A new nature group sprang into action at Daneshill Park Woodlands over the weekend as volunteers gathered for their first session on Saturday (19 September). 

The new Daneshill Park Woodlands Conservation Group has been set up by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Natural Basingstoke to help care for the almost four-and-a-half-hectare local nature reserve in Lychpit, Basingstoke. 

It is the latest addition to a growing network of more than 20 nature groups who work with the council and Natural Basingstoke to enhance over 300 hectares of green space, supporting wildlife and maintaining the areas for future generations to enjoy. 

Daneshill Park Woodlands is home to habitats including hazel coppice, an old orchard, scrub and a historic sunken lane. The reserve also boasts a rich variety of ground flora, including wood anemones, celandines and bluebells. 

Volunteers will help to care for and enhance the woods through activities including surveying wildlife, creating ponds, coppicing, thinning thickets, removing invasive species and maintaining the orchard. 

The group plans to gather on one weekend day each month from 10am to 12 noon. The next meeting is on Saturday 17 October. 

No experience is necessary. All ages are welcome to get involved and people can take part in sessions whenever it is convenient for them. 

The council’s Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecological Emergency Cllr Chris Tomblin said: “It is fantastic that so many local people came together last weekend for the first session of the new Daneshill Park Woodlands Conservation Group, which will make a real difference in the years to come and help the area’s wildlife to thrive. 

“If you aren’t part of a nature group yet, then I encourage you to go to our website to find one nearby that you could join. You don’t need to have any experience or to go to every session. And, by getting involved, you could learn even more about nature and species in our borough, pick up new skills and make new friends too.” 

Chair of local nature conservation charity Natural Basingstoke Gill Smallman said: “We are delighted that Daneshill Park Woodlands has been added to the local sites managed for nature. Massive thanks to everyone who attended the first session of this new group and to all those who regularly give up their time for nature conservation in and around Basingstoke. If you’d like to find out more about what Natural Basingstoke does, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram.”    

Working together with local people and groups to protect and enhance the borough’s natural environment is a priority for the council, supporting its 2021 ecological emergency pledge and the biodiversity strategy it adopted two years ago. 

Anyone interested in volunteering at Daneshill Park Woodlands or in another of the borough’s nature groups should email WildlifeConservation@basingstoke.gov.uk 

A list of local nature conservation groups is on the council's website at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/ConservationGroups