Environment and Sustainability
Many people are concerned about the considerable environmental challenges we all face. Some of these challenges are global, and it sometimes feels as if we can do little about them, but if we all start working to do what we can, a myriad small actions can add up to real change.
Chesham Bois Parish Council has set up an Environmental and Sustainability Working Group to look at what we can do locally. Environmental & Sustainability Working Group Remit
Our first action has been to identify areas of land that we manage that could be better managed for biodiversity. In practice, this means changing our mowing regime in certain areas to allow more native wildflowers to bloom, and therefore provide more food for invertebrates, which in turn creates more food for birds and small mammals.
We plan to survey the chosen areas monthly from April to October, to see how this plan is working. They will perhaps not look as ‘tidy’ as in previous years, but we are expecting a benefit to the wildlife of the village. We will be allowing the wildflowers to occur naturally, we will not be first killing off existing vegetation with herbicide to sow seed, as is sometimes done.
We want to involve families and local schools, though of course there are limitations on this at the moment. Many people are going out for walks, and often have a phone or other camera with them. One thing we could all do is photograph the flora and fauna of the village and upload the picture to iRecord, the Biological Records Centre site for recording. You can do this via the main website
https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/ or via an app on your phone https://irecord.org.uk/app/
Replanting in Bois Wood
The first stage of replanting in Bois Wood is almost complete, with further trees to be added following additional ground clearance. The saplings represent a number of native Chiltern species, including oak, maple, grey willow, birch and rowan, which should offer a more resilient mix for future health and to promote biodiversity.
In Bois Wood this strategy has enabled us to:
• Diversify the age and species structure. This area of Bois Wood has been largely unmanaged for some time and had a lot of poor, ageing trees. New broadleaved native trees are being replanted
• Retain veteran “halo” trees but give them more space to thrive
• Get more light to the woodland floor to encourage more ground flora which in turn provides a food source for insects, birds and animals. This also encourages natural regeneration of trees.
• Retain suitable standing and fallen dead wood where it is safe to do so to provide other varied habitats. Other large logs have been sold to offset part of the costs of the project.
• Remove ash trees where ash dieback has been identified and replant with a wider range of native species.
This is the first phase of a 10-year Management Plan for Chesham Bois Common and the woodlands that the Parish Council either owns or leases.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies
It’s exciting that Buckinghamshire has been chosen to pilot Local Nature Recovery Strategies designed to help nature and people flourish together. These LNRS will become a statutory requirement of the upcoming Environment Bill. Local councils will be required to develop one when the Bill becomes law and then have to report on progress on the LNRS every five years. Follow the link below to find out more. Local Nature Recovery Strategy Overview
Impact | Community Carbon Calculator
Do you want to know more about the carbon footprint of this (or any other) parish? You can see from this tool which aspects of life contribute most to carbon emissions in our community. https://impact-tool.org.uk/
We have included links to some charities and organisations for further information
https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/news/buckinghamshire-set-pilot-national-initiative-nature/