Conservation is king as Gaywood group clears reserve for wildlife
A “thriving” conservation group spent hours clearing a nature reserve to open it up for wildlife on Monday.
About 30 volunteers from the Gaywood Valley Conservation Group (GVCG) worked to clear an area of Roydon Common of gorse, which has been encroaching on the grassland.
“It’s quite a large area which had become overgrown with gorse,” John Hayes, GVCG’s secretary, said.
Although the job is complete for now, they will still expect to need to return to clear it again in a few years’ time, Mr Hayes added.
This week the group, which was “spawned” from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust three years ago, was also visited by the trust’s chief executive, Pamela Abbott, during their clear-up.
Mr Hayes said: “She wanted to come down and see the volunteers and she spent a couple of hours working with us.”
The Wildlife Trust originally set up a conservation group with Heritage Lottery funding for two years and, once the money ran out, a new group was formed which carried on of its own accord.
Members of GVCG, which is based at Salters Sanctuary, meet every Monday and regularly to maintain places in the Gaywood Valley area, as well as Dersingham Bog, Middleton Mount and areas in town.
In addition to maintaining areas for wildlife, the group also have an educational purpose as they hold a number of walks and talks throughout the year.
Mr Hayes said they have received two certificates in the last year, one for helping the borough council with Anglia In Bloom and the other from the Royal Horticultural Society for an It’s Your Neighbourhood Award for a thriving group.
He added that they are “very sociable”, with a lot of knowledgeable and hardworking people, many of whom are retired.
Anyone wanting to find out more about what GVCG do, can email gvcg2015@gmail.com or visit the website at gaywoodconservation2019.btck.co.uk
