Greening Ashwell
Getting Involved
Ashwell has a number of green spaces that the residents love and enjoy such as The Springs, the Recreation grounds, the Cottage Garden and St. Mary`s churchyard. These are important green lungs for the village.
The village sits in a beautiful rural, agricultural landscape. However this intensive farming does not create many opportunities for wildlife and it is important that our green spaces are managed ecologically throughout the whole village.
Gardens and verges
Taking care of our green spaces can start with your own garden by planting a wild flower area, growing native plants and using the minimum of or, indeed, no pesticides. Providing nest boxes and insect hotels can also be great fun.
Beyond the garden we should be allowing verges to be left to grow, or cut less often, to allow native flora to return and we can never have too many native trees lining our streets. We could even think of setting up communal orchards.
Hedges and fields
Hedges are important as ecological corridors, particularly the remnants of field or boundary hedges. They should be gapped up or extended with native species. These could be extended beyond the village along public footpaths and field boundaries.
Ashwell has a number of fields and other agricultural land that were part of farmsteads which spread out from the village centre. Donkey meadow and rare breed sheep grazing in surrounding fields add to their importance. Ancient Ashwell Street, with its native flora is also an ecological corridor.
Green thinking
These coridors are biodiverse links to existing and potential planting in an overall Green Strategy for the village, maintaining the already healthy environment of Ashwell. If they were put forward into a plan or proposal it would encourage more green initiatives.
Volunteer groups
There are a number of volunteer groups who manage individual green spaces, like the Cottage Garden Volunteers, the Springs, St. Mary’s and Quarry NR working parties. Public or adopted land is managed by the local authorities and the recreation grounds by sporting groups. By proposing a coordinated village management strategy this could achieve maximum impact on Ashwell`s biodiversity.
Getting together traditional volunteer groups with other organisations (Scouts, Guides, football / cricket / tennis, etc) and social groups (WI, church, horticultural, museum, walking groups etc) the village has a potential army of residents who could help in organising, planning, planting and managing Ashwell’s green heritage.
We would also like to encourage conservation minded people from beyond the village, as well as students on environmental courses, who want hands-on experience of working in this sector.
Membership and volunteering
Greening Ashwell welcomes new members and volunteers to help with the projects it undertakes and to support its goals.
If you would like to help us and have some time to spare please consider joining one of the groups. You can use one of the application form below to send us your details.
How you can get involved
We offer two ways you can become involved with the group and its projects -
Individual and Family Membership
Greening Ashwell would like to encourage indiviudals and families to become full members of the group. You can take part in all sorts of activities which will help us achive our goals and get to meet others who share your interest in ensuring the village’s biodiversity.
Green Team Volunteering
The group would also like to encourage those who have a particular interest in ecology and related subjects, perhaps as part of higher education or career choice, to take an active part in our projects.
Membership resourses
The group has developed a number of helpful guides and other resources designed to ensure members have the information needed to carry out various tasks. You can use the links here to access these.
Social media
Greening Ashwell has an active Facebook feed which will give you the details of all activities which the group plans to undertake. If ou have provided a mobile phone number, we will also sign you up to one of our WhatsApp groups so that we can give you up-to-the-minute notifications.
Keeping in touch with members
The group regularly publishes a series of documents which help members and the wider community keep in touch with developments. These include -
Green Notes
Newletters
Yearbooks