WALBERTON ACTION GROUP
|
Village Home Page
|
|
AGM 2011 Report
|
|
Chairman's Report
|
|
Bird Survey 2008
|
|
Bird Survey Map
|
|
Hedge Report 2006
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Walberton
Action Group - A Fond
Farewell!
WAG has been a
very successful organisation over the last 16 years, but it was agreed that it
has now run its natural course and so will be dissolved with effect from the 31st
January.
It was created with the belief that communities such as ours can make a
difference in protecting and enhancing our quality of life and we do not have to
rely on County or District Councils. We have taken a particular interest in our
natural environment and have completed a number of valuable surveys of the whole
parish including habitats, hedgerows, birds and flint walls; we hope these
surveys will be of useful reference and have been placed in the Record Office
and with the Sussex Biodiversity Partnership. We also raised a total of some
£35,000 for a major landscape enhancement scheme and £25,000 for an innovative
project based on our heritage as shown in St Mary’s churchyard. The
Hidden Gems
DVD
is a great buy and should still be available at the Post Office.
Website:
www.walbertonag.org.uk-
this has been a
very popular initiative where you can find out all sorts of information about
Walberton, Binsted and Fontwell. We are delighted that the demise of WAG will
not mean the end; John Bushrod is happy to continue to manage the site and will
do his best to keep it up to date.
WAG Working Party: this group carries out a range of tasks around the parish such as footpath maintenance, tree and bulb planting and scrub clearance. This group, re-branded ‘Walberton Task Force’, will continue under the authority of the Parish Council. If you would like to volunteer your services or, indeed, suggest tasks, please contact John Heathcote tel: 01243 551980.
Members of WAG would like to thank all who have supported us over the years. In accordance with our constitution, all our resources will now be passed to the Parish Council.
Peter Brown - Parish News January 2012
Whatever next? A call for support
Did you know that you are a member of Walberton Action Group (WAG)? Everyone who lives in Walberton Parish – including Binsted and Fontwell is a member and can get involved in putting back something into the community.
The aims of the Group are:
·
To
improve the quality of life for us all
· Care for the natural environment
· To support a sustainable community Parish News January 2012
The Group has achieved much over the years but so much more is needed. We are, of course, lucky to live in such a lovely village surrounded by rich countryside and with good facilities – and yet there are issues that crop up from time to time that must be addressed. The recent theat of an EcoTown at Ford is an example.
The philosophy behind WAG is that that we as a community can make a difference – we do not have to rely on others to solve our problems. The Parish Council does a great job but cannot take on everything and so we try to supplement their specific role.
WAG is run on informal lines but aims to achieve practical results: for example each winter we carry out practical work to keep public paths in good order; we have attracted substantial funds to carry out landscape scale tree and hedge planting; and we produce leaflets about walks round Walberton and a comprehensive guide to all bus services in Walberton. Much more information can be found on our website www.walbertonag.org.uk
What issues concern you about living in Walberton? It may be litter, lack of facilities for children, lack of cycle ways, conservation issues, lack of information.......etc.
WAG would welcome your involvement and active support: why not come along to our AGM in the Pavillion on Tuesday 1st November at 7.30pm. If you have any specific suggestions or would like further information and cannot attend the AGM you may contact me on 01243 551829.
Peter Brown, committee member WAG Parish News October 2011
Walberton Green Day October 2010
Click for Poster Click for Talks Programme
More details of Walberton’s Green Day
Saturday 23 October 2010, 10.30 to 4.00, Walberton Village Hall
The list of exhibitors and talks at the Green Day is now almost finalised, though the exact details may change. The day promises to be very informative and enjoyable, with a programme of talks in the small hall, as well as stands and produce to buy in the main hall.
In the morning the talks are likely to be as follows.
- 10.45: Penny Line of WSCC about waste initiatives, with a ‘Food Lovers’ Game’ included;
- 11.30: Jo Brookes, Energy Efficiency Officer at Arun District Council, about energy saving; and
- 12.15: Jenny Hake, of Viridor, the Ford ‘Materials Recycling Facility’, with the details of how the different materials in our ‘recycling’ waste are separated and reclaimed.
In the afternoon:
- 1.00: Tom Coates of WSCC about climate change;
- 1.45: Emma Tyler about ‘Green Power’ in Fontwell;
- 2.30: Graeme Clements of Covers, Chichester, on the way different technologies can save energy in the home; and
- 3.15: Steve Podd, of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, about water conservation and wildlife.
Each of the organisations giving talks will also have an exhibition stand. As well as these exhibitors, there will be displays from the Tangmere composting facility; Walberton Primary School; ‘Green Power’ in Fontwell; Portsmouth Water; the South Downs National Park (which part of our parish is now in); and John Penfold with biomass heating. Produce and crafts will be available for sale from the coppice group; Walberton Horticultural Society; Self Unlimited (apple juice and recycled wood); Christine Llewellyn (baskets); and the Allotment Society. Tree planting and bee-keeping will be other topics covered. We hope also to have books from ‘Hidden Nature’ in Chichester.
Final tweaks to the details will be on the Walberton Action Group website, www.walbertonag.org.uk. There is news about related initiatives such as ‘Greening Campaigns’ on www.greening-campaign.co.uk.
The ‘Green Day’ will be an unusual local event, with the emphasis on how we in country parishes can participate in looking after our world and using its resources more sustainably. It should be fun too. If you would like to know more, come to the WAG AGM in Walberton Village Hall on Tuesday 16 November, 7.30 at Walberton Village Hall, when ‘Green Power’ will give a longer talk.
Emma Tristram Parish News October 2010
Walberton Action Group goes to Westminster June 2008
On 30th June, I joined CAFÉ (Communities Against Ford Eco-Town) on a coach trip to Westminster to demonstrate against the Government’s proposed Eco-Town at Ford (5,000 or more houses stretching from Yapton to the river Arun). CAFÉ had done a brilliant job, providing not only posters, banners and a cardboard cut-out ‘town’, but also teaching us a protest song – ‘we don’t want no Eco-Town’ – based on a song by Pink Floyd (‘The Wall’). See www.nofordecotown.blogspot.com which has a link to a video about the demonstration, also to the CAFÉ website and the online petition.
CAFÉ are now in dire need of more funds to continue their good work. Delegates from here and other areas are meeting the Minister, Caroline Flint, on Monday. The consultation process may be extended to October. If you can help, send a donation to: CAFÉ, PO Box 123, Arundel, BN18 8BF. Do email me for more information on emma.tristram@dsl.pipex.com.
Emma Tristram June 2008
WAG NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2007
Editorial: Your Committee would like to pay tribute to the great contribution made to the development of WAG by the late Martin Bond, who died in June. He was our treasurer for the last few years as well as being a past chairman; he was an indefatigable walker of our footpaths and put together the excellent Walks around Walberton; he also designed and established our WAG website which gives such a wealth of information about our village. Martin’s energetic contributions to our community will be greatly missed. We are still looking for someone to step forward to take over as Hon Treasurer of WAG – if you can help please contact our chairman, Peter Brown. We are delighted that John Bushrod has already taken over the website and is planning a number of improvements.
Walberton Place Entrance Gates:
Drawing by Maria Levey
Binsted Wildflower Walk: Jan Wood and Emma Tristram spent some time last year monitoring the wildflowers to be seen along the footpaths of Binsted. They have now produced an enjoyable booklet which takes you on a couple of circuits of that unspoilt corner of our parish. The booklet provides a checklist of plants you might be able to identify on the walks and is enhanced by some attractive illustrations by Belinda Wilkins. The booklet was launched at this year’s Strawberry Fair and has already sold well – you can get your copy at the Post Office for £1.
Proposed South Downs National Park: WAG’s recent major landscape project (2004-6, involving much tree and hedge planting) has been a factor in the possible inclusion of more of Binsted in the proposed South Downs National Park. The Inspector’s Report, recently published, proposed adding all the previously omitted woodland (the southernmost linear copses of Binsted Woods), and five more fields. He said: ‘Unlike other parts of the coastal plain, this area also benefits from the programme of landscape restoration work that has been undertaken in recent years. This work has strengthened key landscape elements such as the mature hedgerows that help to give the local landscape a clear sense of place.’ The Inspector’s decision, if confirmed, may help repel any further moves to put part of the Arundel Bypass through Binsted.
Walberton Bird Survey 2008: Many members enjoyed an excellent meeting earlier this year when David Hart and Jim Bagley gave a slideshow of birds likely to be seen in this part of Sussex. They also led us on a Dawn Chorus Walk in late May. These events were all part of our wish to carry out a survey of birds in Walberton Parish – naturally including Binsted and Fontwell.
The main thrust will be to comprehensively survey the parish during the breeding season – March to July. We hope to recruit enough volunteers to cover the entire parish – they will be allocated a patch which they will aim to walk every month of that period. All the results will be brought together into a report in a year’s time. For anyone interested in this project there will be a meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday 9th October to be held in the Meeting Room at the rear of the Village Hall. There will be a non-competitive quiz and refreshments. Please contact Peter Brown if you would like to help but cannot get to the meeting.
AGM: Please note the date of this year’s AGM – Wednesday 77th November.