Judy's talks on the Lye Valley
are on a separate page Unfortunately, since the end of 2017 Judy has had problems with her voice relating to a medical condition, which has fluctuated in severity. This has meant her ability to give talks has been severely restricted. UPDATES DUE ON THIS PAGE 10 November 2018
Judy was one of the speakers at a Dipterists Forum meeting held at the University of Oxford's Museum of Natural History, South Parks Road, Oxford. Notes on her talk 'Soldierflies and Horseflies of the Oxfordshire fens', are now available - click here. There are also some photos. 11 October 2018: Earthwatch - launch of Naturehood at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford Judy attended this event at the invitation of Dr Tristan Pett, conservation scientist and manager of the Earthwatch Institute, who had heard her speak at the BBOWT Wild Oxford event on 26 September 2018 (see item below). At the reception at the Sheldonian Theatre, Earthwatch launched a new community project, Naturehood, with Simon King, which has received lottery funding and is initially being launched in Oxford and Swindon. Information was also given on developments planned under their 5-year strategy. In his invitation to Judy, Dr Pett explained: "In Oxford we are specifically focusing on two areas: Cowley, in the communities surrounding Florence Park and in Marston. We know that you have been fundamental to the work in Milham Ford in particular as a founding member, and this area will be important, being in the middle of our Marston focus area'. More information on the Earthwatch Institute can be found in their 2017 Annual Review 26 September 2018: 'Wild Oxford - 5 years on and the future' for notes click here Judy was one of the contributors to a BBOWT (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) event held at the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History to show the progress made with the Wild Oxford Project over the last 5 years. Judy's ecological overview included an update of achievements at Chilswell Valley, Lye Valley Nature Reserve, Raleigh Park and Rivermead Nature Park. Talks given by Judy in 2017: 31 July 2017 Allotment Wildlife, given at the FoLV AGM, on how people growing food can help wildlife (and get better crops) - see slide presentation 23 November 2017: at the Wild Oxfordshire AGM Judy gave a presentation on Helping Pollinators in Oxford City Slides (PowerPoint), with accompanying text Photo above: 8 February 2017 Judy gave a talk to the Oxford Ornithological Society on Oxford’s Floodplain Meadow Flowers. About 80 people attended. For photos, click here. For notes on the talk, click here. (See also The Floodplain Meadows Partnership Newsletter, June 2011, which includes an article by Alison McDonald on Oxford Meads and a link to a longer version.) 7 March 2017: Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre: Spring 2017 Recorders conference, Wallingford. The theme was 'Wildlife Restoration'. Judy gave a presentation on New Hedgerows for Wildlife (Powerpoint) and also, with the aid of twigs she had gathered previously, instruction on how to identify hedging plants in winter. As a guide to planting hedges, Judy recommends Rob Wolton's leaflet, 'How to manage hedges to maximise their benefits for people and farms' (7 April 2014), which was originally posted on the Hedgelink website ('hot' links on their home page don't work at present). Talks given by Judy in 2016: 25 November 2016 Judy gave a talk on New Wildlife Discoveries in and around Aston Rowant and Watlington to the Watlington Environment Group. 6 November 2016 At a conference on 'Plant Conservation in the Anthropocene', organised by the Oxford Flora Group of ANHSO, Judy gave a presentation on successful and unsuccessful examples of the introduction and translocation of rare plants. The slides she showed are available (Powerpoint) here. 13 September 2016 Judy gave a talk to the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire (ANHSO) at St Antony’s College, Woodstock Road, Oxford, on Oxford's Threatened Wildlife Notes on the talk - click here (takes a few secs to open) 6 September: talk, in Abingdon, on the work that members of Abingdon Green Gym have done on the fen at Cothill NNR and nearby Frilford Heath Golf course and what needs to be done in the future. 2 August 2016 Judy led a training workshop on how to identify common wetland plants, which was organised by PondNet (Freshwater Habitats Trust) as part of the Heritage Lottery Funded People, Ponds & Water project. A morning classroom session in Headington was followed by a field visit to Milham Ford Nature Park. For photos, click here (first 3 photos by Heather Armitage, the rest by Marilyn Cox). 1 June 2016: a talk on the Lye Valley and Hogley Bog given at the invitation of the Cheney Over-50s Club in Cheney School Community Hall, Headington. The large number of slides Judy used to illustrate her talk included photos of the diverse vegetation that provides a habitat for insects, amphibians and reptiles and the 22 rare wildflowers that are dependent on the special water chemistry of the fen, including the Grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris. Judy explained how these rare and beautiful species, documented by botanists since the 17th century, are under threat from development. Loss of green areas to buildings and roads affects the flow of the alkaline, calcium-rich, water to the fen, on which the species depend, by starving the springs that provide it - see Summary of threats. 27 February 2016: a talk on linear habitats (hedges, ditches, verges), flowers, fungi and pollinators at the Recorders' Day conference, organised by the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre, held at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on Saturday, 2016. She also led an outdoor workshop, which included a walk in the afternoon from the Museum to the University Parks to look at plantings of flowers that are useful - and not so useful - for pollinators. For photos click here Talks given by Judy in 2015: 22 July 2015: Abingdon Naturalists Society: Fen Ecology, an illustrated talk given by Judy on the wildlife (large and small) of the Oxfordshire alkaline fens, perhaps the most ancient and rare habitat type in the country. Friday 22 May: Judy gave the 2015 Annual Biodiversity Lecture at Oxford University's Botanic Garden: The Special Flowers of Oxford Meadows TVERC Oxfordshire Recorders and Conservation Day 28 Feb 2015 Judy gave a short presentation on Seed Banks, together with Ken Betteridge, Coordinator of the Wychwood Flora Group: Talks given by Judy in 2014: A talk, open to the public, on Planting for Bees in Your Garden, was given by Judy to the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire on 1 April 2014, in Wolvercote - click here Port Meadow: at CPRE's Oxford District branch AGM, 20 May 2014 The Bee Orchid Story from Milham Ford, Oxford: A presentation given by Judy to the Oxfordshire Recorders and Conservation Day, 1 March 2014, Oxford University Museum of Natural History. For text of presentation: click here Slideshow: click here (Power Point) |
Involvement with, and visits to, sites not covered elsewhere on this website
20 May 2020 Visit to Long Mead LWS - photos here
Judy visited Long Mead Local Wildlife Site at the invitation of the owner, Catriona Bass. The LWS is adjacent to the Thames near Eynsham and the Swinford toll road. Judy described it as being at the 'sheets of flowering buttercups' stage: 'We walked through Catriona's meadow and some neighbouring floodplain meadows to discuss her Meadow Restoration Project* to work with landowners to diversify nearby floodplain meadows using green hay from Long Mead. I first walked through Long Mead and recorded the vegetation in summer 1978 in my very first paid job as a meadows surveyor for NCC.** Of course, I cannot remember her individual meadow but Catriona has my data. It still has most of the species I found but seems to have lost the devil’s bit scabious, which is a pity'. * During 20 years of farming Long Mead, Catriona had noticed a dramatic decline in wildlife species, which was the motivation for launching two nature recovery initiatives – The Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project and Long Mead Biodiversity Research Project. For more information see her report of 16 Sept 2019 on Creating a Nature Recovery Network in Eynsham, which gives her contact details at the end. NOTE: due to COVID-19 restrictions, the June 'Back Garden Wildflower Workshops' referred to had to be postponed. ** The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was replaced by English Nature (EN) in 1991. English Nature was merged with the Countryside Agency and Rural Development Service in 2006 to form Natural England (NE), the Government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. 15 September 2018:
Judy was in the Chilswell Valley sowing seed of Devil's-bit scabious, greater bird's foot trefoil, meadowsweet and parsley water dropwort that had been collected in the Lye Valley. 5 May 2018 Judy carried out her first survey of the year in Chilswell Valley for the BBOWT Wild Oxford Project. There are increasing numbers of cowslips, goldilocks buttercups, bluebells, violets and wood anemones thanks to scrub clearance and coppicing carried out over the winter largely by volunteers. For photos taken that day, click here. 17 June 2017: Judy led a walk in Dry Sandford Pit - photo taken by Sally Gillard of Abingdon Green Gym. There is an article by Judy comparing the flora of Dry Sandford Pit with that of Cothill Fens in the May 2017 edition of the Newsletter of Friends of Cothill Reserves. 8 May 2017: On a cold, windy, day Judy and other volunteers assisted Natural England by marking and counting Pasque flower leaf rosettes on a steep chalk slope in Barton Hills National Nature Reserve, North East of Dunstable. Pulsatilla vulgaris is classified as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and as 'Vulnerable in Britain' on the Red Data List. For photos taken by Judy, click here 12 March 2017: Rod d'Ayala and Judy spread wildflower seed at Rock Edge Nature Reserve, Headington. The seed had been collected from Milham Ford Nature Park, except for Greater Knapweed and Field Scabious; that seed came from flowers at Rock Edge. For photos, click here. To make hidden captions/information, visible, click on the white circle with the 'i' in it at top right when viewing photo full size. Guided walks led by Judy 2 June 2019 Judy led a walk at Cothill Fen / Ruskin Reserve NNR There is a gap here - a new page just for 'walks' is to be created and the others Judy has led over the last three years will be included. 16 July 2016: wildflower identification walk around Milham Ford Nature Park - for photos, click here. The walk was followed by collection of wildflower seed to be sown in other wildlife areas in Oxford, including Rock Edge Nature Reserve. 17 July 2016: a walk around Rock Edge to see which wildflowers are good for bees and other pollinators. Sowing of Yellow Rattle seed collected the previous day from Milham Ford Nature Park. 6 July 2016: Guided walk in the Lye Valley. See Oxford Mail article, 7 July 2016. Heather Armitage took some photos. 2 July 2016 National Meadows Day: a walk through the Oxford Meadows SAC. For photos taken by Judy Webb and Christopher Hoskin, click here. See also Oxford Meadows SAC page. 8 May 2016: Judy led a guided walk during the BBOWT picnic event in Chilswell Valley (which is owned by Oxford City Council and also known as 'Happy Valley). Judy's work with Oxford City Council in planning wildflower meadows in the city's parks - see Oxford Times, 7 May 2015 and also Seed Collecting in Milham Ford Nature Park 11 October 2015 Judy and Molly Dewey, Secretary of the Fungus Survey of Oxfordfordshire group, together with Tegan Bennett, Education and Outreach Officer, Harcourt Arboretum, led an educational fungal foray around the arboretum for members of the FSO and the Ashmoleum Natural History Society of Oxfordshire. FSO members contributed fungal specimens to an interesting display. Slideshow (Further photos were made available to FSO and ANHSO members) Cothill Fen NNR Work with Abingdon Green Gym 26 Sept 2015: Judy was at the Fen in her role as a volunteer for Natural England overseeing and directing work, although the Green Gym leader on this occasion was James White. For photos of the reed clearing and also one taken by Judy of a mating pair of Common Darter dragonflies (Sympetrum striolatum) click here. 6 Aug 2015: Judy and Andy Gunn, BBOWT's Community Wildlife Officer for Oxford, led a walk in the Chilswell Valley for new members of BBOWT.
For photos click here For Judy's report on the Chilswell Valley, prepared as part of BBOWT's Wild Oxford project, click here. Judy spent Sunday, 15 June 2015, with the Oxfordshire Flora Group at Hackpen Hill chalk grassland near Wantage, where large numbers of 5-spot burnet moths were seen flying. This photo, taken by Judy, shows one of them queuing to extract nectar from a Rough Hawkbit flower. Aston's Eyot and The Kidneys (location - click here) Bee Walk on Sunday, 12 July 2015, promoted by Oxford FoE, led by Judy, who helped with identifying bees and other pollinators. 16 July 2014: Judy visited to advise Ruth Ashcroft, Secretary of Friends of Aston's Eyot on how to improve the variety of species useful to wildlife. Photos taken during her visit See also Oxford Times article 7 August 2014. 6 Dec 2014: Judy joined members of Abingdon Green Gym in maintenance work in this National Nature Reserve. Volunteers included young people doing the work in relation to a Duke of Edinburgh award. Photos taken by Judy, click here. |