Tweet from Lye Valley 31 December 2020 Look what we found! A well developed Glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) larva (or maybe a female). One of the many wonderful creatures to call the Lye Valley home! We disturbed it while raking the fen, but then carefully re-homed it under the boardwalk in reed litter. Photo by Judy Webb |
9 December 2020: photos tweeted by Tony Gillie of some of the regular Wednesday volunteers group hard at work in the Lye Valley: Richard Querault (with scythe), Rod d'Ayala (raking), Heather Armitage (lopping), and Judy (with large bag), this time sowing seed of yellow rattle, Rhianthus minor, a semi-parasitic plant that feeds off the nutrients in the roots of neighbouring grasses, making them less vigorous and thus allowing the more delicate species to push their way through.
6 December 2020 Tony Gillie tweeted his photos of Judy using her technique of sowing the very tiny seeds of Grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris in the Lye Valley: putting them into water in a plastic bag with holes, giving the bag a shake, then drizzling over the fen. The plant is rare in Oxfordshire. The seeds have been sown near the boardwalk in the Lye Valley in the hope that more people will be able to see it in flower. |
25 October 2020
A large number of Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to the Lye Valley North Fen to rake up a huge amount of cut reed to be used to shore up the stream bank. They and also spread green hay at the head of the Valley, where its seed, including Hemp Agrimony, a favourite of pollinators, will enrich the wildflower mix. Lots of photos of the day's work in this Twitter thread. Judy can be seen on the right (blue anorak) collecting marsh lousewort seed.
19 October 2020 Three tweets with photos by Judy of great work being done by 23 volunteers in the Lye Valley South Fen, land which is privately owned. Thanks to Natural England, there is an agreement for this area to be managed for conservation by the owners together with Oxford City Council (who carried out recent cutting). Judy explained the importance of this area: '22 plant species on the county rare plants register, including 1000s of marsh helleborine orchids & 1051 flowers of grass of Parnassus recently. Too small at 0.5ha, so edges need to be brought back to more sp. diversity by scything rank margins, so that greenhay from rich centre can be moved there to drop seed. Marsh lousewort was all saved from hay & spread to rank areas. 6 drag bags of seed-rich hay are to go up to N fen, 600m away. As always we found golf balls (golfers hit over fen) - 3 bags. Big thanks to volunteers! '.
A large number of Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to the Lye Valley North Fen to rake up a huge amount of cut reed to be used to shore up the stream bank. They and also spread green hay at the head of the Valley, where its seed, including Hemp Agrimony, a favourite of pollinators, will enrich the wildflower mix. Lots of photos of the day's work in this Twitter thread. Judy can be seen on the right (blue anorak) collecting marsh lousewort seed.
19 October 2020 Three tweets with photos by Judy of great work being done by 23 volunteers in the Lye Valley South Fen, land which is privately owned. Thanks to Natural England, there is an agreement for this area to be managed for conservation by the owners together with Oxford City Council (who carried out recent cutting). Judy explained the importance of this area: '22 plant species on the county rare plants register, including 1000s of marsh helleborine orchids & 1051 flowers of grass of Parnassus recently. Too small at 0.5ha, so edges need to be brought back to more sp. diversity by scything rank margins, so that greenhay from rich centre can be moved there to drop seed. Marsh lousewort was all saved from hay & spread to rank areas. 6 drag bags of seed-rich hay are to go up to N fen, 600m away. As always we found golf balls (golfers hit over fen) - 3 bags. Big thanks to volunteers! '.
18 October 2020 Judy Webb's explanation of work on the Lye Valley interception ponds and structures in the Lye Brook
1 October 2020
Work began on clearing the interception ponds at the head of the Lye Valley. They had filled up with road grit and other material brought in by road run-off since the 1980s, when they were dug, and were therefore no longer holding back a significant amount of water and preventing erosion of the Lye fen further down the valley. Work on the second pond will be carried out tomorrow, with the aim of completion by the weekend. See Judy's tweets and more of Heather's photos here |
2 October 2020
Judy tweeted a follow-up to news from the previous day, with photos of progress made on Friday until heavy rain stopped the digging - also a photo showing the volume and speed of water running into the valley from road surface drains in heavy rain. The third part of her tweet from 30 Sept 2020 shows what one of the ponds looked like before the digger got to work. Thames water has contributed £10,000 towards this work and the construction of 'leaky' log dams to slow the water flow through the Lye Valley.
15 October 2020 Students and lecturers from Oxford Brookes University visited the Lye Valley to investigate the history contained in peat from the North Fen. Judy's tweets and accompanying photos give further information. Left : Judy in the Lye Valley explaining the fen restoration there to MSc Conservation Ecology students. Photo by Adam Bows (MSc student) |
1 September 2019: Judy led a tour of this 8,000-year-old, internationally rare, alkaline spring fen, which supports 20 species of rare plant and 27 scarce invertebrates, as well as thriving populations of reptiles and amphibians. The walk proved very popular. A very large number of people turned up, packing the boardwalk. One of them, an Affiliate Tutor at the School of Education, Oxford Brookes University, subsequently tweeted: 'I visit this place at least twice a week, and have more understanding of it after two hours with a knowledgeable guide than my own visits have given me'.
22 August 2019
Staff from Natural England Thames were accompanied by some Friends of Lye Valley on one of their two recent tours of inspection of the progress of improvements to the state of the fen.
They were very favourably impressed
22 August 2019
Staff from Natural England Thames were accompanied by some Friends of Lye Valley on one of their two recent tours of inspection of the progress of improvements to the state of the fen.
They were very favourably impressed
2 January 2019: Tony Gillie took some beautiful photos of snow in the Lye Valley - see Judy Webb's retweet
6 November 2018: Oxford Golf Club and Friends of Lye Valley have brought back to the golf course a rare plant found there in 1839 in an area next to Hollow Way. They were joined in a special planting ceremony by members of the Oxfordshire Flora Group and the Freshwater Habitats Trust. Flat Sedge Blysmus compressus, is a grass-like plant which thrives in wet marshy conditions. For full details see Golf Business News website, 16 November 2018.
3 November 2018: Andy Gunn and BBOWT Wild Oxford volunteers cut and cleared both sides of the boardwalk near the Slade entrance, hand-pulled an infestation of Woody Nightshade, cut down dead and dying trees, and more. Andy put some of Tony Gillie's excellent photos on Twitter
11 Oct 2018: Professor Adrian Parker and students from Oxford Brookes University visited the Lye Valley to carry out a palaeo-ecological investigation. The results will provide a wealth of information, including the age of the fen - all photos by Tony Gillie.
For further information see captions to the photos (To show / hide captions, click on the 'i' in the white circle at the top right of the photo when viewing photos in slideshow.)
24 July 2018: A group from Oxford City Council's IT and HR departments and OCC Business Development Group joined Oxford City Council volunteers (led by Carl Whitehead) in clearing a footpath in the Lye Valley. Afterwards Judy led the group on a tour of the valley. To see photos taken by Tony Gillie, click here
13 July 2017: Oxford Mail article - Lye Valley recognised as Local Geology Site by Oxfordshire Geology Trust based on its 'extraordinary hydrological and geomorphological features which interact with the biodiversity in the valley'.
June 2018 The Lye Valley starred in an Oxford Times 'Limited Edition' article* by Wendy Tobitt of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) *Link taken from Friends of Lye Valley website
3 June 2018 Members of Oxford Civic Society enjoyed a walk in the Lye Valley led by Judy. For photos click here
13 May 2018: As a local contribution to GeoWeek (5 to 13 May 2018), Owen Green of Oxfordshire Geology Trust (seen above describing fossils found at Rock Edge) and Judy Webb led a guided walk around Rock Edge and through the Lye Valley. Over 30 people came along. For photos click here For OGT info leaflet (scanned), click here
31 July 2017 Friends of Lye Valley AGM, Judy gave a talk on 'Allotment Wildlife'
25 June 2017 Lye Valley Open Day - a Sunday, 11.00 am to 4.00 pm
Judy led two walks through the Lye Valley north fen explaining what work has been done there and the reasons for doing it.
Most of the photos of the morning walk were taken by Tony Gillie, a regular Lye Valley volunteer - click here. Marilyn Cox took photos of the morning walk, afternoon walk and other activities throughout the day. Refreshments on sale in Bullingdon Community Centre, hosted by the Hogley Bogstars, were excellent and much appreciated. There is an article on the event by Stuart Rust in the online edition of The Oxford Times, 26 June, with photos by Ric Mellis showing some activities not covered in the other photos. The photo below was taken at one of the Lye Valley ponds, once overgrown but now restored.
6 November 2018: Oxford Golf Club and Friends of Lye Valley have brought back to the golf course a rare plant found there in 1839 in an area next to Hollow Way. They were joined in a special planting ceremony by members of the Oxfordshire Flora Group and the Freshwater Habitats Trust. Flat Sedge Blysmus compressus, is a grass-like plant which thrives in wet marshy conditions. For full details see Golf Business News website, 16 November 2018.
3 November 2018: Andy Gunn and BBOWT Wild Oxford volunteers cut and cleared both sides of the boardwalk near the Slade entrance, hand-pulled an infestation of Woody Nightshade, cut down dead and dying trees, and more. Andy put some of Tony Gillie's excellent photos on Twitter
11 Oct 2018: Professor Adrian Parker and students from Oxford Brookes University visited the Lye Valley to carry out a palaeo-ecological investigation. The results will provide a wealth of information, including the age of the fen - all photos by Tony Gillie.
For further information see captions to the photos (To show / hide captions, click on the 'i' in the white circle at the top right of the photo when viewing photos in slideshow.)
24 July 2018: A group from Oxford City Council's IT and HR departments and OCC Business Development Group joined Oxford City Council volunteers (led by Carl Whitehead) in clearing a footpath in the Lye Valley. Afterwards Judy led the group on a tour of the valley. To see photos taken by Tony Gillie, click here
13 July 2017: Oxford Mail article - Lye Valley recognised as Local Geology Site by Oxfordshire Geology Trust based on its 'extraordinary hydrological and geomorphological features which interact with the biodiversity in the valley'.
June 2018 The Lye Valley starred in an Oxford Times 'Limited Edition' article* by Wendy Tobitt of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) *Link taken from Friends of Lye Valley website
3 June 2018 Members of Oxford Civic Society enjoyed a walk in the Lye Valley led by Judy. For photos click here
13 May 2018: As a local contribution to GeoWeek (5 to 13 May 2018), Owen Green of Oxfordshire Geology Trust (seen above describing fossils found at Rock Edge) and Judy Webb led a guided walk around Rock Edge and through the Lye Valley. Over 30 people came along. For photos click here For OGT info leaflet (scanned), click here
31 July 2017 Friends of Lye Valley AGM, Judy gave a talk on 'Allotment Wildlife'
25 June 2017 Lye Valley Open Day - a Sunday, 11.00 am to 4.00 pm
Judy led two walks through the Lye Valley north fen explaining what work has been done there and the reasons for doing it.
Most of the photos of the morning walk were taken by Tony Gillie, a regular Lye Valley volunteer - click here. Marilyn Cox took photos of the morning walk, afternoon walk and other activities throughout the day. Refreshments on sale in Bullingdon Community Centre, hosted by the Hogley Bogstars, were excellent and much appreciated. There is an article on the event by Stuart Rust in the online edition of The Oxford Times, 26 June, with photos by Ric Mellis showing some activities not covered in the other photos. The photo below was taken at one of the Lye Valley ponds, once overgrown but now restored.
18 December 2016 Work with Friends of the Lye Valley volunteers and Andy Gunn, Wild Oxford Project Officer, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). For photos, and a short video, which will start automatically soon after you reach the first frame - click here
Article in The Oxford Mail, 25 November 2016
A new masterplan - The Vision for the Lye Valley - "aims to join up conservation efforts on the parts of the nature reserve under different ownership". For more information see the separate Friends of Lye Valley website
6 July 2016: Judy led a walk around the Lye Valley. See Oxford Mail article, 7 July 2016
Heather Armitage also took photos.
28 August 2015: Friends of Lye Valley welcomed Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett, to the Lye Valley. Judy showed her some of the rare plants and insects which have survived there for over 8,000 years.
15 September 2015: Judy appeared on Oxford local TV, Channel 8, recording species in the west side of the Lye Valley transect.
Photos taken by Judy in the Lye Valley, 5 July 2015
5 July 2015: Judy joined a working session of Oxford Conservation Volunteers in the Lye Valley (Click on photo to move to next one/previous one - photos by Judy)
4 July 2015: a walk in the Lye Valley led by Judy 'In the footsteps of the Tudor Botanists'
28 June 2015: Judy with Friends of Lye Valley and Oxford Conservation Volunteers in the Lye Valley - for photos click here
An Oxford Mail article on protecting pond life, 5 February 2014, included comments by Judy, Chairman of Friends of Lye Valley, on help to protect the Lye Valley given by The Freshwater Habitats Trust.
21 January 2014: Judy and people from BBOWT* (Andy Gunn, Wild Oxford Project Manager, and Wendy Tobbit), and Oxford City Council (Carl Whitehead, Park Ranger) were interviewed live in the Lye Valley during Radio Oxford's breakfast programme presented by Phil Gayle on Tuesday,
*Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust
A programme in the BBC 1 series Urban Jungle broadcast on 1 August 2013 (but filmed earlier in the year) included footage taken in the Lye Valley North Fen and Town Furze allotments, with Judy talking to Chris Packham about wildlife.
Photos taken when Judy visited the Lye Valley on 26 July 2013 (To reveal captions, click on double arrows at top right of window - but this will also allow advertising photos to be included in the slideshow.)
DEFRA, Biodiversity News, Issue 47, Autumn 2009, page 27: 'Caring for a green lung at the heart of Oxford' refers to Judy's work in the Lye Valley. A link to this former newsletter published by DEFRA is no longer available. It has been replaced by Nature News