This past year has been a challenge for everyone. Open Spaces, such as the Hook Local Nature Reserve, have been essential for people to enjoy for their physical and mental wellbeing. To this end our volunteer group together with local residents have been working throughout the pandemic to improve the biodiversity of the reserve.
We have clocked up 269 volunteer hours in 2020, planting trees, shrubs and wildflowers to provide food for native species of insects and birds as well as for the enjoyment of those who visit the reserve. The Hook already has a wide variety of plant and animal species, butterfly surveys reveal 17 different species and the local Lady Bay bird watchers have identified 75 different species of birds.
We were delighted to receive funding of £5550.24 from the Co-op Community Fund and thank all of those who chose us as their local cause. This has enabled us to purchase a brush cutter, shrubs, wildflower seeds and plug plants to help us create a wildflower corridor from the community orchard to the surfaced path to the Trent. We have also used the funds to add more fruit trees to the orchard.
We were part of “The Conservation Volunteers” initiative last December to plant a million trees and planted 50 native species as well as 15 saplings donated from the free Rushcliffe trees scheme. Our local councillor, Sue Mallender, successfully applied to extend the avenue of trees along the Trent side path, we now have 20 native trees.
Work will continue by our committee and active volunteers to further improve the Hook and if you would like to join us at our upcoming zoom AGM on Wed 12th May at 8.00pm contact our secretary on; [email protected]with your name, zoom name and email and we will send you an invite during the preceding week. You can also visit our Facebook page www.friendsofthehook.org.uk or join us first Sunday in the month at 2.00 p.m. for our conservation afternoon sessions, meeting at the pond.
- Jeff Mackintosh (Chairperson)