Happy (belated) New Year to all. This is now the twentieth year since the group stated work on the Olivers Battery Conservation/Wildlife area and if you look on our archive material (nearly all of it on the website) you will see just how the site has developed over the years.

I will begin this year with acknowledging as many people or groups as I can think of for their support over the twenty years.

We are enormously grateful to the late (and great) Peter Land whose wonderful photography embellishes much of the material from the early years and is much in evidence on the front pages of the website as well. Thank you to all those members and supporters of the group who have contributed so much over the years. Thanks also to Olivers Battery Parish Council who have supported and encouraged us over the years in so many ways, The financial support by grants from the Parish Council has enabled the group to continue over this time as the original grant from the Hansen Trust has inevitably dwindled.

Thank you to all the original founding members whose vision, enthusiasm and drive, transformed a briar and nettle patch into what it is today. Their tenacity encouraged the Parish Council to back our plans and obtain the grant from the Hansen Trust  to get professionals to clear the site. This grant funding allowed the purchase of whips (small trees), tree guards and much else. Community groups and individuals within the parish helped plant all these trees.

Many thanks to Peter Munday of MIP Websites  for his support in upgrading the website and providing continual support for us novice website managers/Editors in our hours of need.

And Now: Over the next few weeks we will formulate plans for how we can best celebrate this anniversary, and if you wish to join us at the next work party on Sunday 9th February 2025 from 10am on the Conservation area, you can join in on the discussion, alongside our planned conservation activities.

Image: Snowfall in January 2025