2023 NEWS

Events 2023

MONTHLY LITTER PICK

A Litter pick along the Emm Brook is undertaken on the first Saturday of every month. The next litter pick will be on Saturday 4th November 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.

AGM 2023

AGM This years AGM was held on Monday 15th May at the Woosehill Community Centre (Upper Room) from 19:00-21:30.

05/11/ 22

BARBARA STAGLES TREE PLANTING

Barbara Stagles English Oak In recognition of the role that Barbara Stagles played during the formation of FOTEB and her works with Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association (WDVTA) an English Oak (Quercus robur) was planted in Woosehill Meadows between the Community Orchard and the Wild Flower area.

WOKINGHAM DISTRICT VETERAN TREE ASSOCIATION (WDVTA) AGM

Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association (WDVTA)will be holding their AGM on Monday 27th March at Wokingham Town Hall starting at 19.30. Click on the link for more details WDVTA AGM

21/10/ 22

AN UPDATE ON TW PLANS TO IMPROVE THE WATER QUALITY OF HEATH LAKE

TW Update Heath Lake

The latest update from Thames Water can be found by clicking on the above link

21/10/ 22

NATIONAL HARVEST MOUSE SURVEY 2022/23

Did you know the harvest mouse is at risk of extinction? Harvest Mouse (or Micromys minutus) is Britain’s smallest rodent and an iconic character in the countryside. They weigh only 5 to 8g and can be difficult to spot, but they build characteristic above-ground nests which are used for shelter and breeding. The second annual National Harvest Mouse Survey organised by the Mammal Society is now taking place to find out how many harvest mice there are in the wild, so that suitable conservation actions can be put in place for them. Volunteers are welcome to go outside and look for harvest mice nests in their local area from now until the end of March 2023. No prior experience or specialist equipment is required to take part in the survey. Records from the survey will be analysed and shared after March 2023. If you want to know more or sign up to the National Harvest Mouse Survey, visit the Mammal Society website.. Click on the link for more details Harvest Mouse Survey

BALSAM BASHING

Balsam Bashing is being undertaken on the Emm Brook a little later this year. Due to some of the team being on holiday. Balsam Bashers The Three Amigos will walk the Emm Brook from Area 2 to Area 8 removing Himalayan Balsam as they go.

09/08/ 22

WET MEADOW HORSES

Horses The horses are back grazing the Wet Meadow field in Area 10. This year you've got Jasmine, Brooke and baby Floss.Please do not feed them.In a nutshell, rotational grazing involves moving a group of horses between several paddocks on a regular basis. Horses The forage is grazed once and then rested to regrow. The absolute most important part of this system is the grass's recovery period while horses are on other paddocks.

18/04/ 22

GREENWAYS PROJECT

Greenways Project Phase 2

Wokingham Borough Council has nearley finished its work work on Phase 2 of their Greenways Project through Ares 4 & 5 .Click on the above link for details.

18/03/ 22

COMMUNITY ORCHARD PLANTING

Community Orchard FOTEB working with the charity Freely Fruity planted 82 fruit trees (Apple,Plum and Cherry) in a community orchard in Area 5 between Dragonfly and Ripplestream Bridge. Community Orchard Assisted by the children from the Windmill School, Laura Buck from WBC, , Kathryn from My Journey Wokingham(WBC) and other volunteers. Good to see it happen. Community Orchard The Team from FOTEB keen to get started.Photos courtesy of Freely Fruity and WBC.

AGM

AGM This years AGM was held on Monday 9th May at the Rose Room, Bradbury Centre, Rose Street, Wokingham RG40 1XS from 19:30-21:30.

02/04 /22

Litter Pick April April's litter pick in Area's 4 & 5 to the rear of Morrisons , was completed on Saturday 2nd April . Apprxiamately 12 people helped and in 2 hours 15 bags of litter were removed from along the Brook(mostly bottles) including a safe and a couple of old road cones. Thanks to all that attended.

05/03/ 22

Litter Pick A litter pick in Area's 4 & 5 , was completed on Saturday 5th March . Apprxiamately 15 people helped and in 2 hours 18 bags of litter were removed from along the Brook. Thanks to all that attended.

16/01 /23

BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH 2023

Big Garden Birdwatch is fun, free and for everyone. And you don’t need a garden to take part! Counting birds from your balcony, or your local park will play a vital role in helping us understand how UK birds are doing. Sign up for your free guide and let’s look out for birds together on 27-29 January. Click on the link for more details Big Garden Birdwatch

25/12 /21

WOOSEHILL COMMUNITY ORCHARD

FOTEB in conjunction with Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) , South East Rivers Trust (SERT) and Freely Fruity are constructing a Community Orchard in Area 5. It would be located in the area behind Morrison’s supermarket, adjacent to where the original wildflower meadow was on the east side of the Brook running parallel to Arthur Road. Its location is shown here. FOTEB Possible Community Orchard Location

To contact us with any comments please click on the link info@foteb.org.uk

MONTHLY BIRD WALKS AROUND DINTON PASTURES 2022

RSPB

A Date With Nature Monthly Saturday morning walk 1st Saturday of each month Location: Meet in the Dinton Pastures main car park in Wokingham RG10 0TH at 09:00. As the parking fee in the Dinton Pastures car park is £6 for 4 hours, the Local RSPB Group have arranged for participants to park for free in the car park of the Wheelwright Arms, which is close to the entrance to Dinton pastures but on the opposite side of the road. (Obviously, it would be appreciated if we give our custom to the pub RG10 0TR.) A three and a half hour walk around Dinton Pastures and Lavell's Lake (Area 10 of the Emm Brook) , suitable for everyone of all ages and we usually see/hear between 40 and 50 species of birds. Good cafe and toilets by the car park. Time: 9 am Price: £2 donation to the RSPB.

LAVELL'S WETLAND TRUST

On the second Sunday of every month Lavell's Wetland Trust formally Friends of Lavell Lake (FOLL) run a guided bird walk around the park covering Area 10 of the Emm Brook. Routes will vary depending on the time of year and last up to three hours. Wear suitable clothing as at times paths can be very muddy. We meet at 9am in the car park on Sandford Lane (opposite the Dinton Activity Centre entrance) and ask for a donation of £1 with no charge for children. For more information visit the FOLL website . Click here

Car park charges apply.

This Month on the Emmbrook
What to look for if you are out and about in

OCTOBER

General

It's a spectacular month as woodlands are ablaze with the reds, yellows and golds of autumn leaves and birds feast on the bright hedgerow berries. The first fungi are starting to appear, too. This is the month that highlights the changing seasons. In the garden birds such as the Blackbird, Blue Tit and Robin will be seen more frequently as their need to find food increases. This time of year is a good time to start feeding them, if you have ever stopped. Autumn colour can be seen along the Emm Brook as the trees and hedgerow leaves change. The last sunday of the month is traditionally when the clocks change again. We move the clocks back an hour on the 28th October at 2 AM and adopt Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) until March.

Birds

In autumn very few birds can be heard singing, although they do call to one another as they move around in flocks.Keep an eyeout for Long-tailed Tits moving from tree to tree at Riverside walk. The exception can often be Robins with their melancholy autumn song. A spell of warm weather sometimes persuades Song and Mistle thrushes to sing from some lofty perch, and this is always welcome. The start of the month Meadow Pipits can sometimes be seen flying over Riverside Walk in large numbers as they migrate to other areas. Redwing and Fieldfare will be migrating from Northern Europe to winter in Britain.This is the time Jays are also active burying acorns to eat during the winter.

Insects

Fewer insect will be seen as the cold weather sets in however certain insects become more noticeable. Around this time of the year Crane flies or Daddy Longlegs appear in their greatest numbers. Harvestmen also known as Harvest spiders can also be seen.

Butterflies

Red Admiral
Red Admirals can still be seen on the wing on sunny day along with Speckled Wood.

Dragonflies

Common Hawkers can still be seen alongside the Emmbrook at Dinton Pastures.

 

Moths

Merville du jour

An exotic-looking moth with an exotic name, the Merveille-du-Jour . It’s an autumn flier that feeds on Ivy flowers and ripe berries, widespread and not scarce in woodland, parkland and gardens; the larvae live on oak. Not all moths are brown and boring! New moths that you may expect to see in the garden in autumn and early winter: December Moth Juniper Carpet November Moth Winter Moth Feathered Thorn Deep Brown Dart Black Rustic Blair's Shoulder-knot Green-brindled Crescent Brindled Green Brick Red-line Quaker Yellow-line Quaker Beaded Chestnut Lunar Underwing Barred Sallow The Sallow

 

Other Wildlife

As the tree canopy is gradually lost Grey Squirrels can be seen moving through the branches looking for acorns.

Around mid-October Toads go into hibernation, finding logs or stones to hide beneath until Spring arrives once more. Frogs also hibernate at this time at the bottom of ponds or some other sheltered place, ready to emerge again in the following January. Spiders webs – on cold autumn mornings you suddenly realise how many spiders there are. Take an early morning walk and spot spider webs outlined in dew on hedgerows, in meadows even on house windows and car wing mirrors. Spider silk is truly amazing – see if you can find a spider actually making a web and watch carefully how it's constructed.

 

Plants & Trees

Winter Tree

The leaves on the trees and hedgerows start to change colour to a yellow - gold colour. Why do leaves change colour

Individual flowering plants such as hogweed, meadow sweet and greater bindweed may still be found along the banks of the Emm Brook where they have escaped the mower. However they usually look lonely and bedraggled.

October is a good time to see fungi, cool damp days you will find many types in woodland and fields.

For more information click the link September on the Emm Brook


Emmbrook Weather

Bernard Burton has been recording the weather alongside the Emm Brook since 1976. His weather station originally situated at Emmbrook Secondary School till 1996 and now at Emmbrook Junior School daily monitors the weather. For a more detailed anaylsis of the previous month's weather visit this link. Emmbrook Weather

For todays Emm Brook weather Todays Weather

For todays Emm Brook sunrise and sunset times Click here


Newsletters

At their meeting in November 2010 the FOTEB management committee took the decision to discontinue the printed newsletters for members. This decision was not taken lightly since there is of course a tradition of keeping members informed of events and sightings by way of regular printed newsletters. However, knowing that the majority of members have internet access and are regular visitors to our website - and having received an increasing number of representations from members expressing a wish to receive literature in an electronic format - your committee felt that the time had come to cease the time-consuming and costly production of regular printed newsletters and replace them with an online noticeboard on our website.

Click on Archive page at the top of the screen to view one of the previous News letters.

Emm Brook River levels now on line

The Environment Agency Website now has a daily update on river levels of the Emm near Tesco's in Area 2

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