Wildspace News

We'll be posting news items from December 2022 onwards on this page. Our extensive archive of news items is currently locked in a Wordpress database we can't easily access. When we can get at the old records we'll add them to the site.

Meanwhile this 'Wayback Machine' link will take you back to the old News articles from 2007 onwards, albeit missing most images and links.

Ely Wildspace Working party 18 February 2024

From Richard Braund. Thanks to the volunteers (not deterred by the weather, which wasn't as bad as it might have seemed!) we finished the tasks soon after 11.30am. The brambles have been cut back, last year's ruderal vegetation has been felled and the shrubs and coppice have been trimmed, all to maintain plenty of open space. We continue to hope that a passing male nightingale will like what he sees, settles and sings.

Ely Wildspace Working party 3 December 2023

Many thanks to the stalwarts who turned out on Sunday to carry out all the tasks for the day. The photo below (less Chris who had to leave a little earlier!) shows the completed hedge works. Fortunately we missed the rain which started just as we finished.

Next session will be in Jan/Feb at the nightingale plots on the Ely Wildspace land. Details will be sent in due course.

In the meantime have a good Christmas, and we hope to see you in the New Year.

Richard Braund

Ely Wildspace Nightingale on BBC!

If you listen to Radio 3's Sunday Breakfast show you'll know that halfway through it features 'Sounds of the Earth' on which they play a recording of natural sounds interspersed with complementary music. This Sunday, 9th July, Sounds of the Earth featured nightingale song, from Ely Wildspace!

It was sent in by Susan Robinson, who made the recording on 10th May. If you missed it you can find the whole show on BBC catch-up (until early August at least). Link is https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001nh1g . The Sounds of the Earth section starts at 1:19:35 into the show and lasts about 15 minutes. The railway crossing alarm and passing train are a bit of an intrusion but locate the recording firmly by the old oak on Springhead Lane, Roswell pits! Well done Susan (and the BBC).

Ely Wildspace Working party 26/27 February 2023

Many thanks to those of you who participated on Sunday (and today). We completed the work in the nightingale plots, which are looking good. Let's hope we can tempt a male nightingale to drop by later this spring and sing for a mate.

We didn't quite finish in Springhead Lane on Sunday, but that was because I had to leave early. Chris Horne and I went back on Monday and dug up some elm suckers to plant in pots for replanting in the autumn. Three of our earlier transplants are growing well, to extend the line of the elm corridor. We also cut the hedge alongside the McCarthy & Stone retirement home.

There'll be more to come in due course.