[Announce] Litterpick on Coldhams Common tomorrow

[Secretary SOS]

Dear all
You may wish to join this activity tomorrow ......
Victoria


----- Original Message -----From: Keith JordanTo: Keith JordanSent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 10:56 PMSubject: ‘BIG LITTER PICK’ Coldhams Common Sat. 6th Nov. 9.30 – 1pmIf you could pass this onto others who may be interested I would be most grateful. ‘BIG LITTER PICK’  Coldhams CommonSat. 6th Nov. from 9.30 – 1pm.  Coldhams Common is a wonderful area of open space in our city – used by so many people and home for many types of wildlife and traditional grazing for cattle.  Today the common provides a great site for walking, jogging, lots of different sports, BMX biking, kite flying, observing wildlife, dog exercising, blackberry and sloe picking, cycling to avoid busy roads and so much more.  It has had a very long and interesting history, including coprolite mining (a valuable agricultural fertilizer in the 1800s) and riffle firing practice.  The first planes in the early days of aviation would have taken off nearby from the (first) Marshalls airport – what is now the Whitehill estate.  Do attend one of Allan Brigham’s tours in the summer to hear more! However the common does suffer, like other green spaces, from regular depositions of litter.  Although City Council staff carry out regular litter sweeps, an additional community campaign was suggested by a local resident of the Whitehill area following a successful litter pick on Stourbridge Common in the spring, organised by the new Friends group.  This will help to remove some of the more long-term litter and raise the profile of the amount of rubbish deposited unnecessarily.  The Abbey Action Project is coordinating this event on Saturday involving other local people and City Council staff. Litter will also be removed from the Leper Chapel grounds and there will be an opportunity to look inside this ancient Norman chapel, built well over 750 years before non-biodegradable packaging and litter became a problem!    Turn up anytime between 9.30am – 1pm  at the Abbey Pool entrance to Coldhams Common to help give the common a good autumn clean. Come dressed for the weather with good footwear, etc.  Litter pickers, bags and drinks will be provided.  best regardsKeith--------------------------Keith JordanProject/community worker for Abbey Action,Cambridge City Council's Neighbourhood Project in the Abbey Ward Abbey Action Project, c/o East Barnwell Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8RS.    Tel. (01223) 517259, Email: abbeyaction1 at tiscali.co.uk  Part of Coldhams Common declared an official nature reserve.You may also be interested to know that 10.4 hectares of Coldhams Common, adjacent to Barnwell West Local Nature Reserve, have been declared as a Local Nature Reserve by Cambridge City Council (as of 23rd August 2010).  The common has interesting calcareous (chalky) grassland including the rifle butts near Barnwell Road (the highest point for miles around!).  Wild plant species include Spiny Restharrow Ononis spinosa and Lady’s Bedstraw Galium verum and the site is currently a City Wildlife Site.  See more on the website: http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/lnrAn official opening ceremony is proposed for next summer. A draft management plan was drawn up in February as part of the declaration process outlining the management objectives for the reserve. Volunteers from the City Greenways Project and LNR team have managed sections of the reserve the past 10 years.  The focus of their work has been on reducing scrub encroachment and annual cutting/raking of key grassland areas.  Some larger scale scrub clearance was carried out in 2008 along the brook and around the riffle butts.As well as litter collection, work proposed over this winter includes scrub clearance, fencing and improved access points. Further consultation on the re-introduction of grazing and associated access improvements will be carried out.  The Tuesday Conservation Group will be working at Coldham's Common LNR on the 7th December to work on the triangle area of grassland next to the railway line which is cut twice yearly to promote the growth of chalk grassland species such as Pyramidal Orchids. The results of the Cambridge Natural History Society survey in 2007 can be found at (http://www.cnhs.org.uk/). The remaining areas of Coldham’s Common will be managed by the Council’s Active Communities team but could in the future be designated as a Local Nature Reserve.Contact: Ellis Selway, Community Reserves Officer, Cambridge City CouncilTel: 01223 457367    e mail: ellis.selway at cambridge.gov.uk

 		 	   		  
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