Dear Friends,

We have two dates for you this month!
This Saturday 10th June and Wednesday 21st June when we hope to be joined by the Moors Valley Volunteers.

Our usual work for the Summer focusses on pulling invasive Himalayan Balsam along Uddens Water where in the past it has got to the point that it has outcompeted the native flora and leaving the banks bare earth when it dies off in the Winter.
The great news is that with the focus over the years, we are making progress and although it is still present it is harder to find!
That said we have found it has spread into the woodland, so we will need to go in search of that.

Ground conditions are fairly uneven and may be muddy in the wet woodland (even after this dry spell), so please wear suitable footwear.
I would definitely advise long trousers as there is a risk of ticks and guaranteed nettles & brambles etc.
We will mostly be working in the shade of the trees, although may be in the sun in places.
Gloves, tools, hot and cold drinks, biscuits all supplied as usual, but feel free to bring something for lunch if staying all day.

We will be on site from 9am until 2.30pm at the latest, but as always, come and go as it suits.
If you have not been before, please let me have a contact number for yourself and an emergency contact name and number, either by replying to this email or on the day.

Under 16's are welcome if accompanied and let us know if you are working on your DofE as this can count towards it!
 
I will confirm nearer the date where to meet on the 21st, as it will in part depend what we find and how we get on this Saturday.

 Location details for Saturday below, but please shout if you need any other information.
Call me if you can't find us on the day.
NOTE - The map and details below are from last year and also have the location for the Heathland site where we were bashing bracken.  We will be doing that soon, but probably not Saturday.
We will be working in the vicinity of the single orange dot with the two orange lines...
Hope that makes sense!
Best parking is the Ferndown Forest Golf Club.

Andy 🦎
07984 843192

Key for map below -

Blue Circles - PARKING
Either on Uddens Drive just North of the A31
W3W ///newsreel.crop.zealous 
or Ferndown Forest golf club
W3W ///tricky.cheer.year
Black dots - ROUTE TO SITES FROM UDDENS DRIVE
From the Ferndown end follow the trailway along Uddens Water.
Orange Dots / lines - WORK SITES
Site 1 Heathland project
///magpie.something.scorched
Site 2 Woodland and river bank along Uddens Water
///elite.hazelnuts.regal

Hi All,

Tasks this week include cutting back the vegetation along the path across the restock site, to keep it accessible and stop the Oak and Rowan from getting crowded out by the Birch.
There are other paths that can be done to depending on numbers.
Care will be taken to stay on the path and look before cutting so no nesting birds are disturbed.

We also have two super new benches to install and one perch bench to relocate if it is still sound.

Litter picking is always on the agenda for those that prefer that.

We will be on site from 09:00 until 14:30 ish.  As always arrive and depart as it suits.

Cannon Hill Plantation - North is up Uddens Drive (Heading North from the A31) on the left about 200m from the A31.
Head up the track from the parking area and you will find us at the top of the track.

What 3 Words ///reissued.cheer.character

Hot and cold drinks, biscuits provided, but bring lunch if you wish.
Gloves and tools also provided,

If you have not been along before, you would be very welcome.
All we need from you is your contact details and those of an emergency contact (Name & phone number).
If you are under 16, please bring an adult along.

Any queries, please ask.
Look forward to seeing you.

Andy 🦎
07984 843192
admin@cannonhillfriends.org.uk

The Friends of Uddens & Cannon Hill is calling for nominations to win a £5,000 Movement for Good Award from Benefact Group. 
We are encouraging people to nominate us for a chance to win one of ten £5,000 special grants as part of Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards, which is giving over £1million away to charities for the fifth year running.
It’s quick and easy to nominate us online. Nominations for the animal & wildlife charity special grants are open from Monday 17 April to Friday 21 April and you can vote for us online at https://animal.movementforgood.com/  
Just search “UDDENS” in box and we will come up.
Winners will be drawn at random and the more times we are nominated the more chance it has of being selected.
Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, says: “Through our Movement for Good Awards special grants we’re encouraging everyone to nominate an animal charity. Benefact Group is the third largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. Owned by a charity, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give. Our Movement for Good Awards will continue to help animal welfare and we know that for many animal charities, £5,000 can make a real difference.”

Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.

Hi All,

Massive thanks to those that came along the other Sunday and made so much difference to the path in Cannon Hill South. See the picture below!
We also started to scrape back the main track and are hoping to continue that work this Saturday.
Although we are fortunate that a lot of Cannon Hill and Uddens is accessible to the less mobile, we make a special effort to keep Cannon Hill South as easy to use as we can.
There is a high density of benches within easy reach and the paths generally stay firm and dry.
They do get a little muddy and overgrown if we are not careful, so scraping them with shovels is needed.

As this is a labour intensive (although very rewarding) task, we have not managed to do the entire main track in one year..... Will this year be different?  With you help it just may be :-)
We also plan to make some finishing touches to the resurfaced section to hold the gravel in place.
As always,we have less strenuous tasks.
These include cutting back encroaching vegetation along the paths (in areas that do not interfere with any nesting birds), litter picking and a visual survey of our nest boxes.
We will be on site from 09:00 until 14:30 ish.  As always arrive and depart as it suits.
We will be based on the 5 ways junction in the middle of Cannon Hill South.
Cannon Hill Plantation - South is up Uddens Drive on the left (South of the A31) past the Old Thatch and Uddens Trading Estate. 
What 3 Words https://w3w.co/player.owned.peachy

Hot and cold drinks, biscuits provided, but bring lunch if you wish.
Gloves and tools also provided, 

Any queries, please ask.
Look forward to seeing you.

Andy 🦎
admin@cannonhillfriends.org.uk

​
Saturday 4th March
Tomorrow is our last winter session working on Elford Heath, our heathland restoration.
We will be in the same place we were last month (On the trailway near the solar farm).
We will be having a bonfire and sausages (Again, the last until the Autumn).
If you want more details, scroll down to a copy of the email I sent out previously.

We have some dates for your diary for our Spring season of volunteer days.  Just weekends, but hope to slot in some midweek.
Sun 2nd April
Sat 22nd April
Sun 14th May
Sat 10th June

Finally -

As an organisation, we have had close links with the ranger team at Avon Heath right from the start.
They have supported us with many of our projects over the years.
Some of the current and former rangers are raising money to help a former colleague who could really do with a helping hand in her time of need.
If we can help them raise the funds necessary, I have been reliably informed that they will come along to one of our volunteer events to give us some expert help for the day. 😉
We will let their feet recover first though 👣
Link here - https://gofund.me/23e0d8e4
Many thanks 💚

Kind regards,
Andy🦎
07984 843192
​
Hi All,
We are still working on area 3, but will be tackling it from the other side to minimise the distance we have to drag it to a fire site.
We will therefore be basing ourselves on the Castleman trailway next to the solar farm , so very easy to find.

Dress for the weather conditions, uneven ground and possible sparks if near the fire.

Hot and cold drinks, biscuits and a lunchtime snack provided, along with tools, gloves and training.

Fun for all the family, with flexibility of tasks.  Under 16's please bring an adult.

There has rarely been a day this winter where we haven't had someone new join us, which is super exciting!
So if you haven't been before you are assured a warm welcome.
We will be onsite from 09.00 until 14.30 ish, but as always you are welcome to start later and/or finish earlier.

For insurance and welfare purposes, we do need name and phone number for an emergency contact please (as well as your name and phone number).  This is also an opportunity to let us know of any medical conditions you wish us to be aware of.
You can either email this in advance or let us know on arrival.


Any queries, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope to see you there :-)

Andy 🦎

Hi All,
We are still working on area 3, but will be tackling it from the other side to minimise the distance we have to drag it to a fire site.
We will therefore be basing ourselves on the Castleman trailway next to the solar farm , so very easy to find.

Dress for the weather conditions, uneven ground and possible sparks if near the fire.

Hot and cold drinks, biscuits and a lunchtime snack provided, along with tools, gloves and training.

Fun for all the family, with flexibility of tasks.  Under 16's please bring an adult.

There has rarely been a day this winter where we haven't had someone new join us, which is super exciting!
So if you haven't been before you are assured a warm welcome.
We will be onsite from 09.00 until 14.30 ish, but as always you are welcome to start later and/or finish earlier.

For insurance and welfare purposes, we do need name and phone number for an emergency contact please (as well as your name and phone number).  This is also an opportunity to let us know of any medical conditions you wish us to be aware of.
You can either email this in advance or let us know on arrival.

Congratulations to Jo, Paul and Scott who recently qualified in Emergency First Aid at Work (with an additional Forestry module). 

It's handy to have a rough idea of numbers, so if you can let us know that is useful, but not essential.

Any queries, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope to see you there :-)

Andy 🦎
admin@cannonhillfriends.org.uk

We have had a few requests for volunteering opportunities on days other than a Sunday.   This is great that more people want to get involved and we are working hard to make it happen.
We have a couple of trial Saturday's in the next couple of months.
We are also looking at weekdays, however this is dependant in finding someone who can run it.  

To get us started, here are the next 3 dates -
Saturday 4th February
Sunday 19th February
Saturday 4th March  

The above are all our practical task days.  More dates to follow when we get a feel for what people want, so don't be shy, comment below, message us or email admin@cannonhillfriends.org.uk.

There are also plenty of other things we would welcome help with, including admin, IT, wildlife monitoring, fundraising, tool and trailer maintenance, building bird & bat boxes and representing us at local events.

If you have not come along before, give us a try. We are a very friendly and relaxed group.

​Happy New Year!
Apologies for only just getting this out, I promise you will get more dates shortly!

We will be continuing our work on Elford Heath in Uddens Plantation (Where we have been working this winter so far).
If you have been before, you know the drill.

If you are coming along for the first time, then excellent,  email me and I will give you all the details.
The same applies if you are not sure and want to know more about our projects before you give us a try.

09.00 - 14.30 Sunday 15th January  (As always, your start and finish time is up to you, but this is when we will be on site).

Andy 🦎
07984 843192

After an excellent start back on the heath last month, we have 2 opportunities in December.
We would love to see you on either...or both!
Help us with this project to turn an area of failed pine crop back to scarce lowland heathland habitat. Home to scarce flora and fauna and a great way to lock in carbon.

We will be on the Uddens Plantation site (where we have been working since 2019) from 09:00 - 14:30 ish.
We will be having a bonfire, so sausages will be on the menu around lunchtime. Let us know if you are coming to avoid missing out on a sausage and particularly if you want a vegan option.

As always, hot and cold drinks and biscuits also provided along with tools and gloves.

Dress for the weather / possible bonfire sparks and footwear for uneven and possibly wet ground.
There will be jobs for those that don't want to venture into the heath, dragging and processing the vegetation ready for the bonfire etc.
Come for as little or as long as you wish, but ideally let us know if you are planning to attend to help with the catering!

Under 16's welcome, put please bring an adult with you and let us know if you are working on your DofE award as we can help with that.
More info and site maps here
Feel free to contact me if you have any queries

Andy 🦎
andy@cannonhillfriends.org.uk
07984 843192