AGM 2025 Report from the Committee
Friends of Montefiore Community Woodland 2025
Annual Report from the Committee
The Friends of Montefiore Woodland Group was formed in 2011 which means we have now been managing this woodland site for 14 years. The area is increasingly being recognised and valued as a tranquil green space to be enjoyed by the community and the various species of wildlife. It is a little haven for birds, squirrels, foxes, bats and hedgehogs.
Sue and I recently met with the practice manager of the East Cliff Medical Centre with a view to requesting that members of the practice might encourage patients to make use of the Woodland for relaxation. Also with the hope of recruiting more volunteers. They have agreed to display posters advertising work parties. We felt that the meeting was well received and had a positive outcome.
We continue with our efforts to improve the wildflower meadow. Thank you to Dave Welch for cutting the grass at the end of the summer and organising the resultant hay gathering. We continued to plant more native wildflower plants into the meadow but with, it must be said, limited success.
However the number of butterflies using the meadow has increased.
Our efforts will continue. Thank you to Sue Smith for sourcing and ordering the plants.
Sue continues with the weekly butterfly transect from April to September. The Woodland group also participated in the national Big Butterfly count and the Big Garden Bird count.
Thanks to Pat for feeding the birds through the winter.
Full details of birds and butterflies recorded in the Woodland can be seen on our website www.montefiorewoodland.org.uk/. Well worth a look, you will be amazed.
Monthly Woodland working sessions continue to be friendly and enjoyable occasions. Members enjoy sharing knowledge and information as well as knowing that their efforts really do make a difference.
Most sessions have been quite well attended this year with probably an average of 12 volunteers per session. We are aware of the need to recruit new members, especially more younger people to help with the many tasks involved in woodland management. We need to keep the ivy under control to prevent it from smothering the trees and damaging the surrounding walls. The invasive Alexander plant is a big problem as it tends to dominate the woodland preventing a wider variety of flora establishing. We do cut back as much as possible as well as digging out the very deep tap roots and we can see that progress has been made with this. Then there are the brambles which grow at a tremendous rate. We are pleased to keep some for the benefit of wildlife but need to keep the pathways clear. Never ending tasks.
We acquired several loads of wood chippings over the year which volunteers have spread along the footpaths to make them more user friendly and to deter people from trampling other areas.
Under the guidance of Dave, our tree specialist, some trees which were dangerous or diseased have been removed with the help of tree surgeons directed by Ramsgate Town council. The remains of these trees are left to rot down in the woodland as they provide excellent food and shelter for wildlife.
The hornbeam we planted as our coronation tree is thriving and we recently planted a native oak which had been grown from an acorn by volunteers Phil and Irene. Gathered from an oak tree in Nottingham, could it be descended from Robin Hood’s Major oak?
We need to keep it well watered to ensure its survival.
We had a very interesting Tree Walk led by Peter Hasted.
We are all still learning.
Bat walks on summer evenings through the Woodland and George VI Park are proving to be increasingly popular with people of all ages. The children in particular enjoy being out after dark with their torches. We have bought more Bat Detectors which give more interest and enjoyment on the walks. After each walk a request is made for voluntary donations, which are forwarded to the Kent Bat Group in support of their work.
Sue and Peter Smith continue to do an excellent job in keeping the website up to date and looking good. We also have a face book presence which is useful for announcing current events and sharing information on wildlife issues.
We are very grateful for the donations received from supporters this year including regular payments from our treasurer Jeffery Frampton.
We really appreciate the support we have received this year from Ramsgate Town Council. We were especially pleased when they installed a lock up container on the site which means we are able to store tools and equipment there rather than carting it back and forth from our homes for every work party. At present it is not very attractive and we are asking around for ant art group which might be interested in brightening it up, possibly with wildlife motifs.
We are pleased to continue our links with the Montefiore Heritage Group and are currently negotiating with Mark Negin regarding pictures to be displayed in the East Cliff Centre waiting room, as the original murals painted by Mark are no longer displayed there.
We also thank Sherlock’s Snug at the Petticoat Lane Emporium for the use of this room for our meetings.
We love this place.
Most of all we must thank our committee members and the volunteers who give their time and effort to maintaining and improving the Montefiore Woodland.
Lisa Hunt Chair
Friends of Montefiore Woodland
