Blewbury Nature Reserve
Introduction
Sustainable Blewbury has a ten-year lease from Thames Water to manage a nature reserve about 750m north of Blewbury village. This three-acre site was used to treat the village’s sewage until the late 1990s, but since then has been a wasteland. We approached Thames Water in the hope that we could plant a wood on the site but on close examination, their ecologists found that it was quite biodiverse. A local resident had recorded seeing over 80 species of birds there. It offered to do some work to increase the range of habitats so that it could become a small nature reserve of benefit to wildlife and the local community. The site is such that it is an island surrounded by intensively farmed fields so creating somewhere for wildlife to thrive was clearly beneficial.
Developing the Reserve
In the spring of 2022, Thames Water planted some hedging. In the winter of 2022/2023, they dug out a pond and some shallow lagoons putting the spoil over another part of the site covered in nettles, in which they planted an orchard for wildlife. This contains seven large fruit trees: plum, apple, pear and cherry. The drone images show the site prior to work on the site and in 2024.
They’ve also planted rowan, black alder, willow and more cherry trees elsewhere on the site as well as lots more hedging and shrubs. They created a bark pathway and another grass path through the site, put up a notice board, two information boards and two eco-towers (bug hotels).
Managing the Reserve
Thames Water employed consultants to write a management plan. This identifies seven distinct habitats on the site including an area for reptiles. Six are shown on the plan; the seventh is the hedgerows. The reptile hotspot is a small area where clinker remains from the sewage filter beds, ideal for them to bask on.
We are now responsible for following this plan and maintaining the reserve.
