Village sites overview and other activities

 

Oak Tree Pond (OTP)

This was BEG’s first site and you can read a little more about its origins in the “Some History” section of our web pages.  There are several different habitats on this site and we continue to maintain the hedgerows, rough meadow, nettles, woodland and bramble areas for the benefit of both flora and fauna.  This is a good site for butterflies and bird life and we have an ongoing challenge to encourage wild flowers to establish in numbers before the deer and rabbits get to them !

Recently we have been focusing on the pond area which has become rather dry over the years.

 

Beyton Churchyard

Our aims here are mainly to maintain a good selection of habitats to encourage a diverse flora and fauna.   You may find us scything the longer grass in the late summer, or perhaps maintaining the hedges.  Periodically we cut back the more rampant ivy growth.  

We've had some pleasing success in encouraging bee orchids and other rare plant species to return over time and in the recent good summers the churchyard wildflowers have looked absolutely magnificent.

Beyton Churchyard is a designated County Wildlife Site because of the number of grasses and wild flowers growing there.

 

Beyton Old Orchard Project (BOOP)

Prior to becoming the Beyton Campus for Thurston Sixth (part of Thurston Community College) this site was home to Beyton Middle School and was originally a Secondary Modern School which opened in 1952.  Education then had a significant vocational focus and the school counted vegetable gardens and an orchard amongst its assets.  Remarkably, although neglected, the orchard survived and had become a significant wildlife site – albeit in need of much renovation.

BEG began working with the management of the Middle School and some of its eco-minded students back in 2007 aiming to improve the site for wildlife and secure it as an ongoing resource for the school and the wider community.

Since then we have been working hard to:

• Thin the tree canopy (e.g. sycamore) to allow light back into the site
• Re-dig and re-line the pond (we have newts!)
• Reduce the nettle areas
• Introduce mowing regimes to encourage a diversity of grass habitats
• Restore the old apple trees, many of which are heritage varieties, and restock with new tress as necessary.  We have had lots of advice here from the East of England Apples and Orchards Project.
• Protect the trees from the worst of rabbit damage (an ongoing battle…)

 

Beyton Birds

Helping and monitoring Beyton’s feathered friends is another focus for the BEG group.  We have put up many different sized and shaped bird boxes around the village and every year we aim to check each of them for activity and also to give them a quick clean and carry out any necessary repairs.  

More recently we’ve been especially pleased to see our barn owl boxes being put to good use by their intended residents and it has been marvellous to see these majestic birds returning to hunt around the boundaries of the local fields.

A sub-group of BEG also head out early once a month for a “bird walk” - surveying the status of birdlife in Beyton.