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
NOVEMBER
General
Autumn is well and truly with us and it's a fantastic time to get out and about and experience the "season of change".
Hard frosts may have started and early mornings are often misty, as the dew from the ground condenses during the night.
This month sees the last of the leaves on the deciduous trees falling to the ground.
Birds
The Robin, so often associated with the festive season, can be particularly tame during the colder months.
Robins are one of the few birds that can be heard singing during winter, as both the males and females
maintain territories for feeding during this period, which may be their breeding territories later.
Around Christmas-time Robins begin exploring other Robins' territories looking for a mate. They then pair up by mid-January and females stop singing.
Flocks of Fieldfare arrive in Britain to spend the winter months as our climate is warmer than northern and eastern Europe where they spend the summer.
These thrushes have grey heads and can appear quite ‘upright’ on the ground. Look out for large flocks feeding on grassland, including playing fields, and in hedgerows nearby.
Listen out for a high-pitched ‘tseep, tseep’ at night. It’s the sound of Redwings flying high overhead as they arrive in Britain to spend the winter here.
They have a distinctive creamy white eye stripe and orangey/red patch under their wing.
All so look out for large, noisy flocks of busy long-tailed tits flitting around the trees as they search for insects to eat. The flocks are often joined by blue tits and great tits for safety in numbers from predators such as sparrowhawks looking for a meal.
Long-tailed tits are easy to identify from their ‘si-si-si’ calls.
Insects
Many insects overwinter in forms other than the adult, such as the pupa (moths and some butterflies) or the larva (Caddis flies).
Some remain as adults such as Wasps. Adult Ladybirds and Peacock butterflies seek out warm nooks in sheds and attics to hide. Here the air is moist but not so cold.
Keep an eye out for Harlequin Ladybirds. Harmonia axyridis It takes its common name from the fact that over 100 different colour patterns have been recorded. Some specimens are reddish-orange with black dots, while others are black with red patches. This of course makes it difficult to identify.
Harlequin Ladybirds spend the winter in buildings – often in large numbers.
Other Wildlife
Hedgehogs are hibernating at this time of year but urban Foxes can still be seen and heard.
At this time Bats enter a state of torpor in their hibernacula. This is not a full hibernation as Bats will emerge on warm days, but is a state of reduced metabolism and body temperature.
In this state less energy is required.
Toads are now in hibernation, finding logs or stones to hide beneath until Spring arrives once more.
Frogs are also hibernating at the bottom of ponds, or some other sheltered place, ready to emerge again in the following January.
Plants
& Trees
The Oak waits until November to put on its best Autumn show of colour, having only made a tentative start in October.
There are two main types of British Oak; the Sessile and the Pedunculate Oak.
In the former, the acorns are borne in cups, with almost no stalk attaching them to the stem.
In the later, however, the acorn cups are attached with shared long stalks.
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.
Fungi
Keep an eye out after rainy days and nights as more fungi appear on rotting wood, woodland floors and grassland. Look out for fungi in all sorts of colours. There’s more to fungi than a drab, brown toadstool!
.jpg "Litter Pick October 2026")
