The next litter pick will be on Saturday 7th November 2026 at 10.00 . Meet at Dragonfly Bridge to the rear of Morrisons Supermarket, Woosehill RG41 3SN at 10:00.
Please wear suitable clothing, footwear and gloves.Litter pickers and bags provided. Parking is available at Morrisons.
WOOSEHILL MEADOWS & EMM BROOK WORK PARTY CALENDAR– 2026
OCTOBER
Sat 3rd - Litter Pick
11 bags or rubbish and a bicycle wheel were picked up from along the Emm Brook by the team of 8 in just over an hour. Good to see new members helping .Why not help for Novembers pick.
SEPTEMBER
Sat 26th - Work Party
The volunteering day on 26 September, hosted by the South East Rivers Trust and Friends of Emm Brook, provided an opportunity to build a woody berm on the Emm Brook using previously coppiced wood.
A litter pick was also undertaken in the river itself and produced 20 bags of rubbish with 3 bikes and other debris.
Sat 19th - Eco Event
St Nicholas Church in Emmbrook celebrated its 50th Birthday in 2026.
The Eco Event took place on Saturday 19th September 2026, jointly with the Friends of the Emm brook . We met in the field opposite Emmbrook Senior School on Emmbrook Road .
32 people signed in, 11 of which were children and all but 1 child who was from church, were from scouts/cubs etc. The 6 projects we had planned for were all tackled and completed except
the wildflower meadow raking. That was tackled but is a huge task and we need more work to complete that.
Sat 5th - Litter Pick
The team picked up 9 bags of rubbish from alongside the Emm Brook and a metal barrier.
AUGUST
Sat 1st - Litter Pick
Despite the heat, the team picked up 11 bags of rubbish from alongside the Emm Brook.A big thanks to all that attended.
Sat 15th - Work Party
Brush Clearing – Around the path along the stream.
Watering our tree saplings along the Emm Brook
Deadwood Pile & Dead Hedge Material preparation – Sorting cuttings and building stakes, weaving poles, and adding filling materials.
JULY
Sat 4th - FOTEB Litter Pick
A big thanks to those that attended the FOTEB Monthly litter pick alongside the Emm Brook on Saturday . Thankfully it wasn't too hot. A total of 8 bags of rubbish and an Office chair out of the Emm Brook were removed.
Sat 18th - Work Party
- CANCELLED
FOTEB 2026 AGM
This years AGM was held upstairs at the Woosehill Community Centre ,Emmview Close RG41 3DA on Monday 11th May 2026 at 19:30 .
Following the AGM a talk was given by Matt Knight of Freely Fruity & Tree Council.
Entitled:
Roots of Change — How Trees, Schools & Communities Grow Together .
BALSAM BASHING 2026
The annual Balsam Bashing has been undertaken on the Emm Brook in August. Once the Balsam has come into flower.
The Three Amigos will walk the Emm Brook from Area 2 to Area 8 removing Himalayan Balsam as they go in the summer, a total distance of approximately 3.53 km or for those of us of a certain age 2.19 Miles.
MONTHLY BIRD WALKS AROUND DINTON PASTURES 2026
RSPB
The RSPB group runs “A Date With Nature” walk at Dinton Pastures
Country Park on the first Saturday morning of every month of
the year. These start at 9:00 am in the main car park (postcode
RG10 0TH), and finish by 12:30 pm. A donation of £2 per adult
(children free) is requested.
Car park charges at weekends are currently £2.30/hr
up to a maximum of £9.20 (for 4 hours or over).
This
Month on the Emmbrook
What to look for if you are out and about in
OCTOBER
General
It's a spectacular month as woodlands are ablaze with the reds, yellows and golds of autumn leaves and birds feast on the bright hedgerow berries. The first fungi are starting to appear, too. This is the month that highlights the changing seasons.
In the garden birds such as the Blackbird, Blue Tit and Robin will be seen more frequently as their need to find food increases.
This time of year is a good time to start feeding them, if you have ever stopped. Autumn colour can be seen along the Emm Brook as the trees and hedgerow leaves change. The last sunday of the month is traditionally when the clocks change again. We move the clocks back an hour on the 28th October at 2 AM and adopt Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) until March.
Birds
In autumn very few birds can be heard singing, although they do call to one another as they move around in flocks.Keep an eyeout for Long-tailed Tits
moving from tree to tree at Riverside walk. The exception can often be Robins with their melancholy autumn song. A spell of warm weather sometimes persuades Song and Mistle thrushes to
sing from some lofty perch, and this is always welcome.
The start of the month Meadow Pipits can sometimes be seen flying over Riverside Walk in large numbers as they migrate to other areas. Redwing and Fieldfare will be
migrating from Northern Europe to winter in Britain.This is the time Jays are also active burying acorns to eat during the winter.
Insects
Fewer insect will be seen as the cold weather sets in however certain insects become more noticeable. Around this time of the year Crane flies or Daddy Longlegs appear in their greatest numbers. Harvestmen also known as Harvest spiders can also be seen.
Butterflies
Red Admirals can still be seen on the wing on sunny day along with Speckled Wood.
Dragonflies
Common Hawkers can still be seen alongside the Emmbrook at
Dinton Pastures.
Moths
An exotic-looking moth with an exotic name, the Merveille-du-Jour . It’s an autumn flier that feeds on Ivy flowers and ripe berries,
widespread and not scarce in woodland, parkland and gardens; the larvae live on oak. Not all moths are brown and boring!
New moths that you may expect to see in the garden in autumn and early winter:
December Moth
Juniper Carpet
November Moth
Winter Moth
Feathered Thorn
Deep Brown Dart
Black Rustic
Blair's Shoulder-knot
Green-brindled Crescent
Brindled Green
Brick
Red-line Quaker
Yellow-line Quaker
Beaded Chestnut
Lunar Underwing
Barred Sallow
The Sallow
Other Wildlife
As the tree canopy is gradually lost Grey Squirrels can be seen moving through the branches looking for acorns.
Around mid-October Toads go into hibernation, finding logs or stones to hide beneath until Spring arrives once more.
Frogs also hibernate at this time at the bottom of ponds or some other sheltered place, ready to emerge again in the following January.
Spiders webs – on cold autumn mornings you suddenly realise how many spiders there are. Take an early morning walk and spot spider webs outlined in dew on hedgerows, in meadows even on house windows and car wing mirrors. Spider silk is truly amazing – see if you can find a spider actually making a web and watch carefully how it's constructed.
Plants & Trees
The leaves on the trees and hedgerows start to change colour to a yellow - gold colour.
Why do leaves change colour
Individual flowering plants such as hogweed, meadow sweet and greater bindweed may still be found along the banks of the Emm Brook where they have escaped the mower. However they usually look lonely and bedraggled.
October is a good time to see fungi, cool damp days you will find many types in woodland and fields.
.jpg "Litter Pick October 2026")
