Weaveley Furze is run by a charitable trust, registered number 249719. Full details are on the Charities Commision website here. The current trustees are:
Margaret Price (chair)
Martin Knops
Tricia Eldridge (secretary and treasurer)
Douglas Macdonald
All live locally in the parish of Shipton-on-Cherwell and Thrupp
There are no employees but the trustees are supported by an enthusiastic pool of volunteers, some 15 strong. New recruits are assured of a warm welcome, whether they give a morning a year or have more time to spend or prefer to help with organising, fund-raising or other parts of the trust's work.
There is also very little money. The sale of bean and pea sticks, not forgetting the rhubarb, just about cover's our running costs. Because one of the charitable purposes of 'Poors Allotment' is the alleviation of poverty in the parish, any excess is given to local schools.
Major projects, such as gate and fencing repairs, machinery and equipment and replanting have to be financed by grants and contributions. If anyone would like to make a donation please email martin@martinknops.co.uk .
Here is the Chair (Margaret)'s report to the trust's AGM held on Monday, April 24th 2017:
I can’t believe that a year has gone by since my
last report but it has and looking back so much has happened from a very
successful tea party to confirmation that wildlife abounds in Weaveley Furze.
In May it was the 10th anniversary
since the ‘Reawakening’ of Weaveley Furze took place and it was decided to
celebrate by inviting all those who have helped in whatever way since then to an
informal tea party in Weavley Furze on the 18th June. Delicious ‘woodland’ style eats including a
wonderful pastry tree were enjoyed by about 18 sitting under a canopy which was
strung from the trees above in case the weather was inclement, but thankfully
it turned out to be a lovely afternoon.
Throughout the year the Blog has been splendidly
kept up to date by the two Martins (Wainwright and Knops) with numerous photos
and the work that has taken place. It
is now really informative, fun and interesting to look at and even has a very short
piece of film. The photos show how wonderful this little wood
of about 4 acres is for wildlife from animals to birds, butterflies, flowers,
berries and fungi.
There is a very large mound with entrance holes in
one area and it was felt it couldn’t be just rabbits. In the New Year Perry Knight kindly put up
his camera which is triggered by movement and has patiently been looking
through several thousands of photos which have been taken. This has certainly paid off because he has
managed to capture deer, foxes and two badgers.
Sadly there are a few draw backs to having certain
wildlife, trees have been damaged from the ground to the top most branches either
by rabbits, deer or squirrels and if the damage circles the entire trunk or
branch it will die as can be seen on several of the Field Maples.
Work parties have been numerous mainly due to the
enthusiastic e-mails from Penny and Martin Wainwright announcing when they will
take place and always with the encouragement of cake, cheese and coffee being
available to all. Work is mainly done
in the winter but also includes keeping the tracks open in the summer using
‘The Beast’. Growth is extensive so this
winter it was decided to concentrate on certain aspects of keeping the wood in
good shape. This has included - the
river ‘Humber’ being cleared of debris, overhanging branches and fallen trees
and one of the tributaries being opened up too; invasive blackthorn being cut
back from each side of the trees in most of the racks; hazel being coppiced to
encourage young growth from the bottom of the stools; large branches being cut
off especially ones overhanging the hazel area and old Man’s Beard being cut
off at ground level and if possible dug out.
It has certainly been a busy few months.
Over the last year or two Martin Knops has ensured
that most of the equipment needed for the work is stored in the shed and this
includes ‘The Beast’, a large and very effective mower which unfortunately due
to a lack of engineering knowledge ‘died’ at the end of last summer. It has now been restored to full health and
is back ready for action.
A huge amount of hazel was cut last year for
peasticks and bean poles but not all of it was used so it was hoped it could be
this year. However, it was felt the
peasticks were too brittle but the bean poles were trimmed and all being well
will be bought by family and friends as there were not enough bundles to take
to Bunkers Hill Nursery for sale.
On cleaning out the nest boxes it was found that
several of the wooden ones were in very poor shape. The woodcrete ones have been brilliant and
much used by the Tit family so another three were purchased. They are more expensive than wooden ones but
last a great deal longer, stay dry and are easy to access for cleaning. A suggestion was made that we could ask
friends of Weaveley Furze if they would like to make a donation towards the
boxes and the response was incredible.
The Trustees are extremely grateful to all those who responded with such
very generous donations which have more than covered the cost of the
boxes. A decision will be made as to
what the rest of the money can be used for which may well include replacing
some of the fencing.
CAFBANK has been our bank for many years but last
year began to charge £5.00 a month.
Interest was stopped a few years ago and with such a small balance we
felt the annual fee of £60 was not justified. At the
beginning of this year the account was moved and is now with Barclays Bank
which does not charge a monthly fee. Our
Public Liability Insurance is with RAP and the amount we are covered for has
gone down from 10 to 5 million which the Trustees felt was adequate.
The Charity is now very fortunate to have many
enthusiastic volunteers and I hope you will forgive me for not naming them all
individually but I would like to give a very sincere thank you to all for
keeping Weaveley Furze in good heart whether it is being a Trustee, coming
along with great enthusiasm to work parties and providing sustenance, keeping
the brilliant Blog up to date, patiently filming the wildlife and giving
donations including the proceeds from the sale of produce. Without you the wood would be very much the
poorer and the diversity of wildlife for all to enjoy would be poorer too.
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