Great moves afoot for Friarscroft Wood – the land that runs between London Road and Friarscroft Lane, crossed by the path to the Windmill Surgery.

If you’ve used that path, you’ll have seen the dead hedging on one side. It’s a good resource for nesting birds and helps keep dogs from wandering from the straight and narrow. The work was carried out by the Norwich Community Volunteers – arranged by South Norfolk Council – over two very cold days last year.

And now Dorset Wildlife Trust are going to do a wildlife survey this year – the last major one concentrated on Toll’s Meadow back in 2006. So this should give us a further idea of the plants and creatures that live on our doorstep – a WyNG member saw a nesting woodcock last year.

It will also help the Trust develop a management plan for the whole area, including that part of the wood approaching the Tiffey which is already designated a county wildlife site.

In the meantime, Greening Wymondham will hold workdays to clear and dredge the ponds to encourage amphibians, and scythe the meadows in the area. We’ll also keep the old footpath clear to allow brambling in the autumn, and keep removing debris and litter.

The idea is to have part of the area off the path accessible to people who want to wander through or stop and sit, and the majority for wildlife to continue enjoying in peace.

River testing went ahead from Boxing Day and the latest test came with a reward for Greening Wymondham’s Andrew Robinson – sighting an otter downstream of the town. Let’s hope kingfishers burgeon again upstream too.

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