The Anton River Conservation Association

TARCA News Issue 13

graemedavis — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:03:20 +0000

TARCA News Issue 12 Dec 2012

graemedavis — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 11:44:15 +0000

TARCA News Issue 11Sept/Oct 2012

graemedavis — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:55:01 +0000

TARCA News Issue 10 June/July 2012

graemedavis — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:52:55 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 10

TARCA is a conservation group spawned from interest in The River Anton Enhancement Scheme – a partnership between Test Valley Borough Council, The Environment Agency, and Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust to improve the river corridor for wildlife and people.

Anton Lakes Litter Clear

April showers, or shall we say deluge, saw The CPO Unit from Lloyds Banking Group join TARCA for a Tidy Britain Litter pick. Volunteers on the day held out in the pouring rain to clean 1.36 tons of rubbish. We had to clear fly tipping along the back of King Arthur’s way which was a big disappointment, but hopefully as word spreads it may cease.

MENCAP to the Rescue

Another April litter pick saw volunteers from MENCAP come and help TARCA clear the Ladies walk meadows. This was important work as the area was being prepared for grazing to encourage wildlflowers. We found some encouraging life already there including a pair of Common Lizards

Transition Town Andover

At the start of June TARCA were invited by Transition Town Andover to the opening of the Community. Food Gardens & Mosaics in Vigo Road Park. The TARCA stall had a build you own Dragonfly task at the stall for children,as well as information about what we do

Become a volunteer:

If you wish to volunteer or want information on the new group please contact 01264 368811 or 07722 267138 email: antonriver@live.com or find us on our facebook page by searching TARCA The Anton River Conservation Association, or new website:http://www.antonriver-conservation.org.uk/

NEXT EVENTS:

Saturday 28^th July 10am – 2pm Rooksbury Mill Nature Reserve Discovery Day. Great for kids! Also at 8.30pm a Bat/Moth evening

Saturday 18^th August 2pm onwards at Rooksbury Mill LNR – Dragonfly Guided walk led by Graeme & Mervyn

TARCA News Issue 9

graemedavis — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:51:06 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 9

Ladies Walk Meadows

TVBC has acquired two meadows at Ladies walk, so one of the first tasks this year was to clear them of scrub. It is hoped that the meadows, which still have some remanent wildflowers left,can then be grazed encouraging wildflowers and butterflies to the area. TARCA were joined by local residents who also want to see the meadows flourish once again.

TARCA Car stickers

TARCA has recently has some car stickers made up thanks to the hard work of one of our volunteers, Georgina. So, keep you eyes peeled as you may see some of these on cars about town.

Rooksbury Mill Double weekend

The first part of a double weekend task at Rooksbury Mill has been completed. The task is to re-instate faggoting on the river Anton allowing the flow of the river to improve and wildlflower banks to establish. It was a hard weekend of work. The next double weekend task is to complete the work on the 24/25^th March

Become a volunteer:

NEXT EVENTS:

Saturday 14^th April – Watercress bed maintenance at Anton Lakes LNR 10am to 2pm

Sunday 29^th April – Tidy Britain Big Litter Pick at Anton Lakes LNR 10am to 2pm

TARCA News Issue 8

graemedavis — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:49:05 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 8

Merry Christmas!

May I take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our members. This year has been a very busy year for TARCA and we have achieved quite a bit. The Christmas party,a chance to relax and celebrate went very well with a raffle,poetry reading and skittles to end it all, and I hope that all that came had an enjoyable night

Reed/Sedge Management

In November the team was tasked with clearing a section of reedbed next to the ASDA store in town. It was a nice sunny day and the volunteers put in some hard work cutting the reeds and sedges and stopping overgrowth by scrub. The aim is to clear a section at a time each year to maintain the wetland habitat created here and prevent the scub from taking over..

The River flows again

A section of the River Anton that runs through a feeder stream from Keen’s House to Mead Hedges had over the years become over grown and full of litter. We were pleased that in October we managed to clear most of this scrub and litter and get a stronger current where there was little flow before. The most pleasing part of this task was to hear the feedback from members of the public congratulating us on what a difference it has made.

Become a volunteer:

NEXT EVENTS:

Saturday 7^th January – Scrub Clear at Anton Lakes LNR 10am-2pm

Sunday 22^nd

TARCA News Issue 7

graemedavis — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:22:12 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 7 13^th Sept 2011

TARCA is a new conservation group spawned from interest in The River Anton Enhancement Scheme – a partnership between Test Valley Borough Council, The Environment Agency, and Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust to improve the river corridor for wildlife and people.

The Dragons of Rooksbury

August weather wasn’t the greatest but TARCA & Hampshire & The Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust had a joint dragonfly walk. Despite the threatening showers we had a good show of dragonflies and damselflies including Southern Hawker, Common Darter, Common & Blue-tailed damselflies and a new record for the lakes – A Red Eyed damselfly (Erythromma najas).This was the second new record for the lakes this year. Earlier in the year a Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly (Orthetrum cancellatum) was reported.

Glow-worms & Bats

At the end of June we held a Bat & Glow worm walk at Rooksbury Mill Nature Reserve. The evening went very well with quite a few bat sightings including Daubenton’s bats flying over the lakes. After the bat walk a short walk and survey was carried out for Glow-worms. These beetles were known to have a colony nearby in Upper Clatford. However much to our surprise we found that Glow-worms were actually present on the Rooksbury site.13 individual glowing females were found which have been submitted to the National Glow-worm survey records

If you go down to the woods…

The TVBC Woodfair at Knightwood near Chandler’s Ford went amazing well this year. TARCA had an information stand with activities for children as well as a ‘make your own’ insect hibernation hotels activity for 50p.

Become a volunteer:

NEXT EVENTS:

Sunday 25^th September – Ride Management at Anton Lakes Nature Reserve 10am-2pm

Sunday 9^th October – River Clean at Mead Hedges, Andover (Mead Road) 10am -2pm

TARCA News Issue 6

graemedavis — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:20:36 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 6 30^th June 2011

BIG Litter Pick

In April TARCA was joined by locals & LloydsTSB Volunteers for another Tidy Britain Big Tidy Up at Anton Lakes.Rubbish at the end of the day was taken to a weigh station by Test Valley Borough Council, it weighed 1.64 tons and consisted of items like Christmas Trees, Fridge Freezers, Matresses and 2 Giant Land Snails

Dawn Chorus

In May some hardy members of TARCA and the public took an early walk to hear the dawn chorus. The walk started at 4.45am around Rooksbury Mill. Many birds were heard including Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaff. A ground feeding Buzzard was also seen.

Orange Balsam Removal

At the start of June at Rooksbury Mill Nature Reserve TARCA had a tough task removing Orange Balsam (Impatiens capensis) in the rain.This plant is a Native of North America.Though not invasive it has dominated areas of reed beds at the reserve supressing native plant growth. It is hoped that by keeping the plant controlled more of our native wetland plants will flourish.

Wild Trek Trailer

On the 25^th June an event day was held at Rooksbury Mill. The wild trek trailer was there to capture and identifiy bugs from the lake for the children.There was also a TARCA stall trial running Lacewing hibernation boxes and artist Andy Pomfrey was there to display work from local artists

Become a volunteer:

NEXT EVENTS:

Sunday 17^th July Anton Lakes LNR – 10am to 2pm Wildlife Discovery Day.

Saturday 27^th August Rooksbury Mill LNR – 2pm to 4pm Dragonfly walk

TARCA News Issue 5

graemedavis — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:17:03 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 5 April 2011

Scrub Clearance

Many of you will have been involved in the on-going scrub clearance at Coleman’s Hill at Anton Lakes Nature Reserve. This hard work has now all been completed and the meadow is looking a lot larger.Hopefully now the wildflowers will spread into the new area.

Bird Spotting

On the 12^th February volunteers joined Mervyn Grist on a bird spotting event at Anton Lakes and up to Knight Enham. So many people came we split into two groups to see who could see the most.The grand total was 31 bird species and we were joined by a Sparrowhawk flying above.

A new Pond

A new pond was dug by 15 volunteers in this quarter.The day was a bit muddy and wet, but people put their backs into it to create a new habitat for dragonflies, damselflies and frogs.The pond was positioned in the Dew Pond meadow where an old wet flush already existed. It is hoped that this pond will take over in succession from the existing Dew pond as it naturally fills in.

River Maintenance

A lot of river work has also been going on at Rooksbury Mill LNR with Test Valley Borough Council and funding from The Environment Agency. Volunteers have helped instal faggots along the river to help native bankside vegatation spread and improve the flow of the river for invertebrates

Become a volunteer:

NEXT EVENTS:

7^th May – Dawn Chorus.Meeting at Rooksbury Mill Nature Reserve car park off Barlows Lane at 4.45am

8^th May – River Clean. Meeting at Rooksbury Mill Nature Reserve at 10am until 2pm

TARCA News Issue 4

graemedavis — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:46:02 +0000

TARCA NEWS Issue 4: 4thDecember 2010

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

First and foremost may I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year. I think you will all agree that the group has achieved a lot in just one year. From the building of new ponds and removal of scrub to displays at the TVBC Woodfair and at Lights Theatre. Thanks to all who have been involved in some way!

Lights Theatre

TARCA was invited by Test Valley Borough Council along with The Hampshire Wildlife Trust & The Environment Agency to have a display to celebrate the anniversary of the River Anton enhancement scheme. The night went very well with TARCA holding its own competition – Guess The Butterfly. The event was ended by a talk on wildlife photography by a Hampshire Wildlife Trust member

From little acorns

Volunteers went out one cold day in November to collect seeds. These native tree seeds were potted up and shall be grown by members to plant up next year in the local parks. Collected on the day were: Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Guelder Rose, Ash, Dog Rose and Silver Birch to name a few.

Lloyds Banking Help

Lloyds Banking Group helped TARCA by volunteering 17 members of its staff for a Tidy Britain ‘Big Tidy Up’ and a Scrub clear. On the day 27 bags of rubbish were removed from Anton Lakes LNR including an ironing board, vacuum cleaner, six footballs and even a surf board

Become a volunteer:

NEXT EVENTS:

Sunday 9^th Jan 2011 10am – 2 – Scrub Clearance at Anton Lakes. Meet in main car park

Saturday 12^th Feb 2011 10.30am – Bird Spotting event at Anton Lakes. Meet in main car park