 10th July, 2-4pm.
Click here for more details and to book on either session.
Welcome
About us
The Camlad Valley Community Wildlife Group (CVCWG) was set up to help local people help local wildlife. The group provides a chance to learn and get that little bit closer to some of our most fascinating plants and animals.
Participating in the group provides an opportunity to find out about the distinctive wildlife of the Camlad Valley and the area surrounding Corndon Hill and to share your local wildlife knowledge. You will receive free expert training and a chance to engage in local opportunities to perform valuable conservation work and have fun at the same time.
An annual report is issued each year, summarising the activities and accomplishments of the past twelve months and laying out plans for the forthcoming period. You can read our reports here.
Alongside other local wildlife groups, we participate in an annual survey of Curlew and Lapwing, and there are projects to protect and enhance diversity of the local flora.
Area of Interest
The geographical extent of the CVCWG’s activities is shown on the map adjacent (please click to enlarge), expressed in terms of tetrads (the 2 km x 2 km squares used in surveying many types of wildlife).
The area includes Churchstoke, Hyssington, Priest Weston and Chirbury, so lies partly in England and partly in Wales. As a result, we have ties not only with the other Shropshire Wildlife Groups but also Powys-based bodies such as the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust.
More information
To join the Camlad Valley CWG or to get more information, please contact:
Sandy Scott (Secretary) or Peter Fenner (Website Minder) at camladvalley@shropscwgs.org.uk
Follow us
Area of Interest
What we do
BARN OWL SIGHTINGS
We want to hear of any Barn Owl sightings so that we can erect nesting boxes where they will be most likely to be used. Find out more about how you can help.
Curlew Surveys
Are curlew numbers continuing to decline? The only way we can tell is by surveying them. These means boots on the ground – will you add yours?
Reports
Click through to view or download our annual reports from 2014 -2023.
Here you can find out about our findings during the year and what we hope to achieve in future.
See what we’ve been up to
Past Events
Fungi walk at Roundton
On Sunday 16th October, the group returned once again to the beautiful Roundton Nature Reserve near Churchstoke. This time, we were on the hunt for fungi. The remarkably dry year so far had meant some fungi species were quite late in their usual development, but...
Plant walk at Roundton
The Group was recently able to host its first event since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, a walk exploring the plant life on the Roundton Nature Reserve near Churchstoke. Numbers on the walk were limited to minimise the Covid risk, but the small group who...
2020 AGM
We held our AGM at Churchstoke Community Hall on 12th February. After the requisite AGM admin covered the Group’s Chair, Mary Napper, we had reports from Leo Smith and Rob Rowe on the respective activities of the Bird and Plant Groups. After a refreshment break, we...
Interested in joining?
Anyone who lives or works in the area, or has an interest in its wildlife, and who wants to actively contribute to local knowledge and conservation, is welcome. Membership is free.
Enthusiasm and interest in the area are far more important than specialist knowledge. Group members are assisted by experts in the relevant fields: they provide training to anyone who wants it on such topics as species identification, how to carry out a simple surveys and how to record the results. Survey work is easy and enjoyable, and members will learn new skills.
Join
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Support
The Camlad Valley Community Wildlife Group received financial support from the Stiperstones & Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The lead organisation for the Scheme is the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership, and the Scheme is hosted by Shropshire Council. Please see www.stiperstonesandcorndon.co.uk
