Official Opening Walk, 10.00am, Saturday 4 May

There is a tradition of nature conservation at St Bart’s which started long before I arrived. This year, I have been lucky to be part of the St Bart’s involvement in a project for the student community and their families in the school catchment area.

We are hoping to promote wildlife in the area, stretching from Goldwell Park in the north to Barn Crescent in the south, taking in St Bart’s and John Rankin schools and their grounds. The hope is that we will have areas for insect pollinators, other invertebrates and encourage growth in numbers of small mammals, such as hedgehogs, by making spaces on the school grounds and encouraging residents in the area to make spaces for these animals, where they live.

St Bart’s is supporting the Newbury Nature Corridor, establishing an after school group called ‘Ecology in Action’ to develop aspects of the project. We are also currently working on a plan to restore and further develop the St Bart’s Nature Reserve educational area and pond, and enhance biodiversity at our school. We look forward to sharing more of these plans soon.

The members of Newbury Friends of the Earth would like to invite students and their families to the official opening walk through the proposed area at 10.00am, Saturday 4 May starting at Barn Crescent field and finishing at Goldwell Park at around 12.30.  Proceedings will be officiated by Newbury Town Council Leader, Gary Norman, and there will be an introduction by Justine Whitehead, a local ecologist. The route is approximately 2.5 miles long.

So dig out your walking boots and come along and join us!

Mrs Wall