We hope everyone has a wonderful festive season and a happy new year.
Here are some of our highlights from 2023, see you in 2024!
Over 700 Trees Planted by the Community
National Tree Week Sessions
This year’s National Tree Week (NTW) was celebrated by dedicated volunteers from across Hyndburn by helping to plant 720 trees at designated sites in Accrington and Oswaldtwistle.
A series of four community tree planting sessions were held from Sunday 26th to Wednesday 29th November, facilitated by the PROSPECTS Foundation.
In honour of the 50th anniversary of the famous ‘Plant a Tree in 73’ campaign, this year’s NTW introduced the ‘Grow a tree in 23’ initiative. 18 members of the local community planted the trees at well-known local greenspaces including Bullough Park, Woodnook Vale Local Nature Reserve, Peel Park & the Coppice Local Nature Reserve and Harvey Street in Oswaldtwistle. A huge variety of tree species were planted such as English Oak, Hazel, Hawthorn and Spindle.
The full News article from Hyndburn Borough Council can be found HERE
If you would like to help with future tree planting activities or get involved further, contact TreeACTION Officer Helen helen.earnshaw@prospectsfoundation.org.uk
Peel Park Pollinator Survey Results 2023
Here are the results (scroll down to see all the photos!):
03.002 – 2023 07 15 – Common Swift
03.003 – 2023 07 15 – Map-winged Swift
54.009 – 2023 06 24 – Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet
66.001 – 2023 10 27 – December Moth
66.010 – 2023 06 24 – Drinker
69.003 – 2023 05 20 – Poplar Hawk-moth
69.016 – 2023 07 15 – Elephant Hawk Moth
70.054 – 2023 06 01 – Silver-ground Carpet
70.093 – 2023 06 24 – Barred Straw
70.097 – 2023 09 16 – Common Marbled Carpet
70.109 – 2023 10 14 – Autumnal
70.121 – 2023 07 15 – Scallop Shell
70.183 – 2023 06 24 – Common Pug
70.226 – 2023 06 24 – Brimstone
70.236 – 2023 09 15 – September Thorn
70.244 – 2023 10 27 – Feathered Thorn
70.252 – 2023 06 24 – Peppered
70.256 – 2023 10 27 – Mottled Umber
70.278 – 2023 06 24 – Common Wave
70.280 – 2023 06 24 – Clouded Silver
71.018 – 2023 08 15 – Lesser Swallow Prominent
71.021 – 2023 08 15 – Coxcomb Prominent
72.002 – 2023 09 16 – Straw Dot
72.024 – 2023 10 27 – Ruby Tiger Caterpillar
72.045 – 2023 07 15 – Common Footman
72.061 – 2023 09 16 – Pinion-streaked Snout
73.015 – 2023 08 19 – Silver Y
73.045 – 2023 06 24 – Knot Grass
73.063x – 2023 08 15 – Copper Underwing agg
73.123 – 2023 09 16 – Rosy Rustic
73.147 – 2023 06 24 – Small Dotted Buff
73.158 – 2023 05 20 – Rustic Shoulder-knot
73.162 – 2023 06 24 – Dark Arches
73.169 – 2023 08 15 – Common Rustic
73.176 – 2023 06 24 – Middle-barred Minor
73.190 – 2023 11 18 – Yellow-line Quaker
73.202 – 2023 10 27 – Grey Shoulder-knot
73.210 – 2023 10 27 – Satellite
73.216 – 2023 08 15 – Dun-bar
73.247 – 2023 04 13 – Powdered Quaker
73.249 – 2023 04 13 – Hebrew Character
73.254 – 2023 08 15 – Antler
73.291 – 2023 07 15 – Common Wainscot
73.293 – 2023 06 24 – Smoky Wainscot
73.301 – 2023 06 24 – Shoulder-striped Wainscot
73.317 – 2023 06 24 – Heart and Dart
73.328 – 2023 06 24 – Flame
73.333 – 2023 07 15 – Ingrailed Clay
73.338 – 2023 08 15 – True Lover’s Knot
73.342 – 2023 06 24 – Large Yellow Underwing
73.343 – 2023 07 15 – Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
73.345 – 2023 08 15 – Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
73.357 – 2023 08 18 – Square-spot Rustic
73.361 – 2023 07 15 – Double Square-spot
73.365 – 2023 09 16 – Autumnal Rustic
04.045 – 2023 04 12 – Stigmella aurella
45.030 – 2023 06 24 – White Plume
49.110 – 2023 07 15 – Agapeta Zoegana
49.156 – 2023 06 24 – Marbled Orchard Tortrix
49.294 – 2023 06 24 – Notocelia uddmanniana
63.038 – 2023 07 15 – Mother of Pearl
57.005 – 2023 07 07 – Small Skipper
57.009 – 2023 06 23 – Large Skipper
58.003 – 2023 06 23 – Orange-tip
58.006 – 2023 07 19 – Large White
58.008 – 2023 08 03 – Green-veined White
58.007 - 2023 08 03 - Small White
59.003 – 2023 06 06 – Speckled Wood
59.005 – 2023 07 13 – Small Heath
59.010 – 2023 08 08 – Meadow Brown
59.011 - 2023 08 08 - Gatekeeper
59.023 – 2023 06 26 – Red admiral
59.024 – 2023 10 10 – Painted Lady
59.026 – 2023 08 22 – Peacock
59.027 – 2023 07 13 – Small Tortoiseshell
59.031 – 2023 07 15 – Comma
61.004 – 2023 07 19 – Purple Hairstreak
61.004 – 2023 08 10 – Small Copper
61.012 – 2023 08 03 – Holly Blue
61.018 – 2023 07 07 – Common Blue
2023 08 08 – Honey Bee
2023 09 21 – Common Carder
2023 07 13 – White-tailed Male
2023 07 13 – Tree
2023 07 13 – Red-tailed Male
2023 05 12 - Orange-tailed Mining
2023 04 25 – Tawny Mining Male
2023 08 08 – Buff-tailed
Welcome to our new Outdoor Learning Officer
We are pleased to announce that Sonja Bottomer has joined the Prospects Team as our new Outdoor Learning Officer.
The Outdoor Learning Project has come about as a result of an initiative funded and promoted by the Ernest Cook Trust, and supplemented by the Windfall Fund. Sonja’s role is all about educating people about the natural environment whilst also raising awareness of climate change. the project will run for 18 months until the end of April 2025.
Sonja will work with Hyndburn schools, community groups and individuals to deliver exciting and engaging environmental activities across the borough. She will also be running weekly food growing sessions at Miller Fold allotments and helping schools and groups create green spaces for outdoor learning. Sonja’s role is to inspire the people of Hyndburn to get out into nature and live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. She is a firm believer that if we all make small everyday changes, we can make a massive impact on climate change.
To find out more, get in touch by emailing sonja.bottomer@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or phone the Prospects office on 01254-230348.
First Memorial Park Session
On Wednesday 15th November we had the first Memorial Park volunteering session! Volunteers used hand tools to cut back and fell Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel shrubs to improve the biodiversity value of Roundwood! The team made a tremendous start! Around 6 shrubs were cleared with the arisings being moved closer to the road for later collection.
Now that the initial ‘break in’ has been completed more of the woodland has been opened up for future sessions, making it easier for more of the non-native shrubs to be removed.
Rhododendrons put a type of poison in the ground which eliminates other plants thereby reducing competition, promoting it’s own growth. Cherry Laurel produces a fruit which while toxic to humans, is edible for some birds, meaning they can spread easily around the neighbouring sites via seed dispersal.
PROSPECTS would like to thank everyone who attended the first session! Your work is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you in future sessions, full details are available on our events calendar, or to find out more email brandon.cherry@prospectsfoundation.org.uk
Pleck Meadow 2023 Annual Cut
Acorn Picking with Woodnook Primary School
UKBMS Butterfly Surveys
Wildfire 2023 – Peel Park and the Coppice LNR
Dead Hedges and Brash Piles – Peel Park and the Coppice LNR
Dead hedges and brash piles are constructed using twigs, branches and other cut vegetation. They form an invaluable habitat for a plethora of species.
Invertebrates like insects, woodlouse and arachnids will use the piles to live in and nest. Some important pollinators like solitary bees will use hollow twigs to create their nests. Small mammals like hedgehogs can use them to hide from predators and to hibernate in over winter. Small birds can also use the hedges for cover and to collect twigs for nests.
The dead hedges can also work as an environmentally friendly alternative to fencing.
If you would like to take part in the construction of dead hedges & brash piles on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, then please contact Robert at robert.gabryszak@
Invasive Non-Native Species – Japanese Knotweed – Peel Park and the Coppice LNR
Like many Invasive Non-native Species in the UK, Japanese Knotweed was introduced by Victorian botanists as an ornamental garden plant. Sometimes called "Japanese Bam
boo," due to the visual similarites of its stems, but it's shield-shaped leaves and purple speckled stems give it a striking appearance. The small white flowers that it produces in summer are mostly unable to set seed in the UK, but the plant is able to spread via other means. The root of the plant can spread underground forming new stems and even small fragments of the plant can create new roots.
It dies back every winter but a well-established plant can easily regrow to 7ft every summer. This can easily suffocate our native wildflowers which in turn greatly affects our native pollinators.
Japanese Knotweed is an incredibly difficult plant to eradicate as cutting the plant back, digging it up or using external herbicides is not enough to kill it. It requires several consecutive years of treatment with stem injections to remove it entirely.
Unfortunately, there are a few patches of the plant around Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, including the car park, at the top of Plantation Road, and near the Hodder St entrance. Please take care whilst walking in these areas and follow signage. It is also best practice to wash your shoes and your dogs feet before visiting another site to prevent its spread.
If you have spotted any Japanese Knotweed on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, then please contact Robert at robert.gabryszak@
Hyndburn’s Woodlands NOW LIVE!
The PROSPECTS Foundation is pleased to announce that the ‘Hyndburn’s Woodlands’ website is now live!
The website can be found here: https://hyndburnwoodlands.org.uk/
The website aims to be a resource to map, assess and manage the woodland cover in Hyndburn, with information including; condition assessments, timber volume surveys and Ash Dieback monitoring.
The website will also host artwork, music, poetry, photographs, videos and much more! If you would like to contribute to the website please contact us at info@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or ring the office on 01254 230 348
Cubs Community Project
Pleck Meadow Path Opening with Mayor of Hyndburn, Cllr Abdul Khan!
On 17th March 2023, a year of planning and development finally came to fruition as the new path and bridge to Pleck Meadow were finally completed!
Local schools and members of the public came for an opening walk and witnessed the Mayor of Hyndburn, Cllr Abdul Khan, perform a ribbon cutting on the new bridge over Pleck Brook.
After this, everyone took part in sowing some native wildflower seeds on Pleck Meadow! This will benefit pollinators like bees and butterflies on the site.
Thank you to everyone who was involved! If you'd like to find out more, visit the Pleck Meadow page.
If you would to get involved in future grassland management on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, then contact Robert at Robert.gabryszak@
Family friendly self-led Easter Egg Trail in Woodnook Vale!
Self-led Woodland Easter Egg Trail
The Green Spaces Team have created a family-friendly Easter Egg Trail that is now up in Woodnook Vale for the Easter Holidays!
Follow the map below to find all 9 hidden letters, and unscramble them to unlock a spring-themed word! Follow THIS LINK to submit your word and be entered into a PRIZE DRAW!
Contact Chloe for more info chloe.jameson@prospectsfoundation.org.uk
Rewilding Update March 2023
The Rewilding Project continues into the Spring/Summer season with lots of hardwork and preperation going into the Commmunity Garden sites.
The Rewilding Volunteers have been busy on GrOwING Wild Community Garden, Baxenden cutting back bramble from the pathways and stairs to aid access on the site.
Woodnook Community Garden has seen extensive brash clearing with Bramble and Snowberry being cut back to make space for more diverse flora. Several varieties of fruit trees have been planted including; cherry, medlar, quince, greengage and fig. Numerous soft fruit bushes and rhubarb crowns have also been planted. Blueberry, Cranberry, lingonberry and pink currant have all be planted on the site.
The site owner Onward supported PROSPECTS with a flytipping clearning day with Onward staff supported by the Rewilding Volunteers removing flytipping from the site into a skip and for collection by Onward’s Environmental Services Team.
Miller Fold Allotment has undergone a winter make over, with the growing beds being hoed, weeded and dug over with organic matter from catch crop Green Manures being incorporated into the soil structure. Seed sowing has begun with onion sets being planted outside and peas, broadbeans, various greens and herbs being sown for the coming growing season.
PROSPECTS Green Team Trainees are assisting the project by applying for funding to replace the raised beds and improve access on site with a renovated pathway to assist wheelchair users and those with mobility issues.
Woodwork has been a regularly monthly workshop with volunteers constructing planters, habitat boxes (including bird boxes) and pyrography projects.
If you would like to get involved please contact Rewilding Project Officer Gareth Muir – gareth.muir@prospectsfoundation.org.uk
Tree Planting Sessions in March with the Green Spaces Team
Tree Planting Sessions
The Green Spaces Team are hosting four tree planting sessions across Hyndburn this March!
See below for dates, times and meeting points.
Contact Helen for more info helen.earnshaw@prospectsfoundation.org.uk
Habitat Piles and Maintenance – Woodnook Vale
Winter Tree Identification Walk – Whinney Hill
Spoon Carving, Huncoat East Woodland, Wednesday 15th February 2023
Participants took part in a spoon carving workshop at Huncoat East Woodlands.
Sycamore was the wood of the day with participants using a variety of tools including’ froes, sloyds and crook knives to carve spoons.
Many of the participants were total beginners and did well to make a useable spoon.
PROSPECTS delivers a variety of greenwood working and whittling workshops, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter, following us on social media and checking our website events page!
Made possible by generous funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund
