December 5th 2022
Present
Alex Cruickshank (Chair and Land Advisor for BBOWT Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust); Jon Cable and Dave Munson (representing the Common Volunteers); Roger Stone (representing Friends of Brill Common); Elaine Dickinson (representing The Walks Group); Christine Bailey (representing Brill Village Community Herd); Pat Stone (representing Brill commoners); Emi Slater (representing Brill Parish Council)
Work Schedule
We agreed we need younger volunteers to get involved. We also need to agree targets, limits and think about succession. We will use the same divisions as the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme. We discussed the clarity (or otherwise) of HLS. Diversity of species and structure; advise is “a bit of everything and not too much of something”. Trees on the common - or not? We discussed overall diversity of our area and noted that the common is “unimproved grassland”.
The annual Work Plan to achieve these targets will include an aerial photo so clear for all. Goats are really important as are cows – so all need to go into the mix and represented in pictures. The work plan will include a range of different activities. Alex will come to Brill again in January. We will circulate the plan at the beginning of Spring. We need to agree who is doing what for posterity; make it transparent for future volunteers - and also to make clear what gaps need filling so the parish council can help fill. We discussed Span Green and the Thames Water work there. Alex will include this in the Work Plan and we will visit again. The parish council needs to approve and commit to the plan.
Work Plan monitoring strategy
We must keep track of activities to see if our plan is working. We need a strategy plan with limits and a rapid assessment monitoring system. The parish council could pay for professional ecologist to do a plant survey; a detailed botanical survey of whole site (different to mapping and monitoring), maybe every 10 years. Completed by someone other than Alex? Bucks & Milton Keynes Environment Records Centre sould be involved. Brill Common as a local wildlife site (LWS).
Part-time warden for Brill Common
We need someone to deal with encroachments (or is this a parish council responsibility?), to write future work programmes, to monitor work. A more detailed job description is needed to enable us to discuss this properly; Alex will write one. We discussed what gap this role would be filling; Alex’s role - but on a more permanent level? We also need to apply for grants. Perhaps the role could be filled by someone who could be trained up? Alex will write a job description.
We shared feedback from the Bernwood Forest and River Ray Living Landscape project, including farmer clusters; a DEFRA sponsored scheme to encourage farmers to work together. We decided to invite Alison Offord to a future meeting. National lottery grants may be available.
Encroachment
The parish council plan to deliver the Brill Common & Walks Policy to every household every 12 months. It should also be displayed on the PC noticeboard. The PC are meeting to sort out an encroachment strategy and get a clear system in place so the clerk knows what to do if an encroachment is suspected. We discuss different types of encroachments. Record keeping is very important.
Hazardous Tree Survey
Emi reported that Nick Dunbar of the Whole Tree Company will be commissioned to conduct a hazardous tree survey.
The herd
Maybe there should be a sign in the the car park giving information about the cows, to help people understand their role. Tony Bostrum makes attractive wooden signs. Maybe also information about the electric fence - and a nature information board. Perhaps a proposal to the parish council?
September 5th 2022
The first meeting of the Brill Common and Village Greens Advisory Group was held on Monday September 5th. Present were representatives from Brill Parish Council, The Walks Committee, Friends of Brill Common, Brill Village Community Herd, and the Common Volunteers. The meeting was chaired by Alex Cruickshank from BBOWT, and minuted by Emi Slater from the PC. The first part of the meeting was a sharing of information and report back on what each group had been doing on the Common over the last six months to a year, in line with the HLS agreement.
Alex then invited the group to comment on the BBOWNT report.
All the groups made constructive comments and a very useful discussion ensued. Alex summarised the priorities made in the recommendations and we talked about the possibility of training up a warden to oversee Brill Common in the future, which brought up some really useful points. We then discussed the Group’s Terms of Reference; how we will work with the parish council, the flow of information, organisation of meetings (including attendees and minute-taking), and setting up a structure for future generations. We agreed to meet four times a year, corresponding with the natural seasons. The constructive sharing of ideas felt really positive.
During the last part of the meeting, Alex collected information about what data is held and where concerning local wildlife, with a view to setting up an ecological monitoring strategy for the common and The Walks; something we should implement now for the benefit of future generations. More on this project soon.
It is astounding how much hard work the groups have put in over the years - and how lucky we are to have such dedicated and energetic volunteers caring and protecting our very special common. I don’t think we fully appreciate or understand how much effort goes into keeping Brill Common and The Walks accessible whilst protecting wildlife, increasing biodiversity, and managing the land with awareness of the impact of the climate crisis. One thing is very clear, though: We need to start laying foundations for the next generation of custodians of Brill Common - so, please, if you’d like to get involved with any of the common volunteer groups, please contact them directly or email me, Emi Slater.
Thank you to everyone who attended this meeting and for coming so well prepared and so positive.