Minutes of a meeting of the Ryburgh Wildlife Group Committee held at Stone House on December 15th 2025
Present David Cooling, Neil Dandy, Barley Wilson, Ian Wilson, Gill Waldron.
1)Apologies: Nick Parsons, Mike Rundle. It was agreed that Neil Dandy take the chair.
2) Finances: Bank balance on December 1st was £1432.17
3) Membership: stands at 66, no change.
4) AGM February 2nd Barley will book the Hall Annexe, the committee will move furniture to allow space for the speaker. A projector will be needed for the talk, which will use powerpoint. David has liaised with Anne Prentis to borrow hers, Gill to confirm. The Hall may own a screen, Barley to check. Agenda to be confirmed at next meeting. It was agreed that a comprehensive events programme for 2026 should be an aim of the meeting, even if exact dates cannot be confirmed.
4) Scrape This continues to improve since the excavation, it is filling with water, the silt trap between the drainage ditch and the scrape seems to be working. No progress made on the plans agreed in the October meeting, but Steve to be invited to the next meeting when the possibility of the extension will be discussed. (Mike)
5) Pond. Discussion included the excavated pond near the permissive path towards the junction with the Norwich road, as well as the zombie pond on the field by the railway line. Both would benefit from some studies on species prevalence, Gill had not contacted the Fakenham academy, but will do so in the New year and also contact Stibbard school. The zombie pond is very deep with no beach or shallow entry which may be a safety concern for visitors. It is proposed to hold pond dipping sessions in each pond in the early summer (Ian). The date will be fixed before the AGM where it can be advertised.
6) Initiatives a) Tree mapping It is possible that Google maps may be an accurate enough tool to place trees precisely – David is investigating. If so this could be shown on screen at the AGM with tree notifications so far plotted. b) swallows and swifts No progress, a plan must be in place by March/April for monitoring, Nick ‘s presence will be helpful. Neither Neil nor Gill raised the question of showing transmission from a nesting site in the shop at the last Management committee meeting but will do so at the next one in 2026.
7) Stibbard and North Elmham Mike Gasson (Stibbard) and Ben Earl (N Elmham) have approached for advice about starting a wildlife group. Mike will contact them.
8) RWG Leaflet This was discussed. It was agreed that the initial enthusiasm resulting from the NWT meeting to share ideas last year has waned and there seems to be no indication that it would be useful. It was agreed to abandon this plan. It was decided that better use of social media may be the direction of travel and this might be an AGM item in the hope of attracting someone onto the committee who is a better user of social media than any of the current members.
9) Calendar sales By chance the last calendar was sold on the day of the meeting, one was donated to Tom Cook as agreed, no acknowledgement has been received. Neil and Gill were congratulated on this project which has made about £40 in profit and donations. Gill has informed Mike of the precise numbers. The shop was thanked for being a point of sale without making a profit. The idea for repeating it next year was floated but it was agreed that other village groups need the market for their special interest calendars and there may be a better future in packs of postcards and envelopes, perhaps with a seasonal emphasis. To be advertised on the website (David). Gill will manage the project if it becomes viable.
10) Bug hotels Barley reported that the Flagship Biodiversity officer needs to approve the installation but there has been no progress with this, Barley will push this after Christmas. No word from Crisp. There are two full size bug hotels ready and one in preparation. The precut bamboo is no longer available, Gill has a source of black bamboo if wished and Andrew Purdy has offered for his bamboo plantation to be used.
11) Meeting re a Great Rynurgh Website. Mike and Gill attended. There was universal agreement that this could be a positive development with two way links between such a website and individual group ones. Mark Wilson and Stephanie Fletcher will work on a draft and convene a meeting in the New year.
12) AOB a) water testing No contact resulting from the training implies that the situation is covered by others. Ian is currently unable to do it. No further action. b) Mammal list David proposes a mammals list augmented by members submissions and will prepare the argument for the AGM.c) Neighbourhood Plan no information available from any of the meeting members. d) Wassail The programme is agreed, starting later than last year about 4.15, so that the lanterns are used to good effect. David is hoping for local musicians interested in English folk to take part. David will advertise on the facebook page. e) White Letter Hairstreak David has had an offer to help identify White Letter Hairstreak eggs on elm trees in the parish, there are some elms on Little Ryburgh Lane, David to report back. f) Critter At Ian’s request, and after some discussion, it was agreed that the word ‘critter’ no longer be used in any RWG publication.
Date of next meeting; Monday January 5th 2026 7.00pm Stone House