In 2021 the Park's ponds were used for a botany training course
See Judy's retweet of photos by David Morris, County Recorder for Oxfordshire, of his first botany training course, which he held in the park on 23 May 2021 together with Oli Pescott (@sacrevert), Botanist and Plant Ecologist at UKCEH, Wallingford. The 'guinea pigs' for the course came from Oxford Brookes University and environmental consultancy firm Bioscan.
See Judy's retweet of photos by David Morris, County Recorder for Oxfordshire, of his first botany training course, which he held in the park on 23 May 2021 together with Oli Pescott (@sacrevert), Botanist and Plant Ecologist at UKCEH, Wallingford. The 'guinea pigs' for the course came from Oxford Brookes University and environmental consultancy firm Bioscan.
Below: some volunteering events 2019 to end 2021 (reverse chronological order) Earlier volunteering
5 December 2021 Last volunteering event of the year With a NW wind blowing across the park, hardy volunteers carried out more scything and raking, mowing and hacking, to ensure that rank vegetation doesn't smother the smaller wildflowers as they appear in the spring. Local City Councillor Barbara Coyne joined in.The huge amount of such work carried out in recent years by volunteers has transformed the south (Harberton Mead) side of the park. Judy brought some delicious home-made muffins, much appreciated by all. Some interesting discoveries were made during the morning. Photos here - taken by Judy unless indicated otherwise |
31 October 2021 Two expert scythers, Jim Ballantyne and Richard Queralt, came to help regular FoMFNP volunteers with the autumn cutting down of vegetation. The scythers did a very efficient and effective job, particularly on the brambles and the spiny restharrow, which had spread over a large area since five plants were introduced about six years ago. Photos of the volunteers at work, among them two videos of the scythers, and also photos of the lurid pink bolete fungus, Suillellus luridus, found by Judy in the park that day - here
5 September 2021 Pond maintenance carried out by FoMFNP volunteers
As ponds get older they accumulate nutrients and sludge, which causes excessive growth of plants and/or algae. Weed growing below water surface has to be raked out and vigorous plants in and around the pond have to be controlled to prevent them completely covering the water. On the same day, moorhen chicks were spotted once again. The pond area where they were was avoided, so they were not disturbed. Chris Brewer's lovely photos taken on 12 August are included in the album of photos of the pond maintenance event: click here.
4 June 2021 Compliment on the park from ASA Landscape Architects who tweeted:
'Playgrounds, gateways to adventure & imagination. We love designing play spaces connecting communities with wildlife & want to recognise Milham Ford Nature Park, a much-loved site with play equipment, wildflower meadow, ditches & pond'.
To which Judy responded: 'Thanks for this accolade. Yes it all works well, but stream & ponds had benefit of a natural spring fed water source & heavy Oxford clay for the pond basin, plus excellent hydrological design at the start of wetland construction in 2008-9'. Tweets here
As ponds get older they accumulate nutrients and sludge, which causes excessive growth of plants and/or algae. Weed growing below water surface has to be raked out and vigorous plants in and around the pond have to be controlled to prevent them completely covering the water. On the same day, moorhen chicks were spotted once again. The pond area where they were was avoided, so they were not disturbed. Chris Brewer's lovely photos taken on 12 August are included in the album of photos of the pond maintenance event: click here.
4 June 2021 Compliment on the park from ASA Landscape Architects who tweeted:
'Playgrounds, gateways to adventure & imagination. We love designing play spaces connecting communities with wildlife & want to recognise Milham Ford Nature Park, a much-loved site with play equipment, wildflower meadow, ditches & pond'.
To which Judy responded: 'Thanks for this accolade. Yes it all works well, but stream & ponds had benefit of a natural spring fed water source & heavy Oxford clay for the pond basin, plus excellent hydrological design at the start of wetland construction in 2008-9'. Tweets here
25 April 2021 Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to the park for a morning and afternoon session and did a splendid job clearing unwanted vegetation from the stream under the guidance of Rod d'Ayala. Judy Webb, who was there in the morning but had to go to Cothill Fen in the afternoon, tweeted her appreciation. Photos here
18 March 2021 Masses of frogspawn in the ponds, with a few frogs visible above it - photos by Ellen Lee
18 March 2021 Masses of frogspawn in the ponds, with a few frogs visible above it - photos by Ellen Lee
28 February 2021 Rod D'Ayala, a consultant ecologist specialising in water management, carried out repairs to the dams built in the stream during 2020 to slow water flow and prevent bank erosion in periods of heavy rainfall. They had suffered damage due to being used as bridges by visitors to the park. Judy Webb mowed areas of the park where early growth of grass and 'thug' plants (such as Michaelmas daisies) has to be kept in check in early spring to allow smaller wild flowers to push through and flower. Photos are here
27 February 2021 Dr Edward Norris-Cervetto, Consultant in Emergency & Prehospital Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals / Thames Valley Air Ambulance, took this lovely photo of a Smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris. The newt was returned safely to the pond.
In 2020, in addition to his voluntary mowing in the park, Rod carried out some paid work on the stream course and ponds funded by a grant from the Freshwater Habitats Trust. This financial help is much appreciated by the Friends of Milham Ford Nature Park. Clearing away of tall vegetation that suffocates less vigorous species is being done in preparation for introducing some smaller, more valuable plants in the stream course and at the side of the ponds. Rod has also been creating dams (mounds of earth) along the stream bed to slow the rapid flow of water that occurs after a period of heavy rain, thus reducing erosion of the banks. See photos of the park and Rod's work, taken on 7 July 2020 and of his subsequent work, taken on 11 July 2020 and 23 July 2020
27 February 2021 Dr Edward Norris-Cervetto, Consultant in Emergency & Prehospital Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals / Thames Valley Air Ambulance, took this lovely photo of a Smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris. The newt was returned safely to the pond.
In 2020, in addition to his voluntary mowing in the park, Rod carried out some paid work on the stream course and ponds funded by a grant from the Freshwater Habitats Trust. This financial help is much appreciated by the Friends of Milham Ford Nature Park. Clearing away of tall vegetation that suffocates less vigorous species is being done in preparation for introducing some smaller, more valuable plants in the stream course and at the side of the ponds. Rod has also been creating dams (mounds of earth) along the stream bed to slow the rapid flow of water that occurs after a period of heavy rain, thus reducing erosion of the banks. See photos of the park and Rod's work, taken on 7 July 2020 and of his subsequent work, taken on 11 July 2020 and 23 July 2020
6 September 2020
Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to tackle pond maintenance, clearing out excessive growth of water lilies and other aquatic plants, as well as hacking out young willows that had self-seeded and brambles. Rod d'Ayala mowed areas inaccessible to Oxford City Council's mowing equipment. All the hard work made a big difference to the park. Photos taken by Judy Webb during the early part of the day are here. Others taken later by Marilyn Cox are here.
Clearing excessive growth of water lilies
Photo by Judy Webb
Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to tackle pond maintenance, clearing out excessive growth of water lilies and other aquatic plants, as well as hacking out young willows that had self-seeded and brambles. Rod d'Ayala mowed areas inaccessible to Oxford City Council's mowing equipment. All the hard work made a big difference to the park. Photos taken by Judy Webb during the early part of the day are here. Others taken later by Marilyn Cox are here.
Clearing excessive growth of water lilies
Photo by Judy Webb
23 August 2020:
Regular FoMFNP volunteers were very grateful for the help of two expert scythers, Jim Ballantyne and Richard Querault, in cutting back the Michaelmas daisies and other rampant vegetation that would otherwise overgrow other wild flowers. Thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers, the overgrown areas looked markedly different at the end of the day's work. Photos taken by Judy Webb and Marilyn Cox can be seen here. They include two short videos of the scythers.
16 August 2020:
Rod d'Ayala and Judy Webb worked on the stream course - information on Rod's work given further down this page. The mix of colours of the wildflowers in the park was a beautiful sight. Photos here include two taken that day by Judy of a Southern Hawker dragonfly Aeshna cyanea laying eggs on a log in one of the ponds in the park. Information about this dragonfly is given in the caption to those photos.
Regular FoMFNP volunteers were very grateful for the help of two expert scythers, Jim Ballantyne and Richard Querault, in cutting back the Michaelmas daisies and other rampant vegetation that would otherwise overgrow other wild flowers. Thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers, the overgrown areas looked markedly different at the end of the day's work. Photos taken by Judy Webb and Marilyn Cox can be seen here. They include two short videos of the scythers.
16 August 2020:
Rod d'Ayala and Judy Webb worked on the stream course - information on Rod's work given further down this page. The mix of colours of the wildflowers in the park was a beautiful sight. Photos here include two taken that day by Judy of a Southern Hawker dragonfly Aeshna cyanea laying eggs on a log in one of the ponds in the park. Information about this dragonfly is given in the caption to those photos.
16 July 2020: Oxford City Council Thursday Volunteers, led by coordinator Carl Whitehead (sitting on truck in photo) came to tackle scything of the bank (inaccessible to mowers) and cutting down rampant vegetation - for photos click here. They were back in the park the following Thursday, 23 July to do more clearing of dogwood and bramble scrub, as well as scything around the ponds - photos taken by Judy Webb and others later in the morning by Marilyn Cox are here.
4 July 2020: In the afternoon 11 people collected seed for other parks and wildlife sites in the Oxford area. Particularly important at this time of year is seed collection from an annual plant, yellow rocket, Rhinanthus minor. As this plant's roots grow, they seek out those of others nearby, especially grasses, and draw water and nutrients from them. This reduces the growth of grasses by up to 60%, which makes it easier for other wildflowers to grow. See Plantlife for more info and how to grow the plant in your own garden. Cowslip and ox-eye daisy seed was also collected.
For photos of plants and people taken that afternoon click here
For photos of plants and people taken that afternoon click here
21 June 2020: First group volunteering event since COVID-19 lockdown
Volunteers were happy to get back to work again and tackled cutting back of brambles and other 'thug' plants, as well as collecting yellow-rattle seed. Rod d'Ayala did his usual great work with the mower. His mowing over the colder months of the year has kept the growth of the 'thug' plants down, allowing less vigorous wildflowers to grow strongly. Many large skipper butterflies were seen in the meadow areas.
Volunteers were happy to get back to work again and tackled cutting back of brambles and other 'thug' plants, as well as collecting yellow-rattle seed. Rod d'Ayala did his usual great work with the mower. His mowing over the colder months of the year has kept the growth of the 'thug' plants down, allowing less vigorous wildflowers to grow strongly. Many large skipper butterflies were seen in the meadow areas.
One Man Went to Mow - again photos taken by Marilyn on 23 March 2020
By then frogspawn was visible in the pond area and the fritillaries were in full flower. Judy Webb visited the park the same day and also took photos (see above). She counted 200 clumps of frogspawn and the same number of snake's head fritillaries.
One Man Went to Mow . . .
During the autumn and winter months, including the coldest periods, Rod d'Ayala has been doing a splendid job cutting back rank growth to the south of the park and reducing the height of the grass on and near the bank on the west side in order to prevent the wildflowers being smothered by the rapid growth of 'thug' plants in the spring. It was thanks to his earlier efforts that a mass of red clover appeared on the south side of the park in 2019, instead of a blanket of Michaelmas daisies. The petrol-driven Cobra mower was bought out of the residual funds of the former New Marston Wildlife Group to keep stronger-growing vegetation under control. Unlike the large mowers used by Oxford City Council, it can be easily manoeuvred for targeted cutting of specific areas. The effects of that mowing, and the hedge-laying, can be seen in photos taken on 3 March 2020
Rod, a consultant ecologist specialising in water management, (seen here with the Cobra mower) has also helped with improvements to the stream course in the park, as well as hedge-laying (see below).
By then frogspawn was visible in the pond area and the fritillaries were in full flower. Judy Webb visited the park the same day and also took photos (see above). She counted 200 clumps of frogspawn and the same number of snake's head fritillaries.
One Man Went to Mow . . .
During the autumn and winter months, including the coldest periods, Rod d'Ayala has been doing a splendid job cutting back rank growth to the south of the park and reducing the height of the grass on and near the bank on the west side in order to prevent the wildflowers being smothered by the rapid growth of 'thug' plants in the spring. It was thanks to his earlier efforts that a mass of red clover appeared on the south side of the park in 2019, instead of a blanket of Michaelmas daisies. The petrol-driven Cobra mower was bought out of the residual funds of the former New Marston Wildlife Group to keep stronger-growing vegetation under control. Unlike the large mowers used by Oxford City Council, it can be easily manoeuvred for targeted cutting of specific areas. The effects of that mowing, and the hedge-laying, can be seen in photos taken on 3 March 2020
Rod, a consultant ecologist specialising in water management, (seen here with the Cobra mower) has also helped with improvements to the stream course in the park, as well as hedge-laying (see below).
February 2020
Rod D'Ayala continued with laying of what Judy Webb calls 'the hedge that goes nowhere'. This crescent-shaped hedge in the middle of a grassy area was planted in the winter of 2005/6 to provide a variety of berries and fruit for insects and birds: mildland hawthorn, buckthorn, crab apple, dogrose, guelder rose, wayfaring tree, hazel and spindle tree as well as a a wild service tree, which is being allowed to grow as a standard. All were grown by Judy from seed she collected from hedges near Kidlington. Since the planting, some blackthorn and holly have arrived by themselves. Rod D'Ayala hedge-laying Photo by Judy Webb On nearby blackthorn bushes (not in the hedge) three eggs of the brown hairstreak butterfly were found by regular FoMFNP volunteer, Ellen Lee. Blackthorn comes into flower in March and April. During the autumn and winter, deep purple fruits - 'sloes', used for making sloe gin - ripen on its branches. Blackthorn is an important species for all kinds of wildlife. The Woodland Trust has produced a short video showing blackthorn throughout the year. Egg of brown hairstreak butterfly Photo by Judy Webb |
15 December 2019
Judy, Marion Anscombe, Ellen and Steve Lee, taking a break - Judy sowing wildflower seed - Peter Somogyi hacking away
27 October 2019
Rod d'Ayala followed up the very effective mowing he'd done 10 days earlier with some energetic raking up of cut vegetation. (If grass cuttings, etc are left on the ground, they will supply nutrients to the soil, which will encourage the grass to grow to the detriment of the wild flowers). Judy Webb laid into the female willow shoots with an adze and Marilyn Cox sowed yellow rattle seed collected from the park earlier in the year on areas that need this flower to check grass growth - yellow rattle in flower shown in photo above. On that day Barbara Harvey, who will be 104 in January, was visiting the park and can be seen in the photos with her grandson. Barbara had previously been photographed with other residents of the nearby Marston Court and Paul Lucas, Marston Court's Coordinator for activities, on 17 August 2017 - a day when Oxford City Council Volunteers were working there. Barbara was a pupil at Milham Ford School when it was in Cowley Place (the building is now part of St Hilda's College). She enjoys here regular visits to the park and looking for different wild flowers and has many books on the subject. Barbara is the second lady in the line of scooters in the 2017 photos - here. Her enthusiasm has inspired activities in Marston Court that are related to the park; photos of those are included at the end of the slideshow. Paul Lucas, a former professional photographer, kindly supplied his own photos of another visit of Marston Court residents to the park - click here.
17 October 2019
Oxford City Council volunteers, led by Carl Whitehead, came to tackle the excess vegetation in the ponds, They did an excellent job and thanks to them, and the efforts of volunteers on 15 September (see item below), a large area of open water is now available for dragonflies and damselflies. Rod d'Ayala made further progress with mowing the uneven areas that the large City Council mowers are unable to tackle. This mowing made a tremendous difference to the flora in 2019, when large areas of red clover appeared. Photos here
15 Sept 2019
Pond maintenance with the help of Jim Ballantyne, expert scythe (middle photo below), and pond-dipping organised by Naturehood, part of Earthwatch, an international charity whose mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. They have received support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a community wildlife project, Naturehood, which is initially being launched in Oxford and Swindon. In Oxford they are specifically focusing on two areas: Cowley, in the vicinity of Florence Park, and in Marston. There's more about them below (5 May 2019 event). See also the Naturehood brochure.
27 October 2019
Rod d'Ayala followed up the very effective mowing he'd done 10 days earlier with some energetic raking up of cut vegetation. (If grass cuttings, etc are left on the ground, they will supply nutrients to the soil, which will encourage the grass to grow to the detriment of the wild flowers). Judy Webb laid into the female willow shoots with an adze and Marilyn Cox sowed yellow rattle seed collected from the park earlier in the year on areas that need this flower to check grass growth - yellow rattle in flower shown in photo above. On that day Barbara Harvey, who will be 104 in January, was visiting the park and can be seen in the photos with her grandson. Barbara had previously been photographed with other residents of the nearby Marston Court and Paul Lucas, Marston Court's Coordinator for activities, on 17 August 2017 - a day when Oxford City Council Volunteers were working there. Barbara was a pupil at Milham Ford School when it was in Cowley Place (the building is now part of St Hilda's College). She enjoys here regular visits to the park and looking for different wild flowers and has many books on the subject. Barbara is the second lady in the line of scooters in the 2017 photos - here. Her enthusiasm has inspired activities in Marston Court that are related to the park; photos of those are included at the end of the slideshow. Paul Lucas, a former professional photographer, kindly supplied his own photos of another visit of Marston Court residents to the park - click here.
17 October 2019
Oxford City Council volunteers, led by Carl Whitehead, came to tackle the excess vegetation in the ponds, They did an excellent job and thanks to them, and the efforts of volunteers on 15 September (see item below), a large area of open water is now available for dragonflies and damselflies. Rod d'Ayala made further progress with mowing the uneven areas that the large City Council mowers are unable to tackle. This mowing made a tremendous difference to the flora in 2019, when large areas of red clover appeared. Photos here
15 Sept 2019
Pond maintenance with the help of Jim Ballantyne, expert scythe (middle photo below), and pond-dipping organised by Naturehood, part of Earthwatch, an international charity whose mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. They have received support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a community wildlife project, Naturehood, which is initially being launched in Oxford and Swindon. In Oxford they are specifically focusing on two areas: Cowley, in the vicinity of Florence Park, and in Marston. There's more about them below (5 May 2019 event). See also the Naturehood brochure.
The glorious weather made this a great event. Thanks to Jim's own tireless efforts and his instruction in scything given to two other volunteers, the water in the lowest pond area was opened up to dragonflies, which were seen flying above it before the work session had ended. Pond-dipping organised by Naturehood was very popular and much appreciated. Cutting back of the invasive Michaelmas daisies, and of shoots of female willows, which would grow and spread unwanted seed, was also carried out, as well as mowing of some of the meadow areas and collection of purple loosestrife seed to sow on other wildlife sites in the Oxford area. Many thanks indeed to all those who took part! The Naturehood team tweeted some spectacular photos of pondlife. Lots of photos of pond-dipping and volunteers working are here When in slideshow mode, click on the 'i' in the circle, top of window, to see full captions, where available. The slideshow includes two videos, one of Jim scything and one, at the end, of children by the bridge. The videos will start automatically. If they look fuzzy, check that your 'quality' setting is '720p HD' (not 'Auto')
20 August 2019
Pond-dipping session in Milham Ford Nature Park organised by Naturehood
Photo by Naturehood
5 May 2019: Oxford Conservation Volunteers and Naturehood Project Photos below and more here
Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to help with maintenance and did a splendid job removing large amounts of vegetation that was clogging the stream bed and covering the water in the ponds. Rod D'Ayala was there again with the mower keeping the growth of over-vigorous plants, such as Michaelmas daisies, under control. At the same time, two representatives of Earthwatch*, Dr Tristan Pett, Research Manager for the Naturehood project (on the right in the photo above) and Stephen Parkinson (on the left in the photo) were on hand to organise pond-dipping and help adults and children identify the creatures lifted from the water in nets. They brought along very useful identification guides and these, as well as their own help, were much appreciated. Judy Webb was there till 1 pm, when she had to leave to go to an Oxfordshire Geology Trust event at Rock Edge. For photos click here.
27 January 2019:
Despite the very cold weather, the most intrepid FoMFNP volunteers tackled the laying of what Judy Webb calls 'the hedge that goes nowhere'. This crescent-shaped hedge in the middle of a grassy area was planted in the winter of 2005/6 to provide a variety of berries and fruit for insects and birds: mildland hawthorn, buckthorn, crab apple, dogrose, guelder rose, wayfaring tree, hazel and spindle tree as well as a a wild service tree, which is being allowed to grow as a standard. All were grown by Judy from seed she collected from hedges near Kidlington. Since the planting, some blackthorn and holly have arrived by themselves. Ellen and Stephen Lee had their first go at hedge-laying under the expert guidance of Rod D'Ayala. Meanwhile, Judy cut areas of grass where primroses and fritillaries will come up later in the year. The Cobra mower is proving to be a very good investment of what was left of funds from the former New Marston Wildlife Group - see photos
27 January 2019:
Despite the very cold weather, the most intrepid FoMFNP volunteers tackled the laying of what Judy Webb calls 'the hedge that goes nowhere'. This crescent-shaped hedge in the middle of a grassy area was planted in the winter of 2005/6 to provide a variety of berries and fruit for insects and birds: mildland hawthorn, buckthorn, crab apple, dogrose, guelder rose, wayfaring tree, hazel and spindle tree as well as a a wild service tree, which is being allowed to grow as a standard. All were grown by Judy from seed she collected from hedges near Kidlington. Since the planting, some blackthorn and holly have arrived by themselves. Ellen and Stephen Lee had their first go at hedge-laying under the expert guidance of Rod D'Ayala. Meanwhile, Judy cut areas of grass where primroses and fritillaries will come up later in the year. The Cobra mower is proving to be a very good investment of what was left of funds from the former New Marston Wildlife Group - see photos