Friends of Raleigh Park

Community Group in Botley, Oxford dedicated to looking after Raleigh Park and its Alkaline Fens to maximise benefits for people & nature

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Fine weather for scything & raking one of the valley fen seepages in Raleigh Park. We do this to knock back the ranker vegetation & enable the fen plant community to get re-established. Sward diversity increasing. Cows arriving soon hopefully

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Bugle & Lady���s Smock approaching their peak in the Raleigh Park wet bits

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Very nice tufa rich headwater stream feeding Raleigh Park

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Marsh Lousewort, Common Cotton-grass & Flea Sedge (last 2 introduced through @Freshwaterhabs GroWet project doing well at Raleigh Park. Today our hard working volunteers completed the spring hard rush cut. The fen is getting more diverse - species richness up by 69% since 2017

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

@judyweb32049878 All thanks to you Judy. Will be interesting to see what happens when the cattle rock up

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Thanks to our vols, main fen at Raleigh Park in good condition & loads of Marsh Lousewort babies! This is a key ecosystem engineer for fens, parasitising rushes & sedges, reducing their dominance & creating an open, species rich, diverse sward

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

First Marsh Marigold flower & frogspawn already morphing into tiny tadpoles in the pond at Raleigh Park. Good to see Chara algae, Greater Spearwort amongst the abundant Iris

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Carex pulicaris (Flea Sedge) propagated from @Freshwaterhabs GroWet project planted in Raleigh Park fen last December doing well. Rare in Oxon, nice to see it returning to its former range @judyweb32049878 @vickytryfan

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Finally completed all the raking of cut material off the #flush & #fen in #RaleighParkOxford - this will help maintain the short-sward wetland plant community characteristic of rare Alkaline Fen.

Bugle, Celendines & Water Figwort already coming up.

Thank you to our volunteers👏🏻

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Another Saturday morning of volunteers working to restore the main fen at Raleigh Park. Lot of raking off arisings, ready for the spring. Flea Sedge & Common Cotton Grass planted through the @Freshwaterhabs GroWet project doing well 😁

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Frozen #Fen & springs today at Raleigh Park. Thanks again to our @Freshwaterhabs Volunteers, who worked hard scything & then raking & dragging the cut material off the fen. Also sowed Purple & Yellow Loosestrife & Blunt-Flowered Rush seed from @friendlyevalley

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Details at https://t.co/mwf9ju2Tb1

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Unfortunately the developer seeking to build 3 massive, unaffordable, luxury houses in the catchment of the rare Alkaline Fen at Raleigh Park has appealed against the refusal of planning permission. This is a stones throw from the Fen we are trying to restore. Greed trumps nature

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Vols Planting out Common Cotton Grass, Marsh Arrowgrass & Flea Sedge in the Fen Meadow & main fen at Raleigh Park thanks to @Freshwaterhabs GroWet project & @judyweb32049878
These plants now rare in Oxon. Amazing volunteer effort on Very cold day 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Lovely to see the Devil’s Bit Scabious grown from seed donated by @friendlyevalley is flowering in #RaleighParkOxford

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Lots of Meadow Vetchling in flower behind the chestnut paling which the cows can’t reach (yet - the grazier will open up the main fen later in the season when the flowers have set seed)

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Mowers in action
@vickytryfan

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

@vickytryfan @ODS_doinggood @OxfordCity @judyweb32049878 @Stephen28030977 @BBOWT And the Wild Liquorice is surviving their attention so far, although no flower buds yet 🤞

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

Spiny Restharrow looking so fine in #RaleighParkOxford today

[Friends of Raleigh Park @RaleighParkOx]

The Belted Galloway have created nice structural heterogeneity - they don’t eat the Spiney Restharrow for obvious reasons!