Welcome to your July newsletter – news and events from the sole charitable organisation focused on the protection, enhancement and human enjoyment of the natural environment of the whole Blackwater Valley.

TREE DESERTS
Do you realise just how lucky you are? To be living in an area with so many trees? According to a “hard-hitting” report this summer from the Woodland Trust, 11 million people in the UK – that’s one in five – live in a tree desert ie. where there is less than 10% tree cover. The report demands a £200 million tree planting drive to address inequities that contribute to air pollution, flooding and ill-health. To make it even more topical, neighbourhoods rich in trees cope better with extreme summer heat as well. It says that trees should be designed into new neighbourhoods and retro fitted in public spaces like hospitals and schools.

The Trust’s Chief Executive, Darren Moorcroft, goes further – “It’s a real injustice and could be affecting quality of life.” And they are backing up their words with action – their Trees For All programme aims to invest £10 million over the next five years. So when you’re next feeling the heat, in whatever way, remember how lucky we are in the Blackwater Valley to have a green, leafy solution close by.
(Based on an article in the Woodland Trust’s magazine Broadleaf)

COLOUR, CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Together with Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP) and the North Camp Support Group, BVCT are part of a working group set up to enhance the safety and appearance of the underpass adjacent to North Camp Station, which is the only viable route for pedestrians and cyclists between North Camp Station and North Camp town. It is also a key route to the Valley path heading North.

Using 500 leaflets and posters, workshop dates and venues were publicised for people to engage with the design of a mural, and two workshops were held in May, one at the West End Centre Aldershot and the other in the family garden at the Old Ford Pub. The drawings from the workshop went on display in the Gallery at the West End Centre from 2nd – 13th June. Participants were asked to showcase colour, creativity and community spirit. An artist was then engaged to design and complete the mural. An appointment was made recently. Negotiations were conducted with Surrey
County Council and Hampshire CC about safety issues relating to the underpass, and the undergrowth surrounding it cut back, so all is set fair for users’ experience to be considerably more enjoyable.

Other initiatives related to links to local stations: - hoping to start a repeat of the ongoing success at North Camp, BVCT hosted the SCRP meeting on 7th July in the Little Sandhurst Community Hall with a view to generating support for forming a Friends of Sandhurst Station group. -

BVCT attended the launch of the ‘Car Free Crowthorne’ project on 4th June - Car Free Crowthorne - which sought to demonstrate just how much of the area can be explored without a car, including five walking and cycling routes from the station. 2,500 pamphlets have been cir culated, which include a QR code that takes people to the BVCT ‘Explore the Blackwater Valley’ webpage.

MORE PLACES TO SIT
BVCT has been supporting Holy Trinity Church in Aldershot for a number of years. Under our guidance a wildlife friendly area has been created in the Victorian church’s grounds. Visitors are greeted by flowering rowans or cherry trees at the church’s entrances, the wildlife hedge from the Woodland Trust has matured and the nectar bars are attracting pollinators. The old yew garden is a haven of flowers and trees and the vegetable beds have flourished.

There were a bench and paved bed surrounds where visitors could sit to enjoy the peace and tranquillity – but they proved insufficient for the number of people who came past. So we stepped up and provided the funds – and now visitors have somewhere else to enjoy their surroundings at leisure.

Our Chair’s Bench
When BVCP sadly lost their founder Chair Dave Pilkington to cancer a bench in his memory was installed at Hawley Meadows. The weather and time spent in an open environment have left their mark, and plans were made to replace it.
However, after consultation with Dave’s widow the Partnership has agreed to repair the bench in situ. The back panel has been lifted and made safe, and we are planning at the end of July for volunteers to sand, oil and spruce it up.

The replacement bench had already been ordered and will now be installed further south in Hawley Meadows.

BVCP AGM – 4th March 2026
For those of you who were unable to attend our AGM here are the nuts and bolts:

Overview of the period - during 2024-25 we were able to make significant contributions to the natural environment of the Valley and local people’s understanding and enjoyment of it.
Financial Review - the Trust has a positive balance considerably in excess of its regular outgoings, which is retained to help new or existing projects, or to respond rapidly and positively to grant applications.
Grants - we paid £110.91 to RAE Angling Club, and approved a grant of £789.23 to the Friends of Queen Elizabeth Park.

Trust activities

Rail to Trail
• At North Camp station we have been able to form a volunteer group of Friends. Starting in February 2025 with railway-specific safety training, they maintain the planting. New artwork by pupils at South Farnborough Junior and Holly Lodge Primary Schools was installed in the platform shelters at the station.
• With help from GWR and SCRP, we commissioned an artwork poster from artist Claire Watson to encourage people to use the train to explore nature in the Blackwater Valley. It has been installed at Guildford and stations along the Valley, and at several cafes locally.
• Signs (financed by SCRP) showing the way to the Valley path were installed at Farnborough North station.
• In April we led a walk from Frimley to North Camp station.

Nature Hunt

The Trust’s Nature Hunts are designed to enthuse children aged 8-12 with the joy of being in the countryside and
learning about wildlife. We launched the first at Hawley Meadows in April, and others at Rowhill Nature Reserve and Southwood Country Park and Woodlands later in the spring.

Other activities and events - We have continued to install and monitor bat, bird and other boxes and buy materials for others to install.

Membership - on 30 September 2025 there were 173 members. As most memberships are household, covering all the people living at the address, this demonstrates a significant level of interest locally in the Trust’s work.

BVCT Awards Scheme
• Steve Bailey was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
• The South East Rivers Trust won the Conservation Project of the Year for its work on the River at Frimley.
• Moor Green Lakes won Access to Nature Project of the Year for the purchase of the site.
• Gingerbread Sedge was Species of the Year. This is a normally rare species elsewhere that thrives in the Valley.
• Blackwater Valley Action for Rivers was the Group of the Year, for setting up a grassroots movement to monitor and test local rivers.

STEVE BAILEY
From the day that Blackwater Countryside Trust was formed the relationship with the Partnership was absolutely crucial. The mainstay of the cooperation between the two has been BVCP Manager Steve Bailey. Steve recently took a well-earned retirement, and although he remains Secretary of the BVCT we felt that this was the right moment to thank him and commemorate his service and achievements with the Trust’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to him at our recent AGM.

Here Steve looks back on twenty years of looking after the Blackwater Valley:
“I was very surprised and honoured to be presented with the Lifetime Achievement award. I was fortunate in my childhood to live on the edge of town and spent a lot of my spare time wandering the paths and fields. There was even a small National Nature Reserve nearby (a schwingmoor) but no one was allowed in. So when I saw a call for conservation volunteers to help on the site I jumped at the chance, and so I was suckered into the local roving conservation group that worked on a number of sites.

I was then asked to help with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, eventually having a paid job leading two BTCV teams in Yorkshire. When that project ended, I came down to the Blackwater Valley Project in 1989 - again a short-term contract but one that I’ve only just escaped. At that time the river was in a poor state – with a dual carriageway proposed through its heart, more mineral sites due and encroaching urban development it was a major challenge to preserve some greenspace.

The Blackwater Valley Project had started to restore some landfill and ex gravel sites, so my role was to get the message out and involve local people. Conservation groups were started, walks led, talks given, and links with the gravel companies developed to influence restoration of their sites. The Project was turned into permanent Partnership in part to look after land as it became restored. It has been a pleasure to be part of a team working to improve the river and habitats along the valley including taking a number of gravel workings from fields to nature reserves.

And then along came SANGS and the opportunity to influence design of a network of new public
greenspaces increased quickly. In all these sites local knowledge has helped integrate access with targeted biodiversity and the latter value can only increase with careful longer management, but that is now left to others.

It’s a full circle, as I return to volunteer status helping out on the river and sites wherever I can. When I arrived in the Valley I knew nothing about bats, but I now have over 250 bat boxes at 19 sites to look after - that will keep me busy.”

THE DEPTHS TO WHICH SOME VOLUNTEERS WILL GO …..
BVCP volunteers and rangers donned chest waders to clear fallen trees from the River Blackwater, close to Hollybush Park in Ash Vale.

The team cleared four areas freeing flow down to the Hollybush Hill Bridge, removing branches, litter and carpet. Woody debris in rivers is often beneficial, slowing water flow in spate and reducing flooding downstream, but in this case, to reduce the flood risk to low-lying housing nearby, it was removed.

These before and after photos show what a fantastic job the team did. So if you are looking for an activity where you can get up to your armpits in muddy water, you know where to come …..

BVCT EVENT IS “ABSOLUTELY FAB”!
BVCT took part in the 2026 Rushmoor Green Fringe Festival in May by staging a ‘Walk and Draw’ event on 19th May jointly with Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP). The festival included a series of events, spread over a fortnight, which highlighted green spaces close to train stations and sustainable travel in Rushmoor.

Despite the forecast of showers (which was proved accurate!) there were 14 walkers plus Alan Taylor, Bernard Baverstock and Chris Smith from the Trust. Sara Grisewood of SCRP led a “Draw what you saw” session in Reg’s Garden by Farnborough North Station at the end of the walk, with refreshments provided by Farnborough Street Residents Association.

This was the kind of partnership working the Trust wants to promote, and the attendees were keen on the idea of a repeat event. SCRP has the money to hold two more and it is hoped that they will take place in the Blackwater Valley in autumn. We have agreed that once details are more advanced we would be happy to be involved and walks from North Camp, Blackwater and Sandhurst stations, as options, were mentioned.

The following, including the photo and the quote from a participant at the end, is taken from a report by Sara Grisewood on the SCRP website: “… our delightful walk on footpaths following the Blackwater Valley with lots of information about plants and wildlife. We passed busy roadsides, went over flyovers, and followed quieter hidden
green footpaths, seeing beautiful wildflowers everywhere. Back at Reg’s garden there was time for tea and cake followed by a restful creative session, drawing, painting and collage, inspired by our walk.”

“Lovely walk with knowledgeable guides. So much beauty and different habitats. Great fun painting after! Absolutely fab!”