The Wapley Fungus Foray on 14 October was a great success. Led by Lee Haywood of the Cotswold Fungus Group, 13 volunteers found a wide variety of fungi. The children were particularly good at finding them.

The event was organised by Wapley Bushes Conservation Group and sponsored by South Gloucestershire Council via Cllr Tony Davis’s Member Awarded Funding grant. Many thanks Tony!

Here is a small selection of the other fungi we found – there’s an official list, but please don’t ask me what they all are!

Volunteers Pete Carpenter, Paul Hulbert and Tim Fairhead in Yeovil with the award certificates

Wapley Bushes received two Outstanding awards – the highest level possible for Neighbourhood entries – at the South West In Bloom awards in Yeovil earlier this month.

The judge particularly praised Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve for “outstanding environmental responsibility” in the long-term re-planting project in the woodland, and for the community participation in events and workdays.

Regarding Wapley Common and the Orchard for the Future, the assessor singled out the fruit trees, the grass-cutting rotation providing small mammal habitat (owl prey) and the new bug hotels for special praise.

Lilliput Park, where many of the same people volunteer, gained the Outstanding Award too.

We also congratulate our colleagues of the Wapley Allotments Association for their two Outstanding awards – so it was a clean sweep all round!

We shall undertaking maintenance of this important amphibian site including the cutting back of vegetation. Please wear gloves and wellington boots.

Meet at the Scott Way entrance to Kingsgate Park, Scott Way, Yate, BS37 4NW, 10.00am (parking is available at the entrance of Shackleton Avenue).

Investigating and learning about our local fungi with expert Lee Hayward of Cotswold Fungus Group.There will be many kinds of fungi about – let’s see how many we can find! This event is sponsored by South Gloucestershire Council. Please wear stout footwear.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland (opposite the road entrance to Cherington), south Yate, BS37 8US, 2 pm

In the second of his two wildlife gardening talks, local expert Ian McGuire explains how creating habitats, putting up nest boxes and feeding animals can change a suburban garden into a miniature nature reserve. This event is sponsored by South Gloucestershire Council and Dodington Parish Council.

Friday 12 October, 7.30 pm at Dodington Parish Hall, Finch Road, Chipping Sodbury BS37 6JZ.

We shall be carrying out general management works on the reserve including vegetation clearance at this local wildlife haven.

Meet at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre, 10.00am (parking is available at the Yate overflow car park also on the eastern side of Link Road, BS37 4AY).

There were only 8 of us, but we accomplished a lot. We carried our annual task of clearing the stream down through the wood – if we didn’t do this, the centre of the woodland would start flooding.

Some of the team – proving that there’s now headroom on the paths!

We also chopped back the low-hanging vegetation on the woodland paths, litter-picked round the woodland, and did “routine maintenance” on the fruit trees. Well done everybody!