At the end of last year the Trustees of the Chiltern Society, as owners of the Watercress Beds and Local Nature Reserve, adopted revised terms of reference for the local management of the site. The Ewelme Management Committee (EMC) acts on behalf of the Executive Council of the Chiltern Society on all matters relating to the site, consulting the Trustees where appropriate and subject to the right of the Executive Council to intervene on matters of major importance. A Trustee of the Chiltern Society is appointed annually to Chair the EMC and is required to provide regular reports on the activities at Ewelme to the Executive Council. Each year up to six other Chiltern Society members, to include a person to act as site warden, are appointed to the committee. A representative is nominated annually by Ewelme Parish Council, the Friends of Ewelme Watercress Beds, the Ewelme Society and South Oxfordshire District Council on behalf of Natural England. The revised terms of reference ensure that while the committee is made up of a majority of Chiltern Society members not less than half of the total membership of the EMC are residents of the Parish of Ewelme. Currently there are two vacant places on the management committee. If you are a Chiltern Society member and interested to find out more, I would be pleased to hear from you. The EMC meets six times each year in Ewelme.
The Chiltern Society aims to conserve and restore the probably unique industrial archaeological heritage of a once important local industry; to conserve and enhance the range of wildlife habitats and improve the landscape quality; to offer educational opportunities and interpretation facilities; to provide public access where appropriate; to provide facilities for enabling the public to observe and enjoy wildlife; and to augment an archive containing both historic and on-going records. The Friends of Ewelme Watercress Beds assist the Chiltern Society in the management of the Watercress Beds and membership is open to all with an interest in the aims of the Association. From their fundraising activities they have given generous financial support, to enhance the site and make life easier for the volunteer workforce.
In managing the site the Chiltern Society, through the EMC, agreed a management plan to guide its activities. As this management plan has been in place for several years it is now to be revised. The Chiltern Society will be appointing an independent person (currently not involved with the Ewelme Watercress Beds), to lead a small review team with a membership drawn from specialists and interested members of the EMC and the Chiltern Society to prepare an updated management plan. The review will take some time and will be the subject of extensive consultation with the village before being considered by the EMC and then adopted by the Trustees. We will ensure that the recent independent survey by David Langston is fully considered as part of the management plan review.
The Watercress Centre continues to be open to the public on the first Sunday in every month, either for guided walks in the winter months or Open Days from April to October. The guided walks held in January and February attracted many visitors including children and the introductory session given by Tom Stevenson included a showing of the newly edited 10 minute DVD using the old film about working on the Watercress Beds in the 1960s. We anticipate many more visitors this year following publicity on Radio Oxford in February when Des Dix and Sue Cooper were interviewed about the site. Open Days are held each month, starting in April, from 2-5pm. Entrance fees are £2 a head with free entrance being offered to children, Chiltern Society members and Friends of the Watercress Beds. Tea and cakes are served, either indoors or outdoors. If you wish to help out as a guide or in serving teas please contact Ann Truesdale on 01491 835173.
Twice each month volunteers spend many hours working on a variety of tasks to keep an acceptable balance between the needs of wildlife and the appearance of the site. These tasks vary from month to month, but usually include keeping in check plants which compete with the growth of watercress in the demonstration beds, keeping the grass under control and creating new habitats. We would welcome new volunteers and particularly a greater involvement of Ewelme residents. Have you considered giving a few hours of your time to volunteer and join the team? If so just turn up on one of the workdays which are held on the first Saturday and third Wednesday of each month, from 9:30-12:30pm. It is great fun and very satisfying. If you can offer just one hour now and then, or even more, it would be really appreciated.
Following an invitation from the Chiltern Society the newly appointed Head of Rural and Environment at the Government Office for the South East, Dougal Driver, visited the Watercress Beds in the snow. He described his visit as ”very useful and the scenery beautiful.” The local volunteers “were great people to discuss the beds, the village, rural issues and we even discussed climate change and recycling. I also had a rewarding walk to the lower beds where we observed water rail and snipe at very close quarters.”
The Chiltern Society is greatly indebted to Dr Marian Shaw for undertaking the mammoth task of writing an Education Pack which is now being piloted by selected primary schools. We were delighted to welcome Ewelme as our first visiting school, followed by visits by pupils from Benson RAF School. Ann Truesdale observing their first visit, said “Marian, Tom (Stevenson) and Des did a brilliant job. It was just great to see the children in their wellies, oblivious to rain, fascinated to see firstly the animals that Des had caught to show them – American crayfish, a frog, minnows, dragon fly nymph and bullhead - and then secondly to learn something about the watercress beds and wildlife. They got stuck into their practical tasks with enthusiasm, one group sieving mud to see how many shrimps they could find, making observations about depth and temperature of the water and another group working out the speed of the water flow to later calculate how long it would take for an accidental poisoning to reach the Thames at Benson.”
The Chiltern Society is very concerned about the repeated outpourings of sewage in the High Street and the constant threat of pollution to the watercress beds. It is providing strong support to the Parish Council in their efforts, on behalf of the residents, to persuade Thames Water and the Environment Agency of the urgent need to replace the inadequate 4” diameter sewer pipe running along the High Street.
This year Ann Truesdale has offered to organise teas at the Watercress Centre on Fridays once a month from 2:30- 5pm starting 23rd April. Dates later in the year will be advertised in the Ewelme News and within the village. Do come along if you are likely to be in the village at that time.
Do you care about the Chiltern’s environment? In concluding this newsletter may I suggest that if you cannot think what to give the one who has everything, why not make a present of a year’s membership of the Chiltern Society? Make your gift in the knowledge that the recipient will be helping to care for the Chilterns and the Society’s largest asset, the Ewelme Watercress Beds and Local Nature Reserve. Visit the website www.chilternsociety.org.uk or phone 01494 771250 for more information.
Current membership of the Ewelme Management Committee:
*Appointed annually by the Executive of the Chiltern Society
**Elected members of the Chiltern Society Executive
Robin Peirce, Chairman EMC**