St Mary's Church in Burghfield Saturday 4th October, 11-4pm
Talks planned for the day -
1 - WILDLIFE & CONSERVATION ON THE ENGLEFIELD ESTATE, presented by Dr Elizabeth Mattison, Education & Environment Officer
11.15am - Dr Elizabeth Mattison Education and Environment Officer for the Englefield Estate. Dr Mattison will be speaking about the Estate's sustainability activities.
Sustainability at the Englefield Estate The Englefield Estate manages 14,000 acres of mainly rural land and property in West Berkshire and Hampshire between Reading, Newbury and Basingstoke. The Estate takes a long-term view of good stewardship, producing food and timber, providing homes, business premises, jobs and supporting local communities. This talk outlines how the Estate is working towards Net Zero, whilst conserving and improving wildlife, water and soil resources and building strong local relationships.Speaker: Liz Mattison is the Education & Environment Officer at the Englefield Estate. She gained a PhD and carried out post-doctoral research in agricultural ecology at the University of Reading before working as an ecology and sustainability consultant and for the Estate. Her areas of expertise include sustainability strategy, habitat creation and restoration, greenhouse gas emission reduction planning and environmental education.2 - INVASIVE SPECIES (Fish & Plants), presented by Heidi Sheridan
12.15pm - The Good, the Bad and the Invasive – is it all too late or is there hope?
Heidi is a senior manager in the Environment Agency and a current Head of Fisheries and a Fellow of the Institute of Fisheries Management with over 30 years’ experience in the water environment. She continually aspires “to do better this year” but always fails in her garden maintenance.She will be giving her talk "The Good, the Bad and the Invasive – is it all too late or is there hope?"This is what Heidi says about her presentation:This talk will explore what we all can do to make our environment a bit better for biodiversity. I will cover a few of the big, bad and nasties – but then reflect on real, practical, and useful steps you can do in your own gardens and communities. My talk will focus on 3 areas.A real nasty – American Signal Crayfish in the River Kennet – what Reading and District Fishing Association have been up to.What is an invasive species rather than a non-native species?Where organised mess and chaos can help: Easy things we can all do to help our local biodiversity – gardener or non-gardener.3 - GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE IN YOUR GARDEN, presented by Ailsa Claybourn
1.15pm - "Gardening for Wildlife", a fabulous talk from Ailsa Claybourn. This is what you can expect:
Gardening for Wildlife and the Wildlife in Your Garden
How to make your garden attractive to wildlife, from insects and amphibians to mammals and birds. What to plant; what to add to your garden, or remove; seasonal tips and labour-saving
suggestions – all designed to inspire your green fingers!
4 - FLOOD MANAGEMENT, presented by Mark Rhodes-Smith
2.15pm - "Understanding floods and droughts can allow us to prepare for them and mitigate their impacts. But how do we make such predictions - and how often do we get them right? And why are we experiencing such a dry summer in 2025?"
Join river scientist Dr Mark Rhodes-Smith to explore these questions.
5 - WEST BERSKHIRE RIGHTS OF WAY, presented by Elaine Cox
3.15pm - Elaine will talk to us about footpaths- one for everyone who loves roaming in our beautiful countryside!
A walk from Time Immemorial – public pathways in the landscape
This talk will illustrate the ancient origins of public paths in the countryside and how this history is revealed today in their ecology, character and use.
Elaine Cox manages the public rights of way team at West Berkshire District Council. Elaine has a degree in geology and worked briefly for the British Geological Survey before joining Berkshire County Council to work for the public rights of way team, initially in mapping and legal orders. Elaine has worked in public rights of way for many years, seeing local government reorganisation and the creation of West Berkshire Council, and even a spell of privatisation during which she worked on access assessments for projects in East London, Birmingham and Durham.
Stalls booked in:-
ARBOFILL
BY THE MAGNOLIA TREE - Instagram @bythemagnoliatree
PURE CREATIVITY
WILDLIFE TRUST
TROPICS
JO BEDWELL-GARNER - Silver Jewellery made from recycled silver
More information as it comes in so please check back here in the coming weeks.
Please invite your friends and family to come along too.
