Fen Cut & Rake at Lye Valley
Schedule
Sun Oct 26 2025 at 09:15 am to 05:00 pm
UTC+00:00Location
Lye Valley, Oxford | Oxford, EN
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Dear Nature Volunteers,The south fen at Lye Valley, the one by the golf course with no public access, used to be cut by machine, but the habitat is now so rich that more discriminate work is required. So we'll bring scythes and sickles to cut reeds, and, as the aim is to keep the fertility of the site low by removing as much of the cut material as possible, we'll then rake the fen. There's also work to be done pruning back and topping out the hedges on the boundaries. Any number of volunteers stomping up and down the fen at this time of year also mimic some of the desired effects of livestock grazing. The balance in favour of the wild flowers on this relatively rare habitat is now well established.
Ecologist and Lye Valley expert Judy Webb will be with us. (See a selection of her photographs taken on site in the photo gallery.) Make sure you're on the OCV mailing list!
Wellies recommended even if there's been no rain.
Note that British Summer Time ended last night -- clocks go back!
No previous experience is necessary.
Booking is not necessary.
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VAN PICKUPS
We have limited places in our van, and we pick up from:
9.20 am outside the Lamb & Flag pub in St. Giles
9.30 am outside the Boots store in Cowley Road
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WANT TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER LEADER OR DRIVER?
We're short of task leaders at the moment and we can't carry on without them.
Some of our tasks are much easier to lead than others, so if you're a regular volunteer please consider stepping up to do a bit of leading. Any of the task leaders will be happy to let you shadow them until you're confident you know the ropes. If you are interested, please get in touch - we need more leaders.
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JOIN THE MAILING LIST
More detailed information is sent closer to the date via our mailing list - subscribe via our website at https://www.ocv.org.uk/list.php
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - PLEASE VISIT OUR SITE:
http://www.ocv.org.uk
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Where is it happening?
Lye Valley, Oxford, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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