Welcome to the Winter edition of Wilder, the online newsletter from Wild Maidenhead.
Contents
- Welcome from the Committee
- Dates for your Diary
- News/project updates
- Bee news
- Caring for nature – get involved
- Contact details
Welcome from the Committee
If you haven’t already signed up with Wild Maidenhead as a full member, please do. Members get notified of all our events and get priority booking for some of our most popular walks and talks. Martin, our events manager, puts together a wonderful and varied events programme, so I do hope you think it is definitely worth the £5 per year subscription – and of course, children are free to all our events, but anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian!
We hope you enjoy the season and look forward to seeing you at the events.
The Wild Maidenhead Committee.
Dates for Your Diary
Friends of Ray Mill Island (FoRMI) are so excited to share our next volunteer opportunities!
Friends of Ray Mill Island (FoRMI) are so excited to share our next volunteer opportunities!
Every Saturday, 1:30 to 3:30 pm, you will find a group of local volunteers tending, loving and caring for an area of the island that needs some attention! To participate, please book in (no cost involved).
Depending on our focus for the week and the conditions on the day, we make a plan, sometimes we divide and conquer and are able to work on several projects in one session. So the more volunteers, the better!
No skills or experience required — just bring yourself, a drink and gardening gloves.
Meeting Point: Meet by the mural at the back of the toilet block.
Led by Shoshan and or Tara
Our Goal: Together with FoRMI (and Wild Maidenhead) we’re working to enhance the island’s beauty, boost local biodiversity, and create a resilient park system that adapts to climate change.
Join us in bringing more life, colour, and joy to Ray Mill Island!
Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th January RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers like you take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.
Wild Cookham and Wild Maidenhead member Brian Clews, whom many of you will have met, is keen for us all to take part as he obtains and analyses our local records every year. Please take part.
Saturday 24th January – Apple Tree Pruning Workshop at Jealott’s Hill
Community Landshare, 10am to 1pm
Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers like you take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.
Wild Cookham and Wild Maidenhead member Brian Clews, whom many of you will have met, is keen for us all to take part as he obtains and analyses our local records every year. Please take part.
Saturday 31st January and Sunday 1st February – Hedge Laying at Battlemead organised by the Braywick Rangers
Join the Braywick Rangers and local conservation volunteers to lay part of the wildlife hedge at Battlemead, along the Thames Path.
Session will run all day (10-3ish) on 31st Jan and 1st Feb. Join for the whole weekend or just pop along for a couple of hours.
Dress warmly and bring your own food and water. Tools will be provided.
This session is suitable for adults and young people over 14. Those under 18 must be supervised by an adult. We will meet at the entrance to Battlemead off Sutton Road. Parking will be available for the day. If joining later, meet us on the far side of the site along the Thames Path.
Saturday 7th February 2026 – Get to know your conifers at Woolly Firs
A conifer identification workshop at Woolley Firs Education Centre, Cherry Garden Lane. A joint event with BBOWT and for Trust members, to which WM members are invited. Conifers (even though we have few native species in the UK) are important trees for wildlife in many ways, so this day is to help you identify them and appreciate them more! A good collection of conifer species exists on the estate and nearby.
Sunday 8th February 10am – Thriftwood woodland management
Further creation of gaps within the long established oak and hazel coppiced woodland at Thriftwood – a major Borough-owned site. This will rescue the ground flora, give it a bit of sunshine and boost its biodiversity again. A joint task with WMCV.
Sunday morning 15 February – Bird Box making at Braywick nature centre with Bisham Bird Box Group
Join us at 10am until midday for another fantastic opportunity to build your own bird box (at cost price). There will also be an opportunity to order a wide variety of other wildlife homes! Refreshments (donations please) will be available. This is a popular event to bring the youngsters for a good spot of hammering but please remember all young people under the age of 18 must be accompanied by their parent or guardian.
Friday 20th February at 10am – Free Talk about choosing a garden tree at Stubbings Garden Centre, Maidenhead.
We are impressed that this talk includes trees for wildlife and biodiversity! If you go please let us know how it was!
Saturday 21st February – Wild Flower bed preparation and planting in Oaken Grove Park
Please join The Friends of Oaken Grove Park/Wild Maidenhead in revamping the wildflower beds to increase biodiversity in the park. The wildflower bed in Oaken Grove Park are by the football pitches. We will be digging up and relocating plants, planting plants and mulching with wood chip. Please bring your own spades and dress for cold and muddy conditions. Please sign up here
Tuesday 3rd March 2026 – Zoom Talk: An Introduction to Plant Galls, their vast variety, natural function and occasional use by us
Oaken Grove Park
There will be more tasks to complete this season such as hedge trimming and wild flower planting! Members will be emailed as tasks are finalised.
Ray Mill Island
The friends of Ray Mill Road Island (project managed by Wild Maidenhead member Tara Crist) have been going from strength to strength with a task each week!
Friends of Ray Mill island is a community-led project to restore natural wildlife, re-encourage biodiversity, and help Ray Mill Island thrive for generations to come. Become a friend and volunteer your time, skills or resources to help us on our mission to safeguard this beautiful habitat for plants and wildlife.
Desborough Park
The new friends group and Good Gym volunteers have helped the plants survive droughts over the summer. A good selection of plants – both native and non-native are now in. Please get involved if you live locally, as we are short of volunteers.
Hazel Management at Ockwells Park
Martin writes: “Both Wild Maidenhead and Windsor and Maidenhead Conservation Volunteers had a splendid time in November coppicing some old hazels in Ockwells Park. It was also an opportunity to remind everyone how significant this native tree is in our culture and for supporting wildlife. To my knowledge there isn’t a “National Hazel Day” which is a pity. Here are some interesting facts about this amazing tree!
Bee news!
By Michelle Hollis-Hunt
February bee new
We’re creeping into February and the new bee year is starting to warm up.
Some of the first bees you might see on the wing in February (depending on how warm or cold the month is) are buff-tailed queens and potentially also the workers (Bombus terrestris), honey bees (Apis mellifera) and one of my favourite bees – the hairy footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes). You might also spot one of the first mining bees out – Clark’s mining bee (Andrena clarkella), often on willow tree catkins.
Sources of pollen and nectar at this time of year are really important as there aren’t many things flowering. Early flowering trees such as willows mentioned above, hazels, some cherries, shrubs such as mahonia and winter flowering heather (remember the acacia soil for heather!) and flowers such as hellebore, (especially stinking hellebore) crocuses and pulmonaria are all brilliant to have around at this point in the year. Get yourself a winter bee banquet and you’ll be supporting all the pollinators in your garden.
How else can you support bees? Join some campaigns that are aiming to support bees and other wildlife in the UK. Take a look at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website. Another good way to get actively involved in supporting bees is to get involved with research at the Buzz Club at the University of Sussex.
Some interesting bee facts for you whilst we’re waiting for more bees to wake up this spring.
- Only honeybees (apis mellifera) make large quantities of honey and wax. And did you know that honeybees have hairy compound eyes? Yes, I said hairy!
- Bees originally evolved from wasps many millions of years ago and they can be hard to tell apart at times. I would encourage you to get curious about wasps! They have a scary reputation, but are actually brilliant things to have in the garden helping with both pest control and pollination. And similarly to bees you have social wasps, solitary wasps and cuckoo wasps. (Check out the bee-utiful ruby tailed wasp)
- Bees are found on every continent of the world, apart from Antarctica.
What bees are you looking forward to seeing this year?
Share your views on RBWM’s Climate and Environment Strategy Consultation
The Royal Borough is seeking views on a new plan to supercharge climate action, enabling an increase in more energy-efficient homes, an increase in EV charging and a nature recovery network covering 30% of the borough by 2030, building on successes of environmental action over the last five years.
Focused on five priorities: energy, sustainable transport, natural environment, reducing waste, and governance, finance & risk, aiming to accelerate progress in the borough. The draft Environment and Climate Strategy for 2026-2035 also aims to back these goals with two five‑year action plans, stronger climate governance and transparent annual reporting.
A six-week public consultation runs until Monday 2 March, giving residents, community groups and businesses the opportunity to have their say on the ambitions the strategy lays out.
Cllr Karen Davies, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said: “We’ve shown what’s possible – now we want your views on what comes next. We’ve seen real benefits from local action: cleaner energy in our public buildings and schools, thriving spaces for nature, and better options for low-carbon travel. But we need to go further and faster.
“Engagement events have helped us to focus on what has the highest impact – retrofit and renewables, active travel and a strong nature recovery network – so that together we build a cleaner, greener borough for all.”
Since the previous strategy was launched, more than £9 million has been secured to improve energy efficiency in schools and council buildings. Locally, over 200 home solar arrays have been installed through the Solar Together scheme, helping households cut bills and carbon. Nature recovery has also gathered pace, with more than 30,000 trees planted and the publication of the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
The way people travel is also changing. Vehicle miles have fallen by 6% since 2019. Nearly £1 million has been secured to expand public electric vehicle charging, with a target of 75 new charge points each year to support the transition to cleaner vehicles, while walking and cycling routes have been improved.
More information, including the draft strategy and consultation, is available on the council’s engagement platform.