Spring and Summer at a glance, February 2012

Spring on Yateley Common Country Park has started with our annual Big Spring Clean event which saw 90 volunteers help to clear 78 bags of litter, 4 tyres, 11 garden chairs and much more from across the Common. The volunteers who included Cubs, Beavers, Scouts, Brownies and Guides as well as local residents spent between 1 and 3 hours on Saturday 25 February cleaning up the mess that others have left behind. Between them the volunteers clocked a staggering 159 hours of cleaning time, ensuring that the whole Common was left tidy for another season –Thank you to everyone who took part and helped to make this year even more successful!

As the birds start nesting over the next few months, the Yateley Common Rangers will be out for early morning bird surveys, looking in particular for our three Special Protection Area Bird species –Dartford Warblers, Woodlarks and Nightjar. They will also be encouraging local dog walkers to keep their dogs on leads throughout the nesting season 1 March -31 July so that the nesting birds are not disturbed by dogs straying of the bridleways. For those interested in joining the Rangers for an early morning bird watch, Castle Bottom Nature Reserve has a Dawn Chorus walk on 22 April.

Heathlands are an important habitat for reptiles and every year the Rangers carry out monthly surveys between April and October to see how many Adders, Grass Snake and Slow Worms are living across the site, whilst also trying to get a glimpse of the rare Smooth Snake which is believed to call Yateley Common its home.

Our weekly and monthly volunteers will continue their hard work throughout the season, helping to manage and conserve the heathland habitat. Our Sunday Volunteers meet on the last Sunday of every month between 10am and 1pm and are always looking for more support.

The usual summer programme of track maintenance is planned with resurfacing of some of the muddier bridleways helping to improve tracks for all visitors. New entrance signs have been being installed throughout February and March and it is hoped that this will be followed by the replacement of Bridleway Markers across the site helping to direct walkers, cyclist and horse riders along Bridleways so that other more fragile areas are at less risk from trampling and disturbance. There are now a couple of self-led walking routes available for visitors to download along with regular events run by the Yateley Common Ranger –why not join the Ranger on 15 April for a 3 ponds Ramble across the common.

Throughout the spring and summer term the Rangers carry out a number of educational sessions for local schools including pond dips, bug hunts and orienteering. They also run a number of events during the holidays where local children are able to explore the Common. Our annual Easter Trail will be run on Monday 9 of April and gives families the chance to follow clues in order to get their Easter surprise.

This year you can keep up-to-date with what’s happening out on Yateley Common Country Park and our other local sites by becoming a friend on Facebook, reading our Blog or following us on twitter. We also have a photo gallery on Flickr showing photos from our various sites, and if you have a question about the site you can now Ask a Ranger.

To support all the important works happening on Yateley Common and learn more about it you can become a Friend of Yateley Common for just £3/year and receive quarterly newsletters and reduced prices on our events.

The Rangers are looking forward to another fully packed year of work, and hope to see you out on the Common!