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MONTHLY LITTER PICK A Litter pick along the Emm Brook is undertaken on the first Saturday of every month of the year. The next litter pick will be on Saturday 6th December 2025 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– Autumn & Winter 2025/26
2025
SEPTEMBER
Sat 6th - FOTEB Litter Pick
Sat 20th - Work Party
OCTOBER
Fri 12th 16:00- Survey, Walk & Talk
We also enjoyed our first Wild Woosehill Walk, exploring the central woodlands around the balancing pond with members and new faces alike. Together we discussed the benefits of diverse woodlands, local ecological challenges, and how we can keep improving our space for both nature and community.
We plan to adjust the timing of future WWWs so even more people can join—details coming soon!
Sat 18th - Work Party
NOVEMBER
Sat 1st - FOTEB Litter Pick
Sat 15th - Work Party
DECEMBER
Sat 6th - FOTEB Litter Pick
Sat 13th - Work Party
Fri 19th - Survey, Walk & Talk
2026
JANUARY
Sat 3rd FOTEB Litter Pick
Fri 09th - Survey, Walk & Talk
Sat 24th - Work Party
FEBRUARY
7th - FOTEB Litter Pick
Sat 14th - Work Party
Fri 20th - Survey, Walk & Talk
MARCH
Sat 7th - FOTEB Litter Pick
Sat 14th - Work Party
Fri 20th - Survey, Walk & Talk
AGM 2025
This years AGM was held on Monday 12th May, 2025 at the Woosehill Community Centre, Emmview Cl, Wokingham RG41 3DA .
BALSAM BASHING 2025
The annual Balsam Bashing will be undertaken on the Emm Brook later in the year. Once the Balsam has come into flower.
The Balsam pulling season is over and a total of 75 hours have been put in to remove Balsam over 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 2025
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).
December 21st is the Midwinter Solstice and our shortest hours of daylight.
Plants are in their dormant stage and there are very few signs of growth at this time. It also marks the official arrival of thr winter.
This month is, of course, dominated by the run up to Christmas. It is now, perhaps more than any other time that we bring plants from the countryside into our home.
Evergreens such as Holly, with its rosy berries (only on the females plants) are used in wreaths, along with Ivy and fir cones too. The custom of decorating homes with evergreen branches dates back
to pre-Christian times. Holly,Iivy and Mistletoe were thought to have magical powers.
A European tradition states that whoever brings the first Holly into the house at Christmas will rule the house for the following year.
Cold nights and damp days make winter inhospitable for lots of insects and plants, while most amphibians and some mammals have gone into hibernation. But while the rest of the animal kingdom sleeps, the landscape is flooded with visiting and resident birds. Amongst the most likely birds to be seen in the gardens, woodlands and fields alonside the Emm are flocks of roaming Tits and Finches (such as Chaffinch and Brambling).
These are often joined by the occasional Tree creeper and Nuthatch.
With every year that passes there are more reports of Blackcaps and even Chiffchaffs over wintering; you may be lucky to see them amongst these flocks.
Rooks and Crows seem to be everywhere once out of town, and Jays and Magpies are hard to miss also. Robins are one of the first species to start singing in earnest, with the males marking out their territories in readiness for the coming breeding season
At night Tawny owls may be heard staking out territory, with both the male and the female birds creating the classic owl 'tu-wit tu-who'.
Very few insects can be found flying around during December. The exception may be clouds of male Gnats dancing in the hope of attracting a passing female.
Look into your shed or attic now and you may come across adult Small Tortoiseshell or Peacock butterflies waiting out the winter.
Some Slugs and Snails still brave the conditions. Their slimy trails differ in that snails trails are not continuous, unlike Slugs.
All of our local amphibian and reptile species (i.e. common toad slow-worm; common newt, smooth newt , great crested newt and grass snake)
are all hidden away under ground until spring, and sometimes together in mixed groups.
Only the common Frog chooses a different approach by hiding at the bottom of a pond.
Foxes will be making their intentions loud and clear this month as their mating season ensues. Vixens (females) wail and scream, and dogs (males) bark to find mates across the landscape.
They also become easier to spot as they search and flirt. There are more urban Foxes now than ever, so chances of seeing and indeed hearing their displays are no longer confined to fields and hedgerows.
Their cubs will be born next January / February. Winter evergreens provide a welcome touch of green in mid-winter. Only the female holly tree has red berries and holly berries were traditionally used in Christmas decorations. Mistletoe was always a magical plant and symbol of fertility and today is still brought into homes at Christmas for people to kiss under!
Mistletoe is actually one of our most easily recognised but least understood plant. In Britain we have just one species of Mistletoe Viscum album and the latin name refers to the berries which are white (album) and contain a very sticky, viscous fluid (Viscum). Did you know, mistletoe's name comes from Anglo-Saxon and means “dung on a twig” - not so romantic after all! Ivy may be common but it’s great for wildlife. See if you can spot woodpigeons or other birds feeding on the black berries of ivy in late winter.On chilly mornings, plants and seed heads such as teasel can take on artistic frosty forms. It’s worth keeping seed heads standing in your garden through the winter, not only for their attractiveness for us on cold winter mornings, but for birds looking for food and insects that hide inside through the winter.
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