The Beryl Harvey fields conservation project

By invitation, Cranleigh School have been invited to help develop the project into an educational and recreational resource for the whole community. On a weekly basis, Cranleigh students volunteer to maintain the site and ready it for planting of new, indigenous hedging and trees. Areas where wild orchids flower have been sensitively protected with low fencing; wild life and flora have been documented as the year has progessed. The hope is that in the near future students will help the project launch their own Social Media pages so that a wider audience will become aware of the public resource. Other local schools, Scout and Guide groups are looking to use the space over the summer months.

Aims

To help maintain a large site that has proved difficult to effictively manage.

To atend to specific labour intensive tasks instucted by project stewards.

To widen appeal, awareness and use of the site for the local community.

Background

The project has operated for the last two years but as a result of lack of regular manpower the area become difficult for individuals and groups to navigate and use.

Stewards offered the opportunity to Cranleigh students to volunteer much needed labour to help maintain the site on a regualr basis.

Cranleigh became involved in January 2019

Resources

Cranleigh have provided a member of staff, Mark Weighton, to head the Cranleigh team. He liases with the Beryl Harvey Fields Stewards and attends evening Stewards meetings as necessary.

A minimum of 2 Cranleigh staff accompany the students to the site each week, working alongside them in an hour long session.

Students are driven to and from the site by minibus. Cranleigh School provides tools and equipment to facilitate the maintenance.

Impact

Immediate improvements to the presentation and organisation of the site have been gratefully noted by the Project stewards.

Immediate benefits to students working physically in the natural environment.

Increased awareness of the site as an educational and recreational resource leading to increased public use of space.

This is anticipated to continue as awareness continues to build.

Improved wildlife habitats and protections anticipated to improve chances of wild life inhabitation.

Students from other schools, notably Glebelands will hopefully join the project allowing students from the different institutions to integrate constructively in a common cause.

Pupil Involvement

15 Year 10 students (predominantly boys) are involved in maintaining the site on a weekly basis.

Frequency

Cranleigh involvement is on an ongoing weekly basis during term time for the foreseeable future.