About Us  

The group was formed in 2006 and has currently 200 supporters in Kempshott. Our aim is to enrich and promote the biodiversity of green spaces in Kempshott and to promote local residents' involvement and appreciation of these spaces. So what do we do and where?

We have a number of activities – work parties, monitoring & maintenance team, Juniors Section – on all of which more detail below…. There are also the unsung heroes who do the admin , secretarial and media communications tasks for the Group.

How to get hold of us: e-mail address: kempshott-conserve@tiscal.co.uk
telephone : 01256 470171
post : 14 Ennerdale Close, Kempshott, Basingstoke RG22 5HJ

We work on 3 sites in the east of the ward :

The Old Orchard
Tucked away in Kendal Gardens, not many people outside of Kempshott know of this little oasis of green. Formed out of the back gardens of houses on Pack Lane at the time of the expansion and development of Kempshott in the late 1960’s, we have some fine mature deciduous trees, and some old fruit and nut trees.
This space is divided roughly into two halves – the open space for children to play and the conservation site - which is now managed for greater bio-diversity. The theme of fruits and nuts has been developed with a small newly planted orchard of apples, pears, plums etc. To increase the richness of the site for insects and birds we are planting flowering and fruiting bushes around some of the mature wood, providing food and nest sites in due course.
We are also actively encouraging more wildflowers in the grassed areas and woodland, and will be planting bulbs in Autumn 2008. For more details …..
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Down Grange Meadow
Located between Down Grange home park and St Mark’s church, this former field of the Down Grange estate has had groups of English deciduous trees added at various times in the last 30 years. Being 6.6 hectares in extent that leaves plenty of open grassland for walkers and joggers. The range of flora in the open spaces is surprisingly good, considering it has not been actively managed for bio-diversity until now – but its potential is much greater.
Here, we are also adding lower growing shrubs and bushes – again for flowers and fruit to encourage insects and birds. There are also spaces where we will be introducing specific perennial flowering plants for butterflies and other invertebrates.
The wooded areas are ready for the introduction of woodland flowers – a process which we hope to start in Autumn 2008. For more details…..
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The Old Hedgerow
Running along the western edge of the Down Grange sports fields this hedgerow is at least 150 years old and includes a number of mature deciduous trees. However as a hedge it is sadly overgrown over the last 35 years, is very thin and decayed in many places. Our aim here is to add new hedgerow shrubs to bulk up the tree line, increasing the variety of flowers and fruit for insects, birds and humans. For more details….

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2. Our Activities
Working Parties

We hold regular work parties from September to March to manage and improve these sites - see the calendar below. From April to September we take a rest! But there are flora, fauna, butterfly and moth surveys to do, as well as fruit and nuts to pick ( someone’s got to do it!) More hands… light work, as they say….

Juniors Section
We recently started a Junior Planters group – aged 5 – 12 years old who help us plant shrubs and bulbs which they can then check on as they grow. Each Junior member gets a record of what they have done to help, which we hope they will update as things grow.
In the Autumn, when the time comes to plant bulbs for next Spring, we will be asking for their help again.
If you have family members aged between 5 and 12 who would like to join in and help, please contact us for details of what we are hoping to plant and when.

Newsletters
Many of our supporters are not in a position to get actively involved because of family commitments, work commitments or infirmity – but like to know what is going on and what is planned. We publish a Newsletter 4 times per year to keep our members up to date and the Junior Planters have their own newsletter twice a year.
Any budding journalists would be very welcome to join the team!

Latest Newsletter 

The Old Orchard Team
A small group of the members who live round the Old Orchard in Kendal Gardens have volunteered to keep an eye on ‘their patch’ throughout the year. This is important while the fruit trees are still very young – another dry period like Spring 2007 will mean more additional watering.
The newly planted shrubs here, while tough and resilient by nature, will benefit from some help too if it is very dry in 2008.
It is surprising how much a well established tree or shrub will grow in a year – so there is always trimming to do to ensure the pathways remain unobstructed. We check on the health and welfare of the fruit trees at regular intervals, ensuring that their stakes and ties are all OK.
If you live near The Old Orchard and would like to give a hand from time to time when you are free and when it is needed please let us know.

Tree Wardens and Nature Walk

We have a Tree Warden – who keeps an eye out for the wealth of mature trees on public land in our part of Kempshott – working with the Tree Warden Coordinator in Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council and the other 40 tree wardens in the Borough.
One of the projects we would like to work on in 2008 is the development of a Nature Walk in Kempshott – we are a very green part of Basingstoke and would like to share the details of what we have with visitors by working up a Nature Walk Guide which we hope to get published with the help of the Borough Council.
If this interests you - please get in contact.

3. Latest News Items...

Installing Bird Boxes ready for 2008
We have started installing new bird boxes ready for the 2008 breeding season. The big ones have gone in first - a Tawny Owl box and a Kestrel box. We have some bat boxes and various bird boxes to put up between now and March, ready for new residents.
Pictures of the owl boxes

Shrub Planting with our Junior Planters
Thanks in part to sponsorship from the Woodland Trust ,2008 will be the year we start planting young bush and hedgerow plants and who better to do that than our team of Junior Planters who live nearby and can keep an eye on the progress their efforts make.
Each Planter receives a record of their planting efforts and a goody-bag from the Woodland Trust.


Heritage Planting
Several of our members have expressed an interest in sponsoring a tree on one of our sites to commemorate a loved one or to leave as a gift to future generations of the family. We would be delighted to work with members interested in this idea. Dedications would be recorded in the Basingstoke Borough tree database as well as in our own records.





Photography Competition
All this year we are running a photography competition – culminating in an exhibition and awards in September 2008.
There will be both Adult and Junior categories and a variety of classes – the only stricture is that the photograph must be taken on one of our 3 sites.

A Date for Your Diary – August Walkabout

On 30th August 2008 in the afternoon we will be hosting a walk through Kempshott Conservation with the Hampshire and Wight Wildlife Trust and the Basingstoke Watch Group, starting in Down Grange Meadow and ending up in the Old Orchard.
Lets hope the weather is good so everyone can indulge in a little picnicking!


4. Our Sites

The Old Orchard

Down Grange Meadow

The Old Hedgerow