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Twitter @judyweb32049878
Narrow-leaved water-dropwort Wildlife sites that Judy is involved with
Read the Wild Oxford project reports, there are links to Judy's reports on Chilswell Valley, Raleigh Park, Rivermead Nature Park and Lye Valley. Judy was one of the speakers at a BBOWT event at the University of Oxford's Museum of Natural History on 26 Sept 2018, which was held to show progress with the Wild Oxford project over the previous five years. |
 Judy spreading purple loosestrife seed in the Lye Valley - photo by Tony Gillie - click on it to see full size
Judy was included in the 2021 New Year's Honours List. She was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) 'For services to Conservation of Wildlife and Habitats in Oxfordshire' - see More about Judy Following time spent as a teacher of Biology (she has written a short history of Milham Ford School), Judy was involved for 9 years in forensic environmental trace evidence surveys. A founder member of the New Marston Wildlife Group (now Friends of Milham Ford Nature Park), she is now an enthusiastic Oxford freelance ecologist and species recorder. Her special interest is in rare wetland plants, as well as flies and bees, although her interests also extend to other insects and fungi.
Her special areas of expertise are pollen identification, pollinators, field mycology, vascular plants, bryophytes, flies (Diptera), meadows, especially floodplain meadows, calcareous grassland, meadow restoration, fens, fen restoration and peatlands generally. 6 Jan 2021: The Dipterists Forum recommended Judy's article 'Flowers for Flies' (the plants suggested will also help other pollinators) |
21 July 2021
A team from Oxford University's Museum of Natural History visited the Lye Valley to film and interview Judy about insects and the rare habitat of the fen. The film will be on display as part of their HOPE* project
*Heritage, Outreach and Preservation of Entomology
"HOPE for the future is the Museum's ambitious three-year project to protect and share its amazing British Insect Collection. The unique and irreplaceable British Insect Collection contains more than a million specimens, representing all insect groups from butterflies, beetles, and bees to flies and fleas."
Judy is a Committee Member of the Dipterists Forum
Photos taken by Tony Gillie - full size.
A team from Oxford University's Museum of Natural History visited the Lye Valley to film and interview Judy about insects and the rare habitat of the fen. The film will be on display as part of their HOPE* project
*Heritage, Outreach and Preservation of Entomology
"HOPE for the future is the Museum's ambitious three-year project to protect and share its amazing British Insect Collection. The unique and irreplaceable British Insect Collection contains more than a million specimens, representing all insect groups from butterflies, beetles, and bees to flies and fleas."
Judy is a Committee Member of the Dipterists Forum
Photos taken by Tony Gillie - full size.
21 July 2021
Students from Stanford University, California, were given a guided tour of the Lye Valley by Heather Armitage, Secretary of Friends of Lye Valley (seen at far right of photo).
Photos and Tweet by Tony Gillie, full size, here
21 July 2021
Students from Stanford University, California, were given a guided tour of the Lye Valley by Heather Armitage, Secretary of Friends of Lye Valley (seen at far right of photo).
Photos and Tweet by Tony Gillie, full size, here
15 July 2021 Judy tweeted photos of volunteers removing scrub that threatened biodiverse old anthills at Aston Rowant NNR. Built by yellow meadow ants, Lasius flavus, they are valuable for many other species. Judy's tweet included a link to a video made by Dr Tom King, which explains why this ant is the most important invertebrate in many grasslands.
13 July 2021 Judy tweeted 'Hinksey Heights fen restoration going well' The beneficial effects of introducing marsh lousewort are clear. (See the article on this plant that Judy produced for the Freshwater Habitat's Trust's Oxfordfordshire Fens Project).
More information available in the info pane beside her accompanying photos, available here.
13 July 2021 Judy tweeted 'Hinksey Heights fen restoration going well' The beneficial effects of introducing marsh lousewort are clear. (See the article on this plant that Judy produced for the Freshwater Habitat's Trust's Oxfordfordshire Fens Project).
More information available in the info pane beside her accompanying photos, available here.
3 July 2021
Judy (far left of photo) with Abingdon Green Gym volunteers at Frilford Heath Ponds and Fen SSSI.
See Eleanor Baker's tweet and Judy's response here
Photo by Eleanor Baker (whole photo shown in Tweet)
27 June 2021
Judy led a walk around Chilswell Valley for the Friends of Cothill Reserves, (which include mostly fens – Cothill NNR, Parsonage Moor, Lashford Lane fen and Dry Sandford Pit), and also an Oxford University student who is keen to learn about wildlife and conservation. The group looked at the flowers of limestone grassland (sadly the weather was too cool for butterflies), the ancient woodland of Chilswell and then at the fen restoration taking place adjacent to the boardwalk. This led to a discussion of all the positive changes brought about by the work of the Wild Oxford Project* in the fen and with coppicing hazel in Chilswell copse. This work is now being continued by a group of volunteers run by Richard Newton on Mondays.
*See Judy's reports at bottom of BBOWT website page
The area of fen cutting and raking has been extended. Sadly no grazing seems to be possible on the limestone grassland at the moment. The Freshwater Habitats Trust has grant-funded a number of log dams in the Chilswell brook constructed by Rod d'Ayala, an ecologist skilled in wetland hydrology, and volunteers. These are designed to slow the flow and re-wet adjacent dry fen areas. Looking at the fen flora, the group were very pleased to see a number of very tall (knee-height) bee orchids occupying the drier margins of the fen restoration area, growing alongside more usual wetland plants, with a lot of marsh lousewort effectively reducing reed growth, combined with twice yearly cutting and raking.
The route of the walk led the group past some barley fields and on the edge of one of them Judy was excited to find some rare arable plants: spreading hedge parsley, Torilis arvensis, and dwarf spurge, Euphorbia exigua. For photos taken by Judy, and Rod d'Ayala, click here.
Judy led a walk around Chilswell Valley for the Friends of Cothill Reserves, (which include mostly fens – Cothill NNR, Parsonage Moor, Lashford Lane fen and Dry Sandford Pit), and also an Oxford University student who is keen to learn about wildlife and conservation. The group looked at the flowers of limestone grassland (sadly the weather was too cool for butterflies), the ancient woodland of Chilswell and then at the fen restoration taking place adjacent to the boardwalk. This led to a discussion of all the positive changes brought about by the work of the Wild Oxford Project* in the fen and with coppicing hazel in Chilswell copse. This work is now being continued by a group of volunteers run by Richard Newton on Mondays.
*See Judy's reports at bottom of BBOWT website page
The area of fen cutting and raking has been extended. Sadly no grazing seems to be possible on the limestone grassland at the moment. The Freshwater Habitats Trust has grant-funded a number of log dams in the Chilswell brook constructed by Rod d'Ayala, an ecologist skilled in wetland hydrology, and volunteers. These are designed to slow the flow and re-wet adjacent dry fen areas. Looking at the fen flora, the group were very pleased to see a number of very tall (knee-height) bee orchids occupying the drier margins of the fen restoration area, growing alongside more usual wetland plants, with a lot of marsh lousewort effectively reducing reed growth, combined with twice yearly cutting and raking.
The route of the walk led the group past some barley fields and on the edge of one of them Judy was excited to find some rare arable plants: spreading hedge parsley, Torilis arvensis, and dwarf spurge, Euphorbia exigua. For photos taken by Judy, and Rod d'Ayala, click here.
26 June 2021
Planting out flat sedge, Blysmus compressus, in the vicinity of Raleigh Park, Oxford.
The plants were grown, after obtaining the necessary permission, by Judy Webb (seen here helping with the planting) from rhizomes from Almonds Farm fields bank, Old Marston.
See photos and comments tweeted the following day by Adam Bows, Oxford Brookes University MSc Conservation Ecology student
15 May 2021
Judy ran a special conservation session in the Lye Valley for the Oxford University Nature Conservation Society (OUNCS), run by Jamie Walker. The students helped with work on the fen. They dug out lots of creeping thistle and pendulous sedge and their efforts were much appreciated. They are seen here listening to Judy talking about the history and flora, as well as the threats to this rare, tufa-forming, alkaline spring fen. Jamie (in red jacket in photo, left) tweeted: 'Fingers caked in peat, knees damp with spring-water, alongside frogs, flowers and moss is the best way to learn'
Photo by Tony Gillie - who commented 'And the rain really came down. Thankfully, everyone just shrugged and carried on working' Click here for more of Tony's photos, full size
Judy ran a special conservation session in the Lye Valley for the Oxford University Nature Conservation Society (OUNCS), run by Jamie Walker. The students helped with work on the fen. They dug out lots of creeping thistle and pendulous sedge and their efforts were much appreciated. They are seen here listening to Judy talking about the history and flora, as well as the threats to this rare, tufa-forming, alkaline spring fen. Jamie (in red jacket in photo, left) tweeted: 'Fingers caked in peat, knees damp with spring-water, alongside frogs, flowers and moss is the best way to learn'
Photo by Tony Gillie - who commented 'And the rain really came down. Thankfully, everyone just shrugged and carried on working' Click here for more of Tony's photos, full size
10 May 2021
Judy helped Local Wildlife Site officers from TVERC and BBOWT with a survey of a privately-owned LWS in the Cotswold Hills, which has ancient woodland and tufa-forming springs (photos tweeted by Judy here)
Underneath waterlogged calcified logs and twigs they found lots of freshwater shrimps, as well as fat, white and very mobile larvae of the Tuning-fork cranefly, Pedicia rivosa. Judy tweeted: 'These are predatory and this one demonstrated its fierce jaws by attempting to bite me' (photos in second part of the same tweet).
Judy helped Local Wildlife Site officers from TVERC and BBOWT with a survey of a privately-owned LWS in the Cotswold Hills, which has ancient woodland and tufa-forming springs (photos tweeted by Judy here)
Underneath waterlogged calcified logs and twigs they found lots of freshwater shrimps, as well as fat, white and very mobile larvae of the Tuning-fork cranefly, Pedicia rivosa. Judy tweeted: 'These are predatory and this one demonstrated its fierce jaws by attempting to bite me' (photos in second part of the same tweet).
24 April 2021 A Plantlife tweet drew attention to an article in The Financial Times - Weekend, A royal rescue for wild flowers in peril by Robin Lane Fox, who warns: '‘ ... humans have been hell for wild flowers. They have farmed 97 per cent of Britain’s flowery meadows out of existence since the 1930s’. The article included a link to Plantlife's guide to Managing Grassland Road Verges
Judy being interviewed in video on volunteering filmed by Oxford City Council - available here
(If there's no sound, check below video that sound is turned on)
(If there's no sound, check below video that sound is turned on)
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust's Wild Oxford Project
Judy has been involved in BBOWT's Wild Oxford project since it began in 2014. She is the ecology advisor and was contracted to prepare yearly surveys and reports for each of the first four sites involved - Lye Valley, Cherwell Valley, Rivermead Nature Park and Raleigh Park - until 2019. Now that the fundamental work to improve those sites has been completed, BBOWT will take over the monitoring, but Judy will be providing yearly advice on management plans. In addition, she joins in the volunteering work on each of those sites.
Judy has been involved in BBOWT's Wild Oxford project since it began in 2014. She is the ecology advisor and was contracted to prepare yearly surveys and reports for each of the first four sites involved - Lye Valley, Cherwell Valley, Rivermead Nature Park and Raleigh Park - until 2019. Now that the fundamental work to improve those sites has been completed, BBOWT will take over the monitoring, but Judy will be providing yearly advice on management plans. In addition, she joins in the volunteering work on each of those sites.
Judy appears in a short video filmed in Rivermead Nature Park by BBOWT about their Wild Oxford Project in August 2019, first seen with white hat, busy with orange-rimmed net and later explaining her involvement in the project. Andy Gunn, BBOWT’s Community Wildlife Manager (Oxfordshire) and Wild Oxford Project Officer, as well as Carl Whitehead, Parks Ranger and Coordinator of Volunteers for Oxford City Council, whom Judy works with volunteering on Wild Oxford sites and other parks and wildlife sites in Oxford, are among others who feature in it.
In the video Judy explains the two different aspects of her work for the Wild Oxford Project: contracted work to give ecological advice and provide yearly reports on the sites and the species they support, and secondly, doing voluntary work with various groups on the sites.The photo, taken from from the the second part of that video, which automatically plays after the first, shows Judy (white hat) talking to other volunteers at Rivermead Nature Park.
In the video Judy explains the two different aspects of her work for the Wild Oxford Project: contracted work to give ecological advice and provide yearly reports on the sites and the species they support, and secondly, doing voluntary work with various groups on the sites.The photo, taken from from the the second part of that video, which automatically plays after the first, shows Judy (white hat) talking to other volunteers at Rivermead Nature Park.
