Editorial
We have become victims of our own success.
Organisational demands on your committee
have increased as have our requests for your
help with projects, new and old. The Middle
Bourne Lane Garden has been entered for
two awards. Even if we fail to be winners, we
will emerge from our recent period of intense
activity, better organised and more strongly
motivated. This pressure has recently
culminated in a request from the Residents
Association to draw up a paper summarising
the ecology of The Bourne. This will be
incorporated into a wider description of our
area and help to improve the future
environmental protection of our corner of
Farnham. This task has brought home to us
not only the special character of ‘our Patch’
and the role it is playing in maintaining local
biodiversity, but also the importance of our
efforts in defending it from being eroded by
the burgeoning pressures resulting from
population growth in the south-east.
Contents
1. Editorial
2. Bourne Show
3. Middle Bourne Lane report
4. Conserving our patch
5. Training Day
6. Visitors from overseas
7. To ‘bee’ or not to ‘bee’
8. At the cross roads
9. Footpath Warden report
10. Membership
.
Future programme
September
Midweek
Sunday 13th
October
Midweek
Sunday 10th
Your editor demonstrating the contents of the
moth trap to the Biffaward judge at Middle
Bourne Lane, while a pensive Chairman Noel
looks on.
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Bulb planting
Footpath tasks
MBL tidying
Ridgeway School
Old Churchyard
November
Midweek
Sunday 15th
Crossroads
MBL and Crossroads
December
Midweek
Sunday 6th
Remaining tidying
Old Churchyard
January 2010
Sunday 10th
To be decided
recruited six new members. Also during the
day we had all enjoyed some interesting
conversations with local residents on
conservation and related matters. We are
particularly grateful to Bryan Snashall for
providing his van to transport the exhibits to
and from the Show.
The Bourne Show 2009
The Bourne Show is the main annual event at
which we make a major effort to present the
Group and its work to the local public, and
recruit new members and friends. Noel as
usual had made a formidable effort in
assembling some spectacular exhibits. These
included the panels on the Old Churchyard
that we had assembled for a presentation in
the Church at the beginning of May (see
below), which had proved so popular. In the
morning, Stan Cockett bagged our plot on the
Green prior to the annual team-building test of
erecting our trusty gazebo and positioning the
exhibition panels. Stan, Noel, Bryan Snashall,
Sheila Musson and Dee Lecoq managed it in
the face of a stiff breeze which added a touch
of excitement to the proceedings.
Enthusiastic competitors in the children’s
competition.
Middle Bourne Lane report
Our exhibit attracted a lot of interest from
visitors of all ages.
Activity became frenetic in the Community
Garden after it was not only selected to be
one of Farnham’s entries in the ‘Southeast in
Bloom’ competition as a wildlife garden, but
also was entered in the small project section
in the national Biffaward competition.
The afternoon shift arrived in good order and
stood by to explain the exhibits and to inveigle
visitors into joining the Group. Jill McIntosh,
David Todd and Didi Hall were joined by
Martin Angel, freshly arrived back from China.
Lisa once again prepared and ran an
excellent competition for children, which
encouraged them to study the pictures and to
read the captions. Interest in the competition
really got under way once the distractions
provided by the usual Bourne Show children’s
races and dog show were over, in addition at
mid-afternoon as the wind fell, so did the rain.
There were four winners each of whom
received a natural history book as a prize.
Hopefully each prize will stimulate a keen
interest in conservation in the winners, who
maybe will join the next generation of
stalwarts that will continue the work of the
Group. At the end of the day, the task of
packing up in very damp and soggy
conditions was alleviated by our having
The sign provided by the Town to our design.
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agreed to renew the outside notice, and
Yasmin Osbourn undertook to draw up a
‘map’ to orientate visitors as they enter.
Surrey Wildlife Trust not only gave us sound
advice on which features needed information
panels, but also gave us considerable help in
the final production of the panels. Yasmin was
a tower of strength in many aspects of the
design, which if it had been left to us lesser
mortals it would probably have gone horribly
wrong. For example, Yasmin made sure that
consistent fonts were used throughout. Noel
displayed considerable talent in carpentry in
making the stands for the notices, and many
other members played important roles in
preparing the garden for the judgement days.
Yasmin’s map – go and see this work of art!
Once he had received the criteria on which
the garden would be judged, Noel identified a
plethora of urgent tasks. These ranged from
general tidying and new planting, to
developing signs and developing an
information pamphlet describing the garden.
A council of war was held on what features
should have signs. There was general
agreement that the signs should be kept
simple and informative and should not intrude
on the garden’s informality. The Town Council
The Southeast in Bloom judges inspect the
pond.
The first judging event was for the Southeast
in Bloom competition on 9th July. Noel was
able to recruit Fiona Hayes to help with
running the moth trap the night before, and
remarkably Fiona identified 51 species of
moth amongst the catch. Slow worms put in
an appearance, but the grass snake that
Yasmin had seen in the pond a couple of
days before had departed. We think the
judges were reasonably impressed, but the
result will be announced at a presentation
meeting in the Grand Hotel Brighton on the
2nd September. The Biffaward judging was on
15th July. Martin Angel had returned from his
travels and was able to run the moth trap the
night before. Still jet-lagged he fell asleep in
his car only to be woken by the noise of
heavy rain at midnight. So for safety reasons
he turned the light off. The catch was less
prolific and diverse then before, but the two
hawkmoths we caught fascinated the judge.
The information panel by the pond.
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Only six finalists had been selected out of
over forty entries, so we felt we had already
won a minor victory. The presentation
ceremony for the Biffaward competition will be
held in the Royal Hall Harrogate on the 8th
October. It is worth noting that as part of the
presentations Noel sweated blood in
preparing an excellent summary of the MBL
project, from its inception to our vision for its
future. Rather than see this fine summary go
to waste, I have scanned it and made it into a
Powerpoint presentation on CD, which I will
pass on to anyone who would like to see it.
learn fresh lessons - about how to raise funds
- how to meet increasingly complex logistical
demands - how to design planting schemes
and most recently how to conduct wildlife
surveys.
Martin Angel then described the progress of
our latest project - the restoration of the Old
Churchyard. He outlined the history of the site
and how we have benefited from previous
mapping and surveys, notably the botanical
survey conducted by Denise Todd in 1991. By
clearing away many of the invasive laurels,
tree saplings, and the undergrowth of ivy and
brambles our efforts have already had a
dramatic effect on its general appearance.
While we cannot claim responsibility for the
wonderful display of crocuses this spring, the
display of primroses and bluebells later on
was enhanced by our clearance of the
undergrowth. Martin illustrated just a few of
the more than 200 species of animals he has
already identified in the Churchyard.
Noel provided a final coda, reiterating that by
improving the general environment of The
Bourne we are improving the quality of life not
only for the wildlife but also for the human
residents. After the presentation the audience
was able to study the exhibit on our work that
had been prepared by Noel. The exhibit was
greatly appreciated, and by popular demand it
remained in The Lantern for several more
days. The audience showed its appreciation
with some generous donations, which further
supplemented our fee. We are most grateful
to the Friends for this opportunity to talk about
our efforts. We found it a rewarding exercise,
and thank the Vicar Jonathan Still for allowing
us the use of The Lantern.
Conserving our patch
We were invited by the Friends of the Victoria
Garden to give a presentation to their annual
general meeting which was held in The
Lantern, St Thomas on The Bourne Church
on 2nd June. Stan Cockett gave the
introduction, recounting how he came to
found the Group and outlining its objectives.
Noel Moss then took over and described how
our work has progressed over the last seven
years, initially from rather simple tasks helping
the local authorities with the maintenance of
various sites, to our care for the footpath
network, and then undertaking projects that
have become progressively more complex
and challenging. Our first project was the
improvement of the Bourne Crossroads, and
this was followed by beautifying the entrance
to Ridgeway School. We then started the
rescue of the community garden at Middle
Bourne Lane from dereliction. Now we have
started our most demanding project - the
restoration the Old Churchyard. Each project
has necessitated we develop new skills and
At night Copper Underwing moths are
aestivating under the newly restored roof of
the lychgate. One night over 40 were counted.
One of our trio of speakers giving the
presentation.
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Frances then briefed us about the importance
of recording and gave an introduction to the
classification of the various groups of insects
we might encounter. Some sampling methods
were described, and then put into effect. The
participants divided into three groups, lead by
Frances, Martin and Jane Still, the vicar’s wife
who is a trained biologist. Each group had
three sets of carpets tiles and pitfall traps to
examine which had been set out the previous
evening in three different habitats – under the
limes, in the grassy area where the old church
had once stood, and in the thick ground cover
of ivy along the southern boundary.
Old Churchyard Training Day
On 31st May, Frances Halstead of the Surrey
Wildlife Trust ran a training day entitled ‘Bug
R U’ on how to collect, identify and record
invertebrates. On a warm sunny morning
Frances arrived with her daughter at 0800h to
set up the SWT gazebo with the help of Noel
and Martin. The number of participants had
been limited to twelve, six from the BCG and
six from the SWT membership. As the
participants registered they were issued with
a series of documents and an information CD
on animal identification. There was a safety
briefing followed by introductions. The course
got under way with an examination of the
contents of the light trap that Martin had run
overnight (Mary Eagan supplied the power).
The scorched wing moth caught in the light
trap.
Participants
collecting,
identifying
and
recording the wildlife in the Old Churchyard,
The carpet tiles had attracted a variety of
slugs, snails, woodlice and millipedes.
Perhaps the oddest of the findings were some
flat-backed millipedes. The pitfall traps
produced a very different collection of animals
from the carpet tiles and illustrated how
different species occupy the three habitats.
Black
carabid
ground
beetles
were
particularly abundant in the ivy. One trap
contained 6 specimens belonging to three
different species. Other animals new to many
participants, were some white blind woodlice,
which live in black ant nests.
The three groups then used a more familiar
collecting technique of using nets to sweep
insects from the vegetation – again focussing
on the three different habitats. The final
session was going through many of the
specimens we had caught and identifying
them at least to group. Several were taken
away for the SWT experts to identify to
species, These records will be added to the
SWT database for the county and will also
The catch was varied and included two
species of hawkmoth and a scorched wing.
Martin had already recorded over 50 species
from the churchyard (the total now in August
stands at 135). The content of a couple of live
mammal traps were then examined; one was
empty, but the other contained a lively longtailed field mouse. A couple of stag beetles
found alive, but virtually legless in the road,
outside were examined.
A flat-backed millipede Polydesmus one of the
less familiar invertebrates found.
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Many millions must have entered Britain, and
Martin counted over 30 in the Old Churchyard
and 50 in his garden. At least some of these
bred in Britain. In early July Yasmin Osborn
The white blind woodlice that live in the nests
of black ants.
increase Martin’s inventory for the Old
Churchyard. The session closed at 1300h.
Everyone seemed to have had an enjoyable
and informative time; the only complaint being
that there was insufficient time to identify
more of the specimens we had collected. Our
thanks must go to Frances and also to Jane
for making it such a successful course.
Painted lady caterpillar in Yasmin’s garden.
found some caterpillars on a borage plant in
her garden. Noel photographed them and
Graham Collins, the Surrey Moth Recorder,
confirmed that his pictures were of painted
lady caterpillars. These probably hatched as
adults in early August, when once again
painted ladies were much in evidence in
Farnham feeding on Buddleia flowers. The
butterflies neither survive British winters nor
have the means to return to Morocco.
Visitors from overseas
When photographing in the Old Churchyard
on 25th May, Martin noticed large numbers of
painted lady butterflies flying around. Reports
in the press and on the Web confirmed that
we in The Bourne were witnessing a tiny part
of a mass immigration of these beautiful
butterflies. It had begun in February when
there was a mass hatching in the Atlas
Mountains in Morocco, as a result of good
rains stimulating the butterfly’s food plant to
flourish. Large numbers arrived in Spain in
April, in France at the beginning of May and
then carried on the south-westerly winds to
Britain.
A silver y moth photographed in August.
In August another regular immigrant – the
Silver Y moth – began to appear. This moth
can often be seen by day feeding on garden
flowers. Less welcome migrants are the
swarms of aphids that get blown across the
Channel whenever we have Southerly winds
in summer; maybe a silver-lining to the rain
clouds that have belied the promise of a
One of the immigrant painted ladies.
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barbecue summer has been the arrival of
fewer aphids. Once again the spectacular
wasp spider has been found weaving its web
in the Bourne Valley. But even more exciting
A queen common carder bumblebee Bombus
pascuorum on a primrose this Spring.
A tree bumblebee in Middle Bourne Lane
There is a lot that residents can do. Those
who want to improve their garden to help
bees then a good source of advice is the
Bumblebee
Conservation
Trust
(www.bumblebeeconservation.org). Anyone
who would like to become a beekeeper (thus
helping to increase the population) should
contact the chairman of Farnham Beekeepers
at peter.ewins1@btinternet.com
was the sighting and photographing a tree
bumblebee in the Middle Bourne Lane
Garden on 10th August. This is a species that
first appeared in Britain in 2001, and is now
establishing itself in the southeast.
To ‘bee’ or not to ‘bee’
General concern has been expressed by
Natural England and others about the drastic
decline in our hive bee populations. The
threat is not only to beekeepers and those
who like honey on their toast in the morning,
but also to pollination of our crops and fruit
trees. The BCG has been urged to take
measures to help reverse this decline locally,
which range from putting hives in areas we
are managing (considered to be too small and
vulnerable), to stop pulling balsam, to running
a coordinated campaign to increase general
awareness of the problem. We are eager to
do what we can to help and are considering
the best ways open to us with the limited
resources at our disposal. We are in touch
with the Farnham Beekeepers and also with
the Bumblebee Conservation Trust so as to
get the best possible advice. Whatever
happens, we do propose to make both Middle
Bourne Lane and the Old Churchyard more
bee-friendly by planting and sowing a greater
range of summer flowering plants to ensuring
a constant supply of nectar. In the short term
this will be of more help to bumblebees and
solitary bees, which are also important
pollinators.
At the cross-roads
This, our first true project, has been an
undoubted success for the Group. It has
transformed this small stretch of no-man’s
land into an attractive conservation site for
local residents and the many people travelling
through the village on the A287 road. It raised
the profile of The Bourne Conservation Group
locally and helped it to gain confidence in its
own ability. More importantly it carved out a
small area of valuable habitat for birds, bees
and insects on a busy urban corner and thus
The Spring 2009 Sunday working party cut the
grass, renovated the seat and weeded the bed.
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laying the foundations for future biodiversity
projects. Throughout 2008 and 2009 the main
activity on this site has been maintenance
with progressive introduction of new species
such as primroses. One new venture which
grew out of our footpath activities was to
renovate and plant a disused raised bed at
the foot of Granny Cook’s Steps on the way to
the Bourne School.
An example of a task that is too big for us – a
birch tree that has fallen across the path near
Redhill House (photographed on 19th August).
Many of the remaining items are either
footpath erosion or missing or damaged finger
posts/way markers.
We are currently
discussing progress/options with Surrey
County Council and Waverley Borough
Council. I will be contacting all wardens
shortly to confirm the location of all finger
posts/way markers to complete the survey
started earlier in the year.
Lisa Malcolm
Green-fingered Sheila Musson is one of ladies
of the Crossroads.
The maintenance burden is a heavy one and
it is important the Group perseveres with it
because this site is very much in the public
eye. Watering is a particularly onerous job in
dry spells and in late June this year a small
army of members were to be seen carrying
watering cans across the road to keep the
plants alive. Sheila Musson and Dee Lecoq
with enormous help from Jill McIntosh and Pat
King have taken on much of this work
including refreshing the planting for the
coming months. Well done and a big thank
you to them. Jill joined a small but effective
group of midweekers on Friday 21 August to
cut back and clear the tall grasses on the
bank and the verges - a crucial late summer
task if there is to be another good display of
wild flowers next year.
We re-erected his fallen fingerpost, which was
on the path above the Spotted Cow.
Membership
This edition of our Newsletter has outlined the
wide range of activities that we have
undertaken over recent months. None of this
would have been possible without you our
members and friends, and with the many
other organisations with which we cooperate.
We are grateful to one and all. We believe we
are
serving The Bourne community
effectively, and as pointed out in the Editorial
our effectiveness has lead to increasing
demands on our time, effort and funding. If we
are to build on these successes we do need
more members who are able and willing to
Footpath Warden Report
A big thank you to all the footpath wardens for
your active reporting! Since December when
the scheme was started, there have been 65
items raised, of which 10 have been raised
with Surrey County Council via the on-line
interactive reporting scheme. Following a
successful progress review meeting between
Noel, Stan and myself in a local hostelry on
the 6th August, 32 items have now been
identified as completed and closed.
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Stop Press
play and active role in the Group. Please
share this newsletter with anyone who shows
some interest in our projects.
Last year we recognised that some of our
neighbours while eager to support us, are
unable to turn out for our working parties. So
we created a category of membership called
‘Friend’. Our newsletters are aimed at keeping
both our active members and our Friends
informed about our activities. The larger our
overall membership the more influence the
group will have in steering the governance of
our area. Actions are supposed to speak
louder than words, but in helping to care for
our neighbourhood what we can contribute to
short and long-term planning will be
enhanced if we not only have a growing
membership, but also our membership
constantly gives us feed-back on their
concerns about The Bourne.
If you would like to join our Group, either as
an active volunteer or as a Friend, please
contact David Todd on 01252 715807 or
email david_todd69@hotmail.com
Or if you have a burning issue about ‘our
patch’ then contact Noel Moss.
National Moth Night
18-19 September
We are planning to contribute to this event by running
a light trap in the Old Churchyard. Thereby we will
not only contribute to this national event, but also
increase our records of species in he churchyard, and
give anyone interested the opportunity to get to know
the local moth fauna. The last national event was held
in 2002 when 740 species were recorded at 458 sites.
Our involvement on THE night is weather dependent,
if it rains we will postpone our contribution until the
following night. The light will go on at about 2030h
and will stay on until dawn. For safety reasons we will
limit the number of participants to six. We will process
the catch the following morning starting at 0800h. We
suggest an age limit of 11 for any children who MUST
be supervised by a parent.
To register, contact:
Martin Angel
Phone: 01252 716700
e-mail: mvangel37@googlemail.com
BCG Committee
Chairman
Noel Moss
noel.moss@cedar-tree.com
Vice-Chair
David Todd
Secretary
Stan Cockett
Acting Treasurer David Todd
Footpath co-ord
Lisa Malcolm
Member
Richard Sanders
Newsletter
Martin Angel
mvangel37@googlemail.com
Website
http://bourne conservation.org.uk
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