Oswaldtwistle Local Panel

The year, project officer Alice was invited back to St Nicholas CE Primary School in Church for their annual science week. Through the Brookside Restoration Initiative, Alice has attended Science Week for the last two years, explaining more about her work at Prospects  and delivering practical lessons for all year groups.

This year, year 5 focused on creating anti littering posters for use at Brookside and other prospects sites. Keep your eyes peeled while out and about in Hyndburn, as will be having a number of these brilliant posters printed as real life signs.

Other year groups enjoyed building wildflower gardens on the school grounds, constructing bird feeders,  and having their say about what they would like to see at Brookside. In addition, Brookside volunteers have donated much of the hazel that has been coppiced from site, for use in the St Nicholas forest school.

Last Wednesday, Brookside project officer Alice hosted a double bill of half term nature themes crafts. Across the two sessions at Oswaldtwistle Library and Stanhill Social Club, an impressive 37 young environmentalists made fantastic moving minibeasts to take home. Well done everyone!

On Saturday the 7th of February, Andy Barnes from the Stanhill Village Community Association joined Brookside Restoration Officer Alice in hosting a guided walk around the Stanhill Heritage Trail. The event proved popular despite the drizzle, with many new faces among the 10 attendees. The trail starts at the Hargreaves Memorial Garden, and loops around through Moss Lane and Brookside before heading back up the footpath by Kemp Delph.

For more information on the trail, visit the SVCA website: https://www.stanhillvillage.co.uk/heritagetrail/

Thank you Andy and the SVCA for your expertise about the incredible history of our local area!

In response to lots of requests for weekend opportunities, Prospects has launched a new volunteer session on the first Sunday of the month at Brookside.

Yesterday, Alice was delighted to see seven keen volunteers braving the cold to create brash piles around coppiced hazel stumps. These brash piles will protect the new hazel shoots from being nibbled by deer, whilst also providing habitat for many different species.

The next session will be on the 1st of February at 10am!

Last week, Alice and the Brookside volunteers were delighted to host a natural wrath-making fundraiser in collaboration with the Stanhill Social Club.

Thank you to all who donated - we raised a whopping £140!

This Wednesday, the Stanhill Village Community Association and the Brookside volunteers teamed up to install a secure bike container on site. This will support the work of the volunteers and provide a dry storage space for on-site events! Thank you to all who helped out.

Last Friday a fantastic 50 people came to our Bat Walk at Brookside, and we raised a whopping £73 for the project! Thank you all who attended, and to Roger 'Batman' Cunliffe for his expertise on the night.

This week the Thursday gang enjoyed a scything master class lead by expert Steve Tomlin. Scything is an ancient art that is still used today as a zero-carbon way to cut sensitive wildflower meadow areas. Under Steve's watchful eye, the gang learned how to set up their sycthe, sharpen the blade, and get cracking on the wildflower meadow. By cutting back the rough grasses, we encourage native wildflowers to grow!

On Monday this week, we hosted a Hapa Zome printing session at the Stanhill Methodist Church. This ancient Japanese art involves hammering flowers and leaves into woven fabric to create beautiful natural designs. Our session used materials gathered from around Hyndburn, and the results were wonderful!

On Tuesday this week, PROSPECTS hosted the first of their summer buttfly surveys, as part of the UK-wide Big Butterfly Count. Dispite the cloudy conditions, our intrepid citizen scientists were treated to a fabulous variety of finds, including green-veined whites, a peacock, red admirals, and speckled wood. Our data will be submitted to the Big Butterfly Count, so keep an eye out for the national results later in the year.

You can find out more about butterfly monitoring at: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

Roll up! Roll up! The Brookside Restoration Project Summer newsletter is now OUT!!

You can read all about what's been going on at Brookside by clicking HERE.

Sign up for future editions HERE!

The Brookside Restoration Ppoject team enjoyed a sunny and successful day at the Stanhill Fete, making the most of the event’s much-anticipated return after last year’s haitus. The village came alive with stalls, music, and community spirit, and provided the perfect setting for conversations about the future of Brookside.

Over the course of the afternoon, the team spoke with a wide range of local residents, and even a few famous faces including County Councillor Gaynor Hargreaves, the Mayor of Hyndburn, and councillors Zak Khan and Kimberley Whitehead.

“It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm for the project,” said Aliosn Silver, of the PROSPECTS Foundation. “Events like this really highlight how important it is to put the community at the heart of what we’re doing, and to make sure that the plans for Brookside reflect the hopes and priorities of the people who know the area best."

As part of Great Big Green Week 2025, Brookside Project Officer Alice met with enthusiastic school children across Hyndburn to discuss the future of Brookside. During the engaging session, pupils shared creative and thoughtful proposals for what they would like to see in a brand-new local nature reserve.

Alice praised the students for their passion and innovative ideas, noting their deep care for wildlife and the environment. The children’s proposals ranged from wildflower meadows to birdwatching areas and accessible walking trails. Whilst some of the proposals were a little outlandish (we are sorry to report that there will not be a rollercoaster installed on site any time soon!), the input from the students is a valuable asset to the project.

“This generation has a real vision for nature,” said Alice. “Their ideas could shape a local nature reserve that benefits both people and wildlife.”

The proposals will be reviewed as part of the wider Brookside Restoration development phase.

The unveiling of the plans for Brookside caused a stir at EcoFest 2025, with hundreds of attendees stopping by to meet the project team, discuss the plans for the site, and even try out our very own VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE. Even the Mayor of Hyndburn, Cllr Josh Allen, couldn't resist donning a VR headset and enjoying a virtual tour of Brookside from the comfort of his chair.

Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive, with almost all survey respondents indicating that they would like to get more involved in the project.

A huge thank you to Jamie from LandScan for providing such incredible technology, to our wonderful volunteers for manning the stall, and to everyone who joined us in the town centre.

On Thursday, attendees of the Stanhill Community Brew Day hosted in the Stanhill Methodist Church were asked for input on the proposals for Brookside. The group enjoyed a presentation about the plans by project officer Alice, followed by an informal discussion and the opportunity to complete a feedback survey.

These proposals are the result of 15 months of partnerships working between Hyndburn Borough Council, PROSPECTS Foundation, Proffitts CIC, The LWT, Ribble Rivers Trust, and Stanhill Village Commuinity Association. For the next month, the team will be hosting a series of events where members of the community can give their feedback on the plans. This feedback will ensure that the plans are the right fit, for nature AND the community.

If you'd like to have your say, contact Alice: alice.pooley@prospectsfoundation.org.uk

The Brookside Thursday gang have called in reenforcements in the fight to remove invasive Hymalayan Balsam from the site, and local organisations did not disappoint. A big thank you to Chub, and to Robin Wood for providing volunteers over the last fortnight. Every additional person helps us to protect British Wildflife, so please do join us on Thursdays at 10am.

The Brookside Thursday gang hung up their tools early on Thursday to celebrate VE Day. After a successful morning planting wildflower seeds, the six humans and three dogs sat down to enjoy a picnic in the sun.

All six project partners worked together with the Brookside volunteers to workshop a vision. After an intense brainstorming session, participants voted on their favourite, before synergising the top ideas to create a working statement:

"A living model of nature recovery, community wellbeing, and a resilient future"

What do you think?

A round of applause for Brookside volunteers Graeme and Gordon, who both passed their LANTRA Strimmers and Brushcutters assessments last week. Now qualified, they will be able to put their skills to use at Brookside this summer!