Welcome to this the first newsletter of the Castle Point Wildlife Group.

As many of you will know last year West Wood was sold by the Church Commissioners and purchased by Castle Point Borough Council with support from various partners.

Castle Point Borough Council had previously leased the wood from the Church, and had agreed with Castle Point Wildlife Group an arrangement to maintain the wood and commence its regeneration. Unfortunately the wood had been left unmanaged for many years and was in desperate need of work to stop it from dying and being at risk.

Following the purchase of the woods by the Councils, we have had detailed discussions with them over ongoing management. These discussions are ongoing but the Council have intimated their willingness to set up a formal agreement for a long term arrangement with us.

With this in mind and linked to the fact that we have an existing agreement in place until Autumn of this year we have recommenced our activities in West Wood, and at our recent AGM agreed that we would look to put in place a newsletter which would be distributed to local residents on an occasional basis to keep you aware of what is going on, and also to hopefully ask you to consider joining the group and helping us with the work in the woods. This is the first of these newsletters.

We hope you appreciate the work being done in the woods, and look forward to hearing from you with your ideas, as well as keeping us up to date on what wildlife and birds you see in the woods. The group is made up of volunteers from within and outside the borough of Castle Point. The aims of the group are to protect the environment for wildlife and develop the habitats to encourage wildlife to increase.

We do not only look after West Wood, but also maintain an area of woodland known as North Benfleet Hall Wood adjacent to Woodside Park in Thundersley. Our activities are not just restricted to the mainland and we work with many other organisations across Castle Point and are also involved in educating children about wildlife by supporting local schools in learning about the environment. We want the newsletter to be a 2 way communication, and welcome your comments as well as information on what wildlife, birds and plants you see in the woods to assist us in ensuring the habitat is developed to meet their needs.

How to contact us?
We have our own website and you can find out more about us at www.castlepointwildlifegroup.co.uk The website gives information about our activities as well as tips and hints about wildlife. We can also be contacted by phone via Neal Warren on 01702 551448 (evenings are best).

Feedback

We welcome your feedback and comments. Please approach us when you see us working or leave comments via the website or phone as detailed. We believe in ensuring that the environment is improved and wildlife protected. The woods are a great asset to Castle Point and it is essential they are managed properly and protected. This is the first newsletter and is designed just to introduce the group to you. Next time we will give more information on the group and also on the other wood we look after in Castle Point (North Benfleet Hall Wood), as well as updating you on the arrangements we are putting in place with the woods owners (Council).

So what is happening?

As mentioned the woods have had little attention for many years. Historically the woods were a ‘coppicing’ wood providing wood for fires as well as for using to make tools and other implements for the home and for work.

In the last couple of years we have started to set up a coppicing programme again, as well as developing different types of environment to attract and protect the range of wildlife in the area.

To date 2 areas have been subject to coppicing making the areas more open for birds to come in to the wood as previously they were unable to penetrate the canopy. In autumn of last year we also did some lighter coppicing around the entrance off Rayleigh Road as well as to open up some of the pathways to improve visibility. This was done after several ladies mentioned that fact that at times they felt closed in and could not see across the woods.

We are aware that at the moment some of the areas look untidy due to the piles of brush from the coppicing. We would like to assure you this will be cleared during the spring, but the snow and freezing weather has delayed our work, and it is essential we continue our efforts towards the coppicing as this has to cease at the end of March before birds start nesting. Over coming weeks the brush piles will be cleared through chipping and also bonfires.

It is here we need your help! We intend to set up working sessions and would welcome anyone who wishes to help us with the tidying up. All you need are old clothes, boots and gloves. It is a good way to meet your neighbours, get fit and best of all help the environment! Details can be obtained via our website (see below) or from posters on the notice board at the entrance off Rayleigh Road, and a list of dates is enclosed with this newsletter.

Membership

We are always looking for new members to help us with our work. Membership is only £5 per year for a
family.

If you would like to join, please contact us via the web site or by phone as above, and we will be pleased to send you a membership form.

Other groups

We have been very lucky in the past couple of years by having assistance from Greengrid Task Force. This is a group who offer their services to help with conservation works. We would like to publically thank them and their volunteers for helping us.
We have also had assistance from businesses who have allowed their staff to volunteer to work on community projects. If your Company operate a scheme and are looking for activities, please consider working with us. We can accommodate groups of any size, and any age group as there are always many tasks to do!

Wildlife in the woods

We know a lot of residents walk through the woods and again we would like your help. We are trying to set up a wildlife diary, and record what is seen in the woods and when. If you see anything of interest (rare birds, flowers etc), please let us know via the contact details above, and we will set up a diary on the website so everyone knows what is around in the woods.

Logs As a result of the coppicing works we have previously accumulated an amount of logs that have been for sale for firewood.  We do not sell on a commercial basis and all money raised is put back in to the woods through completion of projects such as the pathway that was built along the brook a year ago, and the bridges built across the brooks at several locations. At the moment we have sold out of seasoned logs but may have some available later in the year. We also have woodchips for sale from the chipping of the brush and bark. This makes excellent mulch for your gardens and is only £2 a sack, which is a lot cheaper than the DIY stores!! Contact Neal on 01702 551448 if interested (please supply your own sack!!

Thank you for reading our newsletter and please do consider joining us and helping to maintain your local woodland.

Neal Warren on behalf of Castle Point Wildlife Group