Floodplain Meadows Steering Group Agenda
Tuesday 22 April
Lower Moor Farm, Oaksey, Wiltshire
Invited to morning session:
David Gowing (Chair), Emma Rothero (Floodplain Meadows Outreach CoOrdinator), Hilary Wallace (Floodplain Meadows Research Co-Ordinator),
Mike Dodd (Open University Researcher), Richard Jeffries (Natural England),
Audra Hurst (Natural England), Ron Donaldson (Natural England), Ann
Skinner (Environment Agency), Miles King (The Grasslands Trust), Sue
Townsend (Field Studies Council), Owen Mountford (CEH), Jane Pearman
(The Wildlife Trusts), Paul St Pierre (Environment Agency Thames Region)
Invited to lunch and afternoon site visits:
Rob Wolstenholme (Natural England, Cricklade Site Manager); Anita Barrett
(Natural England Seasonal Reserve Manager, North Meadow), Isobel
Whitwam (Natural England land Management Advisor North Wilts), Paul Hill
(Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Reserves Manager Neutral Meadows),Rob Large
(Wiltshire Wildlife Trust), Paul Derby? (Wiltshire Wildlife Trust)
*Wiltshire Wildlife Trust staff attendance to be confirmed
Morning Session: Steering Group Meeting
10.00am start for coffee/tea
10.15 Start of meeting
1. Welcome, introductions and apologies.
2. Minutes of last meeting and matters arising
3. Chairs report (new appointments and staff issues, NERC Urgency fund
report)
4. Finances-short and long term (paper summary)
(DG). For information and discussion.
5. 3 year project plan for approval (ER). For discussion and approval.
11.30 Coffee break
6. Programme of research/monitoring work 2008 and report on work to
date (A4 summary) (HW). For information and discussion.
7. Programme of Outreach work 2008 and report on work to date. (ER) to
present. For information and discussion.
8. Plans for 2009 and beyond.: Detailed maps/inventories, community
definitions, hydrological paper, workshops and courses.
DG to present: for discussion and agreement.
9. Data capture from older farmers
Ron Donaldson to present. For discussion and agreement.
1.30pm Buffet Lunch (provided)
Afternoon: Site Visits
2pm: Clattinger Farm Meadows:visit with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
representative (probably Paul Hill). How is the site managed? Its condition?
Data collection? History? Expansion?
3pm: Cricklade Meadows: visit with Rob Wolstenholme and Fritillary
warden-talk about site management, condition, impacts from Hills Gravel
extraction, data interpretation, Fritillary counting and interpretation of results.
4.30pm Meeting ends
OU staff to commence setting out canes and quadrats for Fritillary counting
and survey.
External events relevant to Group. All are welcome to help/see if
interested:
Wednesday 23rd April: Continue to set up quadrats using total station.
Wednesday 23rd April: Fritillary counting using volunteers, OU, EA and NE
staff. Free lunch to all volunteers.
Wednesday 23rd April :Creation of a podcast by OU for ‘Outreach’ purposeslinking up with another OU project to promote our own. Will involve OU
Outreach Officer (Emily Unell) interviewing volunteers, researchers and
anyone else around. Steering Group members would be very welcome.
Podcast will be promoted on OU website and Floodplain Meadows website.
Wednesday 23rd April: Formal PR launch of Floodplain Meadows Project
event using Fritillary counting as a launch opportunity in the national and local
media.
June-botanical survey of Cricklade Meadows (Hilary Wallace and Mike
Prosser)
Getting there
From Oaksey go in the direction of Somerford Keynes, cross the railway line and follow an S-bend.
Immediately after the S-bend the entrance is on the right. From Cricklade on the A419, turn left
onto the B4696 towards Somerford Keynes. Continue straight over crossroads until you see the
entrance on your left. There is parking at the visitor centre