In 2024, volunteers contributed a total of 7,212 hours to monitor wildlife, organise events and help with the upkeep of the nature reserve in Badshot Lea.
Mark Elsoffer, chair of the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group (TMBG), praised the commitment of the helpers.
“2024 was another successful year for the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group, the volunteers who help manage the reserve,” he said.
Under Heritage Lottery Fund guidelines, the 7,212 hours of volunteer work were worth £106,030, according to Mr Elsoffer.
Their volunteering included organising 52 working groups, 24 guided walks and 12 free children’s activities. Other events of note included the BioBlitz, the biological surveying where volunteers and scientists recorded as many living species as possible within a short time, as well as a nestbox building day and the village Easter trail.
The bird monitoring programme recorded 138 bird species last year, including 51 species that were bred onsite. Several protected and threatened birds were also documented, including both red list and amber list species.
In October, the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group premiered its short film Our Meadows at the Farnham Maltings, where 160 invited guests attended the screening and an accompanying lecture. The documentary later went on to win first prize in the environmental category at the prestigious Namur International Film Festival in Belgium.
“To cap off a successful year, the TMBG were delighted to receive a King's Award for Voluntary Services in December - the highest award available to voluntary organisations, and the equivalent of an MBE,” said Mr Elsoffer.
The reserve, however, is once again under threat of development after fast-food company McDonald’s revived a planning application to build a drive-thru restaurant next to the site.
