Local Environmental Project

July 20, 2011

Tags: Community | Environment | ISO 14001

The phrase ‘an oasis of wildlife’ may not be the first thing that springs to mind if you have visited us at our High Wycombe office in the frankly not-very-leafy Cressex Business Park. Backing onto the estate, however, minding its own business, is Chairborough Local Nature Reserve. You’d be forgiven for not knowing of its existence. It’s only accessible from a couple of small footpaths from the estate and being a nature reserve, it tends to keep itself to itself.

Chairborough was the first area in High Wycombe to be classified as a Local Nature Reserve due to the diversity of wildlife that it plays host to. Bullfinches, red kites, swallows and blackcaps are amongst the birds that find a home there for all or part of the year. Lizards, frogs and slow-worms and a host of mini beasts can be found in the undergrowth. Foxes, badgers and muntjac deer can also be spotted if you go at the right time of day, as well the occasional office worker catching a peaceful half-hour at lunchtime.

While nature is very good at taking care of itself, reserves such as this tend to get overgrown, limiting the diversity of the fauna and flora. To stop this happening and to encourage new growth, the area is carefully managed by the Woodland Department of Wycombe District Council with the help of volunteers.

As the neighbourly and environmentally-conscious company that we aspire to be, we decided to put our money where our mouth is and get stuck in. With help from John at WDC, a group of us picked the rainiest day in July (not deliberately) to spend a morning volunteering. We spilt into two teams; one to rake up cuttings that John had made while clearing the previous day. The other team set about digging holes and installing a new bench. There was also a plan to replace the worn railway-sleeper steps but the rain decided that this would be a job to save for another day.

A couple of hours later, tired, soaked to the skin and more than a little muddy, we relaxed with a cuppa and the satisfaction of a job well done.

It’s only the start of our involvement with the project, there is much more that goes on. When the growing season has finished we’ll be back to help chop back the scrub that has become overgrown to allow the new growth to flourish.

If you’re in the area, make sure you pop by to enjoy this little green oasis. You can even have a sit down on the new bench. (It’s at the top of the meadow facing Chairborough Road). Even better, if you’d like to get involved yourself, contact us here or John at WDC. There’ll always be plenty to do.

More pictures can be seen over on our Facebook page.