Events

An ancient woodland originally part of the Great Forest of Bernwood, Finemere Wood is not too far from Bicester. The wood is apparently exceptional for butterflies and has all three species of British woodpecker. The OCV will be coppicing to encourage regeneration of the under-storey and ground flora.

We shall be working at Shotover Country Park to the east of Oxford, which hosts small pockets of heathland interspersed with deciduous woodland. We shall be building steps to improve public access.

Beyond Blenheim and the crowds, just north of the picturesque town centre are the old watermeadows. Today they are managed for wildlife. We shall be coppicing and tree planting.

Foxholes is an extensive woodland reserve in the Cotswolds, managed by the Local Wildlife Trust. The traditional craft of charcoal burning is practised, for which part of the wood is coppiced to provide fuel. We shall be helping with the coppicing and logging.

Back to Shotover to complete the steps that we started last time. If you are considering coming directly to the site, please check with us.

A return to the reserve set on the Chiltern Hills. We will be removing invasive scrub and bramble.

A return to the Buckinghamshire site, this time for the traditional winter social task of scrub clearance. You can chat to your friends while maintaining a impression of enthusiastic chopping!

Carrying on the sterling work of clearing the grassland slope of invading scrub. Lovely site hidden away off the A34 but you feel like you're in the middle of the countryside.

The soft tupp of wood and taste of hopps.

A return to this popular site in the Chilterns where we will be constructing rabbit proof fencing around Juniper exclosures to protect the rare evergreen.

A walk round the woods in Radley

This should be a good time of year to visit the BBOWT site in Bucks. The cowslips should be in flower on the ridge and furrow, there are usually a sighting or two of orchids along with the flora of the marshy areas. The work will be removal of small scrub allowing for plenty of opportunity to wander around the fields!

Continuing the work started on 13th April, another chance to fine tune your fencing skills and not a rapier in sight.

We will be working in a small area of the locally rare habitat of heathland from which you have fine views across Oxford. You can either meet at the usual pick up points or, if you're feeling masochistic (?), cycle up Shotover hill to the car park at Shotover Plain.

If this is not a first for the OCV then it certainly hasn't been done for a fair few years. It's not compulsory to bring a partner for construction of the kissing gate, but perhaps it might be nice?

A return to this Urban site located in Longwall Street. A chance to wander round (during tea - break of course!) to see if you can spot anyone famous. We will be clearing scrub and generally making the area more accessible to both people and wildlife.

Back to the site in the Chilterns where Red Kites regularly put in an appearance to watch us eating our lunch. It's very rare that we see less than 4 of these magnificent birds. We will be clearing a footpath to allow better access to part of the reserve to improve peoples enjoyment of the habitats there.

We will be working in a different part of the reserve this week, the task again aiming to improve access to a reserve for the public. This work differs from last week in that we will also be constructing a footpath as well as maintaining those already established

A pub visit meeting in the Hobgoblin at 8pm

If we can find any ragwort in flower we will be helping to clear this bright yellow, invasive daisy from Port Meadow. Later in the day we will be repairing a footpath at Burgess Fields.

Get involved, and help with running the group! We meet at Borders at 8pm (usually downstairs) to organise forthcoming tasks and socials. Afterwards we usually find the energy to visit a nearby pub.

cutting sea buckthorn by the coast and a days walking in the lakes

Meet at Cherwell Boathouse at 7.30

We will be helping the warden move the sheep to a differnt part of the site.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

Come and demonstrate your skills in the ancient art of coppicing, or if you have never tried it before come and learn! Today is going to be a Working Woodland Day with a coppicing demonstration. Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which involves cutting down different areas of the understorey in rotation. The resulting diversity of different aged areas supports a diverse flora and fauna.

Wadham College Gardens, 7:30 pm. The production is by Oxford Shakespeare Company (who used to be known as Bold and Saucy) - based on their past performances, this should be one of the best productions on this summer.

A bit of scrub clearance and a chance to do some pollarding on the Willow trees.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

If there is any there we will pull it up. This task may change nearer the time

We will be playing the annual (very informal) game of rounders on The Angel & Greyhound Meadow. No previous experience necessary! Meet at entrance 7:30pm; later we will very likely be at The Angel and Greyhound pub.

Get involved, and help with running the group! We meet at Borders at 8pm (usually downstairs) to organise forthcoming tasks and socials. Afterwards we usually find the energy to visit a nearby pub.

Please contact Liz in advance to book your seat at the table. Despite its setting at Gloucester Green (by the bus station) Gino's is one of the most authentic Italian restaurants in Oxford. 8pm.

Back to the Chilterns and another chance to see some Red Kites. The task will probably be fencing or footpath work, but will be confirmed nearer the time.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

Today we will be constructing a bridge to go over some of the reed beds in this peaceful, hidden valley.

For this week’s OCV social we are going to see an acoustic band called “The Chancers”. The venue is the Port Mahon pub on St Clements, cost £3, gig starts 8.30pm. I suggest we meet from 8pm in the Port Mahon.

In a change to the original program we will now be coppicing in Brasenose wood.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

Back to the Chilterns and another chance to see some Red Kites. The task will probably be fencing or footpath work, but will be confirmed nearer the time.

We will be meeting in Far From the Madding Crowd, Friars Entry. This is a fine pub next to Borders in the city centre. There will be a talk from Adnams Brewery followed by a quiz. We shall be meeting in the pub at 8pm.

Have you ever wondered how charcoal is made? Well now is your chance to find out! We will be log splitting, stacking the charcoal kiln and cutting back the bracken at this lovely woodland site in the Cotswolds.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

A return to this lovely site with fine views of the rolling Cotswold hills. This time we will be constructing a handrail for a footpath and a footrest for a bench, plus a bit of scrub bashing if time permits!

We are going to watch a friend of MCs perform some comic poetry at Poetry Slam in the Brickworks on the Cowley Rd. She is a very good comic poet - just returned from the Edinburgh fringe. <br /> The Brickworks is 182 Cowley Rd and serves a range of interesting Belgium beer. Contact MC in advance to arrange tickets.

Time to get out your wellies, or slip on some waders! (OCV has a few pairs available to borrow.) We will be clearing some reeds from the pond and helping to construct a boardwalk.

Get involved, and help with running the group! We meet at Borders at 8pm (usually downstairs) to organise forthcoming tasks and socials. Afterwards we usually find the energy to visit a nearby pub.

Another of our urban sites, Lye Valley is a green corridor stretching from Headington to East Oxford. Today we will be raking up cut grass from the fen and doing a little bit of footpath clearance

Your chance to win \"Gloria\" - the OCV skittles trophy (but no previous experience necessary!). The Isis Tavern is on the Thames towpath, between Iffley Lock and Donnington Bridge. Please let me know by 14th October if you wish to come, as I need to book the skittle alley. There will be a charge for the skittle alley

If you enjoy jigsaw puzzles then this dry stone walling weekend is for you! We will be staying in Worth Matravers village hall and spending the weekend helping to repair a dry stone wall and enjoying the splendid views along the Purbeck coast. On Saturday night there will be ample time to sample the real ales in the local pub! For further details and bookings (by 17th October) contact Kate and Jamie (557418).

Get involved, and help with running the group! We meet at Borders at 8pm (usually downstairs) to organise forthcoming tasks and socials. Afterwards we usually find the energy to visit a nearby pub

We will be doing some hedgelaying around the edge of this ancient pasture site in the Buckinghamshire countryside. If you haven’t tried hedgelaying before then this is a good place to come and have a go.

The social on Tuesday will be a bonfire party, kindly hosted by John. It\'ll start at 8pm, please bring drinks and snacks. Firewood will be provided!

This time we will be going to the wetlands area of Shotover Country Park and helping to raking up scrub. There may also be some footpath clearance work to be done.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

A traditional OCV autumn task at this lovely site in the Chiltern hills. Today we will be scrub bashing and keeping warm around the bonfire!

8pm at the Holywell Music Room. Tickets £10. Please let me know in advance if you wish to come.

A return visit to this interesting country park. This time we will be constructing a new footpath.

Today we will be cutting down trees to widen a grassy ride in this ancient woodland. This will help to increase wildlife diversity in the woodland and encourage butterflies and wild flowers such as orchids.

Likely to be at the Phoenix. Film to be decided nearer the time.

This will be OCV’s first visit to this lovely peaceful site in the Chiltern Hills. It is a site of special scientific importance (SSSI) and is home to many rare species of plants and insects. We will be removing hawthorn from the chalk grasslands and laying a hedge.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

Forget the stresses of Christmas shopping and come and relax at OCV’s special Christmas task! You can try your hand at hedgelaying, or do some scrub bashing to keep the bonfire going. We plan to have a festive feast so please bring along some food to share (chocolates, chestnuts, mince pies etc.).

From 8pm at Kate and Jamies house. Please bring either some wine to mull, or mince pies to share.

The annual OCV feast! Saturday 20th Dec, 7.30 pm, at Liz and Anthony\'s house (Home Close, Wolvercote). We need to know numbers in advance, and need volunteers to help with food buying and preparation. There will be a charge to cover the cost of the food. Please let Liz know by 9th December if you would like to attend.

Come and work off some of the Christmas and New Year excesses by doing a spot of hedgelaying, hedge planting and path maintenance! We will be helping to lay a hedge that OCV planted over 10 years ago.

Meet at Borders at 8pm, followed by socialising in a nearby hostelry

If the weather permits we will be replacing a rotting footbridge today (otherwise it will be hedgelaying).

This Tuesday’s social is a pub quiz in the Prince of Wales in Iffley. The Prince of Wales is in Iffley on Church Way and is one of my favourite pubs in Oxford (and also my local.) The quiz is an entertaining one, the land lord doesn’t take it too seriously, and normally starts about 9. The last time the OCV took part, we were in a playoff for the money; can we do better this year? We intend to be there from 8pm to get a good table.

Come and spot some famous names while peeling back the ivy from tomb stones and clearing the scrup in this ancient cemetery.

Meeting followed by a pint (or three) in Far from the Madding Crowd

The village pond is in desperate need of reed clearance. Come and don some waders (we have some to borrow) and help provide the local ducks with a home again.

This is the second of the now traditional OCV Poker Nights. There will be NO MONEY involved, we will merely split some chips between us at the beginning of the night and the winner will be the one with the most by the end. We&#x2019;ll probably play &#x201c;Dealer&#x2019;s Choice&#x201d;. Basically there are innumerate variations to make people end up with 5 cards, we&#x2019;ll introduce them as we go.<br /> Hope to see you there; Harcourt Arms, Tuesday, 8pm.

Hedgelaying at one of our favourite sites in the Chilterns.

8pm in Borders - a meeting to change some of the constitution and elect some new members to the committee. If you are interested in becoming more involved in the group and would like to know what some of the committee positions entail then please contact Steve (OCV Chair). As usual we will be going for a drink in \'Far from the Madding Crowd\' afterwards (around 9pm onwards). All welcome.

Today we will be planting a hedge at this organic farm in the rolling Cotswold countryside.

A trip to the Phoenix Cinema. Contact Kate for details closer to the time (tel. 557418).

Come and learn how to coppice woodland, or help to put in some visitor management posts. Red Kite sightings guaranteed!

A new venue for our meetings - The Gardeners Arms on Plantation Road @ 8pm. Conveniently located for drinks after the meeting! All welcome.

Come and help to lay an unconventional hedge at Calvert Jubilee!

Come and eat lots of pancakes at Kate & Jamie\'s (8pm @ 22 Canal Street, Jericho). Contact us in advance (557418) if you would like to come so that we know how much batter to make!

Helping to prevent the brambles and hawthorn from taking over on Shotover heathland – phase 1.

8pm @ The Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road. All welcome.

Another chance to get your wellies on and help to clear the reeds from a pond. (OCV has some wellies and waders to lend out if you don’t have your own.)

Your chance to wear a vibrating plastic bib! Contact Jamie if you would like to come (557418).

Come and learn or improve your skills in the art of hedgelaying. We hope to hedge a significant length in our two-day resi at this ancient pasture site in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Accommodation will be in a local village hall (sleeping bag and mat required). To reserve a place ring Jerome on 768 578 by 5th March.

8pm @ The Gardener\'s ARms, Plantation Road. All welcome.

Helping to prevent the brambles and hawthorn from taking over on Shotover heathland – phase 2!

A visit to the Oxford Thai on Cowley Road - the best Thai in Oxford, we think! Contact Jamie to reserve your place (557418).

Helping to create some resting places along a disabled footpath.

8pm @ The Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road. All welcome.

The fence around the boundary of Raleigh Park is getting wobbly and needs repairing. Come and ensure that the cattle can continue to graze safely by helping to remove the old fence and constructing a new one.

Film night at the Pheonix; Monster or Zatoichi. Meet at the Radcliffe Arms 7.30 or in the bar of the Phoenix at 8.30

Easter Sunday - no task

Continue finishing off the fencing work that we started two weeks ago.

Meet at 6.20pm, St Aldates at bus stand H2. Please phone Jane for more details.

Constructing and installing an information board and helping to create a new footpath.

OCV meeting* followed by sociable pint

Come and find out what a ‘bund’ is by helping to construct one today!

Tool Sharpening followed by a pint at a secret location! Contact Martin for further details.

Badger counting for the Oxford Univeristy Wildlife Research Unit. Meet at 6pm at the main car park at Wytham Woods. Bring warm clothes to keep warm when sitting still and to keep biting insects off! Finishes around 9.15pm.

Today we will be doing a variety of tasks including helping with an orchid count, removing some of the hawthorn that invades the meadow and cutting up some of the fallen trees.

OCV meeting followed by sociable pint.

Task not known at the time of going to press, but a good day out in the Chiltern Hills is guaranteed!

Chinese Meal @ The Pink Giraffe – contact Jane for details

Today we will be helping to build some steps at this wildlife reserve in Buckinghamshire. Due to the nature of the work there will only be space for 10 volunteers – please pre-book with Jerome (768578) if you would like to come.

OCV AGM followed by sociable pint. A new committee is elected at the AGM. Further details about the positions and what they entail are available from Steve. If you are interested in becoming more involved with OCV and would like to join the committee then come along to the AGM.

Come and learn the art of dry-stone walling, while soaking up the bank-holiday sunshine at Durlston Country Park, Swanage. We will drive down on Friday evening and return to Oxford on Monday evening. Our accommodation is in a village hall (sleeping bag required). We will work on Sat and Mon, while Sunday will be a day off and a chance to explore some of the beautiful Purbeck coastline.

Monsoon, A production by a French theatre group about the earth and the perils of human exploitation.

This rolling chalk grassland should be a carpet of colour right now and there will be plenty of orchids to see. Come and help to keep it this way by pulling up the invasive hawthorn.

OCV Meeting followed by sociable pint

Another chance to see the Red Kites soaring overhead at this lovely site in the Chilterns – task details available nearer the time.

A chance to see the orchids in flower at Litmore Shaw and have a guided tour, followed by a pint in the Fox Pub. Contact Jane for details.

If you lead or drive for the OCV (or are interested in doing so!) then you may want to come on this first aid course, which will be tailored towards dealing with the injuries we are most likely to encounter during conservation tasks. There are 12 available places. To book your place give Jamie or Kate a ring (557418).

OCV Meeting followed by sociable pint

Lye Valley is one of Oxford’s most important wildlife sites: a herb rich, calcareous fen. Today we will be raking up cut reeds to help maintain this unique environment.

Your OCV pub quiz team needs you! Meet at the Eagle and Child on St Giles, at 8pm to think of a team name and get some drinks in before the quiz starts. (NOTE Change of location!)

We will be helping to construct a fence to keep the cattle in and pulling out some of the invasive ragwort from the meadow.

A return to this urban reserve, where the main tasks will be clearance and levelling of paths, and digging up brambles and ground elder.

The warden at Aston Rowant NNR is running a guided walk of glow-worms, red kites and other beautiful natural things for volunteer groups who work at the reserve. After there will be a BBQ on the site, overlooking the fabulous views of the Oxfordshire countryside. If you are interested in coming please email Jane at jafi@ceh.ac.uk mentioning if you are a veggie/non-veggie etc and whether you need a lift. I shall email all those who are interested to nearer the time.

We will be raking up grass and cutting scrub to help widen the rides in this beautiful hilltop woodland.

A so-far unspecified task at our regular reserve on the edge of the Chiltern Hills

Spend a pleasent summer evening punting to the pub (its not very far!). Meet at the Cherwell Boat house at 7.30pm.

finishing the fence we started on 4th July!

Staying in the National Trust Basecamp near Lynton in Devon. We will be working in the grounds of some of the beautiful National Trust properties around Exmoor, doing tasks such as footpath building, fencing and Rhododendron bashing! There are 18 bunks available (£10 deposit required) – contact Kate (557418) to book your place.

Meeting at the Gardener\'s Arms

Come and spend a day in this idyllic meadow, helping to clear some of the invasive scrub and encouraging the Snake’s head fritillary to come through.

Meet at the University parks, at the entrance way off Parks Rd, at 7.30, followed by a few pints at the Lamb and Flag.

Back to the Chilterns for another task not yet known as this programme is prepared. Red kites are likely to be seen.

OCV meeting followed(?) by sociable pint

Pond Clearance phase II! The Marsh Baldon ducks are much happier as a result of our efforts at reed clearance in January of this year, but there is still more to be done: come and don the waders and help to revive the diversity of life in the village pond.

Local Oxfordshire game for local people (or played badly by the OCV). Meet at 7.30 in the Fox and Hounds on Abingdon Rd.

In anticipation of the hedgelaying season to come we will be preparing the hedge by removing scrub and doing some odd jobs at this lovely, ancient meadow site.

I\\\'m writing to let everyone know that next Tuesday\\\'s meeting will not follow the usual format. We will meet at 7.00pm in the Angel and Greyhound for a thirty-minute meeting (essential business only - any items for discussion will be held over to the next meeting). Then at 8.00pm we\'re going to the Moonlight Tandoori for a farewell curry with Kate and Jamie. I\'ll book the table on Monday afternoon - so please let me know by noon on Monday (13th) if you\'d like to come.

We will be managing wet grassland and reed beds at this fenland site

Another chance to splash around in a pond. Again we will be helping to unclog the pond by removing some of the invasive reeds.

This urban reserve off Iffley Road has a large pond and a small pond. We will be digging out weed and cuting brambles from the large one, and possibly clearing reed and rushes out of the latter.

This urban reserve off Iffley Road has a large pond and a small pond. We will be digging out weed and cutting brambles in and around the largepond and possible clearing reed and rushes out of the small pond.

Meet for a beer in the Radcliff Arms, Cranham Street, Jericho at 7.30 or in the Phoenix Cinema at 8.30. Films on that evening are yet to be confirmed.

This task at a site new to the group will involve clearing scrub to encourage the growth of an uncommon plant, perfoliate penny cress.

We will be protecting recently coppiced hazel woodland by putting up stakes-and-binders fencing

Poker in the Pub, be prepared to loose thousands of ££££s (of monopoly money!).

This extensive reserve is at the edge of the Chiltern Hills. The work is likely to be scrub management and / or fence removal.

Friday 29 - Sunday 31 Hedge laying at this ancient pasture site in Buckinghamshire; there will also be some coppicing at a nearby site to get stakes for the hedgelaying. Accommodation will be in a local village hall (sleeping bag and mat required). To reserve a place ring Peter on 07952 908408 by 22nd October.

Skittles in the Isis Tavern. Contact: Jane

We will be continuing the restoration of heathland at Shotover, by removing other plants such as gorse from among the heather

We will be coppicing and where necessary planting to create a hedge on this organic farm in the Cotswolds.

Pub quiz. Meet at the Eagle and Child, St Giles, at 7.30pm.

Likely tasks are scrub management and fenceline removal.

We will be continuing the restoration of heathland, by removing other plants, such as gorse, from amongst the heather

This social will be (or at least will commence in) the Port Mahon pub, St. Clements (near the bottom of Headington hill), meeting 8:30-9pm. All welcome. Maybe there will be live music to listen to there. Maybe there won\'t. What is the true nature of reality? Did the tree fall in the forest? No-one really knows for sure. But we shall find out...

We will be working in this ancient woodland, clearing scrub from a path which is becoming overgrown.

Scrub clearance; possibly hedge laying at a site where this time last year we saw red kites roosting.

OCV Christmas Meal – location to be arranged.

The pre-Xmas task is something of a tradition and people are encouraged to bring chocolates, chestnuts and mince pies to share.

On a clear day, this large reserve on the Chiltern escarpment has good views across Oxfordshire and you can often see red kites too. Our three tasks here this quarter will probably involve scrub clearance and access work (fence removal and gate hanging)

Monopoly Evening. Bring drinks and nibbles. Meet at Paul's house 8.30pm.

This site close to the city centre is maintained somewhere between tidiness and wildness, by cutting back the vegetation in a part of it each year. This is what we are doing today.

A continuation of last quarter\'s task on Shotover Hill, just outside Oxford.We will be helping to restore heathland, by removing other plants from among the heather.

A return, after some years, to this wood at the edge of Otmoor. The work will be the cutting back of scrub at the edge of woodland rides.

A continuation of last year\'s work creating paths, to include extending these paths and cutting back scrub regrowth.

Tasks will probably be scrub clearance and access work (fence removal and gate hanging)

Maintaining and thinning planted woodland, and scrub clearance, at this large wooded reserve in the Cotswolds. ( NB this is a change from the advertised resi)

Scrub clearance at this little reserve near Didcot, which is new to the OCV.

We will be hedge laying at a site in rural Buckinghamshire, a perennial task for the OCV. A chance to try your hand at this craft.

Meet at 8pm at the Eagle and Child Pub, St Giles. Brains and beer drinking skills welcome.

This small but varied reserve flanks Lye Brook, a couple of miles east of the city centre. We will be building steps, to improve access.

Another day at this reserve in the Chilterns, doing tasks including scrub clearance and access work.

Please come along to Helena\\\'s house for take-away and games (feel free to bring some games) at 8pm. Let Helena know if you are planning to come, so that she will know what the house will look like afterwards.

The first of two tasks in which we will be renewing the fencing at this reserve in rural Buckinghamshire.

This is a large nature reserve on the edge of the Chilterns, with grassland and woodland and good views across Oxfordshire on a clear day. Work for this and possibly the next task here includes gate installation.

Greyhound racing at the Oxford Stadium. Further details to be announced on the website nearer the time.

Tool sharpening followed by pints in a secret location. Meet at tool store. Contact Martin.

We will be continuing the fencing work started at this site two weeks ago.

Walk around Iffley Spit to look at the Snakeshead Fritillaries. Meet at the juction of donnington Bridge road and meadow lane at 7.30

This cemetery in central Oxford doubles as a nature reserve. It is cut back on a rotation, so that some parts of it are wild, some of it less so. We will be clearing part of it.

A meeting at the Gardener\\\'s Arms on Plantation Road followed by a sociable pint

More heathland restoration work at this country park on a hill just outside Oxford, we\\\\\\\'ll be removing other types of plant from amongst heather to assist its becoming established.

Badger census at Wytham Woods (6.15pm at the Wytham Woods main car park, finish 9.15pm; warm clothing and unscented insect repellent). Contact Charlotte.

Another Sunday at this reserve on the edge of the Chilterns, the work possibly to include a continuation of the gate installation work started 4 weeks ago.

A meeting at the Gardener\\\'s Arms on Plantation Road followed by a sociable pint

We will be continuing heathland restoration work from the task 2 weeks ago.

Today\'s event will be an 8 mile walk in the Chilterns, taking in some reserves we\'ve worked in. Red kites, deer and slow worms have been seen on this route through wildlife rich chalk grasslands and woods. Bring comfortable boots for walking in and water to drink, in addition to the usual waterproofs and packed lunch.

8.00pm at the Gardener’s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by the usual business meeting, followed by the usual sociable pint(s).

On this residential, we will be helping to rebuild a dry stone wall which has fallen into disrepair. The site is on the Purbeck coast near Swanange, Dorset, and there\'ll be time off to explore. We\'ll be staying in a village hall, to which we\'ll be driving on Friday; we return on the Monday. Sleeping bag and mat required. This is currently (early April) fully booked, but if you\'re interested phone John on Ox. 764913, in case there\'s a cancellation.

Another task on the slopes of the Chilterns. See the red kites there (on a good day). We are likely to be helping maintain the grassland there by removing invasive plants, and / or helping look after the flock of sheep.

A meeting at the Gardener\\\'s Arms on Plantation Road followed by a sociable pint

The work at this site, for the Oxfordshire Woodland Project, will include woodland tasks such as the cutting back of bracken to help re-establish hazel there, and clearance of rights of way.

Visit to Horspath Village to look at a prospective worksite in the village. Transport can be arranged contact Helena

This is a little reserve just off Iffley Road, a mile or two from the City Centre. We will be planting some trees there (not path making as previously stated), to create some new woodland and a hedge.

meeting to be held at Stone Henge to discuss Life, the Universe and Everything until dawn, followed by a greasy spoon breakfast. Transport can be provided. Contact Charlotte.

Various tasks to help with the restoration of this churchyard on Cowley Road from an overgrown state, to one in which it is both accessible and managed for wildlife.

This week\'s social is slightly unusual. It is a treasure hunt in central Oxford that starts at 7.30pm at the Lamb and Flag pub (a drink may be required to stimulate those little grey cells and solve each of 7 different riddles that lead to the final destination and the treasure). Treasure is awarded to the 1st person/team to arrive at the final destination.

Making hay while the sun shines

Meeting at 8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

We will be doing some work to stabilise a path alongside a stream, at this BBOWT managed site near Aylesbury.

Lye Valley, a little reserve a couple of miles east of Oxford centre, includes woodland and calcareous fen. We will be surfacing a path in need of repair.

A meeting at 8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

Our regular visit to this big reserve in the Chilterns is likely to involve control of ragwort and thistles, and fence maintenance.

Culture. Meet outside the Creation Theatre at Park off St Clements at 6.50-7pm to get tickets to see an interesting production of Midsummer Night\'s Dream (a bard special).

We will be cutting and raking grass in the rides through this woodland near Oxford.

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

A secluded little meadow by the Thames, this is one of the places in Oxford where fritillaries grow. We will be helping keep it that way by clearing invasive scrub.

Booze or Brain. Meet at the world-famous Turf tavern off Holywell Street at 7pm for Treasure Hunt part II. Experience a walking tour of Oxford in search of some mind-boggling clues, printed on the back of postcards within sealed envelopes.

Our work in the extensive country park on Shotover Hill, just outside the city, is likely to include path clearance and pulling out of bracken.

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

More work at this reserve at the edge of the Chilterns, which features views a long way across Oxfordshire on a clear day. This time the tasks here will probably be fence and gate maintenance.

The Odeon on George Street offers us one bit of brain candy, one film that has been getting more serious attention, and a kid\\\'s film that is probably brilliant because it is directed by Tim Burton: BEWITCHED [PG] - 8.05pm CRASH [15] 8.35pm. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY [PG] 8.35pm I propose we meet in the Grapes on George Street at 7. Let me know if you\\\'re coming -

8.00pm at the Gardener’s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

A return to a site south of the city which features wetland, a wood and grassy slopes. We’ll be helping maintain the grassland by cutting light scrub.

Mind games. Board and word games at Paul & Helena\\\'s house. Start at 7.30pm. Nibbles provided.

On our second visit to Weston Turville this quarter, we\'ll be digging a pond. This site includes a large reed bed that is home to a range of wild flowers (though not necessarily at this time of year).

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

A further task at our most-visited reserve, red kites live in the area and you can often see a few. Today’s work will probably involve scrub clearance.

Feast. Yummy Jamaican cuisine at the Hi-Lo Jamaican Eatery, 68-70 Cowley Road. Meet there at 7pm.

More work creating paths to help improve access, at a site overlooking the Cherwell river and the Oxford canal.

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint. Stuffing Weasel into envelopes!

The local wildlife trust describe it as \'a mosaic of ancient coppice woodland, scrub regrowth and wild woodland\' notable for the black hairstreak butterfly and all three British woodpeckers. We\'ll be cutting scrub/small trees which encroach on the open glades and take away the diversity of habitat. There\'ll be a bonfire to keep you warm and happy if it is a cold day in this majestic, serene, green place.

Beer & Cider; Meet at 8pm outside Town Hall to sample at will at the Beer Festival (entry £2.50)

Hedge-laying with Brian Williamson, ex-OCV, BBOWT, tree surgeon and now hurdle-maker in mid-Devon. This is for beginners, old-hands, in fact all hands. We need to raise our skill-levels, otherwise we\'ll only do low-skill work such as scrub clearance through the winter. Hedge-laying turns a gappy row of trees into a livestock-proof, shelter-giving, habitat-rich barrier, so everyone wins. You can learn it, do it and be ready for later hedge-laying tasks, whilst having fun as well.

8.00pm at the Gardener\\\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

The parish council want to revive a pond that has become swampy with fallen trees, rotten black leaves and too much shade. With waders, some of you can clear what\\\'s in the water. Others can work on the banks to let more light in. Our cuttings will be turned into woodchips by a machine, and the chips used later to surface the paths. It\\\'s our first visit to this pond, though we\\\'ve been many times to Crecy Hill in Tackley. This will be true pioneer stuff, possibly even Tarzan-like.

Recital of Haydn, Mahler, Ravel by winner of 2005 Kathleen Ferrier award, preconcert talk at 7.15pm (tickets £11.00)

Our second visit to this reserve. We\'ll be working with Chris Parker, Countryside Manager for Northmoor Trust, or with Jo, one of the full-time workers there. We\'ll be hedge-laying again in order to turn a young hedge into an intense, livestock-proof habitat for insects, small mammals and low-nesting birds. We may leave some trees to grow as standards/tall ones for birds which build nests further from the ground. Another chance to walk around an Iron Age hill fort with a stunning views

Halloween; Unique ghost tour starting from Oxford Information Centre at 7.45pm (Price: TBA)

8.00pm at the Gardener\\\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

Burn the Guy; Bonfire party at John the Incinerator\\\\\\\'s (Limited places)

We\'ll be working for Oxford City Council on this rare wetland site near Headington. The calcareous fen must be kept low in nutrients to restrict the growth of grasses and promote the survival of wild plants. The Countryside Rangers will cut the grass, sedge and reed with strimmers or mowers. Our job is to rake up the cuttings and dump them away from the fen to prevent the compost enriching the soil. To vary this work, we’ll also cut back willow regrowth. Waders will be available.

Why a joint task? We are a local group but part of a national movement that began in 1959. Since 1979 when OCV began, other groups have lived and died, so we’ve lost contact with other conservers. This is a chance to meet some and steal their best ideas. Why Snelsmore Common? Keith says it has over 2000 species and lots of birch clearance to do. With a bonfire and a guided walk, this will be a very sociable outing to a place we’ve never been before.

Old classic; View a play by Marlowe or Shakespeare or Euripides (details TBA)

It\'s mature woodland with some open glades which insects need to complete their life-cycle. Scrub/young invasive trees will fill in these open spaces within a few years if left uncut. In general, birds prefer trees while insects prefer open grassland. If you want a balance of birds and insects on a reserve, someone has to intervene with bow saws and loppers. That\'s what we\'ll do and that\'s why we do it - being cruel to be kind, you might say. Bonfire here for a winter day.

8.00pm at the Gardener\\\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

Our job is laying a boundary hedge which the OCV planted in the 1990s. This stops the hawthorn growing too tall and shading out neighbouring plants. It gives a vandal-proof barrier and it keeps out your cat. The main predator of nesting birds on an urban site is the domestic cat, but moggies can\\\'t get through the dense thorny stems of a hedge.

A feast of heartwarming bangers and mash to tempt all gullets. Meet at 7.30pm at the Big Bang 124 Walton Street.

We normally work here once a month, but this is our only visit in this quarter. We\\\'ll be clearing scrub with maybe a few smaller jobs if they come up - it pays to be versatile. There\\\'ll be a bonfire and pre-Christmas guzzling of potatoes, pies and whatever else you can bring.

8.00pm at the Gardener\\\\\\\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

X-mas spirit; dinner in house under construction (Limited places)

We will be helping to control scrub on this rare heathland site. There may also be work repairing or removing rabbit fencing. The aim is to encourage heather and low-growing plants (plus the insects that rely on them) while restricting the birch and bracken that could take over.

No superstition; Cinema to chase away winter blues

This is the real Christmas task, with bonfire, mince pies, potatoes and possibly parsnips (but only if you bring them). Foxholes is famous for its charcoal kiln, which you can look at though it probably won\\\'t be fired up at the time. We\\\'ll be removing plastic tree-guards from plants that are big enough now to look after themselves. Also, we\\\'ll thin out young trees in a plantation to promote mature growth of the ealthiest trees.

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint. Stuffing Weasel into envelopes!

Welcome back to conservation - and to hedgelaying. We started work on the hedge at the back of the reserve in November. Now we'll finish that and maybe do a fewsmaller jobs for our great friends and allies The Oxford Urban Wildlife Group. They always make us welcome with tea, coffee and perhaps home-made biscuits in their visitors' centre. Hedgelaying beginners and old hands equally welcome. There will be a roaring bonfire

8.00 pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

This is a reserve managed by English Nature, who also run Aston Rowant. Last time we went there to cut sedge and grass, then rake up the cuttings. This time the ground will be wetter, so it could be path work or scrub cutting. Whatever, we'll have waders and wellies to borrow and Mick or Anne of EN to explain what's needed. If they ask what's the difference between a bog and a fen, you can spoil their fun by answering that a bog is acid but a fen is alkaline.

A pub quiz at The Turf Tavern. Meet there at 8pm. See mailing list for details.

We\'ll be working for Oxford City Council, probably pulling out bracken, brambles and birch which threaten the rare heathland habitat - that means lots of heather on a hillside with a great view of Oxford. Sheep used to eat the invasive species, but now the road traffic and dogs make that too hazardous. There may be other work on rabbit fencing and paths to vary the day. This is a good outing for those with bikes - you can go for just half a day if you like.

8.00pm at the Gardener's Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

This is a joint task with BeC, the Berkshire Conservation Volunteers. Last November the OCV went to Snelsmore Common near Newbury inBerkshire to work with BeC. Now we've invited them to an Oxfordshire reserve in return. We'll be scrub-bashing witha bonfire to burn the cuttings and to gather round for sociable chat, baked potatoes and tea.

Tasty grub with a scottish flavour at a location to be revealed

This is a day for sheep. In the past we've trimmed their feet, tagged their ears, fenced them in, fenced them out and dagged them too. English Nature have Beulah sheep, a tough Welsh breed with a white fleece, and Jacob sheep, which are black and white butlook like goats, and Soay sheep, which are smaller, plus Exmoor ponies. They are all part of the organic grassland management plan. The breeds are chosen for their ability to live on unfertilised grassland all-year-rround with no shelter.

8.00pm at the Gardener's Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

We're hedge laying again forthe Northmoor Trust. And Castle Hill, near our worksite, was an Iron Age hill fort. It has a stunning view of Oxfordshire.And here's a chance to learn hedge laying or brush up yourskills. How many more reasons do you need?

Witty talk on conservation and the OCV. Starts at 7.30pm at Gladiator Club on Iffley Road (corner with Percy Street). Free entry. Social with Urban Wildlife Group.

At Foxholes we'll be working withMartin Barnsley, the volunteer warden, who has asked us to thin out a plantation - not conifers, but broadleaf species chosen forbio-diversity. We'll also remove plastic Anderson tree-guards - oh yes, and have a roaring fire to keep out the winter cold. You can have a look at a charcoal kiln if you want, but it's not likely to be burning at the time. A day deep in the woods,so wear green stockings like Robin Hood i

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

More hedge laying for the NorthmoorTrust, who may send Chris or Jo of the countryside staff to work with us. This will be our last hedge laying at the reserve, but we'll return after Easter for summer projects such as footpaths and fencing. We're sure to have a walk at lunchtimeover the Wittenham clumps - two hills which give a great view of the Thames. It's a young hedge without any gnarly awkward bi

Meet at 7pm at the Burton Taylor Theatre to see Maud by Tennyson for a fiver. Contact Helena for advance tickets.

These invasive trees are like perennial weeds in your garden- you think they're beaten and they just spring up again blowing raspberries. English Nature have a policy of not usingherbicides to paint on the cut stumps, and grubbing out those stumps with spades and mattocks takes days. So scrub-bashing is continual. The benefit to us is that it feeds a great bonfire, it takes us to wild parts of the countryside and you can see the difference you've made in a day.

8.00pm at the Gardener's Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

We'll be hedge laying at Wootton by Woodstock, a charming and picturesque village that doubtless seethes with rustic yearnings beneath the tweedy surface. Our hedge is a gappy, moribund thingwhich we'll lay where it's worth laying and replant (but not today) when there's nothing to fill the voids.

Games and dessert at the Brears Palace. 8pm at 14, River View. Bring cushion.

Otters range over 25miles of a river and its bankside land, using maybe 20 different places to hide and shelter during daylight. As they're mainly nocturnal, you'll rarely see more than their footprints or spraints/poo. Natural holts are holes between tree roots,as in 'Tarka the Otter' by Henry Williamson, or hollow trees or piles of brushwood washed up by winter floods.

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

We return to Foxholes Wood, a beautiful woodland that was once part of Wychwood Forest. As part of BBOWT's ongoing coppicing/management programme, we will be removing a stretch of deer fencing from a young coppice, allowing the wildlife back into this coup to make their home amongst the young ash that is now big and strong enough to survive the nibblings of deer. There will be some serious scrub to bash here, and large bonfire guaranteed!

Shotover Country Park. Another visit to this hillside site near Headington. It's managed for wildlife and for leisure by the Countryside Service of Oxford City Council - that's one manager andfour rangers who cover most of Oxford's urban reserves. You'll see them driving about in white Land Rovers. Here theaim is to protect the heather and ling plus the insects and mamma

Live Acoustic Jazz, Pop and Folk music whilst enjoying a quiet drink or coffee at Cafe Rouge on Little Clarendon Street. Meet inside at 8.15pm.

8.00pm at the Gardener\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

Saturday and Sunday are two fencing days at Jubilee Meadows, Wootton by Woodstock. We'll learn post and rail, post and wire plus making a lift-out panel (a gate with no hinges). We were hedgelaying here a month ago and we'll return in July for more fencing - here's your chance to learn the skills.

More chances to learn and practise in a beautiful riverside reserve. Come for Saturday or Sunday or both - it's up to you. Normal pickups in Oxford. We'll do as much post and rail fence as we can. Then we'll fill the gap with post and wire which is quicker, so you'll have a go at both. Then you can sit on the fence and decide which is best, or go on both sides to check where exactly the grass is greener.

Chocolate Easter egg hunt. CANCELLED.

Go hunt an egg, because there's no task this weekend. Have a rest instead.

the Friends of Holywell Cemetery have an open day on 7th May and asked us to clear the paths, scrub and ivy to let visitors get around safely. They aim for a balance between respect for the graves and sympathy for nature in this unofficial reserve.

Meet at the bar on the ground floor of Pizza Express for live pop & folk music, at 8pm.

Our 3-day residential begins now, returning to Oxford on Monday evening. The work is dry stone walling on the Dorset Coast near Swanage. A dozen conservers are going. They signed up during our regular Sunday tasks, so there was no general email about this. If you want to go on the next residential (to the Isle of Wight, August 26-28th), get busy in the OCV's local work on Sundays! We're pretty short of drivers now - do you have a full adult UK licence and want to drive our minibus?

Our first work-day. For beginners, Ranger Ali will do a walling demonstration. Then we get stuck in in small groups, get together for tea-breaks and lunch, then we stop at about 4.30pm and go back for dinner.

Swanage has cliff-top walks, a steam railway, a beach, boat trips, a pier etc. We can do our own things or organise a group outing.

Finishing our work then returning to Oxford in the evening. Should be back by 9pm.

8.00pm at the Gardener's Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

8.00pm at the Gardener\\\'s Arms, Plantation Road, followed by a sociable pint.

Underground overground wombling free - in Horspath actually but our website has no word for that. You can work in the ex-railway tunnel on bat-boards or on path-work above ground at this wildlife conservation area on Butts Road, Horspath. This is a new work-site for us, though we did go into the tunnel on a social last year. It's 470 metres long and goes under Shotover Hill. It used to carry a branch-line to London Marylebone but now it's a hibernaculum for bats

Visit to Kingham Wood near Foxholes Reserve and Burford to check new work booked for August. Van pick-up at Tesco Metro, Cowley Rd, at 6.50pm and at Lamb and Flag, St Giles 7pm. Hoping to try a country pub in Kingham before getting back to Oxford by 9.30pm. No work involved but some walking, so wear boots and throw sticks for Martin Barnsley's dog called Tess. Email nicholasjohng@yahoo.co.uk with any questions (except what life means).

No mystery really - it's near Burford but our website has no such word. We won't do fencing as planned, but will mulch a young conservation hedge with cardboard and manure. That suppresses weeds without herbicide and reduces water loss by evaporation. If time allows, we'll try repairing a collapsed dry stone wall using Cotswold stone in very small pieces. This could be like building Lego, but let's have a go anyway. A beautiful place to work and it'll be an organic winery.

Juniper bushes and small trees grow on the hillsides here but rabbits tend to eat their seedlings, so the juniper grow older and older without being replaced naturally. We'll build a fence around a small juniper plantation and thereby preserve the plants plus the insects which depend on them. Beginners welcome, guided walk, see red kites, work for English Nature - beat that for one day's outing!

Say goodbye to Jane Fisher. Bookings for Pink Giraffe meal are all taken. Call 07791567427 to meet us in a pub afterwards.

Spring Bank Holiday weekend and you might go away on holiday. If some people want to go conserving, then we can go thistle-pulling on Church Meadows at the Little Wittenham Reserve for the afternoon. It's pretty dull work but the reserve is beautiful and, with a picnic in the sunshine, it could be a great day. Email gen_jimhead@yahoo.co.uk if you want to come. That's leader Jim. Pickups: 12.20pm Tesco Metro, 12.30pm Lamb and

Step-building to improve public access and safety. We'll work for English Nature who are funded by tax payers; therefore, they take seriously their duty to help people enjoy the reserve without damage to the landscape or to themselves. We are also members of the public, so we're very happy to help. Beginners welcome, different jobs on offer, so don't be put off. Take it one step at a time. English Nature staff will answer all yo

New venue is the town hall, entrance in St.Aldate's and then head for the Jury Room. You can ask the receptionist in the foyer. 8pm sharp and then a choice of pubs on offer. We chose the town hall as it's near bus stops, it's free and it's quieter than The Gardener's Arms was. New people welcome but, if you haven't worked with the OCV on a Sunday, the meeting may be meaningless to you.

An evening trip to two or maybe three reserves to check on future work, plus a pub visit afterwards to The Gardiners Arms in the village. Pickups 7.20pm Tesco Metro, Cowley and 7.30pm Lamb and Flag, St.Giles. Back to Oxford about 9.30pm.

The south-facing Shotover hillside has a bed of heather which supports many species of insect as well as being beautiful to look at. It was planted about 5 years ago to enhance bio-diversity. Other species such as bramble, bracken and birch tree saplings grow faster and taller than heather, so we pull and dig them out. Sheep used to do the job but now there only us! A chance to come for just an hour or two between 10am and 4pm.

This is our 2nd log-pile otter holt of the year, both of them funded by DEFRA (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) as part of a countryside stewardship scheme in which farmers get a grant in return for promoting nature conservation on their land. This land is near Kennington by the Thames and the work is digging, lifting logs, hammering, trimming and cutting branches. If there are too many people for the small site, we'll clear up litter from

BB Nature park is run by our great allies in local conservation the Oxford Urban Wildlife Group. The reserve began as disused allotments in 1990 and now it's doubling in size as more allotments have fallen out of use. Paths will need repairing, new trees need watering and brambles cut back. This is an urban site off the Iffley Road. If you've never seen it, prepare to be amazed!

No mystery, we're off to Padbury, a village near Buckingham that our website hasn't heard of, to plan our 3rd otter holt of this year. We'll check the site, the materials and meet the farmer who gets a DEFRA grant for promoting nature conservation. Then we'll try the village pub and get back to Oxford about 10pm. Pickups Tesco Metro 7pm, Lamb and Flag, St.Giles, 7.10pm. nicholasjohng@yahoo.co.uk

Rod D'Ayala of Pond Conservation is running this short course for us and any villagers who turn out. It's about surveying species in and around the swampy heath pond to make a plan for future work. People think they know what a pond should look like (ducks, fish etc) but plunging in to build that can destroy much rarer species. So how to manage a pond for wildlife? Waders provided plus trip to Wootton to see 2nd pond for comparison.

The plan was to pull out ragwort but there isn't any due to past attacks on it. Now the work is at Burgess Field next to Port meadow thinning young trees in a plantation. This allows surviving trees to develop properly with a well-balanced shape and long life-span. You can put your mark on Oxford's history here!

Summer is outdoor theatre season in Oxford, with unfailingly fantastic productions by the Creation Teatre Company. Come see 'The Merchant of Venice' tonight at 7.30 at Oxford Castle -- tickets £16.50. Contact Nora if you're interested so we can make a group booking (no discount I'm afraid).

We began this work on our fencing course in April. Now we'll go on with the 300-metre fence which keeps cattle out of boggy ground in winter. There's a lift-out section (like a gate but without hinges) to let cattle through in summer when the riverside land is firmer. The idea is to stop poaching: not dodgy blokes with rabbit snares but the churning up of mud by heavy hoofs when cattle stay on wet ground too long. Sheep and cattle mow the grass here at organic Jubilee Meadows.

We worked with Plantlife International once before at Sibford Ferris - a disused quarry. Now the work is at Blenheim Park, Woodstock, trying to protect royal pennycress against invasive scrub. The site may be so sensitive that numbers are limited. In that case we'll split the group and do two tasks - maybe the 2nd at Wootton nearby. Working with other groups such as Pl.Int and the OUWG widens our range of work and lets us steal their best ideas...oops, cooperate with fellow conservers

A log-pile otter holt designed to help lutra lutra (European otter and relative of the weasel) return to our rivers now that the water is less polluted. Not the Thames this time, but again on farmland and funded by DEFRA. The logs are ready-cut, so we trim and assemble them with hand-tools and a bit of ingenuity. I changed the BBOWT design so much that now it's the OCV Vertical Log Model (Trademark, patented, hands off!) which gives greater strength for less cutting. Far from

It s near Foxholes reserve and Chipping Norton - a community wood in the village of Kingham. The work is to cut brambles which are engulfing young trees planted 5 or 6 years ago, remove trees that have died and maybe rescue a small pond hidden under hawthorn hedging. A first visit to this site, except for a social trip when we had great beer and chips at The Plough Inn beside the village green and played Who can go highest on the swings.

Monthly meeting at Town Hall at 8pm. This is where we discuss day-to-day running of the charity. All welcome.

Crecy Hill has a steep slope in which we cut paths and surface them with woodchips. There's also a problem of hawthorn scrub bursting through the rare grassland habitat, so we cut it down to keep the hillside open. A beautiful site in the Cherwell Valley beside the railway to Banbury and the Oxford canal.

Punting is also what summer is all about in Oxford! Meet at the Cherwell Boathouse at 6.30 with your picnic and Pimms, we ll rent punts there and split the cost. People who actually know how to steer the blooming things are strongly encouraged to come. If weather doesn t look good for punting we ll have drinks at the Rose and Crown instead. Contact Nora if you plan to come!

This week we are returning to the Aston Rowant Nature Reserve, located on the west facing scarp of the Chilterns it has stunning views. The reserves chalk grassland, beech woodland and juniper scrub are home to a variety of rare butterflies, birds, and insects, and carpets of scented wildflowers. There are a number of trails through this public reserve. Our mission this week is to clear the paths, we'll be lopping and sawing, slashing and pitch forking in order to conserve the paths.

The Isle of Wight! We set off on Friday evening, cross with the minibus on the ferry and start work at Freshwater Marshes on Saturday - cutting out willows from reedbeds. Sunday is the day-off and many walks or travels are possible from Freshwater near the Needles Rocks in the west of the IoW. Bank Holiday Monday is more work plus our return to Oxford. Cost £50. Maybe a place left if someone drops out, email nicholasjohng@yahoo.co.uk. Maximum 10 people. Village hall has showers!

We're going to Deddington Castle, home of William the Conqueror's half brother Odo. Little remains of the castle now except for extensive earthwork banks and ditches. The site is managed by Deddington Parish Council and is open and free to the public.

Continuing our work constructing post and rail fencing at the Jubilee Reserve at Wootton-by-Woodstock. FYI this is the Wootton near Tackley, NOT the Wootton near Oxford. if you are making your own way there, and unsure of directions, please contact Task Programmer. The work is to prevent cattle trampling into the flood plain and boggy ground on the banks of the rivers which run through the reserve, so best feet forward as we continue the work here to get the fence completed before winter falls.

Summer is over, so let's recapture the feeling of a Caribbean holiday with dinner at the Hi-Lo. A dreadlocked chef, curried goat, rum and Red Stripe, and dub music on the largest amps in Cowley Road. What more could you want? Contact Nora if you plan to come.

Clear an overgrown path and repair steps. Take lots of breaks to admire the hilltop views and scout for red kites. Roast parsnips in the bonfire (if we have one). Your usual OCV Sunday.

OCV return to this beautiful, BBOWT owned woodland reserve on the border of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. On this task we will be cutting a footpath, and maintaining/improving existing footpaths to ensure continued, managed enjoyment of this ancient woodland site.

Cinema night! Bond with fellow OCV-ers in a darkened room... We will be seeing 'An Inconvenient Truth' at the Odeon George Street at 8.15 pm. Meet at the cinema at 8. Post-film discussion over a pint for those who want to.

Continuing our work constructing post and rail fencing at the Jubilee Reserve at Wootton-by-Woodstock. FYI this is the Wootton near Tackley, NOT the Wootton near Oxford. if you are making your own way there, and unsure of directions, please contact Task Programmer. The work is to prevent cattle trampling into the flood plain and boggy ground on the banks of the rivers which run through the reserve. We will also be replacing a stile.

All are welcome to join the OCV committee as we meet to discuss and fine tune the delicate inner machinations of the OCV. 8pm Town Hall Jury Room. Followed by a sociable pint at the Head of the River.

We return to the Crecy Hill reserve in Tackley, working to extend the bark-covered path through the reserve,cutting back scrub regrowth, and removing surplus thistle plants.

Beer! 120 barrels of it, all real ales, in the stunning barrel-vaulted ballroom in the Town Hall. Meet at the top of the staircase at 7 pm, get your pint glass and vouchers and then savour away! Cover charge £2.50.

We're going to Brasenose Wood to undertake the ancient art of coppicing. For centuries this technique has been used as a carbon-neutral supply of fuel and a source of construction material. A well coppiced woodland supports a rich variety of habitats and also extends the longevity of the trees to many times their normal lifespan.

We return to Aston Rowant on what promises to be a pleasant Autumn day, to gaze at red kites overhead, and warm ourselves by a bonfire (also good for roasting potatos and parsnips in -- byo). Oh, and we'll also be doing some scrub-bashing.

Our first task at this stunning National Trust reserve in the Chilterns, south of Oxford. The reserve is a SSSI on account of the rare species that exist on the chalk grassland, and we work to assist the National Trust warden managing the scrub thickets and invasive species that threaten to overgrow this rare habitat and the countless plants and butterflies that thrive there. Superb views over the Oxford Plain (weather permitting) under the watchful eyes of circling kites and buzzards.

We return to this Nortmoor Trust managed property at Little Wittenham, home to an iron age fort and the Wittenham Clumps. We continue last years hedgelaying here on a hawthorn hedge round the base of the hill; containing livestock the traditional way and providing a valuable corridor for the wildlife. Perhaps you can previous hedgelaying skills with you, or perhaps you'll take new skills home with you!

All welcome, come along and get involved! 8pm Town Hall Jury Room. Followed by a sociable pint at the Head of the River.

Various conservation tasks, TBA

We return for this weekender fencing doubleheader, constructing post and rail, and post and wire fencing to contain cattle in from fragile habitats at the popular Jubilee Meadows reserve at Wootton near Woodstock. Many have worked on this ongoing project throughout the summer, so many hands will make light work of completing before the cattle arrive at Xmas

We return for this weekender fencing doubleheader, aiming to complete the fencing project many of you have worked on since April this year. We will be constructing post and rail, and post and wire fencing to contain cattle in from fragile habitats at the popular Jubilee Meadows reserve at Wootton near Woodstock. All aboard to get this completed for the clients deadline, there is footbridge repair and stile construction to be tackled if we have time!

We return to this Nortmoor Trust managed property at Little Wittenham, home to an iron age fort and the Wittenham Clumps. We continue last years hedgelaying here on a hawthorn hedge round the base of the hill; containing livestock the traditional way and providing a valuable corridor for the wildlife. Perhaps you can bring previous hedgelaying skills with you, or perhaps you'll take new skills home with you!

We return to the enchanted Foxholes Woods on the Oxon/Gloucs border for a training weekend led by our countryside skills guru Brian Williamson. We will be learning woodland skills including coppicing, felling, thinning and of course burning - all the essential and traditional skills for effective woodland management with conservation of such treasured woodland habitats, and their inhabitants, in mind.

We return to the enchanted Foxholes Woods on the Oxon/Gloucs border for a training weekend led by our countryside skills guru Brian Williamson. We will be learning woodland skills including coppicing, felling, thinning and of course burning - all the essential and traditional skills for effective woodland management with conservation of such treasured woodland habitats, and their inhabitants, in mind.

Come join the monthly committee meeting. 8pm Town Hall Jury Room. Followed by a socialble pint at the Head of the River.

Feasting and holiday cheer.

Working at this BBOWT reserve, we will be coppicing silver birch to ensure structural suitability for nationally rare black hairstreak butterflies. A big bonfire guaranteed if the work doesn't warm you up!

Helping the wardens with a range of conservation and estate management tasks on this English Nature reserve

Monthly committee meeting in the Town Hall Jury Room at 8pm, followed by a pint in a nearby pub. All welcome.

We return to work with the Oxford Urban Wildlife Group, working to maintain this valuable nature reserve in the built-up outskirts of Oxford. We will be undertaking light woodland tasks ; coppicing, trimming and pruning some of the diverse range of trees and shrubs that thrive here; to protect and manage habitat and provide breathing space for city dwellers. THERE WILL BE NO MINIBUS PICK-UPS for this task, so come along by car, bus, bike or by foot for an hour, half a day or the whole day; and start 2007 how you mean to go on! For directions or further details contact Gary (see contacts page).

Today we will be working on Westwell Manors ongoing organic, conservation programme planting a mixed conservation hedge. This will include traditional species chosen to provide a useful habitat for a variety of fauna. Perhaps we will return in 15 years to lay the hedge we have planted!

Essential habitat management work at this Natural England reserve.

We visit a BBOWT reserve to clear scrub on an old railway embankment to increase the habitat for the rare Wall Brown butterfly. Calvert began as clay pits for making bricks: one pit on the reserve was landfilled with rubbish long ago, one is a lake for wildfowl and one nearby hosts a sailing club. Another pit is still used for landfill with a daily 'binliner' train bringing London's rubbish to rural Buckinghamshire compressed in green containers. The railway line in the reserve has a bridge, an embankment and a few rotten telegraph poles but no track nor traffic. Normally you need a permit to visit, but to you it's open! Bonfire, baked parsnips, lunchtime tour and check on wooden bridge we built 2 years ago plus nesting rafts 3 years ago. There's a bird hide overlooking the lake, so bring binoculars if you are a twitcher.

Come along for a curry, at The bombay restaurant in Jericho.

We return to work for Deddington Parish Council in the village of Clifton. As a safety 'recommendation' the council have been advised that a well established hedge is a safety issue for the adjoining childrens park. Rather than remove it, the council want to lay the hedge to protect the natural habitat. Today we will be preparing the hedge for laying by coppicing out the unwanted material, returning in March to lay the hedge and protect this established habitat.

Back to Holywell Cemetery to open up paths by clearing saplings, brambles, ivy etc. There will be no minibus pick-ups for this task, so come along by bus, foot or bike, for an hour, half a day or the whole day - 9.45am to 4pm. Car parking is difficult here. Look for the stone church tower in St. Cross Road near the end of Holywell Street and Jowett Walk, go through the double wooden gates and we'll be back there with a smoky bonfire. This disused cemetery dates from 1848 when cholera had filled older Oxford graveyards. It's small but with marshy land behind and after that the River Cherwell, it's part of a wildlife corridor in central Oxford. At quiet times you can see a fox or muntjac deer. As to notable graves, there is Kenneth Grahame who wrote 'Wind in the Willows', Walter Pater the Victorian art critic and a few more. The work here is lighter than usual, so it's a good first outing for wannabe conservers. OCV has worked here once or twice per year for 25 years - this was a pioneer project in urban conservation and well worth your support. The idea is to respect the graves and those who visit them while encouraging wildlife at the same time. As to how it works in practice, well...come and see.

We return to the depths of Brasenose Woods , carrying out coppicing work essential to Oxford City Councils work to manage this beautiful, ancient wood. This will involve selecting ash and other younger trees for felling and thinning; removing the brash by either burning or weaving straight into dead-hedges to protect younger coppice stools from hungry deer.

Traditional Irish music in Oxford at The Half Moon in St Clements. I will be there from 9pm. You don't have to tell me if you're coming.

Monthly committee meeting for discussing the running of OCV. Come along to the Town Hall Jury Room at 8pm and join us for a pint in a nearby pub. All welcome.

This stretch of the cycle route between Wantage and Didcot has been proposed as a County Wildlife Site on account of the rare chalk grassland habitat. This habitat supports a diverse range of rare flora, insects and butterflies, so we will be working to clear the invasive shrub species right back and restart the natural succession, as well as contributing to the development of a real alternative to the A34!

We return to Aston Rowant reserve where we will be working with Natural England wardens foot trimming one of the flocks of sheep. Dagging is also on offer to those who are really keen!

Come along to the Turf Tavern, Oxford at 8pm to wish Renaud well as he leaves Oxford. There will be barbeque food served from 8pm to 10pm, including burgers with cheese or bacon, chicken burgers or veggie burgers. The Turf has a pretty good selection of draught beer if you needed any more reasons to come along...

We return to the stunning National Trust reserve, assisting warden Jerry Page on his mission to reduce invasive scrub on the hill by 50%. We will be removing species such as yew, whitebeam and of course hawthorn, from encroaching over this SSSI chalk grassland site, and restarting the natural succession. The bonfire was so big last time the red kites were circling on the thermals!

We return to work for Deddington Parish Council in the village of Clifton. As a safety 'recommendation' the council have been advised that a well established hedge is a safety issue for the adjoining childrens park. Rather than remove it, the council want to lay the hedge to protect the natural habitat. In February we prepared this hedge for laying; we now take up our billhooks to cut it back and restart a new lease of life

Monthly committee meeting in the Town Hall Jury Room at 8pm, followed by a pint in a nearby pub. All welcome.

Essential habitat management work for Natural England at this chalk grassland reserve

We return to the tranquil water meadows of Jubilee Reserve, where many of you will be able to admire the serpentine curves of the 2006 OCV fence project! Today we have a variety of maintenance tasks to tackle ; building stiles to provide access across the post & rail fence we built, footbridge repairs, erecting an information sign, and removal of blackthorn that is once again encroaching along the bridleway.

Come to Crane Acres for a fun evening playing The Oxford Game (a bit like Trivial Pursuits but all about Oxford and fortunately multiple choice answers) and swapping snacks and tales of conservation. Contact Emily on treasurer (at) ocv.org.uk for further info.

We return to the enchanted woodland of Foxholes, a BBOWT managed woodland reserve on the Oxon/Gloucs border. As part of the ongoing coppicing cycle, we will today be removing deer fencing from the perimeter of a young ash copse; now that the trees are big and strong enough to survive the nibblings of hungry deer, we can remove this fencing to let the wildlife back in, and clear the 6 foot deep brambles and other scrub that compete with our trees.

Before plants really start their new season growth, we continue our work helping with the management of the Tackley/Crecy Hill reserve. We will be completing the dug, bark-chip covered path; cutting back early scrub re-growth; and digging up surplus woolly thistles. As well as improving access through the reserve we will be protecting this precious orchid habitat.

Monthly committee meeting in the Town Hall Jury Room at 8pm, followed by a pint in a nearby pub. Everyone welcome, come along and see how the group is run.

It's Easter, so enjoy your long weekend off! There is no task this weekend, so pull out an OS map (and a compass), and go walk some of the miles of footpaths that criss-cross our beautiful countryside. Enjoy the trees, the birds, the breeze, a river rushing...Whilst enjoying a well-earned break have a think about what YOU could do for OCV, and OUR environment. YOU could be a volunteer, a leader, van driver, first aider, pond dredger, tea maker, emailer, bramble slasher, scrub basher, firestarter, wall builder, hedge layer, tree feller, wayfarer, land owner, a warden ......if you're someone that enjoys the great outdoors.. well, let's keep the outdoors great!...WHAT COULD YOU DO? - the possibilities are endless! Contact - 'tasks' on the 'contacts' page, and let's push things forward...

This is our first vist to this neglected woodland in the Chilterns AONB which is in need of some OCV lovin' and a long-term management plan. Way out of control, this site has become dominated on the one hand by high oak and a large rookery; on the other hand a severely neglected and choked-up hazel coppice; result is a dark and inhibited woodland.Though late in the season, our priority here is to make a start to encourage biodiversity by selectively cutting a coppice coupe; protecting it from deer-grazing with dead-hedging, and clearing the large piles of brash to provide easy access around the site. There is much to do here, let's see what OCV can do..

This is our second vist to this neglected woodland in the Chilterns AONB continuing the first phase of a long-term management plan. Way out of control, this site has become dominated on the one hand by high oak and a large rookery; on the other hand a severely neglected and choked-up hazel coppice; result is a dark and inhibited woodland.Though late in the season, our priority here is to make a start to encourage biodiversity by selectively cutting a coppice coupe; protecting it from deer-grazing with dead-hedging, and clearing the large piles of brash to provide easy access around the site. There is much to do here, let's see what OCV can do..

Fenceline work at this SSSI Natural England reserve in the Chilterns AONB. Today we'll be repairing post and wire fences to help keep the sheep in the right place. There maybe opportunities for cutting back overgrowth also.

OCV Annual General Meeting in the Town Hall Jury Room at 8pm, followed by a pint in a nearby pub. Everyone welcome, you will need to be a member to vote, but you can join on the day. Come along and participate in the organisation of OCV.

Out in the Cotswolds AONB, working at this Foxholes sister reserve. We are creating a pond here to increase biodiversity and provide an oasis for water-loving species, so we will be digging out the pond, and clearing the aggressive bramble that tries to strangle and smother the life out of all the other flora, and scratch all the fauna. Long sleeves recommended!

There is no task this weekend, so pull out an OS map (and a compass), and go walk some of the miles of footpaths that criss-cross our beautiful countryside. Enjoy the trees, the birds, the breeze, a river rushing...Whilst enjoying nature, have a think about what YOU could do for OCV, and OUR environment. YOU could be a volunteer, a leader, van driver, first aider, pond dredger, tea maker, emailer, bramble slasher, scrub basher, firestarter, wall builder, hedge layer, tree feller, wayfarer, land owner, a warden ......if you're someone that enjoys the great outdoors.. well, let's keep the outdoors great!...WHAT COULD YOU DO? - the possibilities are endless! Contact - 'tasks' on the 'contacts' page, and let's push things forward...

As there was no task last weekend I thought we should have a social. The walk will start at the head of the river pub in Oxford at 7pm, we should end up in iffley before it gets too dark! We will also be visiting the Isis which is at the side of the river before the iffley lock. Bring your bike with you. More info will be sent in an email.

Essential footpath maintenance work at this SSSI Natural England site in the Chilterns AONB

Minibus transport from Oxford city centre out for our long weekend working for the National Trust in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Cost for this weekend will be no more than £50 - to include minibus transport from Oxford, accomodation at the National Trust basecamp (Dan Y Gyrn), and food. THIS RESI IS NOW SOLD OUT - DETAILS OF THE NEXT ONE TBA SOON!

Today we will be working for the National Trust contributing to essential trail maintenance and upland erosion control on the glaciated slopes of Pen Y Fan (at 886m the highest mountain in Brecon Beacons National Park).Damage is done to this majestic peak from water running down, and hikers walking up and down the Beacons Way National Trail; so we will be abating these forces of erosion by building revetment walls and planting and landscaping the heavy earthworks previously done by the Army! Cost for this weekend will be no more than £50 - to include minibus transport from Oxford, accomodation at the National Trust basecamp (Dan Y Gyrn), and food. THIS RESI IS NOW SOLD OUT - DETAILS OF THE NEXT ONE TBA SOON!

A day off from working; the Brecon Beacons National Park is an ideal base for country pursuits, so let us know what you would like to do. Cost for this weekend will be no more than £50 - to include minibus transport from Oxford, accomodation at the National Trust basecamp (Dan Y Gyrn), and food. THIS RESI IS NOW SOLD OUT - DETAILS OF THE NEXT ONE TBA SOON!

Today we will be working for the National Trust contributing to essential trail maintenance and upland erosion control on the glaciated slopes of Pen Y Fan (at 886m the highest mountain in Brecon Beacons National Park). Erosive water run-off is channelled off the mountain via stone-pitched water breaks and calverts, and we spend this half-day working our way up to the breath-taking summit of Pen Y Fan clearing these drains as we enjoy the views. We will leave the basecamp in time to be back in Oxford around 6pm, so you can go back to work or study after this weekend having seen new faces, new places, and knowing you've helped to keep the Great in Britain! Cost for this weekend will be no more than £50 - to include minibus transport from Oxford, accomodation at the National Trust basecamp (Dan Y Gyrn), and food. THIS RESI IS NOW SOLD OUT - DETAILS OF THE NEXT ONE TBA SOON!

Out in the Cotswolds AONB, working at this Foxholes sister reserve. We are creating a pond here to increase biodiversity and provide an oasis for water-loving species, so we will be digging out the pond, and clearing the aggressive bramble that tries to strangle and smother the life out of all the other flora, and scratch all the fauna. Long sleeves recommended!

Monthly committee meeting in the Town Hall Jury Room at 8pm, followed by a pint in a nearby pub. Everyone welcome, come along for the meeting or join us for a drink afterwards.

Working alongside the Parish Council's own volunteers to improve access on the important, Public 'Coffin Path' Footpath between the villages of Long Hanborough and Church Hanborough, near Bladon. A short ride from Oxford, we have a day in the sun clearing back the turf that has grown over this 8ft wide tarmac footpath (created to be useable by all), and reduced it to a 1ft wide track (useable by 1 person).

Irish music at Rosie o' Gradys in Oxford, they have guinness and a selection of irish whiskeys to choose from. We will be meeting at carfax at 8.30pm.

There is no task this weekend, so pull out an OS map (and a compass), and go walk some of the miles of footpaths that criss-cross our beautiful countryside. Enjoy the trees, the birds, the breeze, a river rushing...Whilst enjoying nature have a think about what YOU could do for OCV, and OUR environment. YOU could be a volunteer, a leader, van driver, first aider, pond dredger, tea maker, emailer, bramble slasher, scrub basher, firestarter, fund raiser, hellraiser, wall builder, hedge layer, tree feller, wayfarer, land owner, a warden ......if you're someone that enjoys the great outdoors.. well, let's keep the outdoors great!...WHAT COULD YOU DO? - the possibilities are endless! Contact - 'tasks' on the 'contacts' page, and let's push things forward...

Controlling ragwort and conserving juniper at this SSSI Natural England site in the Chilterns AONB

Working on this Oxford City Council reserve, we spend the day pulling out toxic ragwort. Once this pest has been eradicated we move on to nearby Burgess Field thinning young trees in a plantation. This allows surviving trees to develop properly with a well-balanced shape and long life-span.

Monthly committee meeting at 8pm in the Jury Room in the Town Hall on St. Aldates. A chance to discuss the day-to -day running of OCV. Everyone is welcome, though we can't guarantee the commitee won't try to rope you in to help with something! Afterwards we'll go for a drink at the Head of the River.

Today we will be erecting gates at the Boundary Brook reserve for Oxford Urban Wildlife Group; replacing the rusty old relics that provide easy access through the boundaries and footpaths of the reserve. This is also a chance to observe the progress of hedgelaying and planting projects OCV have done here in the past. For this technical construction challenge we need brains as well as brawn - so if you have either, we need you there!

We are working with Plantlife to conserve Cotswold Pennycress - one of Britain's rarest plants. As a result of our work last year a five-fold increase in Pennycress has been seen at the site; the highest count in a decade! We return to continue this valuable work removing the coarse grass that smothers the Pennycress. A light day's fun in the sun working til 3pm, so a refreshing pint in a nearby hostelry on the way back to the city may well be in order if the is job well done!

An evening of food and messing around on boats. Meeting at Cherwell boat house at 7pm. Bring some food and your waterproofs!

Working for Natural England in the Chilterns AONB

Working for Deddington Parish Council to improve a much-used footpath that runs between the cemetery and the Windmill Centre. We will be removing a dilapidated wire fence and replacing it with 2 short stretches of post and rail fencing to mark a clear, durable, wildlife-friendly boundary around, and access to, a copse that was planted by the Forestry Commission. We hope to get this track upgraded to link into the existing Public Footpath network around Deddington; putting OCV's work 'on the map'..? We will also be conducting a tree survey in the copse area; to thin the plantation and waymark a footpath through it... brains and brawn required for this task, so if you have either; we need YOU there

THIS WEEKS TASK IS CANCELLED DUE TO SEVERE FLOODING AT WOOTTON WATER MEADOWS. So pull out an OS map (and a compass), and go walk some of the miles of footpaths that criss-cross our beautiful countryside. Enjoy the trees, the birds, the breeze, a river rushing...Whilst enjoying English nature have a think about what YOU could do for OCV, and OUR environment. YOU could be a volunteer, a leader, van driver, first aider, pond dredger, tea maker, emailer, bramble slasher, scrub basher, firestarter, wall builder, hedge layer, tree feller, wayfarer, land owner, a warden ......if you're someone that enjoys the great outdoors.. well, let's keep the outdoors great!...WHAT COULD YOU DO? - the possibilities are endless! Contact - 'tasks' on the 'contacts' page, and let's push things forward...

Monthly committee meeting at 8pm in the Jury Room in the Town Hall on St. Aldates. A chance to discuss the day-to -day running of OCV. Everyone is welcome, particularly if you're a volunteer that could help out as a leader or driver, or a leader or driver that could help with the running of OCV. Afterwards we'll go for a drink at the Head of the River.

Working for Natural England in the Chilterns AONB, step building and clearing footpaths

The Kazbar at the St Clements end of Cowley road. We'll be meeting at this ''chilled out'' bar at 7.45pm. Moroccan/Spanish food is served here and it's very tasty. Their sangria is very tasty too!

Britwell Hill is a truly beautiful spot in the Chilterns AONB, near Watlington, with stunning views over the Oxford Plain and footpaths that run through SSSI sites rich with downland flora. We are working for an environmentally-friendly LEAF farmer who has planted 10,000 hedgerow trees with biodegradable rabbit/deer guards that are not degrading! Our job here is to remove the guards so that the hedges fill out at the bottom, making better shelter for birds and other wildlife.

Minibus transport from Oxford city centre out for our long weekend working for Durlston Country Park in Dorset. THIS RESIDENTIAL IS SOLD OUT. SORRY!

Today we will be working for Durlston Country Park, learning the traditional craft of dry-stone walling. After a hard-day's work, a night out in lively Swanage could well be in order; we may be lucky enough to catch local heroes DNA on tour!THIS RESIDENTIAL IS SOLD OUT. SORRY!

A day off from working; Swanage is an ideal base for country pursuits. Swanage has links to the South West Coast Path and other cliff-top walks, a steam railway, a beach, boat trips, a pier etc. We can do our own things or organise a group outing, so let us know what you would like to do. THIS RESIDENTIAL IS SOLD OUT. SORRY!

we spend this half-day finishing our work rebuilding dry-stone walls. We will leave the basecamp in time to be back in Oxford around 6pm, so you can go back to work or study after this weekend having seen new faces, new places, and knowing you've helped to keep the Great in Britain! THIS RESIDENTIAL IS SOLD OUT. SORRY!

OCV return to this beautiful, BBOWT owned woodland reserve on the border of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. On this task we will be clearing, maintaining and improving the network of footpaths and nature trails that enable managed enjoyment of this ancient woodland site.

Monthly committee meeting at 8pm in the Jury Room in the Town Hall on St. Aldates. A chance to discuss the day-to -day running of OCV. Everyone is welcome to come along. Afterwards we'll go for a drink at the Head of the River.

We're going Aston Rowant to trim the sheep's feet. These sheep help keep the rare chalk grassland from becoming overgrown by eating the young scrub growth. To keep the sheep mobile, they need their feet trimmed a couple of times a year. Wear old clothes as the work can be muddy and smelly.

Returning to work with our friends at Deddington Parish Council, today we will finish the post and rail fencing we started in July, but the main job is to thin the copse area. In one compartment we remove young scrub growth and whippy tree saplings to prevent overcrowding and competition to the few healthy young oaks. Another compartment has been densely planted, and the young trees have grown tall and thin competing for light;completely shading the woodland floor. Thinning this plantation and some low,scrubby species should encourage biodiversity by allowing dappled sunlight on to the woodland floor. We'll be burning brash as we go, and stacking larger logs to create habitat for invertebrates and fungi.

A night of hot food awaits us (as requested)! Shouldn't be too expensive as you can take your own booze. We will be meeting at the restaurant at 7.30pm. I forgot to mention in the email that its past the old radcliffe hospital on Walton street.

Celebrate 30 years of OCV by camping over at Kingham before a day's hedgelaying. E-mail Chris if you'd like to come, address on the contacts page.

Returning to this Foxholes sister reserve we will be laying a short stretch of hedge. A well-layed hedge regrows and thickens to provide a natural boundary for the land-owner, and also a home, shelter and corridor for all sorts of wildlife. Perhaps you can bring hedgelaying skills with you; perhaps you will leave with a new skill today! We are thinking of camping out here the night before an early start and bonfire breakfast; let us know if you're up for it? (No Sunday morning pick-up this week, since the minibus will already be there).

We return to work at the hallowed spot where OCV did their first day's work way back back in 1977! Today we will be assisting BBOWT conserve the limestone grassland habitat with essential scrub clearance work so a big OCV bonfire guaranteed, so we hope to see you all out in force; old, young, new faces, veterans...come celebrate the last 30 years, and continue the next 30 years of vital work we do to keep the Great in our part of Britain!

We'll be in the Jury Room in the Town Hall on St. Aldates from 8pm, planning the next month's OCV business. Everyone is very welcome to come along, you don't have to be a leader or a committee member. Afterwards we'll go for a drink at the Head of the River.

Today we will be mostly cutting down invasive plant species on Bald hill (to quote Jesse). It will most probably be hawthorn and brambles. We will be having a bonfire so that we can burn the unwanted material. If I can get my act together I might even make something sweet for you to munch on at break time.

We'll be working for Oxford City Council on this rare wetland site near Headington. The calcareous fen must be kept low in nutrients to restrict the growth of grasses and promote the survival of wild plants. The Countryside Rangers will cut the grass, sedge and reed with strimmers or mowers. Our job is to rake up the cuttings and dump them away from the fen to prevent the compost enriching the soil. Waders will be available.

Come and celebrate 30 years of OCV! Volunteers of past and present, we need YOU to recognise the good work you have done over the years. So join us in eating and merriment at the Lake street community centre at 7.30pm. Hope to see you there.

Working at this BBOWT reserve, we will be coppicing silver birch to ensure structural suitability for nationally rare black hairstreak butterflies. A big bonfire guaranteed if the work doesn't warm you up!

At Jubilee Reserve, many trees and branches were brought down into the river in last winters' storms; creating natural dams which have contributed to unusual levels and length of flooding this year. In fact, this task should have happened in August but was cancelled due to the severe flooding! We will be assisting a contractor pollarding the old, creaking willows that overhang and threaten to come down into the river this winter. We will take waders along for those keen enough to brave the cold water and clear more debris from the river!

We return to work at this stunning National Trust reserve in the Chilterns, south of Oxford. The reserve is a SSSI on account of the rare species that exist on the chalk grassland, and we work to assist the National Trust warden managing the scrub thickets and invasive species that threaten to overgrow this rare habitat and the countless plants and butterflies that thrive there. Big bonfire guaranteed; superb views over the Oxford Plain (weather permitting) under the watchful eyes of circling kites and buzzards

We'll be in the Jury Room in the Town Hall on St. Aldates from 8pm, discussing the running of OCV. This is your chance to get involved, so come along, you don't have to be a leader or a committee member. Afterwards we'll go for a drink at the Chequers just off the high street.

Working at this beautiful spot in the Chilterns AONB, for a LEAF farmer endeavouring to run her farm in a way that supports, protects and encourages wildlife. Re-laying a section of mature hedge enables the farmer to manage a natural boundary in a way which sustains the hedgerow habitat used as a home, shelter, larder and corridor by all sorts of wildlife. A number of the group's more experienced hedgelayers will be coming along on this task to show us the ropes, so if you don't have much experience of hedgelaying now is the time to get a bit of informal training in this traditional skill. Hope to see you there!

Returning to work at this site in the Chilterns AONB developing a long-term management plan for a neglected, choked-up hazel coppice. We aim to encourage biodiversity by selectively cutting a coppice coupe; protecting it from deer-grazing with dead-hedging, and burning the large piles of brash to clear the rides (a valuable habitat in themselves) to provide easy access around the site. We will also be harvesting stakes for forthcoming hedgelaying tasks.There is much to do here, let's see what OCV can do..

I hope you like pasta and pizza because this month we will be dining at Marios Italian restaurant which is at the end of the Cowley road in Oxford. We will be meeting at 7.30pm at the restaurant. Let me know by email or phone if you want to come along.

Essential scrub clearance to preserve Natural England, more details soon!

We return to this Nortmoor Trust managed property at Little Wittenham, home to an iron age fort and the Wittenham Clumps. We continue last years hedgelaying here on a hawthorn hedge round the base of the hill; containing livestock the traditional way and providing a valuable corridor for the wildlife. Perhaps you can bring previous hedgelaying skills with you, or perhaps you'll take new skills home with you!

We'll be in the Jury Room in the Town Hall on St. Aldates from 8pm, discussing the next month's work. This is your chance to get involved, so come along, you don't have to be a leader or a committee member. Afterwards we'll go for a drink at the Chequers just off the high street.

This site in Oxford city centre is run by Birmingham City Council as an area for educational environmental studies. Much of the site is mature woodland; in some areas we will be burning brash and making log habitat piles from debris left by previous work parties. The main work purpose of today's work is to extend and protect some open grassy meadow areas by cutting back encroaching hawthorn scrub

We're breaking the mould this year and trying to stay away from overdone turkey and mince pies. Join the revolution! We will be meeting at the restaurant at 7.30pm. Please let Naomi know by Monday evening if you would like to join us in the fight against the turkey.

Essential scrub clearance and a big bonfire! We will be working for Natural England at this National Nature Reserve to conserve the chalk-grassland SSSI south of Oxford

A night of traditional folk music and guinness at the Half moon on St Clements. I've not been to any better music sessions since i walked into this pub on a Sunday evening, so it is worth making the effort. If your interested then contact Naomi.

We will be working for Natural England at this National Nature Reserve and SSSI in the Chilterns. We will be working at Hill Farm helping to maintain their flock of over 300 sheep in good condition by cutting their nails and looking for the signs of any other problems. If the weather is bad we will do scrub clearance instead.

Join us in the Jury Room of the Town Hall on St. Aldates for January's Committee Meeting at 8pm. We'll be discussing the day-to-day running of OCV. Afterwards we'll be in The Chequers nearby for a pint, so come along then if you prefer.

We will be working at one of BBOWT's woodland reserves, creating a scallop along one of the wide rides, by cutting back and burning encroaching scrub species. These sheltered sunny corridors through the woods are favoured by plants and insects, especially butterflies

We return to this privately-owned woodland in the Chilterns AONB, to complete our coppicing project. By coppicing the old hazel here we aim to encourage biodiversity by letting more sunlight into the forest floor, and bring the hazel back into a cycle that can be harvested for usable poles.We will protect the cut stools from deer-grazing with dead-hedging, and harvest stakes to use for hedgelaying tasks later in the season. Our trainer Brian Williamson travels up from Devon to instruct on centuries-old coppicing techniques and use of woodland tools, so this is an excellent opportunity to learn new skills

We return to this privately-owned woodland in the Chilterns AONB, to complete our coppicing project. By coppicing the old hazel here we aim to encourage biodiversity by letting more sunlight into the forest floor, and bring the hazel back into a cycle that can be harvested for usable poles.We will protect the cut stool from deer-grazing with dead-hedging, and harvest stakes to use for hedgelaying tasks later in the season. Our trainer Brian Williamson travels up from Devon to instruct on centuries-old coppicing techniques and use of woodland tools, so this is an excellent opportunity to learn new skills

Join me for a drink at one of Oxfords prettiest pubs and also one of the most difficult to find, especially if you've already had a few. Meeting time will be at 8pm at the pub. If your interested then get in touch. An email has now been sent out.

This disused cemetery dates from 1848 when cholera had filled older Oxford graveyards. Part of a wildlife corridor in central Oxford, at quiet times you can see a fox or muntjac deer. As to notable graves, there is Kenneth Grahame who wrote 'Wind in the Willows', Walter Pater the Victorian art critic and a few more. OCV has worked here once or twice per year for 25 years - this was a pioneer project in urban conservation and well worth your support. The idea is to respect the graves and those who visit them while encouraging wildlife at the same time. We will be clearing overgrowth to enable access around this tranquil spot, with a warming, smoky bonfire..

We will be working for Natural England at this National Nature Reserve and SSSI in the Chilterns. Clearing an area of large scrub on Beacon Hill to encourage regrowth, therefore creating a varied age structure of plants which provides a valuable habitat for various invertebrates and nesting birds

Every month the committee gets together to talk about anything and everything to do with day-to-day running of OCV. We meet at 8pm in the Jury Room of the Town Hall on St Aldates. If you want to come along and maybe get involved, then please do. Afterwards, we'll go for a drink or twelve at the St Aldates Tavern across the road.

At Jubilee Reserve, a pollarding programme has been implemented to manage the old, creaking willows that overhang the river and threaten to come down and block it over winter. This problem led to severe flooding of the meadows for many months last year.A contractor has been in with a chainsaw to fell the dangerous tree limbs; our job today is to follow-up and burn the large piles of debris on a couple of bonfires

We return to the enchanted Foxholes Woods on the Oxon/Gloucs to practice the ancient woodland technique of coppicing - used for centuries as a way of producing fuel and materials for building. We will be felling and burning ash which will thin and open up this area of the forest (which benefits biodiversity), and harvesting stakes to use at hedgelaying tasks later in the season.

Join me for a night of Ten Pin Bowling at the Ozone Leisure center in Littlemore, Oxford. The time has changed to 8.30pm. Unfortunately I now have 8 people. So now there is no room for anyone else. Sorry!

We return to this Northmoor Trust managed property at Little Wittenham, home to an iron age fort and the Wittenham Clumps. We continue last years hedgelaying here on a hawthorn hedge round the base of the hill; containing livestock the traditional way and providing a valuable corridor for the wildlife. Perhaps you can bring previous hedgelaying skills with you, or perhaps you'll take new skills home with you!

We return to the stunning National Trust reserve, assisting warden Jerry Page on his mission to reduce invasive scrub on the hill by 50%. We will be removing species such as yew, whitebeam and of course hawthorn, from encroaching over this SSSI chalk grassland site, and restarting the natural succession. A great spot to observe red kites - I once counted 24 circling on one thermal!..

The committee will be meeting in the Jury Room in the Town Hall at 8pm, to talk about the issues of the moment. All volunteers are welcome to attend, particularly if they'd like to get involved in the running of OCV or just see what goes on. Once the business is done we'll be in The Chequers pub for a sociable pint or two, so join us there if you want.

We will be working for Natural England at this National Nature Reserve, removing scrub to maintain the chalk grassland SSSI

Chinnor Hill is a SSSI reserve on the Chiltern escarpment, with woodland, scrub and chalk grassland. It has great views over the vale of Aylesbury with Red Kites and buzzards flying above. The task will be to help BBOWT clear an area of scrub from an old chalk pit and from the surrounding chalk grassland to prevent losing the valuable chalk grassland flowers.

As requested by Jo. This month we will be heading down to the Oxford Greyhound Stadium for a spot of dog racing. An email has now been sent out. If you would like to come along please email socials on the contacts page.

Grims Ditch is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, to be found near the Ridgeway in the rolling, chalk downs of Blewbury. Not all of the earthwork survives above ground, but the Ditch appears to have been a boundary between the various tribes that inhabited the Oxfordshire Plain and Chilterns back in the Iron Age! Today we will be helping English Heritage and Natural England preserve this interesting site by retaining it as permanent grassland.

Working at this beautiful spot in the Chilterns AONB, for a LEAF farmer endeavouring to run her farm in a way that supports, protects and encourages wildlife. Last time we laid a section of hedge; hedgelaying enables the farmer to manage a natural boundary in a way which sustains the habitat used as a home, shelter, larder and corridor by all sorts of wildlife. This time we will be finishing off the section of laid hedge with binders, and assisting with other tasks such as removing dead elm and other unwanted species

This month's committee meeting will be taking place in the Jury Room of the Town Hall at 8pm. Everyone's welcome, whether you want to participate or just see how things work. You can also join us in The Chequers pub afterwards for a drink or two.

We return to work at Foxholes, a truly magical ancient woodland managed by BBOWT. Today we will be maintaining access around the woods by improving stretches of the Oxfordshire Way National Trail that are overgrown or susceptible to flooding. Hopefully an early chance to see the carpet of bluebells that were already pushing through the leaf litter when we last visited in January

This disused cemetery dates from 1848 when cholera had filled older Oxford graveyards. Part of a wildlife corridor in central Oxford, at quiet times you can see a fox or muntjac deer. As to notable graves, there is Kenneth Grahame who wrote 'Wind in the Willows', Walter Pater the Victorian art critic and a few more. OCV has worked here once or twice per year for 25 years - this was a pioneer project in urban conservation and well worth your support. The idea is to respect the graves and those who visit them while encouraging wildlife at the same time. We will be clearing overgrowth to enable access around this tranquil spot, with a warming, smoky bonfire..

We will be clearing a fenceline and perhaps making a start on a stretch of fencing at this National Nature Reserve. The wardens use sheep to graze the scrub to preserve the rare chalk grassland SSSI, so they'll be grateful of our brains and brawn to help get the job done on land difficult to access with machinery

Hope you like spicy food because it's curry time folks. Emails have now been sent out. Please let me know before hand if you would like to come along.

Over the winter we have worked clearing and burning up after a pollarding programme; helping with the management of the valuable wildlife habitat next to the River Dorn in this Local Nature Reserve. Wetland birds such as the Water Rail are thriving here, so the warden's aim today is to try and discourage access (by dogs at least) from this most precious part of the reserve. We'll be putting in a gate, 2 short stretches of fence and a stile

Minibus transport from Oxford city centre out for our long weekend working for the National Trust in the Brecon Beacons National Park. ***ONE PLACE AVAILABLE DUE TO A CANCELLATION!! PLS EMAIL 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' ASAP IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THIS PROJECT***

Today we will be working for the National Trust contributing to essential trail maintenance and upland erosion control on the glaciated slopes of Pen Y Fan (at 886m the highest mountain in Brecon Beacons National Park).Damage is done to this majestic peak from water running down, and hikers walking up and down the Beacons Way National Trail; so we will be abating these forces of erosion by building revetment walls, stone pitching drains, and seeding and landscaping the thin soil. ***ONE PLACE AVAILABLE DUE TO A CANCELLATION!! PLS EMAIL 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' ASAP IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THIS PROJECT***

There is no OCV task in Oxfordshire this weekend as we are away in the Brecon Beacons working for the National Trust on essential trail maintenance and upland erosion control ***ONE PLACE AVAILABLE DUE TO A CANCELLATION!! PLS EMAIL 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' ASAP IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THIS PROJECT***

A half-day off from working; the Brecon Beacons National Park is an ideal base for country pursuits, so let us know what you would like to do. We will leave the basecamp in time to be back in Oxford around 6pm, so you can go back to work or study after this weekend having seen new faces, new places, and knowing you've helped to keep the Great in Britain! ***ONE PLACE AVAILABLE DUE TO A CANCELLATION!! PLS EMAIL 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' ASAP IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THIS PROJECT***

Today we travel to the English Heritage site of Deddington Castle; the remains of a Norman motte & bailey stronghold dating back to the 13th Century. We will be repairing and improving stretches of the footpaths at the site; so walkers can enjoy the wildlife (such as badgers) that now inhabits this wooded area, without damaging the historical features through erosion

This year's AGM will be taking place at 8pm in the Jury Room in the Town Hall. We'll be reviewing OCV's activities in the last year and giving members the opportunity to vote on how the organisation is run. Don't worry if you're not a member, you can join on the night and wield your voting powers straight away. You can also join us for a drink or two afterwards at the Head of the River.

Beer tasting in some of the ye olde taverns of Oxford. Starting in the Bear Inn at around 7.30pm. Come have a go at tasting a "proper" drink that will put hairs on your chest! We will most probably be visiting some of the other old pubs of Oxford later on in the evening. If your interested please email socials on the contacts page or let Naomi know your coming. Hope to see you there!

We will be continuing our work erecting post & wire stock fencing at this National Nature Reserve. The wardens use sheep to graze the scrub to preserve the rare chalk grassland SSSI, so they'll be grateful of our brains and brawn to help get the job done on land difficult to access with machinery

Recommended as a County Wildlife Site, parts of the cycleway run through exposed, chalky banks that are ideal habitat for many species of 'hymenoptera' (look it up - I did!). We will be assisting in the Sustrans nature conservation plan by preserving this precious habitat by scraping off and removing the vegetation as it starts to colonise

Our specialist trainer (and ex-OCV volunteer) Brian Williamson travels to instruct on the planning, materials, tools and techniques used in post & wire fencing. This type of barrier is used at many nature reserves to contain livestock. ***LIMITED PLACES LEFT ON THIS FREE TRAINING DAY*** so please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' if you want to come along and take advantage of this great opportunity to learn or improve a useful skill

***FREE TRAINING DAY*** - post & wire fencing at this chalk grassland County Wildlife Site in the Cherwell Valley.Our specialist trainer (and ex-OCV volunteer) Brian Williamson has travelled to stay for the weekend and instruct on the materials, techniques and tools used in fencing, so this is an excellent opportunity to learn or improve valuable fencing skills for *FREE* - and see the wildflowers and insects that we are helping to conserve

As usual the committee meeting will be in the jury room of the Town Hall at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether you want to contribute something or just see how a charity is organised. You can also meet us in the pub afterwards for a drink or two. We should be in the Head of the River at 9pm.

Chinnor Hill is a BBOWT reserve in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with stunning views and red kites circling above keeping an eye on proceedings. Today we will be improving access to nature on the reserve by repairing some steps and putting in some new ones, so a great chance to learn a new skill

The wardens at this National Nature Reserve use sheep to graze the scrub to preserve the rare chalk grassland SSSI. Today we'll be helping with husbandry of their flock - clipping hooves and dagging!

OCV'S annual punting trip is happening this month. So lets make a picnic and do it Oxford style. Starting at 7.30pm at the Cherwell boathouse. If you are interested in this social then you can email me @ socials on the contacts page. Tally ho old chaps!

A few years ago the local community and Cutteslowe primary school planted 900 young trees (oak, ash, rowan, holly, etc) in one corner of the area. When established this will become one of a 'necklace' of woodlands which Forest-of-Oxford intends to plant all around Oxford's ring road. Unfortunately the young trees are now starting to be overgrown by brambles. The task is to cut back, and then uproot the brambles, before they totally invade the planted area. Local community volunteers will also join OCV for the day.

We continue the major post & wire fencing project started on our recent training weekend. Livestock grazing is an essential part of the management plan of this chalk grassland reserve - and our fence is an essential part of managing the livestock! We'll be digging in posts, making struts, and straining wire netting - to create a durable, stock-proof barrier. This is a great opportunity to learn or improve a valuable, practical countryside skill

The meeting will be taking place in the Jury Room of the Town Hall at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to join us, whether you want to add something to the discussion or just see how things are run. You can also meet us in the pub afterwards for a drink. We should be in The Head of the River at about 9pm.

We leave Oxford city centre at about 6pm , and travel by minibus to north Devon, for our long weekend assisting the National Trust with essential trail/reserve maintenance work on Exmoor NP. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

We will be working today assisting the West Exmoor National Trust wardens maintain one of their farms in a steep, wooded combe on the coastal Countisbury estate. You'll be deep in the heart of 'Tarka' and 'Lorna Doone' country - windswept moors, rushing rivers and cool ocean breeze .. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

We will be working today helping the Arlington Court National Trust wardens prepare for a large, fencing project rolling out this summer. We'll be clearing the fenceline and helping prepare split/cleaved chestnut fencing materials. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

A day off from working! Exmoor NP is an ideal place for country pursuits; so let us know what you would like to do. You'll be deep in the heart of 'Tarka' and 'Lorna Doone' country - windswept moors, rushing rivers, cool ocean breeze, the famous twinned seaside towns of Lynmouth & Lynton... Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food.so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

We'll be working for Oxford City Council to pull ragwort from the beautiful meadow at this site, and to prevent scrub from the surrounding wooded areas from encroaching on this habitat. We are likely to see a diversity of wild flora and butterflies.

We continue the major post & wire fencing project started on our recent training weekend. Livestock grazing is an essential part of the management plan of this chalk grassland reserve - and our fence is an essential part of managing the livestock! We'll be digging in posts, making struts, and straining wire netting - to create a durable, stock-proof barrier. This is a great opportunity to learn or improve a valuable, practical countryside skill

*Date has changed!*Come and see Shakespeare's comedy 'As you like it' in Trinity college gardens. Performed by the Oxford Theatre Guild. Starts at 7.30pm. We may even fit in a pub visit after the play. I hope you can make it!

We will be helping the Natural England wardens maintain post & wire fencing that contains their herd of sheep. Grazing is an essential part of the management plan to preserve the important chalk grassland SSSI at this popular National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns AONB

Working for Oxford Preservation Trust to conserve this spit of land next to the Thames which is a SSSI habitat for the fascinating Snakes-Head Fritillary. We will be cutting back the grasses and sedges, and removing the cuttings so the soil is not enriched.We will also be replacing a delapidated fence which should deter dog-walkers!

Wells Farm is a BBOWT working farm in the Chilterns AONB, managed by BBOWT to grow wildlife value as well as profitable crops! A flock of sheep grazes the meadows to help enhance wildflower and insect diversity, so the post & wire fence we will build over 2 sunny tasks in August will help in this plan. Bring suncream and hat cos it's gonna be a hot one!

The wardens at this National Nature Reserve use sheep to graze the scrub to preserve the rare chalk grassland SSSI. Today we'll be helping with husbandry of their flock - clipping hooves and dagging!

Curry at the Aziz restaurant on Cowley road. The food in my opinion is always nice here. Lots of choice too. We will be meeting at the restaurant at 7.45pm. Table will be booked for 8pm.

We leave Oxford city centre at about 6pm , and travel by minibus to Dorset, for our long weekend assisting Country Park rangers restoring traditional drystone walls. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

Today we will be working for Durlston Country Park, in the rolling chalk downs of Purbeck. We will be learning the traditional craft of drystone walling. After a hard-day's work, a night out in lively Swanage could well be in order. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

Today we will be working for Durlston Country Park; where the the rolling chalk downs of Purbeck meet the sea. We will be learning the traditional craft of drystone walling. After a hard-day's work, a night out in lively Swanage could well be in order. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

A day off from working to explore this beautiful coastal area. Swanage has links to the South West Coast Path and other cliff-top walks, a steam railway, a beach, boat trips, a pier etc. so let us know what you would like to do. Cost of this weekend will be around £30 - to include transport, accomodation and food - so if you would like to take part in this project please email 'tasks@ocv.org.uk' asap ***LIMITED PLACES***

Wells Farm is a BBOWT working farm in the Chilterns AONB, managed by BBOWT to grow wildlife value as well as profitable crops! A flock of sheep grazes the meadows to help enhance wildflower and insect diversity, so the post & wire fence we will build over 2 sunny tasks in August will help in this plan. Bring suncream and hat cos it's gonna be a hot one!

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, afterwards we'll be in The Chequers pub off the High Street from about 9pm.

After a successful visit last December OCV return to the delightful grounds of Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre in Headington Quarry. The paths are much used by schoolchildren on educational visits and some areas have become extremely muddy. The main task will be creating new footpaths to divert around some muddy hollows and to fence the muddy areas off to allow a return to wetland habitat. We will also be building some steps on a path and laying bark chippings in muddy puddles on the paths.

Removing succession scrub to increase and preserve this chalk grassland SSSI that is absolutely bursting with 'indicator species' like kidney vetch and pyramidal orchids in spring. Stunning views back over the chalk downs and Oxfordshire Plain from this steep bank, and guaranteed red kite patrols above

I hope you like beer because this months social is going to be beer tasting at the cotswold brewery near Burford. Tours cost £15 and last one and a half hours. Starting at 7pm. If you are interested in this social please email Naomi or socials@ocv on the contacts page asap.

This disused cemetery dates from 1848 when cholera had filled older Oxford graveyards. Part of a wildlife corridor in central Oxford, at quiet times you can see a fox or muntjac deer. As to notable graves, there is Kenneth Grahame who wrote 'Wind in the Willows', Walter Pater the Victorian art critic and a few more. OCV has worked here once or twice per year for 25 years - this was a pioneer project in urban conservation and well worth your support. The idea is to respect the graves and those who visit them while encouraging wildlife at the same time. We will be clearing overgrowth to enable access around this tranquil spot, with a warming, smoky bonfire..

Our regular monthly outing to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns AONB working with Natural England wardens.

We return to this Oxford Preservation Trust site on the banks of the River Isis in Oxford, which is a SSSI habitat for the fascinating Snakes-head Fritillary. We'll finish the vegetation cutting and clearance we started in the summer, and may also pollard willows where possible and remove a dilapidated fence.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, afterwards we'll be in The Chequers pub off the High Street from about 9pm.

We leave Oxford early (about 8.30am TBC) for the short trip to the famous Westonbirt Arboretum in neighbouring Gloucestershire. We will be taking part in a large-scale coppice restoration project, being run by our trainer/ex-OCVer Brian Williamson. So this is a great opportunity for you to learn or improve the techniques, tools, and practical skills involved with this traditional method of woodland management. Primitive camping on site and cooking round the campfire. ****LIMITED PLACES**** Please email tasks@ocv.org.uk for more info

After a cup of tea and sausage sandwich made on the early-morning embers of the campfire, we continue another day coppicing - enjoying the autumn colours at this famous woodland. We will be taking part in a large-scale coppice restoration project, being run by our trainer/ex-OCVer Brian Williamson . This is a great opportunity for you to learn or improve the techniques, tools, and practical skills involved with this traditional method of woodland management. We pack up camp for the short trip back to Oxford to drop you off around 6pm****LIMITED PLACES**** Please email tasks@ocv.org.uk for more info

Who's up for more beer then?! A three day event at the town hall where you can sample some of the weird and wonderful beers, perrys and ciders that this country (and a few others) have to offer. Beer tastings are purchased by a token system. Meeting at 8pm at the town hall entrance. Please email socials@ocv on the contacts page if you are interested.

Our regular monthly outing to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns AONB working with Natural England wardens.

We return to the secluded water meadow Local Nature Reserve which depends on OCV for it's ongoing management! This time we'll be preparing for the ravages of winter repairing a small footbridge, stone-pitching gateways, and burning some of the fallen or pollarded willow that block the rivers and cause flooding after heavy rain

We'll be working alongside the knowledgeable and enthusiastic National Trust wardens and local volunteer group 'Friends of Watlington Hill' - cutting back scrub and burning the brash on crackling bonfires. From this Chiltern ridge high-point you can enjoy fine views over the Oxfordshire plain, learn how to spot a red kite from a buzzard, and if the timing and weather are right – we might be rewarded with a glorious sunset!

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, afterwards we'll be in The Chequers pub off the High Street from about 9pm.

This is a one-off task/social especially for MEMBERS, LEADERS and DRIVERS only to say THANK YOU for all your hard work in OCV this year. There will be NO PICK-UPS for this task - we will be meeting at Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre in Headington at 1pm. The Centre can be easily reached by bus from both the town centre and Cowley Road, so if you can make it to one of the usual pick-up points, you can make it to Stansfeld! For full details of how to get there, see the website: http://www.stansfeld.bham.org.uk/contacts_&_map.htm. Work will start at 1pm and we will be spending the afternoon collecting, cutting up and burning the many branches left around the site after some heavy pruning. As it gets dark, the task will turn into a social and we will light the bonfire and spend the evening eating and drinking. There may also be sparklers. If you want to come on this task/social, please contact Miranda using the Chair email address (see contacts page). You will need to be a current member, or to have led or driven for a task this year. You will also be asked to make a small contribution towards food.

We return to work at this County Wildlife Site in the Cherwell Valley, where you will have a chance to admire the 300 metres of post and wire fencing erected on our training tasks throughout the summer. where we'll be tackling the hawthorn scrub that encroaches on the rare limestone grassland habitat

This Cowley Road churchyard has been transformed over the last 8 years into an urban green space managed for wildlife. Efforts are being made to increase the variety of plants and habitats by managing different areas with different cutting regimes. Lighter work than usual - we will be helping the wardens by removing invasive species (brambles, docks etc), hedge pruning and plugging, and weeding and replenishing the woodchip paths.

Our regular monthly outing to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns AONB working with Natural England wardens. We will be opening up a selected area of woodland by removing ash, to maintain diversity and improve conditions for dormice.

***MEMBERS ONLY TRAINING DAY - FULL*** We return to this ancient BBOWT-managed woodland in the Cotswolds AONB, famed for it's spring bluebells, birds, bats, fungi, trees ....and OCVs! Our trainer Brian Williamson travels from Westonbirt to instruct on centuries-old coppicing techniques.

***FREE TRAINING TASK*** We return to this ancient BBOWT-managed woodland in the Cotswolds AONB, famed for it's spring bluebells, birds, bats, fungi, trees ....and OCVs! Our trainer Brian Williamson travels from Westonbirt to instruct on the centuries-old practice of coppicing - so this is an excellent opportunity to learn or improve the skillls, tools and techniques of traditional, sustainable woodland management .

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, afterwards we'll be in The Chequers pub off the High Street from about 9pm.

A chance to return to the beautiful grounds of Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre in Headington Quarry. Last December OCV had a successful day clearing scrub that was encroaching on the species rich limestone grassland. This task will continue this valuable work by the laying of hedges adjacent to the meadow to create valuable hedgerow habitat whilst reducing shading of the meadow plants and encouraging diversity. If time allows then some further areas of scrub could be cleared to enlarge the meadows, and create new log piles, with a bonfire to burn the brash.

Our regular monthly outing to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns AONB working with Natural England wardens.

Well it's getting close. That time of over-eating and dire T.V. Yes, its nearly Christmas. The OCV gathering will be taking place at Wolfson college which is in North Oxford. More details nearer to the time.

For the final task of 2008, we travel out to this area of ancient woodland - once part of the Royal Forest of Bernwood, managed by BBOWT to preserve a variety of woodland habitats. By felling selected trees we preserve the wide rides and corridors favoured by many butterflies and birds. As we are warmed by a crackling fire, we can think back over tasks past, and look forward to tasks future!

Take it easy and sleep off the excesses of the Christmas holiday. Or maybe head out into the Oxfordshire countryside, take a look at some of our grassland, fences, footpaths and hedges and think about what you can do to help us help wildlife and the local environment in 2009?

Grim's Ditch is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, to be found near the Ridgeway in the rolling, chalk downs of Blewbury. Not all of the earthwork survives above ground, but the ditch is thought to have been a boundary between the various tribes that inhabited the Oxfordshire Plain and Chilterns back in the Iron Age. Today we will be helping English Heritage and Natural England preserve this interesting site by retaining it as permanent grassland.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, afterwards we'll be in The Chequers pub off the High Street from about 9pm.

We've been working at Jubliee Meadows for many years, maintaining the water meadows by repairing bridges and unblocking streams, helping to pollard the willows, and looking after the grassland by constructing fences, gates and stiles to allow cattle to graze. Today the villagers are generously thanking us with a pub dinner open to everyone who's worked on the site in the past. We'll work in the morning, doing reserve maintenance and then go for dinner. If you'd like to come please e-mail Miranda via the contacts page. ** By arrangement only this week , please e-mail before coming to the pickup point **

Our monthly outing to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be working with Natural England's wardens to help maintain the grassland by clearing some of the invasive scrub. If it's a clear Winter's day the views from this site can be fantastic, the red kites are always present overhead and there will probably be a fine bonfire.

We'll start the evening by getting something to eat at the Bookbinders. Good food at reasonable prices so you won't waste any money. We shall then commence the pub "tour" of Jericho. Visiting ale houses galore. You don't have to go on the tour after the food if you don't want to. Also feel free to join the tour for a drink at any point.

The Trap Grounds is an ancient 6-acre site by the canal in North Oxford, consisting of pond, reed beds and scrubby woodland. Recently restored, the area is home to an astonishing array of wildlife. The city council have recently done some woodland maintenance in the area and an area has been cleared of brambles last year by local volunteers. We'll be working with the Friends of the Trap Grounds to clear some more bramble, build habitat piles from the felled trees and drag large items of fly-tipped rubbish to the road for removal.

We're returning to these fields overlooking Buckingham. This BBOWT site has a long hedge which the OCV managed through hedgelaying for many years. The site is mainly known for the wild flowers which grow on the main field, and today we'll be maintaining the fields for wildflowers with some scrub clearance.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, afterwards we'll be in The Chequers pub off the High Street from about 9pm.

This cemetery in the centre of Oxford was a pioneering site for urban nature conservation when it was first established. Parts of the cemetery are left to scrub over and then periodically cleared, leaving plenty of habitat for wildlife but allowing access to the public. Today we'll be peeling ivy from the gravestones and clearing bramble and small trees. If you come early in the day you might see deer here. Later in the day you'll see the smoke from our bonfire drifting across the churchyard.

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns has several flocks of sheep to graze the hillside to maintain the chalk grassland habitat. Today we'll be working with the wardens from Natural England to trim the sheep's feet, so they are maintained in good health for their valuable work. It's great fun, but expect to end up a bit smelly!

We normally work at Seacourt Nature Park in the summer, tackling the ragwort and some small scrub. Today though, we'll be maintaining a recently-laid hedge by laying some of the regrowth to thicken it up and fill in the gaps. The resulting hedge will hopefully make a much better habitat than if it had just been trimmed. We'll also be filling-in some of the gaps with some new planting.

Its time to make a fool of yourself on the ice. Hoorah! Maybe there's an OCVer out there who can teach me how to stop on the ice. This months social is being held at the Oxford ice rink which is in Oxpens (near the Westgate center). A pub trip will follow at the end of the skating session. Email has been sent out. Join our mailing list to find out more.

Medieval earthworks combine with limestone grassland, woodland and a pool to make this former quarry and railway cutting a very interesting site. We'll be helping wardens from BBOWT maintain this SSSI site through scrub clearance.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in St Aldates Tavern opposite the Town Hall from about 9pm.

On one of the grassy slopes of this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns we'll be admiring the view and maintaining the grassland through scrub clearance. We'll be working alongside wardens from Natural England and a flock of their sheep as dozens of red kites circle overhead.

After an ecologist's report and advice from OCV's pond expert, a programme of work has been planned to improve the management of this woodland and wetland site in West Oxford. Working for the local parish council we'll be helping to restore a wetland by removing some of the willows, which block out the light and air. We'll also clear some garden plants in the same area and remove dead branches blocking a stream. The recovered wood will be used to build habitat piles in the copse with some of the brash being burnt on a bonfire.

This small, former mooring site for narrow boats has been neglected in recent years, muddy and piled up with rubble and fly-tipped rubbish. We'll be clearing some of the garden plants and trees and dragging the bulky rubbish to the road and looking to improve the drainage into the river. The eventual aim is to create a wildlife garden, allowing public access to the river whilst leaving interesting habitat on this urban-fringe land.

Its Indian time. A cheap and cheerful Indian restaurant in Jericho. Cheap because you can bring your own alcohol. Hope you can make it. Email will be sent out soon.

Working with the National Trust warden and the local volunteers we'll be helping to clear invasive scrub on this beautiful grassland site in the Chilterns AONB. On clear days the views are impressive and the site is a varied and interesting place for a walk if you fancy a break from the work. After March nesting birds mean scrub bashing is very restricted until Autumn, so come and enjoy the one of the last chances for controlled destruction this winter. A roaring bonfire is guaranteed.

This is a general 1-day First Aid course run by the British Red Cross to gain a certificate which is valid for 3 years. It covers major injuries and medical conditions, responding to the needs of the unconscious casualty and performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. We particularly encourage all leaders and drivers to have up-to-date First Aid training, and as many as possible other volunteers. OCV will pay the course fee, but places are limited, so leaders and drivers will have first priority, followed by paid-up members and then everyone else. For more information, or to reserve your place, please e-mail tasks@ocv.org.uk.

You might think conservation volunteers would be out of place in neatly maintained gardens, and you might be right. But rest-assured that we're not mowing the grass or polishing the statues today! The National Trust are building a new visitor centre on a messy and disused farm site and surrounding it with new hedges, fences, ponds and scrub as part of a huge programme of habitat creation. Working with one of the NT wardens, today we'll be spreading mulch round a recently-planted hedge, building habitat piles from the scattered dead wood, and admiring the hedgelaying that's been completed recently. A chance to see a Corinthian Arch and be part of the early stages of an interesting new project.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in St Aldates Tavern opposite the Town Hall from about 9pm.

We're traveling up from Oxford to the excellent National Trust base camp in the Brecon Beacons National Park for our residential. It's comfortable and well-equipped for a stay in the hills. We'll be leaving in the early evening and having a meal at the base camp when we arrive. If you're interested in coming please e-mail tasks@ocv.org.uk **NOW FULLY BOOKED**

Today we will be working for the National Trust contributing to essential trail maintenance and upland erosion control on the glaciated slopes of mountains such as Pen Y Fan. Damage is done to this majestic peak from water running down, and hikers walking up and down the Beacons Way National Trail; so we will be abating these forces of erosion by building revetment walls, stone pitching drains, and seeding and landscaping the thin soil. If you're interested in coming please e-mail tasks@ocv.org.uk. **NOW FULLY BOOKED**

Another day working for the National Trust contributing to essential trail maintenance and upland erosion control on the glaciated slopes of mountains such as Pen Y Fan or other areas of the National Trust's property in the Brecon Beacons Natural Park. If you're interested in coming please e-mail tasks@ocv.org.uk. **NOW FULLY BOOKED**

No work today, we'll either go for a hike in the mountains or the valleys with their waterfalls, or visit the caves nearby, or anything else you fancy. We'll head back to Oxford in the early evening. If you're interested in coming please e-mail tasks@ocv.org.uk. **NOW FULLY BOOKED**

Our regular visit to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns and the first fencing project of 2009. Under the expert supervision of one of Natural England's wardens we'll be helping to provide the fences needed to control the sheep and goats that are used to keep the valuable chalk grassland from scrubbing over. A chance to admire views of Oxfordshire from the grassy hillsides.

This site is owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust and the woodland has been managed for wildlife for many years with help from BBOWT. Today we'll be working for OPT, unblocking drainage to stop the paths becoming waterlogged, building a section of boardwalk and repairing the bank of a pond. An interesting construction project in a nice area of woodland.

A BBQ and games galore! A celebration of Van Officer Jim's birthday and the start of summer. Also a clean up of the minibus exterior. For those who don't mind getting possibly a bit wet. I need a driver to take us to the stables in Radley where the BBQ is being held and possibly back if they are willing to stay sober. Email has been sent to all of you on the mailing list. My contact email address is on the contacts page if you are interested in this OCV social.

Last year we laid revetment boards along a stretch of the Deddington Castle footpath. The aim was to create a path that didn't become horribly muddy when the ground was wet. After the success of this first section, we've been asked back to work on the next troublesome section. Digging, sawing and post-bashing will be required to complete this project.

This year's AGM will be taking place at 8pm in the Panel Room in the Oxford Town Hall. We'll be reviewing OCV's activities in the last year and giving members the opportunity to vote on how the organisation is run. We will also elect the new committee for 2009/10. Please send all nominations for committee positions to secretary@ocv.org.uk by Tuesday 28 April 2009. Everyone is welcome to attend. Don't worry if you're not a member, you can join on the night and wield your voting powers straight away. Alternatively, we will go to St Aldate's Tavern for a pint or two after the AGM, so please feel free to come along and join us.

A return to this local nature reserve and county wildlife site at the edge of the railway line and canal. Over four days last summer and after guidance and training we created a very impressive length of post and wire fence complete with lift-out gate, a box strut and with one of the straining posts sunk into near-solid rock! Now we're going back to start the next section while the livestock are out of the way over the summer.

Our monthly visit to this Natural England site in the Chilterns. We'll be helping the wardens care for their flock of sheep by trimming their feet to prevent them going lame. Think of it like having your toenails trimmed. The sheep do a vital job maintaining the grassland by munching their way through any scrub that tries to establish itself. Expect to get a bit of muddy and smelly as you wrestle the sheep into submission.

A return to the beautiful water meadows and the banks of the Dorn and the Glyme. A number of willows were pollarded over the winter and we'll be burning the bulk of the brash while leaving habitat piles where appropriate. We'll also be helping out with whatever other general tasks are needed to keep this interesting and well-visited nature reserve in good condition.

This months social is a simple one. An evening of enjoying each others company at the Head Of The River (hopefully the weather will have cleared up a bit by then). No need to tell me your coming along, just turn up from about 8pm and stay for as long as you see fit. Everyone is welcome.

We return to the Crecy Hill County Wildlife Site in Tackley to complete the fence we started earlier this month. The reserve is a narrow strip along a railway line, but very rich in wildflowers. We're using the post and wire fence skills that OCV members learnt last summer, but there'll be plenty of opportunities for new fencers to help out and learn something themselves.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we will be drinking a pint or two in the Three Goats Head on St Michael's Street from about 9pm.

We often go to the Lye Valley site to rake the fens. But today we'll be doing another job for Oxford City Council who manage the site. We'll be constructing a length of raised walkway assist with public access to the site. It should be an interesting project, with plenty of sawing and bashing and potentially digging required, but hopefully something good to show for it at the end of the day.

Our first visit to this valuable wood. Thousands of new trees have been planted to protect and enlarge the existing ancient woodland. But the trees have become too big for the tubes that originally protected them, and they are now being choked and severely damaged by them. Our job is to remove as many of them as possible and leave them where they can be collected by a contractor. We'll also be widening the path through the wood and preventing it being covered with overhanging vegetation. The piles of cut scrub will provide habitat for some of the rare butterflies on the site. (Note to leaders: As a matter of policy the client asks that the task leader be a qualified first-aider.)

Working with Natural England's warden, we'll be trimming sheep feet again. A chance to help look after the sheep that graze this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. Expect to get a bit muddy and smelly, and don't be surprised if the sheep are a bit bigger at this time of year after munching their way through all that lovely spring scrub!

OCV's annual punting trip has come around again. It only seems like five minutes since the last one! A picnic and messing about in boats is the order of the evening. Starting from the Cherwell Boathouse at 7.30pm.

Last year OCV's expert pond adviser Rod d’Ayala traveled to a number of sites to evaluate suitable ponds projects for us. Today he'll be telling us about the importance of ponds, the different types of pond and what species they support and advising us on a project to improve a pond on the Lye Valley site. We'll have a fish around in the pond and make a start on the work today, but we also hope to learn things that will be useful for future projects. Bring your wellies! **You'll need to book for this day, and become a member if you're not one already. More details nearer the time.**

After our training and advice from a pond ecology expert yesterday we'll be working to improve the habitat at this Oxford City Council site, but today we'll be knuckling down to the hard, but very important, work. Expect some digging and bring wellies if you have them!

We've recently done fencing, hedge-laying and coppicing on this small but varied woodland site in Headington, Oxford. Today we're returning to build some small pontoons to give access to a pond, as well as clearing scrub from the edge of a small meadow. Since this is an education centre for schoolchildren from Birmingham, there is no public access, so if you're curious to have a look round you'll have to come on an OCV task here!

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

This week we're at one of our most regular sites in the Chilterns. It's a National Nature Reserve with spectacular views over Oxfordshire from the chalk grassland slopes and we'll be working with one of the Natural England wardens. We're not sure what the work is yet, but it might be fencing or looking after the flock of sheep.

This is a lovely nature reserve in North Oxford with woodland, grassland and ponds. We helped out in Winter with some rubbish clearing and scrub bashing. Now we're going back to help clear some invasive Golden Rod, bramble and hawthorn, clear some paths, and to hang some bat boxes in the trees.

This is a new site for us. It's an area of National Trust woodland around a traditional duck decoy. There used to be hundreds of duck decoys in England but this is one of the few remaining. Come along and find out all about it, free admission for us of course! We've got a very varied list of tasks, including path repair, scrub bashing, repainting a hide and repairing some fences and bridges.

An evening of gaming and fun on Port meadow. Maybe followed by a trip to the Perch. Meeting at 7pm. At the WALTON WELL ROAD entrance.

This is the second day of pond training from pond expert Rod d'Ayala. The first was in Oxford in June, this is a different sort of site, but equally interesting. We'll be finding out about pondlife, and learning pond conservation and management techniques. Expect to do a bit of fishing around, to learn a lot and, above all, remember bring your wellies! **Booking will be required for this day.**

Armed with what we learnt from yesterday's training day, we'll be carrying out recommendations for maintaining and conserving the area around this interesting pond. Expect some hard work, possibly including a bit of digging. Wellies may well be useful!

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

Working with Oxford City Council's wardens we will be raking the fen, soon after it's been mowed. This is a traditional management practice and helps to maintain the botanical richness of the fen and maintain the habitat for birds. It should be nice summer work, especially if the weather is good.

This week we're at one of our most regular sites in the Chilterns. It's a National Nature Reserve with spectacular views over Oxfordshire from the chalk grassland slopes and we'll be working with one of the Natural England wardens. We're not sure what the work is yet, but it might be fencing or looking after the flock of sheep.

The first of a meadow maintenance double-bill this weekend. Today we'll be pulling ragwort from this site in West Oxford. This means the City Council can fulfill its obligations to its neighbours without damaging mowing. We'll also remove some self-seeded saplings to stop the valuable grassland being invaded by scrub. It's also a chance to look at how the recently-laid hedge on this site is doing in Summer.

Another area of meadow today. With our slashers and sickles sharpened we'll be heading down to the Thames near Iffley to attack the sedgy grass on this Oxford Preservation Trust site. The "island" is between the river and some narrow boat moorings and owes its status as a SSSI to the presence of rare wildflowers. We cut the grass twice last year to try to bring it back into the cycle of annual grass cutting that a site like this needs.

This months social is sushi at Yo Sushi in Oxford. I thought I'd go for something a little different this time. So its all Japanese. We will be meeting at the restaurant at 7.30pm. You don't have to eat raw fish if you don't want to! email socials@ocv.org.uk for more info

We return to Swanage in Dorset and the lovely Durlston Country Park high up on the cliffs. We'll be drystone walling as in previous years and possibly doing some meadow maintenance as well this time. We go out on the Friday evening and come back on Bank Holiday Monday evening, giving us two days working and one for a walk or games on the beach. **Booking required, more details sent to OCV members nearer the time.**

We return to Swanage in Dorset and the lovely Durlston Country Park high up on the cliffs. We'll be drystone walling as in previous years and possibly doing some meadow maintenance as well this time. We go out on the Friday evening and come back on Bank Holiday Monday evening, giving us two days working and one for a walk or games on the beach. **Booking required, more details sent to OCV members nearer the time.**

We return to Swanage in Dorset and the lovely Durlston Country Park high up on the cliffs. We'll be drystone walling as in previous years and possibly doing some meadow maintenance as well this time. We go out on the Friday evening and come back on Bank Holiday Monday evening, giving us two days working and one for a walk or games on the beach. **Booking required, more details sent to OCV members nearer the time.**

We return to Swanage in Dorset and the lovely Durlston Country Park high up on the cliffs. We'll be drystone walling as in previous years and possibly doing some meadow maintenance as well this time. We go out on the Friday evening and come back on Bank Holiday Monday evening, giving us two days working and one for a walk or games on the beach. **Booking required, more details sent to OCV members nearer the time.**

Last time we went to Stowe we had an insider's tour of the landscape gardens conducted by those responsible for maintaining them. This time working for the National Trust near the site of their new visitor centre at Stowe we'll be helping with some fencing. The work will be part of a programme of habitat creation around this part of the site. A chance to take part in the early stages of a very worthwhile project.

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

This week we're tidying up this overgrown lane in the village of West Hagbourne, near Didcot. The aim is to improve the wildlife value of the area by clearing some of the overgrown scrub, whilst leaving the valuable ditches and plenty of dead wood for invertebrates. We'll also be planting some new hedge plants to fill in the gaps. So it should be a varied day's work with something for everyone.

This week we're at one of our most regular sites in the Chilterns. It's a National Nature Reserve with spectacular views over Oxfordshire from the chalk grassland slopes and we'll be working with one of the Natural England wardens. We're not sure what the work is yet, but it might be fencing or looking after the flock of sheep.

Earlier this year we did a fair amount of scrub clearing on this woodland and fen site overlooking west Oxford. Now we're returning to remove some more of the encroaching willows to further protect the fenland. We've also got a stream to unblock and some gate and fence alterations, so there should be plenty of valuable work for everyone to do. There will be probably be a good bonfire too.

Working on this privately-owned nature reserve in South Oxfordshire we'll be helping to restore chalk grassland through scrub-clearance, laying a length of hedge, felling some trees and learning to build a scrub fence. Chalkhills reserve is on a hillside with splendid views and is home to wildlife including badger sets, valuable grassland wild flowers and the rare Chalkhill Blue butterfly. Since it's a little further away than normal we'll be doing two days with camping overnight. Come along with your sleeping bag and when Saturday's work is done and it starts to get dark we'll pitch up tents and gather round the campfire. ** This resi is now full, no more bookings please! **

OCV's committee meets once a month to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in the Royal Blenheim (a pub on one side of the Westgate Centre) from about 9pm.

Our regular monthly visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. It's a fantastic site with chalk grassland, woodland and great views over Oxfordshire. There are always huge numbers of red kites circling overhead keeping an eye on us. We'll be working with one of the experienced wardens from Natural England. At this time of year we could be helping to maintain the chalk grassland through scrub clearance, fencing, coppicing or looking after one of the flocks of sheep. As usual, the exact type of work planned will be announced on the mailing list near the time. ** Update: We're sheep foot-trimming this week. **

Beer! Come and be a connoisseur for the evening. We will be meeting at the entrance to the town hall at 7.30pm. There is a charge of £10 quid for glass hire and beer tokens (see http://www.oxfordcamra.org.uk/festival2009.php for info). If you don't like beer then come to the pub afterwards. Pub suggestions are most welcome. Email; socials@ocv.org.uk for more info about this event.

We've been at the Lye Valley in East Oxford a lot this year, with path-work and fen-raking as usual and also the special pond training day in June. Today we're coming back to finish off the fen-raking and also do some willow stubbing – a cross between pollarding and coppicing. We did some of this work in August but now we rake off the late growth to leave the fen in a pristine state for next year. It could be wet, so maybe wellies would be good if you have them!

A day's hedge laying in Deddington. It's a mature hedge and with quite a few gaps, but hopefully we should be to bring it back into line and create a dense barrier that will provide a much better habitat, corridor and food source for wildlife. There's woodland nearby in need of coppicing, so that will hopefully provide some of the stakes and binders used in the hedge laying.

Our first visit to the site of this iconic monument, just West of Oxford. The main job will be clearing scrub from around the monument site, we may do some coppicing there as well. The Scots Pine that dominate the site have been recently thinned out, so it's a good time to help any native species struggle against the bramble and improve the diversity and public access. On the path leading to the Folly we will try to restore a hedge by laying some of the trees and filling in the gaps with new hedge plants.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

We're back to Natural England's Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, our most regular site. We will be helping to maintain the important woodland through coppicing.

We were last at the Trap Grounds at the end of July, helping to create a new path through the woodland, fell some sycamores, hang bat boxes and uproot some golden rod in the corner of the meadow. Local people fought an epic legal battle to save this woodland, wetland and meadow site from development and secure it as a Town Green. The site is now being actively managed for wildlife after a long period of neglect and use as a rubbish dump. It's already looking great, but there's a huge amount still to do. This time we'll be attacking more bramble and scrub to open up areas of woodland and enlarge the meadow, possibly making new paths, building habitat piles and with a warming bonfire to gather round at lunchtime.

Stansfeld is an outdoor education centre in Oxford owned and run – perhaps surprisingly – by Birmingham City Council. We've done all kinds of maintenance work on this site in the past, fencing, path work, building dipping platforms and helping to maintain it as a fun and interesting site for Birmingham's schoolchildren. We help to conserve the habitat, so that when they look for wildlife they might actually find it! Today we're laying a section of hedge, we might also do some scrub bashing to prevent scrub encroaching on the meadow area and coppice some hazels for stakes and binders for the hedge laying.

Something different this time. You might love it, you'll never know until you give it a go! Russian cuisine is on the menu for this months social. Everyone is welcome to come along just let me know first. We will be meeting at 7.30pm at the restaurant.

Parsonage Moor is a lowland wilderness containing alkaline fen, marsh and swamp habitats. This week we're working there with BBOWT to cut reed and scrub. Reed cutting has been found to make the site wetter and wetland habitat is of particular importance for nature conservation. Come along and join in the organised destruction in a good cause. Probably worth having wellies with you for this one!

We're in central Oxford this week, at Holywell Cemetery. Last time we were here it was covered in snow. This site is managed both for public access to the cemetery and for wildlife. Rather than cut the grass neatly, different areas are allowed to scrub over and then cleared in rotation so there is always plenty of ground cover for wildlife, but access is maintained. We'll be clearing an area, carefully removing ivy from the gravestones and burning the scrub. So there's likely to be a good bonfire. This is an ideal task for anyone coming along for the first time, because it's easy to get to and you can just come for part of the day if you prefer.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

This disused railway cutting is a SSSI and the site of OCV's first task in October 1977, clearing a line for a rabbit fence. We returned in 2007 to celebrate our 30th anniversary with some more scrub bashing on the steep slopes. It's an SSSI because the construction of the railway revealed the interesting geology and fossils. It also provides fantastic habitat for wildlife. This week we are working with a BBOWT warden to clear scrub a bit more scrub on the site. Expect a good bonfire to keep you warm during tea-breaks, that's if scrambling up and down the banks of the cutting doesn't keep you warm!

A visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be helping Natural England with their scrub bashing, tackling anything too big for sheep to munch through. If there's a chill in the air, then the bonfire will keep you warm, and possibly excite the interest of the Red Kites. It's getting close to Christmas so expect parsnips or spuds roasted in the embers.

Mark this date in your diary for the annual OCV Christmas bash! Details to be announced closer to the day.

More large scale scrub-bashing on this National Trust site in the Chilterns. There are excellent views across Oxfordshire from hillside, and huge numbers of Red Kites overhead. We'll be working alongside the National Trust warden and the Friends of Watlington Hill. We're promised an excellent pre-Christmas bonfire to roast your parsnips or potatoes.

It's the day after the day after Christmas Day today, so no OCV task this week. Stay at home and doze off in front of the TV. Or, even better, grab a map and head out into the countryside and go and see somewhere that OCV have cleared, coppiced, pollarded, raked, hedgelayed, walled or fenced. Admire the past years' works and look forward to tasks in the future. Think about whether you could be a leader, driver or committee member and help things run smoothly in 2010. Normal tasks will resume the day after the day after New Year's Day.

We start the new year with further hedge restoration work on this ancient byway near the village of West Hagbourne in South Oxfordshire. The aim is to turn the large swathes of scrub at each side of the path back into recognisable hedges. This preserves the diverse range of species that have colonised the area over perhaps 200 years and is an infinitely better solution to the overgrown hedge than drastic actions with machinery. We'll be hacking through the bramble, and removing scrub that is not in the line of the hedge, perhaps laying some lengths and possibly replanting the gaps. We'll have a bonfire as well, which will be especially welcome if the weather is very cold.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

We'll be working with BBOWT's wardens at this beautiful nature reserve in Buckinghamshire. The site was once a clay pit for the brick industry, but is now a fantastic open water and wetland site with an impressive range of bird visitors. We're likely to be helping with scrub clearance. Without seemingly destructive management work, wetland areas would soon become scrubby woodland and the rarer types of habitat and their associated wildlife would quickly be lost. Come along for some valuable work on a beautiful site. **We regret that this task has been CANCELLED due to the dangerous conditions of the roads approaching the site and the slippery conditions of railway cutting we were due to work on.**

Today we'll be heading to an old favourite site for some serious scrub burning. The willows have been pollarded, the logs removed for fuel for locals, and we're left with piles of the brashy material to burn. Otherwise the willow cuttings start to grow and the valuable wetland grass habitat will be jeopardised. If there's time we'll also do some preparatory work for a new set of steps we're installing in the spring. If you've never been to this fantastic reserve then it's well worth coming along.

Come along and learn the ancient skill of coppicing at this very interesting National Trust site near the Buckinghamshire border. Traditional coppicing is a way of harvesting wood every few years, and then allowing the trees to grow back. Traditionally, every part of the tree was used, for either building materials, fencing or hedging stakes, or fuel. Our work will leave areas of the woodland open for particular types of wildlife, with the cut wood forming habitat piles for invertebrates, hedging stakes and binders for our hedge-laying work or fuel for the warden's house. The excess brushy material will probably make a bonfire to keep us warm during tea-breaks!

A time to think about tasks of the coming year, drink beer and grab a bite to eat. Please email Naomi for information on this event. We are meeting at 7.30pm in the pub.

Our regular monthly visit to our favourite National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns in South Oxfordshire. At this time of year we'll most likely be doing either scrub clearance to protect the grassland, coppicing in the woodland area or just possibly looking after one of the flocks of sheep. As usual, further details will be in the weekly email, so if you're not on the mailing list then sign up now! Aston Rowant is a fantastic site with several very distinct areas, so if you haven't been before then this task is a must!

Together with locals from the Parish Council we've been keeping the scrub under control on this chalk grassland, railway embankment nature reserve for a number of years. We know it's chalk grassland from the range of wild flowers you see in the spring - many of them chalk grassland indicator species - and also because we dug holes for fence posts here, in some cases into almost solid rock! We can admire that whole length of fence constructed in Summer 2008 and 2009 today as we cut the scrub back on this lovely site.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

Our trip to the Dan-y-Gyrn National Trust base camp in the Brecon Beacons is fast becoming an annual tradition. But this time we're going a bit earlier in the year than previously. This gives us the chance to see this beautiful part of Wales in the Winter. If the weather is too chilly or wet for path work on the hills then we'll be in one of the valleys, perhaps doing some woodland work. We'll leave on Thursday evening, work on Friday and Saturday, then have Sunday to look around the area, and come back Sunday night. Remember, if you want to come, you'll have to take Friday off work, because it's not a bank holiday weekend. It should be well worth it though. The National Trust accommodation is very comfortable, with dormitories, showers, fully-equipped kitchen and a log burning stove. Good food, drink and company guaranteed. This trip was fully booked very quickly last year, so click below if you want to book, or email Chris for more details. (You'll have to become a member if you're not one already.) **THIS IS NOW FULL!**

Our monthly visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be working with one of the wardens from Natural England. We could be coppicing, scrub-bashing or looking after one of the flocks of sheep. The weekly email should give more details. But whatever we get up to, there's going to be a good chance to see some fine views of Oxfordshire.

An interesting new site for us this week. It's an important area of meadow/wetland near Kidlington, just North of Oxford and we'll be working for the landowners, helping to put into practice conservation advice they've recently received from Natural England. The aim today will be to coppice a large clump of willows that are beginning to encroach on the wetland. So we'll be protecting this habitat from gradually turning into scrubby woodland. We might leave some of the material as habitat piles at the edges, but a good bonfire is definitely to be expected.

I know how much some of you enjoyed ice skating last time so I thought we could do it again! Session starts at 8pm. A pub visit after the skating might be necessary so that we can quench our thirst.

An old favourite for us this week, we worked here a lot in previous years and you'll be able to see some expertly laid hedges around the site. Today though we'll be up one of the hills itself, helping to clear some scrub and restore the area to it's traditional state. If you've never noticed the clumps before then you probably haven't been around this area long! They are very distinctive landmarks, of archaeological importance as well as value for wildlife, and are expertly managed by the Northmoor Trust. Come along today to find out more about the area and join in the scrub clearing.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

We're back to Aston Rowant this week, one of our most regular work sites and a National Nature Reserve. We'll be helping the wardens from Natural England with either controlling scrub encroaching on chalk grassland, coppicing one of the several areas of woodland, or possibly helping with one of the flocks of sheep. More details will be included in the weekly email, so join the mailing list if you're not on it already.

Chinnor Hill is a BBOWT nature reserve in the Chilterns. In the past, we've cleared scrub and build several sets of steps on this site. Today's work is most likely to be scrub clearance, either to maintain the chalk grassland or the numerous footpaths in the area. We'll be working alongside a warden from BBOWT, so we'll have expert direction and a chance to admire the views over Oxfordshire.

It's spanish this time. This months social is at the Al Andalus restaurant on Little Clarendon Street, Oxford. More information will be sent to the mailing list later. Be there at 8pm.

Over the last year we've done a number of days' work at this former rubbish dump in North Oxford. It's now protected as a Town Green, and our work with rubbish removal, habitat creation, path clearing, meadow work and bramble bashing has helped to improve it noticeably. On quite a small site, there are ponds, woodland and meadow areas, and it's a popular outdoor space with the local community. Today we'll be continuing this work. Since this site is only a short walk from the centre of Oxford, feel free to come along for any part of the day if you want to see if conservation volunteering is for you!

This week we'll be laying another section of hedge, just along from the section we completed in October. Without active management a hedge becomes simply a line of large trees. Instead, a dense hedge forms a corridor, home and food source for a range of wildlife. And hedgelaying is the traditional way of achieving this. This will be the last hedgelaying we do until the Autumn due to the start of the bird nesting season. So come to the last chance to participate in this skilled and valuable work.

Jubilee Meadows is a nature reserve created and managed by the Wootton Conservation Trust. There are chalk grassland slopes managed by grazing cattle and a wetland area surrounded by willows and bordered by the beautiful Dorn and the Glyme rivers. We were last here in January to help with the willow pollarding and in the past we've done a lot of fencing work on this site. Today we are building a set of steps down a steep slope, using some recycled railway sleepers. Some digging, heaving and bashing will be required, but we should have a very useful set of steps to show for it at the end of the day.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

The type of work we're doing this week is new to us, although the site – Boarstall Duck Decoy – is becoming more familiar to many of us, after coppicing and pollarding projects for the National Trust in the Winter. This week marks the start of several tasks to help repair the edging of the historic Duck Decoy “pipe”. We'll be replacing the rotten wooden boards that make the edge of the lake with more durable replacements, meaning that it could be very wet and muddy work indeed, but we should have lots to show for our efforts at the end of the day. There's several days work here, so we'll be returning several times.

Our regular monthly visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We'll be helping the wardens from Natural England with whatever they need to do to maintain the chalk grassland, paths and woodland. At this time of year it's most likely to be fencing work, although looking after the flock of sheep is also a possibility. Further details will be given on the mailing list as usual.

It's nearly 3 years since we last worked at Long Hanborough, on a very hot day. Despite the heat we helped to clear the path, which was becoming overgrown with turf, and we made a massive difference to it. We eventually ended up sipping cold drinks in the cricket pavilion. Now, of course, it needs doing again! A conservation volunteer's work is never done! But if we make good progress with the work we can always have a drink at the nearby pub at the end of the day.

Ardley Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with plenty of exciting geological features and rare wildlife. It's managed by BBOWT for the benefit of the wildlife and we've worked here several times before, most recently helping with scrub control. Today our work is going to be helping to maintain public access with some step-building projects. More information will be in the weekly email as usual. If you haven't been to this site before it's well worth a visit.

This year's AGM will be taking place at 8pm in the Jury Room in the Oxford Town Hall. We'll be reviewing OCV's activities in the last year and giving members the opportunity to vote on how the organisation is run. We will also elect the new committee for 2010/11. Please send all nominations for committee positions to secretary@ocv.org.uk by Tuesday 27 April 2010. Everyone is welcome to attend. Don't worry if you're not a member, you can join on the night and wield your voting powers straight away. Alternatively, we will go to Far from the Madding Crowd for a pint or two after the AGM, so please feel free to come along and join us.

We're returning to Boarstall Duck Decoy this week for another day's “pipe-edging”. There's lots to do, so it's an ongoing project for us. We're helping the National Trust look after this historically important site by working to replace the edge of the “pipe” traditionally used to catch ducks. If you come along to this task then hopefully it will all begin to make sense. Needless to say, volunteers get into this interesting site for free! It's potentially very muddy work, and may involve standing in a lake, so wellies are probably advisable.

We're off to the Peak District National Park for this long weekend. We'll be working with the National Park Authority to maintain public access and do whatever conservation work they want us for. They are well used to working with volunteers and have excellent facilities, including the converted barn where we will be staying. We'll set off on the Friday night, work Saturday and Sunday and have Monday to enjoy seeing more of the area, perhaps hiking up a hill, and returning on Monday evening. It's not a bank holiday so you might need to take Monday off work. There may also be an option to leave by train on Sunday night after we finish work. More information will be sent to the members mailing list, so please become a member if you want to find out about how to come.

It's time to bowl! Come and show me how it's done at the ozone leisure complex in Oxford. We are meeting at the bowling alley at 7.30pm. Cost £5 per person per game.

Another of our monthly visits to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England and situated in the heart of the Chilterns. It's home to juniper on growing on chalk grassland, several flocks of sheep and goats to control the scrub, valuable native woodland, an abundance of red kites, and orchids other rare wild flowers. Conveniently, it's also very close to the M40! We'll be helping the wardens with their projects, which are most likely to be fencing, path or sheep work at this time of year. Make sure you're on our mailing list to find out more about exactly what's planned for this week.

We're returning to Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buckinghamshire this week to help out with some fencing work at the site of the new visitor centre. We did a lot of fencing here last year. It will be interesting to see how the plans to create new habitat, protect existing badger setts and create hedges are coming along on this site.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

We've worked on this site once before, creating an impressive length of boardwalk. Now we're going back to repair a different section, where the revetments have collapsed and the path is slipping away. We're working for the Oxford Preservation Trust who own the site as a result of its connection with the poet Matthew Arnold. They are being advised about management by BBOWT, with OCV doing the digging, sawing and bashing. So, as usual, someone else does the paperwork and we get to do the fun bit! It should be a satisfying day's project.

Another visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chiltern hills. This time it will be the height of Summer and so it's probably an excellent time to see everything that the chalk grassland has to offer in terms of wild flowers. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England helping with whatever reserve maintenance they think is most important. It could be fencing, path work or looking after one of the flocks of sheep that graze the fields to keep the grassland from being taken over with scrub.

A summer evening walk starting from Jericho walking to wolvercote and then back into Oxford. It's about 5 miles long and I'm sure will involve a visit to the pub. Hopefully the weather will be kind! Start at 7pm.

This week's task is an unusual one. We are cutting some trees and brash to provide material to dam a stream. Diverting the stream is part of a programme of works to improve the habitat in the wood and protect the valuable fen. We'll be working with an ecologist, and hopefully some local volunteers as part of a project supported by the Trust for the Oxfordshire Environment. The ecologist's input in this project will avoid any risk of disturbing nesting birds, given the time of year. It should be an interesting day's work.

This week we're off to Tuckmill Meadows, a area of stream-side fen, meadow, woodland and hedgerows which has been designated an SSSI. Working with one of the BBOWT wardens who look after the site, we'll be tackling some of the invasive thistles before they have chance to seed. It should be an enjoyable day's work especially if the mid-Summer weather is kind to us.

This week it's a new site for us, a privately-owned SSSI on the edge of the Hook Norton cutting. It's just over the road from the BBOWT site where we've often worked in the past. We're assisting with pulling the ragwort from the meadow. Ragwort is poisonous, and there can be legal obligations on landowners to control it. So if we weren't available to pull it, the ragwort might have to be mowed or sprayed, which would damage the biodiversity on a sensitive site like this. Come along for some pleasant, and generally uncomplicated Summer work.

OCV's committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

Our regular monthly visit to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. Summer work here could be fencing, path work or looking after the sheep. We'll be working with the Natural England wardens who are extremely knowledgeable about the countryside and will be sure to find us some valuable and interesting work to do. As usual, the exact work planned will be announced on the mailing list in the week before. So if you're not already on our mailing list, then now would be great time to join it.

We're continuing this year's project at this historic duck decoy owned by the National Trust and one of the few remaining duck decoys in England. We're helping to replace the edging of the “pipe” - a kind of stream leading off a lake. If you like standing in water, either with or without wellies and waders this one is definitely for you. And if you really don't, there will be plenty of other maintenance jobs around the site to keep us all busy. If you're intrigued by the idea of a duck decoy, then Jim the site warden will be on hand to explain it and show you the highly-trained decoy dog.

A visit to the delightfully kitsch world of small independent burger bars on Oxford's very own strip, the Cowley Road. Quality home made burgers are made in this gaff and served with an eclectic choice of toppings and quality sides, salads and beverages. Any burger can be made with beef, chicken or veggie. This restaurant has a comic book theme so feel free to don superhero garb! 96 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE

The Trap Grounds is a small pocket of the countryside in the middle of urban north Oxford next to the canal. A group of local residents fought and won an epic legal battle to stop it being developed for housing, and had it designated as a Town Green. Since then, and with OCV's help, the area has been cleared up, with projects to increase biodiversity, remove dangerous rubbish and improve public access. There are woods and ponds, and part of the site is being maintained as meadow, which is where we are working today. We'll be pulling up the invasive Golden Rod and preventing bramble encroachment.

Another of our monthly visits to our most regular work site. It's a National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns, with particularly special junipers on chalk grassland. We sometimes look after one of their flocks of sheep or do some fencing work, particularly in the Summer months. We'll be working with one of the highly-knowledgeable wardens from Natural England. The exact details will be announced nearer the time on the OCV email list.

OCV's monthly committee meeting is taking place in the Jury Room of the Town Hall at 8pm. Everyone is welcome - come along to find out how the charity is run and perhaps get involved. Alternatively, you can join us afterwards for a pint at Far From the Madding Crowd from around 9pm (down the alley next to where Borders used to be).

We last visited Ardley Quarry in the Spring and put in four new sets of steps using wooden planks and stobs. This time we'll be continuing the work of improving the quality of the public access on the labyrinthine network of paths through this SSSI. Working with the BBOWT warden we'll be sawing, digging and bashing. We might also create some revetments where there is the risk of erosion of sections of footpath. Expect grateful thanks from local dog walkers and visitors to this interesting nature reserve.

We've helped with Seacourt Nature Park in West Oxford many times before, including hedgelaying in the Winter and scrub clearance and ragwort pulling in the Summer. Today we're back helping to control the ragwort. Since it's a poisonous plant, there can be legal obligations on landowners to control it. So if we weren't available to pull it, the ragwort might have to be mowed or sprayed, which would damage the biodiversity on a sensitive site like this. Come along for some pleasant, and generally uncomplicated Summer work.

A lovely picnic and a punt down the river Cherwell. Starting from the Cherwell boathouse at 6pm.

Not a conservation task as such, but a gainful way to spend a Saturday nonetheless. We'll be digging a trench for a cable duct and other jobs in and around the tool store. No minibus pick-ups - meet at Stansfeld OEC at 10am and we'll finish in plenty of time for the punting.

This week it's all hands to the slashers and rakes as we're off to cut the sedgy grass on this SSSI near Iffley. It's not actually an island but a spit of land sticking out into the Thames or Isis. It's a quiet spot between the houseboat moorings and the river, owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust and home to a range of other wildlife. We've done this job for the last few years, because managing the site in this traditional way creates a habitat for wild flowers such as Snake’s Head Fritillaries. We'll be sure to drag the cut grasses off the site to avoid enriching the soil, which would give other species an advantage over the wild flowers. Hard work but the transformation of the site will make it very rewarding.

Each Summer Bank Holiday weekend we go to Swanage in Dorset to work at the beautiful Durlston Country Park. It's described as a 280 acre countryside paradise, consisting of sea-cliffs, coastal limestone downland, haymeadows, hedgerows and woodland. The normal work is repairing and rebuilding some of the many miles of attractive Purbeck Limestone dry-stone walling. Working with the highly-knowledgeable rangers from Dorset County Council who manage the site, we'll be learning new walling skills or developing old ones. Walling is not heavy work and is not complicated but simply requires patience and skill. It's ideal work for a sunny day in August. We'll set off on the Friday night, work Saturday and Sunday, then spend Bank Holiday Monday on the beach, hiking along the coast, or pottering around the town. We'll come back to Oxford on Monday night. The accommodation is a church hall just 5 minutes' walk from the sea-front. Make sure you're a fully paid up member, because full details will be announced on the members' mailing list nearer the time and places usually get snapped up very quickly.

Our September visit to the beautiful National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. Working with an experienced warden from Natural England, we'll be clearing a line through some scrub to allow a new fence to be installed in the future. Fences are key to managing the flocks of sheep that keep the grassland in fine condition. If you've never been to this national nature reserve you could do a lot worse than come along with OCV and find out how it's managed.

OCV's monthly committee meeting is taking place in the Jury Room of the Town Hall at 8pm. Everyone is welcome - come along to find out how the charity is run and perhaps get involved. Alternatively, you can join us afterwards for a pint at Far From the Madding Crowd from around 9pm (down the alley next to where Borders used to be).

Two different projects for today. We'll be helping to plant a wild flower meadow in an unused part of the cemetery, we've not done this kind of work for a bit, but it should be well within our capabilities and perhaps won't be too strenuous. Then we'll be kicking off the Autumn 2010 hedgelaying season with another short section of the hedge alongside the cemetery footpath. We'll be able to see how the hedgelaying we did the year before is fairing. It was showing some promising signs of rejuvenation the last time we looked. Given the age of the hedge, the hedgelaying work is likely to be a bit brutal and look quite drastic, but the end result should be a denser hedge, more useful for wildlife as a corridor, habitat and source of food.

Another visit to the Trap Grounds, a varied site in North Oxford that is rapidly-becoming a regular destination for us. We'll be working with locals from the Friends of the Trap Grounds to uproot brambles from the meadow area and perhaps make seats out of cut timber. There will most likely be a bonfire to celebrate the arrival of Autumn!

A new site for OCV, this privately-owned copse in North Hinksey is a piece of traditional coppice woodland. There are stools of hazel and ash with much larger oaks dominating in places. Being quite small, it rubs up against the backs of people's gardens and borders the copse and fen attached to Louie Memorial Fields. We'll be working with the owner and focussing on coppicing and scrub clearance. Our aims will be to remove non-native bushes spreading in from the gardens, reduce the encroachment of the scrub and bramble onto the meadow, and coppice some of the hazel.

Majliss Indian Restaurant this month, on the Cowley Road, Oxford. As it's always full of people, I reckon it must be quite a good place to eat. Please feel free to tell me otherwise! More details to be sent by email soon.

We last visited this site in June to sensitively clear some scrub in preparation for some hydrology work on the ditch and fen. In the past, we've also helped to prevent further willow encroachment onto the fen. This week we'll be returning to help with more tasks on the site, planned and supervised by hydrology and ecology experts. These include cutting sedge on the fen, planting-up the edge of the new pond, removal of alien shrubs, and some willow pruning. Join the OCV mailing list for more information about this and any other projects.

A trip to the Hook Norton Brewery in North Oxfordshire. This is a daytime social with the tour starting at 2pm in the Afternoon. There will be minibus transport from the usual pick ups in Oxford. There are only 10 places available so get in quick!

OCV have been involved with the Lye Valley Nature Reserve in East Oxford for many years. Even though it's a small acreage, it's full of rich wildlife habitat. Last Summer we helped to extend a pond in the wetland, as well as our usual tasks of clearing the footpaths, pollarding the willows and raking the fen. Today we'll be fen-raking again, managing it in this traditional way prevents it scrubbing over and avoids the soil getting enriched. This maximises biodiversity on this beautiful SSSI. It's hard work, but very worthwhile.

We're returning to this valuable nature reserve to take part in a project planned by BBOWT who own this site, an SSSI and SAC (Special Area of Conservation). This project is aimed at creating some areas of open water in the fen and encouraging early succession areas by cutting peat. Essentially we're digging peat from one area and moving it to another. That may sound simple, but it should be very incredibly important for wildlife diversity on this site. Wellies will be very advisable!

Our regular monthly visit to this favourite site in the Chilterns. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England to do whatever reserve maintenance is most pressing. At this time of year it could be scrub clearance, fence building or caring for one of the flocks of sheep on the site. Further details will be in the regular weekly email. Update - This week we'll be refurbishing livestock fencing and doing a bit of scrub bashing as well.

We worked at Stansfeld last year building some dipping platforms; small walkways extending into ponds used for collecting samples from the water. These have been very successful and useful for the many schoolchildren who visit the centre. Since Stansfeld is also the home of our tool store, we won't have to drive far after the usual pick-ups and we won't have to worry about forgetting any crucial tools! This site is in Oxford so feel free to come for just part of the day if you prefer.

Another visit to this wetland site adjoining Cothill Fen. Working for BBOWT on this site, we'll be doing some more peat cutting work to help create open areas of water and encourage early succession species to move in. There should be plenty of digging and barrowing work required. Wellies will almost certainly be essential if you don't want to get your feet too wet.

We're coppicing this week at Boarstall Duck Decoy in Buckinghamshire. It's one of the few remaining duck decoys in the country and is owned by the National Trust. Our work is going to involve clearing a section of the woodland, in order to harvest the coppice products for a variety of purposes. Traditional coppicing results in areas of woodland with enhanced light levels and sparks off a whole variety of new flora at ground level while the coppice stools are regenerating. We've already seen this happening in the areas we coppiced last year. This is a task with a focus on learning how to do this traditional activity, so there will be some informal training from experienced OCVers.

We've been coming to this splendid National Trust site in the Chilterns for several years, to assist with controlling the scrub and to enjoy the excellent views. The last time we worked here it was thick in snow, with the reflected sunlight illuminating the scores of Red Kites circling overhead. As usual we'll be scrub clearing and working with the Friends of Watlington Hill, but this time we'll also be helping them to celebrate their 20th Anniversary with bonfire-cooked jacket potatoes and potentially some buffet food to go with them. Stay tuned-in on the OCV mailing list for more information nearer the time.

The committee meets once a month in theTown Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us in the Jury Room at 8pm. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near Borders) from about 9pm.

This week we'll be working with wardens from Oxford City Council. We'll be working at Meadow Lane Nature Reserve which has been allowed to scrub over in recent years. Our role is classic scrub bashing to help to restore it to meadow, allowing the rarer and more interesting wild flowers to flourish. There'll be plenty of hard work, but the results should be rewarding, and we're envisaging regular return visits to keep well managed. More details will be given on the weekly email as normal.

Last Winter we did some work clearing scrub at the edge of the byway in South Oxfordshire. The idea was to sensitively clear scrub without using machinery, so the gaps could be re-planted and the hedge rejuvenated without destroying the great diversity of species present in this ancient hedge. Today we're doing another section further up the byway towards the bridge carrying the cycleway overhead. We can admire the progress made on the section which villagers have replanted already and prepare the next section.

We will be helping out at one of our old favourite sites in East Oxford. Part of the Lye Valley nature reserve is designated as an SSSI because of it's great value for wildlife. Working with Oxford City Council's countryside team we'll be pollarding the willows, keeping paths accessible and possibly helping to repair the board walk. Willow pollarding is vitally important to maintain the fen, which would otherwise become shaded over, and get covered in scrub.

A visit to the bookbinders pub in Jericho. Maybe we could play a game or three and have a few pints in this cosy pub, they also do food if you're hungry. We shall be meeting in there at 7.30pm.

Our monthly trip to our most regular work site. We'll be helping the wardens from Natural England care for this large National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We'll be helping with priority projects on the site. At this time of year the work could be scrub clearance or involve caring for one of the flocks of sheep that help to maintain the valuable chalk grassland.

Several years ago a new hedge was planted on this site in South Oxfordshire. It's now got to a suitable time for laying it and we've been asked by the Parish Council to help out. Hedgelaying is a traditional technique that almost died out with the mechanisation of agriculture and the switch to wire fencing. Now it is recognised as a great way to conserve wildlife habitats by making a hedge denser and a much better home for birds and small mammals. Newcomers and old hands equally welcome to come along.

Coppicing is an ancient practice for sustainably managing woodland to produce wood products and fuel. Traditional coppice woodland is rich in a diverse range of wildlife, including all the early succession species that thrive straight after coppicing. This weekend we'll be learning how to go about coppicing with Brian Williamson, a former OCVer and professional coppicer who is incredibly knowledgeable and experienced on the subject. We don't normally plan residentials for the depths of December but we thought an overnight stay in a wood would separate the men from the boys, and the women from the girls! Hopefully we can huddle up round the camp fire and it will be cosy. There's a barn to sleep in if you don't fancy it in a tent, and there should be toilets and washing facilities nearby. Most importantly, it's a chance to learn all about coppicing and it should give you everything you need to take part in or lead an OCV coppicing task in the future. Expect to be reminded many times to bring warm clothes!

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

OCV's Christmas party is going to be held at Peace House, Paradise Street, Oxford. This year you will need to bring a bit of money to pay for the cost of hall hire. The cost won't be more than £5 per head. An email telling you more will be sent out soon. Party starts at 7.30pm. Please let me know if you have any spare decorations knocking about and bring some music!

Our final visit of the year to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be helping out with whatever the wardens from Natural England want us to do. Quite possibly it will be scrub clearance to prevent scrub encroaching onto the valuable chalk grassland. Chalk grassland is so rare and valuable for a rich variety of wild flowers that it is sometimes called the rainforest of Southern England. This is not quite accurate since it is a totally man-made habitat, and if grazing and scrub clearance work wasn't carried out regularly it would soon revert to scrub and eventually to woodland. The nature of the work planned this week will be revealed in the weekly email as usual.

***** UPDATE: This task has been CANCELLED due to the depth of snow covering the site and snow-related transport problems. ***** For the last task of the year we'll be scrub clearing at the Trap Grounds in North Oxford. This is a varied site with ponds, woodland and a small meadow area. A former rubbish tip, it was saved as a nature reserve and Town Green after an epic campaign. We've helped to clear rubbish in the past and also attacked the brambles and created some new paths. We're continuing with that work this week. It's the last task of the year so feel free to bring along potatoes or parsnips to roast in the bonfire. The Trap Grounds is close to the centre of Oxford so feel free to come for part of the day if you have some last minute Christmas shopping to fit in.

It's Boxing Day, so we won't be having any task this week. It's a good opportunity to look back at a year's OCV activities and think of our many accomplishments. If you need to work off some Christmas excess, why not visit one of the nature reserves we work at and admire fences, steps, grassland, coppice, hedges and all the other products of OCVers hard work? Remember that OCV always needs more volunteers, leaders, drivers and committee members, so why not get more involved in 2011? And why not bring your friends along too?

We're kicking off 2011 with a day's scrub clearance on this site in central Oxford. Holywell Cemetery is managed in a way that is sympathetic to wildlife, while still allowing public access to the graves, many of which are of historic interest. This means that every-so-often the scrub on one section of it is cut back, whilst still leaving other areas with plenty of scrub cover for wildlife. As part of this work the ivy needs carefully removing from the gravestones so there will be plenty of lighter work as well as plenty of the usual sawing, cutting, dragging and burning. If you haven't been to an OCV task before then why not come along to get a taste of what we do? We won't make you stay all day! But if you do there's almost always some OCVers going for a sociable drink at the Turf afterwards.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

We've been going to Deddington in North Oxfordshire for several years now, either to maintain the paths on the Castle site or do some hedgelaying along a path near the Windmill Centre. Today's plan is to do some coppicing work on a small copse managed by Deddington Parish Council. We'll also be building and installing some bird and bat boxes on the trees around it. So it's going to be an interesting mixture of coppicing work, outdoor woodworking and climbing ladders. If you're an experienced coppicer, skilled carpenter, you know how to site bird boxes, or if you're just willing to help out, then this task is one for you.

We've been to the Lye Valley nature reserve in East Oxford many times before, but we haven't done any hedgelaying there before, or at least not in recent times. Hedgelaying is a traditional skill to make a hedge into a dense stock-proof barrier and competitions are held to do neat and tidy work. But forget all that, because today's work is going to be very rough and ready! The aim is to avoid completely clearing a strip of scrub which is causing trouble for the neighbours. Instead the aim is to leave it more “hedge-like”, so it will develop over the years to provide a good corridor and home for a variety of wildlife. So old and new volunteers welcome as always and, if past experience is anything to go by, there will probably be a range of other scrub bashing jobs on this site.

This week is our monthly visit to this National Nature Reserve in the Chiltern Hills. Aston Rowant is managed by Natural England, who ensure that the valuable chalk grassland is conserved through sheep grazing, that the woods are regularly coppiced to keep a diverse range of flora and that the paths are safe and accessible to visitors. This week we were coppicing near the Natural England Office, building a dead hedge and a couple of bonfires.

OCV are old friends of this Local Nature Reserve in North Oxford, having helped create the paths and steps, replaced a long length of fence and done regular days of scrub clearance to keep it in pristine condition. The sensitive management of this site has resulted in large numbers of wild flowers on the chalk grassland. Though if you get the train from Oxford to Banbury, you'll probably not spot them as you hurtle through the cutting! Today we'll be continuing our work with some enthusiastic sawing, lopping and slashing. There will also be a good bonfire to keep us warm and dispose of some of the scrub. In other words, OCV will be doing what we do best, so do come along and join in!

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

A new restaurant for OCV. This restaurant serves a fantastic array of sausages and little else. They also serve vegetarian options which sound more interesting than the meat options! We will be meeting at the restaurant at 7.30pm. Please email me if you would like to come.

Today we're visiting a site that's recently become a favourite for us in North Oxford. The Trap Grounds is a Town Green and local nature reserve with woodland and a pond. Our work here has helped to create a meadow to the evident appreciation of lizards, newts and slow worms who live among the stones and old bricks. We've also cleared dangerous rubbish, created paths, installed bird boxes, built habitat piles and even made benches for visitors out of natural materials. Today's work will be mainly collecting rubble from the woodland to create a hardcore path, but will also include a variety of scrub clearance - most likely with a nice bonfire. Feel free to come for some or all of the day as suits you, we won't make you stay all day. But you'll probably have so much fun you'll want to come conserving tomorrow too – and as it happens there is task then too!

There's a prize for anyone who can remember when OCV last planted some trees! Conservation work in England is usually much more about controlling scrub than planting anything, but today we'll be participating in a project to create new woodland on this hill just to the West of the city. It's the first time we've worked on this site, which has been donated by a local timber company and there are plans to create a new native wood by planting thousands of trees. They may also be some trimming of scrub around existing saplings, so there'll be loads to do. Some species, like Oak, take hundreds of years to reach maturity, so come along and be a part of creating a wood that will hopefully provide much enjoyment to future generations.

We'll be making a welcome return to one of BBOWT's finest and largest nature reserves, near Henley. It's a while since we've worked here but it's well worth a visit. Our role today is to help out with a grassland project. Some felling of big trees has taken place recently but much of the material is left on the ground. We'll be helping to clear this up and burn the brash and probably doing some felling of our own. Sawing, chopping and burning is what we love, so come along and join in.

This week it's our February visit to one of our favourite sites in the Chiltern Hills. Well-known to travellers on the M40 for its huge numbers of red kites, this National Nature Reserve is owned and managed by Natural England for the benefit of wildlife and to maintain public access. We'll be helping out the wardens who manage it with the priority projects for this month whether it be scrub clearance, coppicing, fencing or sheep work. We'll describe the work we're planning in the weekly email, so now's a good time to check you're on our mailing list.

It's a while since we've been to this site in East Oxford, near the old OCV tool store, where we spent many happy hours oiling and sharpening. Today's work is coppicing, which helps to maintain a cycle of cutting and regrowth that's traditional in English woodland, and leads to a diverse range of wildlife habitats. The work will be planned by Oxford City Council's countryside team, and as usual we'll be providing the tools, the training, the tea and biscuits. But we'll need lots of you to actually do the work, so come along!

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

Today is OxClean 2011, a day when Oxford residents spring clean the city, clearing up rubbish and litter. We're doing our bit at this Town Green and nature reserve on the site of a former rubbish dump in North Oxford. In recent years, we've helped remove lots of rubbish and painstakingly uproot brambles to create a fantastic little meadow, where piles of old bricks create perfect homes for lizards and slow worms. Today's project will be a few hours of removing any dangerous or unsightly rubbish for collection, followed by scrub clearing work, most likely involving a blazing bonfire. As usual, new and old alike will be very welcome, even for just part of the day.

This week's it's another of our monthly visits to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns, owned and managed by Natural England. You'll recognise the landscape if you've ever travelled towards London on the M40, and it's well worth a stop and a walk round. Today we'll be helping the wardens care for the chalk grassland, woods and paths by helping out with their conservation priorities. Full details will be in the email sent to the mailing list, so make sure you're signed up and then come along and join in.

When we first started working on this site, we removed huge numbers of willows which were in danger of completely covering the valuable fen at the edge of the ancient woodland. Since then we've helped to prepare for hydrology work which it is hoped will safeguard the future of the fen as well as reducing the speed of water run off from the site. Afterwards we transplanted ancient woodland plants into areas left bare, and we cut the fen, which is essential for maintaining a rich diversity of plant life. Today we're continuing the transplantation work under the guidance of a knowledgeable ecologist and also removing invasive native and non-native scrub from around the fen. So there will be plenty of work for all levels of physical ability, knowledge and experience. Everyone welcome as usual.

We've been working on this National Trust property in Buckinghamshire for about 18 months. We last visited in October for our coppicing training date. Today we're returning for some more coppicing work, taking particular care to avoid going anywhere where birds could be just beginning to nest at this time. We'll also be doing a selection of other jobs on site. If the warden is here, there will be a chance to hear about the interesting history of duck decoys in England, and perhaps meet the decoy dog.

Today we'll be working with the warden from the National Trust on this stunning site in the Chilterns AONB and possibly also with locals from the Friends of Watlington Hill. We'll mostly likely be doing some kind of scrub clearance work to increase the area of valuable chalk grassland, with due care given the approaching bird nesting season. In the past at this site we've also helped to restore an ancient sunken way that had been completely obscured by yew woodland. We can't guarantee the weather won't block the impressive views, but we can guarantee there will be magnificent Red Kites soaring above our heads. Come and be uplifted!

Stansfeld is where we keep our tools and our van, so we won't have to worry about forgetting any tools today! We'll be helping create some more dipping platforms for the students who come to stay at this residential outdoor education centre to use. They stand on the dipping platforms and take samples from the various ponds on the site. Making the platforms requires some carpentry skills, some standing in the water and the mud and quite a lot of bashing. It's all good fun until someone drops something in the water and we have to fish around for it. We'll also do any other jobs that we're given on the site and if we run out of work we can always sharpen some tools, or maybe just leave them for the Tools Officer and go to the pub!

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

A local camping residential this week. Hill End is an outdoor education centre just on the west of Oxford run by Oxfordshire County Council for local schoolchildren. We'll be doing a boardwalk project, building a significant length of boardwalk over a series of ponds that have been recently created. We'll camp overnight on Saturday night, probably with a campfire barbecue and a few drinks in the evening. We will have access to proper toilets. The idea is that we'll arrive on Saturday morning and have a day to make a start on the work and when we're getting the hang of it, we'll be able to crack on with the rest of the work on Sunday morning as soon as the sun is up and we've had our bacon and eggs. You'll need to be an OCV member to come and places will be limited. We'll give priority to people wanting to come for both days, because then we'll get everyone trained and be able to get the job done!

A pub visit for OCV. Good beer and decent food in the Turf Tavern. No need to tell me you're coming just pop in for one or stay all evening. Meeting from 7ish in the Turf.

Our monthly trip to this Natural England reserve in the Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. At this time of year we often do fencing and path work and occasionally help with one of the flocks of sheep that graze the chalk grassland. But the exact work planned will be announced on the OCV mailing list in the week before. If you've only ever driven past Aston Rowant on the M40 then it's well worth a visit. OCV tasks are an excellent way to see Behind-The-Scenes as we work with the wardens of a national nature reserve.

We're off to Raleigh Park Nature Reserve in West Oxford this week for a bit of fencing work. It's not a regular site for us but hopefully we'll get to know it better as we go on. We'll be working for Oxford City Council's parks and countryside department, and the wardens will be trusting us to replace an old, failing fence with a shiny new OCV one. Exact details nearer the time on the mailing list.

We're off on a residential this bank holiday weekend. Hurrah! This is the plan: we leave Oxford on Friday night and arrive latish at the National Trust's excellent base camp building near Brecon. On Saturday and Sunday we head off up some of the nearby hills and either repair the paths, clear the ditches or build new stone-pitched culverts – a highly skilled activity dating back to at least Roman times. In the evenings there will be good food, drink and conversation, potentially including a trip to the local pub if a change of scenery is required. On the Monday we won't have any work to do, so we often go for a walk, pub lunch or visit local attractions such as the caves and waterfalls. We'll return to Oxford in the early evening. You must be a member to come on residentials but the costs are kept very low and it's usually great fun. NOW FULLY BOOKED!

An excellent opportunity to see how the charity is run and to exercise your voting powers! We will be discussing the past year and electing the new committee, among other things. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Our monthly visit to this splendid National Nature Reserve in the Chiltern Hills. We'll be working with the highly-knowledgeable wardens from Natural England and helping out with whatever tasks they have for us. At this time of year it's unlikely to be scrub clearance because of the nesting birds, but there will be no shortage of path, fence or sheep-related work. As usual more details will be distributed via the OCV mailing list in the week beforehand. A mixture of fun, hard work, tea breaks and inane conversation will be guaranteed as usual!

This week we'll be doing some more fencing work for Oxford City Council. The site may change depending on priorities and how much we managed last time. We'll be replacing old dilapidated fencing with splendid new OCV fencing. The straining posts will need digging in, the intermediate posts bashing in and the wire straining and stapling on. So there will be lots of different jobs to do and some very visible results to hopefully be proud of. Come along and learn to fence!

A visit to one of our favourite sites in North Oxfordshire. Jubilee Meadows is a nature reserve in Wootton near Woodstock and is home to water meadows, the Dorn and Glyne rivers, trees, meadows and cows. We'll probably be clearing up the remains of some pollarding work from earlier in the year, building a ramp near a bridge and generally helping out with some miscellaneous reserve maintenance jobs. It's a beautiful site and well worth coming if you've not been before.

Meet at 7pm. Please bring some money for the punts (should be under £4 maximum), and some food and drink to have on the punts if you would like. If it rains there is always the pub!

We went to this National Park base camp in the Peak District last year and had two great days. The work last year involved a day's remote peat mat peg collecting, and also a day's path repair looking after the southern end of the Pennine Way. This year the plan is to do whatever the National Park rangers need help with, most likely some more trail maintenance. We'll leave Oxford on the Friday night, arrive in the Peak District in time for some dinner and work Saturday and Sunday. In the evenings there's potential for a barbecue at the splendidly well-equipped base camp and there's also a couple of pubs within walking distance. On the Monday we have a day off to either go for a walk in the area or see some sights in one of the towns. We'll get back to Oxford on Monday evening.

We did some planting on this site in West Oxford back in February, along with putting up a shed and extensive mulching. Today we're doing some important, but perhaps unglamorous work, to look after the saplings. We'll be mulching and weeding around the young trees to suppress weeds that would choke them out. We'll also be pulling any ragwort we see on the site to help the trust maintain good relations with neighbouring livestock farmers, who understandably don't want their animals poisoned. Think of that as conserving good will! Mulching is surprisingly hard work, but as usual, we'll all take it at our own pace with plenty of tea-breaks and maybe sunbathing – weather permitting.

Today we're off to a site we haven't been to for a few years at least. It's a steep limestone valley to the south-west of Oxford, towards Boars Hill. It comprises grassland, a reed bed and woodland. Today we're doing the first day of a double bill of projects at this site. More information will come via the OCV mailing list as normal

Another day's work at this splendid steep limestone valley to the south-west of Oxford, towards Boars Hill. It comprises grassland, a reed bed and woodland. Although the site is not huge, the task programmer went for a walk there at dusk once and got very lost in the dark. Hopefully it should be an interesting and pleasant place to spend a summer's day.

Our monthly visit to this splendid National Nature Reserve in the Chiltern Hills. It's easy to get to, because the M40 goes straight through it! But if you're walking deep in the beech woodland or perched on the beautiful chalk grassland you'll soon forget about that. At this time of year we'll most likely be doing fencing, path work or sheep care. But we take our orders from the expert wardens from Natural England who know the site like the backs of their hands. There'll be full details in the weekly email of course. Come and see Red Kites galore and help care for this important site.

Meet at Medley Manor Farm (Binsey Lane) at 6.15pm for fruit picking followed by a picnic in Port Meadow. If you want to come later we will be at the farm until about 7pm and in Port Meadow after that. Fruit on offer will hopefully include strawberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries and possibly raspberries, along with a variety of vegetables.

We're off to this National Trust site for a variety of tasks on this historic duck decoy on the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border. We'll be helping keep the site tidy and the paths clear and doing a range of other reserve maintenance tasks: things like clearing ditches, repairing fences and removing bramble. We'll try to make sure there's something for everyone. If you've never been to a duck decoy then this is a good chance. If you arrive by your own means then say you're volunteering with OCV and you won't be expected to pay the entrance fee!

A day at this meadow SSSI in North Oxfordshire. We'll be pulling poisonous ragwort to make the hay safe for cattle and horses, and to prevent it spreading to neighbours. If we didn't do this, the alternative methods of control would be much more destructive to wild flowers. It should be quite light work and at some point there should be chance for a good walk round the neighbouring BBOWT reserve, which we usually only see in Winter.

Our first visit to this splendid meadow in East Oxford belonging to the Oxford Preservation Trust. The land is managed as a rich wild flower rich meadow, but the once-yearly hay cut can only take place if the ragwort has been pulled first. There's also a fence that's looking in a poor state. So today's project is to pull the ragwort and replace the fence. We might be able to re-use one of the straining posts to save time. So there should be a good range of different tasks to suit all tastes.

After a meal in a nearby pub we will be going for a magical evening of glow worm spotting with a local glow worm expert. It will be a good opportunity to enjoy the site we visit most frequently without having to do any work for once! The cost is £3, and we will be leaving Oxford around 7pm. Please e-mail me by Friday 1st July if you would like to come.

Another of our regular visits to this splendid National Nature Reserve in the Chiltern Hills AONB. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England helping them look after the chalk grassland, woods and paths. At this time of year it could be fencing, sheep or path work. We'll let you know more details of this week's project via the OCV mailing list as usual.

One of our regular Oxford sites. It's a small nature reserve that seems like another world with its fen, ponds, and woodland. We'll be doing our usual Summer work raking the fen, which only remains a rich habitat for wildflowers as long as the reeds are cut and removed to keep the soil low in nutrients. This is quite tough work sometimes, especially if it's very wet or very hot. As if that wasn't enough labouring, we'll also be tasked with cutting scrub that is encroaching on the fen and possibly helping with a new section of sleeper walkway. So there'll be plenty for everyone to do and we can also check out what effect the hedgelaying we did in the Winter is having. Come along and join the fun.

It's now 2 years since we last worked here, doing a couple of days cutting vegetation around the banks and on a floating "island" in the pond. Today we'll be continuing the work from that management plan, so it will be cutting, dragging and stacking but with a distinctly wet theme. So it's a chance to get into the waders and get yourself wet and dirty.

This month's committee meeting will be held from 8pm in the Jury Room of the Town Hall. Come along if you want to see how the charity is run and perhaps get involved. Alternatively, we will be going for a few drinks in Far From The Madding Crowd from around 9pm.

A regular visit to this chalk grassland and beech woodland National Nature Reserve just south of Oxford. We'll be helping wardens from Natural England with their many and varied duties. At this time of year that can include anything from fencing to trimming the toenails of the sheep that graze the chalk grassland. The sheep keep the bramble and scrub away and the grass short to allow wild flowers to flourish. Exact details of the work via the OCV mailing list as usual.

A tiny and secluded SSSI near the river in Oxford, sometimes used for mooring narrow-boats. We do essential work here cutting the sedgy grass and raking it off. This means that the soil isn't enriched and the scrub doesn't take over, so rare plants flourish. This job can be really hard work, but great exercise, and as usual, we won't push you too hard. We always have plenty of tea breaks!

For our August social we will be enjoying the summer sunshine, if it ever arrives, playing mini golf in Florence Park, conveniently located near to Cowley Road for a probable pub trip afterwards. Meet at the mini golf kiosk at 6.45pm. For directions to Florence Park, and a map showing the mini golf kiosk, see http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decLP/2_Florence_park_occw.htm

In a change to the task programme, this week is a return to lovely Raleigh Park to do fencing. We will be working at the east end of the park by the entrance from Westminster Way Sign up to the mailing list, come along and find out more.

A residential trip to Swanage in Dorset. We'll be working at the spectacular Durlston Country Park, high up on the cliffs. Projects in previous years have mainly been drystone walling, but with bits of fencing and meadow work on occasions. We'll be staying in the heart of the town in a church hall, which means we'll have access to a kitchen and showers, as well as plenty of space to sleep. Swanage is always lively on the bank holiday weekend, with music and fireworks in the evening. We often have a swim in the sea and a barbecue on the beach if the weather is kind to us. We'll set off on Friday evening, work on the Saturday and Sunday and have the Monday as a day off before coming back on Monday evening. TOO LATE - NO MORE BOOKINGS PLEASE!

We're back to this Oxford City Council site for a bit of fencing work. We'll be replacing some old tangled barbed wire with a shiny new, straight, fit-for-purpose OCV fence. Come along if you like digging holes, bashing in posts, straining wire and admiring a job well-done. More details about the project will be sent via the mailing list as usual.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

Our first hedgelaying task of the season. We'll be laying a hedge really close to where we did some coppicing last year. This means that we'll let in additional light to help the coppice woodland regenerate, whilst also making the hedge into a denser barrier that will also act as home, food source and corridor for wildlife. Hopefully, we'll be able to harvest a few fresh binders from coppice stools nearby.

Our monthly visit to this splendid site in the Chilterns, commanding views across Oxfordshire. At this time or year we could be fencing, looking after the sheep, or even doing a spot of scrub clearance or early coppicing. Whatever we do, the project will be planned by the wardens from Natural England who manage the site.

The conservator of Wytham Woods has kindly agreed to take us on a badger watch in this beautiful University owned forest. It is said to be home to one of the densest badger populations in the world, so that should give us a good chance of seeing some! In the hopefully unlikely event that we don't, we could always make up for it afterwards with a visit to the local pub, The White Hart. The minibus will be leaving from The Lamb and Flag at 6.20pm, or if you would like to make your own way there, meet us at Keeper's Cottage (OX2 8QQ) at 6.45pm.

We laid a very mature hedge on a wet day here three years ago. It's close to a children's playground and something had to be done for safety reasons. So we did quite a rough job as a more wildlife-friendly alternative to grubbing the whole thing out and putting up a fence. Now it's getting overgrown again but is some good material, a large range of different species under the mass of dead wood and scrub. The plan for today is to give it a trim, lay some of the regrowth and remove much of the dead material. We'll also be planting some of the gaps in another hedge with new root stock. Meet at the playground at Clifton.

We're working for Oxford City Council this month at the Lye Valley. We did some light fen-raking here in July and now we're going back after the second cut of the year, to rake the cuttings off again. The fen is cut twice in the summer to stop it getting covered in scrub, which would stop it being fen. If we didn't rake off the cuttings they would decay and enrich the soil. Rich soil might be good for your garden but it's no good for nature reserves, because scrub would take over rather than exciting wild flowers and interesting insects and invertebrates. Fen-raking is sometimes quite hard work, but very important.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

It's another visit to this nature reserve and town green in North Oxford today. For a while it was used as a rubbish tip and landfill site, but we've done so much tidying up recently that these days if you trip over a decaying relic of the early 1980s it's most likely to be one of the OCV committee. Today's task will be building a bird hide, attacking the bramble and perhaps cutting large branches that overshadow the ponds.

We're back to this splendid National Trust site in the Chilterns this Sunday. We'll be working with the wardens and most probably with the local volunteer group. We often have some really huge bonfires on this site as we cut scrub and trees to maintain and extend the valuable chalk grassland. There are almost always red kites circling overhead all day. If the weather is clear, the views are splendid from this site. Come along and bash some scrub.

October's social will be a telescope evening at the Philip Wetton telescope. This is a 0.4 metre telescope belonging to the University of Oxford Department of Physics, and it gives an amazing, professional astronomer's view of the night sky. The evening will be from 7pm - 9pm, and will include a short astronomy talk, an 'ask an astronomer' session with refreshments, a tour of the observatory and use of the telescope, and an astronomy workshop (all for free!). There will be an opportunity for a pub trip afterwards. The meeting place for the evening will be the reception of the Denys Wilkinson Building on Keble Road (just where it joins Banbury Road, slightly further away from town than our usual pick-up point of The Lamb and Flag); please be there by 6.50pm for registration. Places are limited to 15 (possibly a few more) so if you would like to come please could you let me know by Thursday 6th October.

We're off for our October visit to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be helping the wardens who work for Natural England; the government's nature conservation agency. At this time of year the work could be almost anything: scrub bashing, coppicing, fencing or caring for one of the flocks of sheep that help to keep the grassland in pristine condition. As usual we'll let you know what sort of thing to expect in our weekly pre-task email, so make sure you're on our email list.

We sometimes have training tasks, but today is a bit different. We will all be indoors in a classroom or around the tool shed. We'll be covering some of the theory and how to plan and lead different sorts of tasks. The subjects will include coppicing, hedgelaying, fencing, boardwalk, bird and bat boxes, step building and scrub bashing. The format will be a series of short talks with an opportunity to ask questions and have a discussion. The talks will all be given by OCV leaders and although we're not experts, if we pool what we know, we should all be able to learn a lot. Please note that this is aimed at leaders and experienced volunteers, rather than complete beginners. Everyone is very welcome, but if you've never done any conservation before it would be better to come to a few ordinary tasks first! The day is free, but booking is required, as places will be limited. (Ignore the website if it asks for a deposit!) Please ask Chris if you're willing to research a topic and give a short talk. FULLY BOOKED NOW!

Today's task is at the place we keep our tools and van, so not far to go, but we will be doing the usual pickups as normal. We'll be helping out with various tasks around the school grounds which include woods, meadow and several ponds. The work will be various maintenance jobs appropriate for the time of year. More details will be in the weekly email as usual, so make sure you're on our mailing list.

We're continuing with some hedgelaying along this path across fields in South Oxfordshire. We'll be working for the local parish council. We did day's work here in sub-zero conditions last winter, and it was so cold even the leftover tea froze in the mugs! Today we're hoping for warmer weather as we do the final stretch, helping to turn a row of small trees into a hedge that will act as home, food source and corridor for wildlife. If you're an experienced hedgelayer we'll need you. If not, come along and learn how.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

We're hedgelaying this week near to the cemetery at Deddington. We'll be continuing the work of previous years but now we'll be getting onto a tricky bit where there may be as much coppicing as laying to rejuvenate the aged hedge. It's possible we'll also be doing some replanting of the gaps to recreate a native hedge that is a food source and habitat for local wildlife.

Come along to November's social for an evening of skating at one of Oxford Ice Rink's disco sessions (no dance ability required, but some skating ability might be useful!). The cost is £6.90, or £4 if you are a student with an NUS or ISA card. Meet at Oxford Ice Rink at 8pm.

Our monthly visit to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns, OCV's most regular site over more than 30 years. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England and at this time of year the work is likely to include coppicing in the ancient woodland or scrub clearance on the chalk hillsides. As usual there's also the possibility of sheep work, but full details will be announced on the mailing list as usual.

This week we're at the Trap Grounds in North Oxford. The name of this site may come from the Oxford word "trap" meaning toilet, because it may once have been a dumping ground; it certainly was used as a rubbish tip before a group of local people helped to get it designated as a Town Green and nature reserve. Or the name could be a contraction of "extra-parochial grounds", which would be a bit of a mouthful. Whatever the origin of the name, the site itself is impressive for its range of habitat within quite a small area. Working with local residents, the varied tasks we'll be doing include finishing building a bird hide, preparing to plant native trees, and lots of the usual bramble bashing. Feel free to come for part of the day if you like.

This week we'll be doing some urgent jobs at this splendid little SSSI in east Oxford. Oxford City Council manage the site and we'll be working to a management plan involving Natural England and local ecologists. We came here in the Summer and again in Autumn to rake the cuttings off the fen. Today we'll be cutting back the scrub on both the North and South fen. Join the mailing list to find out more details nearer the time.

We're scrub bashing on this Local Nature Reserve on the side of a railway cutting in north Oxfordshire this week. Our scrub clearance work over many years is combined with sensitive grazing with cows and sheep to maintain the valuable unimproved grassland in perfect condition for wild flowers. A local naturalist told us that wild flowers could be seen in June on the exact spot we cleared scrub from last Winter, which sounds like the best endorsement of our work here that we could ask for. We'll most likely have a bonfire as well as leaving scrub piles to give some extra cover for small mammals. Come along and wave at the trains as they go past!

We normally do path revetments in Spring and Summer, but unusually we're going to do some in the Winter this Sunday. We'll be working to improve access on this site owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust. As well as building revetments to hold up the path, we'll also scrape off some turf to prepare potential habitats for insects in the Spring. Come along for a day of digging, sawing and bashing at this splendid woodland site on Boar's Hill.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

We did some coppicing near here last year as well. Coppicing is the traditional way of managing woodland to provide a reliable "crop" of timber of a particular size. We cut the trees off at ground level and amazingly they regrow and after somewhere between 2 and 30 years, you can repeat the process and get another crop. Even more amazingly, this makes the trees almost immortal, so the trees you're coppicing could be hundreds of years old. Coppicing lets the light reach the woodland floor which means there can be a more interesting selection of wild flowers and potentially more food for dormice and other potential inhabitants of the wood. Come along and give it a go this Sunday.

Come and celebrate Christmas with OCV! This year's party will be held in the Oscar Wilde Room (which Oscar Wilde actually used to live in) in Magdalen College. The main entrance to the college is on the High Street just before Magdalen bridge; ask the porters for directions to the room when you arrive. The party will start at 7.30pm. Please bring some food and drink, and Christmas music and decorations would also be appreciated!

Our December visit to this splendid National Nature Reserve owned and managed by Natural England, the government's nature conservation agency. We'll be working with the wardens who look after the site and the work could be scrub clearance on the valuable chalk grassland, coppicing in the woods, or looking after the sheep that graze the slopes. More details in our weekly email as normal. It's our last task before Christmas, so there may be a bonfire to bake potatoes and parsnips for lunch.

We're not having a task this Sunday because it's Christmas Day! We'll resume regular tasks in the New Year. If you're a regular volunteer then many thanks for all your efforts in 2011, your hard work keeps OCV going, and OCV keeps many local nature reserves in excellent condition. If you'd like to get more involved in 2012, then we'd love to have you on board; talk to any task leaders or committee members.

It's an unusual bank holiday Monday task for us today to start the year. Come and get some fresh air and fun in this historic cemetery and urban nature reserve in central Oxford. Instead of having the grass nicely trimmed like you'd traditionally expect, it is allowed to grow wild for a period of time and then the scrub is trimmed back in one area at a time, so it remains accessible to visitors. The new scrub growth is great for birds and small mammals, which feed on the berries and seeds. Today we'll be repairing a wall, attacking the scrub in one section of the cemetery and having a good bonfire to burn the waste and keep ourselves warm. There'll be some lighter work peeling the ivy off gravestones and some harder work hand-mixing some cement for minor repairs to the walls.

It's a new site for us this week, but a very promising little nature reserve in South Oxford. We'll be cutting back scrub which is shading a pond, possibly coppicing some hazel and building an Otter Holt. Otters are still scarce after decades of pollution to rivers and destruction of their habitat, but their population is thought to be recovering along the Thames. They naturally live under tree roots near water, but to give them a helping hand we're building them a holt to a careful design, made from the natural materials we harvest today. Come along and help provide an otter with a home!

This week we'll be helping the wardens from Natural England who manage this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be helping with whatever tasks they have planned for us. At this time of year it could be scrub clearance to maintain the stunning chalk grassland, coppicing operations in the woodland on site, or even caring for one of the flocks of sheep that themselves carry out essential scrub munching work on the grassland. As usual our weekly email will have all the details including the type of work planned and the part of the reserve on which we're working.

This nature reserve in North Oxford has an interesting history, and is quite small but still encompasses pond, wetland, wood and meadow. The meadow exists thanks to the efforts of OCV and the local Friends of the Trap Grounds group. Today we'll be working with the locals to clear bramble, maintain paths, reduce excessive scrub shading the ponds and generally help to maintain the site. As usual everyone's welcome, there'll be loads to do, and it's walking distance from Oxford City Centre if you miss the minibus pick-up.

We'll be working on Mary Sadler's field at Shotover Country Park to the East of Oxford today. We'll be taking part in a new heathland restoration project organised by the city council. Heathland is very rare in Oxfordshire, so this is valuable work. More details will be forthcoming nearer the time, but it's likely to be mainly scrub clearance tasks. We're good at that! As usual, no experience is necessary, full instructions will be given and it should be a good day.

We'll be having a few drinks in the KA tonight, starting at 7pm. It sells food and opens till midnight I think, so you can either stay all night or drop in at any time that suits. You don't have to be a regular volunteer to come; sometimes people like to see what we're like before they commit themselves to a whole task! So feel free to come along and say hello. Further details will be sent via email, so get yourself on our mailing list if you're not already.

We're off to Warburg, near Bix today, and we'll be working for the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire wildlife trust who own this splendid site. It's BBOWT's showcase nature reserve and whenever we go here we always admire the well-maintained hedges, grassland and habitat piles on this site. Today's project is clearing up and burning the left-overs from felling of some of the conifers on this site. We'll be helping to extend the chalk grassland, which is a rare and valuable habitat in this part of the world. Get yourself on our email list to find out more about it.

We're going to a new site today, but doing work that's not new to us at all. This part of Pissen Wood is a privately-owned part of a larger National Trust woodland and is being managed as wildlife habitat. We'll be harvesting some of the timber for our hedging stakes and binders, clearing coupes to let in sunlight and improve biodiversity and leaving habitat piles for invertebrates. There will certainly be a good bonfire to keep warm and cook any potatoes or parsnips you want to bring for your lunch. As usual, full details will be sent out in the weekly email. THIS TASK WAS CANCELLED DUE TO THE SNOW.

This week it's a welcome return to this former quarry and splendid nature reserve just one junction north on the M40. It's the place where they found amazing fossilised dinosaur footprints. Sometimes we've done paths and steps here in the Summer, but today we'll be clearing scrub to maintain biodiversity. We'll most likely be working with one of BBOWT's wardens, who will be able to tell us all about the site.

A bonus Saturday task and more work on our ongoing replacement of the fencing around Raleigh Park. We're making incredibly good progress putting brand-new post and wire round this much-valued park and nature reserve in West Oxford. Our post-and-wire fencing has all be done to a very high standard and should last for many years to come. When complete, it will be something that we can be proud of, because not all volunteer groups would have the skills to do this type of work, to the same consistently high standard. Not that we like to boast! Come along and help, there'll be plenty for everyone to do and it's fine to come along for part of the day.

Our regular monthly visit to this splendid nature reserve and SSSI in the Chilterns. If you've not been before you've probably noticed the place where the M40 cuts through the chalk and Red Kites circle overhead. We'll be working with the highly-knowledgeable wardens from Natural England; the government's main nature conservation agency. They'll probably give us some scrub to clear, some woodland to coppice, or some sheep to foot-trim. As usual, we'll find out the exact work plan in the week beforehand so get on the mailing list, get the email and get involved!

Shotover covers the old coach road from London to Oxford. As Oxford comes into sight, there would be just one stretch of more woodland to get through before travellers would be safe from highwaymen. The woodland we're managing today is coppice woodland, which may have looked very similar even hundreds of years ago. Coppicing is a way of managing woodland to provide a regular supply of timber for building, hurdle-making, fence posts or firewood. In fact, no part of the tree would have been wasted. Nowadays, we might be taking a few hedgelaying stakes but our main purpose is to maintain the woodland in the way that the local wildlife are used to. This means fresh coppiced coupes providing light for rare woodland flora and regeneration of the trees.

Today is Oxclean day and OCV's contribution will be some rubbish clearance at the Trap Grounds in North Oxford. It used to be an unofficial rubbish dump, so we're not moving everything, but we'll fill a skip with the sharpest, most dangerous and unsightly things. This type of work has made a huge difference in the past, and makes the site safer for children and dogs. But since that sort of thing is not really nature conservation work, we're also likely to do some bramble bashing, create and maintain some paths and cut back any trees shading out the ponds too much.

It's a mixed bag of tasks today. We'll be working around the Cemetery and Windmill Centre in Deddington and the work will involve modifying some post and rail fencing and moving stiles and gates. We'll also plant some wildflowers in suitable locations and cut back scrub in other locations. OCV work on this site has made a real difference over the last few years, creating footpaths, laying hedges and coppicing woodland. So come along today and help us keep up the good work.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd (a pub in Friar's entry, near where Borders used to be) from about 9pm.

We're going to a new site today, but doing work that's not new to us at all. This part of Pissen Wood is a privately-owned part of a larger National Trust woodland and is being managed as wildlife habitat. We'll be harvesting some of the timber for our hedging stakes and binders, clearing coupes to let in sunlight and improve biodiversity and leaving habitat piles for invertebrates. There will certainly be a good bonfire to keep warm and cook any potatoes or parsnips you want to bring for your lunch. As usual, full details will be sent out in the weekly email. (This task was rescheduled to today as a result of snow in February.)

Our last coppicing task of the Winter. We'll be clearing another coppice coupe to let in the daylight and promote regeneration, whilst also harvesting a good crop of timber for hedgelaying stakes and binders. We'll also be able to look at other areas we coppiced last Winter and the year before and see how they are regenerating and providing a range of different ages of trees for maximum biodiversity. After this there'll probably be no more coppicing until Autumn!

Our regular monthly visit to this splendid National Nature Reserve. We'll be working with Natural England's wardens to help maintain the reserve. They will give us some work that's appropriate to the type of year, whether it's a bit of scrub bashing, fencing or even caring for one of the flocks of sheep by trimming their feet. As usual we'll explain exactly what sort of task is planned in the weekly email that's sent out before the task.

For the March social, we're keeping things simple with a trip to the Bookbinders Pub in Jericho from 7.30pm. If you'd like to play some boardgames or card games, feel free to bring some with you, but no obligation if you'd just like a quiet drink and chat! You don't have to be a regular volunteer to come along - we're a friendly bunch, drop by and say hello!

It's now nearly a year since we started replacing the fencing around this splendid park in West Oxford, managed by Oxford City Council with help from us and other local groups. We've been working in stretches of 50m to 100m each time, with the amount we've got done depending on the number of fiddly bits, such as straining posts, gates and stiles. When it's finished it will be a great achievement and will last for many years to come. In the course of doing it, we'll have improved and consolidated the fencing skills we have in the group ready for future tasks. Come along and get involved.

It's a slightly unusual one for us today. We'll be helping out Cultivate, a new co-operative social enterprise which aims to bring fresh, local, organic food directly to the Oxford area. They have a site where they are planning to start growing food at Little Wittenham, close to where OCV have worked in the past with the Northmoor Trust. Together with Cultivate volunteers, we'll be helping out with an ambitious fencing project around one of their fields. This type of organic food production can leave many great opportunities for wildlife like birds and pollinating insects to flourish in the hedges and field margins. Come along for a good day's fencing and a chance to find out about the plans for sustainable food production.

It's April Fool's Day and you'd be a fool to miss a chance to visit this fantastic nature reserve near Woodstock. Some willows have been pollarded recently by a chainsaw team so we'll be having some bonfires to dispose of the cuttings. This is vital work to stop them sprouting into the damp ground of the water meadow. Even a small twig cut from a willow can produce a huge tree in no time at all. The water meadow is an incredibly rich habitat but without regular maintenance it would become boring old scrub. It's also likely we'll be asked construct a sleeper footbridge, repair fences and replace or clean the signage on site. This is a stunning nature reserve, so it's a task not to miss.

The meeting will be held at 8pm in the Jury Room. Come along if you would like to learn more about how we run or would like to get more involved. Or join us for a pint at Far from the Madding Crowd from around 9pm.

This weekend we're off to the Brecon Beacons to work with the National Trust wardens who help maintain some of the most heavily-used trails in this National Park. We'll be leaving on Good Friday evening and arriving back on Easter Monday evening. We'll be working with the National Trust on Saturday and Sunday and we'll have Monday off to explore the area. We've been to this area several times in the past and it's always a really good trip. The National Trust base camp accommodation is comfortable and well-equipped and we provide transport and meals. After the work is done there's usually plenty of time for eating, drinking and general merriment. Total cost should be less than 40 pounds. More details will be sent to the OCV mailing list and to members. You must be an OCV member to come on residentials, but it only costs 5 pounds and you can join at the same time as booking. For more information contact tasks@ocv.org.uk or book via the button below. SORRY - THIS IS NOW FULL.

We'll be working very close to home today. This is the outdoor education centre where we keep our tools and minibus. Today's task will be general maintenance on the site. In the past this has included building dipping platforms, creating steps and putting up fences, clearing and surfacing paths, and controlling ivy where it threatens large trees. Today's work could be any of those or something completely different, join the mailing list to get details nearer the time.

We're doing a one day first aid course today with the British Red Cross in Abingdon. It is a standard first-aid course and if you pass the assessment at the end you will get a certificate that is valid for 3 years. This is really important for OCV because it makes it more likely we have qualified first aiders present on most of our tasks. It will be free to OCV members, and the standard of the training is very high and you are guaranteed to learn something, even if you have been on a similar course before. There are a limited number of places, but OCV has paid so we'd really like to use them all. So please book if you're able to come and also say if you already have a first aid certificate. We will give priority to leaders, drivers, members and then regular volunteers, particularly those who haven't had training before or whose certificates are expiring soon. Please fill out the booking form if you'd like to come. We'll also need a leader and a driver to get us there. (NB. No deposit cheque is required, whatever the booking form says!) **SORRY - THIS IS NOW FULLY BOOKED**

Our regular monthly visit to a National Nature Reserve. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England to look after this splendid chalk grassland and woodland site in the Chilterns. At this time of year the work is likely to be maintenance of fences, stiles and gates or steps and paths. Or it could involve work with one of the flocks of sheep on site. Full details will be given on the OCV mailing list as usual.

We've been working our way round the edge of Raleigh Park in West Oxford for the last year, replacing the fencing a stretch at a time. We're making good progress and the eventual aim is to leave it stock proof to give the option of grazing the site to keep scrub down. We pull out the rotten posts and carefully roll up the rusty old barbed wire, then we put in new posts and wire and hopefully we do it well enough to last for 15-20 years. It's possible this task will be changed to another Oxford City Council site if a more urgent job needs doing. The best thing to do is join our mailing list so you get all the up-to-date information.

The meeting will be held at 8pm in the Jury Room. Come along if you would like to learn more about how we run or would like to get more involved. Or join us for a pint at Far from the Madding Crowd from around 9pm.

This week we'll be doing a slightly unusual task. Part of the day will be repairing a wall at this urban nature reserve in central Oxford. Since the wall is old we'll be using traditional lime mortar to match the original. Lime mortar has been used in building work for centuries and has very different properties to modern cement, and is still considered superior in some respects. We'll need help mixing the mortar, then skilfully placing the stones in the wall. The stones should all be there ready as we recovered them from the neighbouring land on a previous visit. If we have more volunteers than the walling requires, then there may be some other small tasks on the site. And if not, it would be great to set up some portable workbenches and make up loads of bird and bat boxes. We're likely to visit loads of sites where we can put them up throughout Oxfordshire in the coming months.

We'll be continuing our ongoing fencing project at Raleigh Park in West Oxford. Once the fence line is clear and the old posts are removed, it will be a case of digging in some new straining posts, bashing some intermediates and monkey straining some stock netting. Sounds technical? Well, it is a bit, but we make sure there's lots of useful stuff for beginners to do too. On our projects there's rarely a shortage of “experts” to give you advice, welcome or otherwise! This task might change to another Oxford City Council nature reserve if there's something that's more urgent for us to do.

This is the first of two tasks at a new site for us. It's a Christian retreat with facilities for outdoor education for children including a rope bridge and improvised water slide. We'll be improving the nature trail through a small patch of woodland. We'll replace several sets of steps, clear and re-route a path. There might also be possibility of making some wooden benches. Most interestingly of all, we will make a start on constructing a substantial wooden footbridge to a small island.

Our monthly visit to this Natural England-managed National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. If you're regularly on the M40, you'll know it as the bit where you go through a chalk cutting and there are always a lot of birds hovering overhead (they are Red Kites). The site has quite a bit of woodland and some stunning unimproved chalk grassland with wild flowers everywhere. Since we're in the middle of the bird nesting season we're likely to be doing fencing, step or path maintenance or looking after one of the flocks of sheep that keep the grassland safe from scrub invasion. More details in the weekly email.

Our second day's work at this Christian retreat and outdoor educational centre. We're helping to improve the nature reserve aspect of the grounds by improving access with better steps and today we'll hopefully be finishing construction of a large wooden bridge. There might be time for a few side jobs, such as making benches, repairing steps, trimming vegetation on paths and maybe creating some different habitat. It's an unusual project for us that may hopefully take OCV's construction projects up a notch or two from boardwalks and dipping platforms. So come along and be a part of the fun!

This month's committee meeting is the AGM - a chance for members to exercise their voting powers! The meeting will be held from 8-9pm in the Jury Room of the Town Hall. If you would like to come along and learn more about the work of the committee then all members are welcome. Alternatively you can join us for a pint at Far From the Madding Crowd afterwards. PLEASE NOTE THIS MEETING IS ON THURSDAY, NOT THE USUAL TUESDAY.

We're at this Oxford City Council-managed site in West Oxford again this week for a bit more fencing work. Fencing is one the main things that we do in Spring, when the birds are nesting and trees are growing vigorously, and we're pretty good at it. Maybe we're not as fast as people with a lot of agricultural machinery, but we take pride in a quality job and we can get posts put-in in some awkward to access places. This task might change to another Oxford City Council site if there's something that's more urgent for us to deal with on one of Oxford's other nature reserves. The weekly email will have all the details.

This will be our third visit to Standlake Ranch in recent months and this time we're hoping to finish the footbridge and also complete the path with a few more steps and handrails. The result should be a much more accessible nature trail through woods to an island. If there's time we might also make a dipping platform, but we'll probably have our work cut out with the jobs we've started already. Come along for some more exciting construction work with lots of sawing and bashing required.

We're back to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve this week to help out looking after this particular part of the Chilterns AONB. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England who will give us some appropriate tasks to do within their management plan for the reserve. It's less likely to be scrub destruction and bonfires at this time of year, and more likely to be fencing, path work or sheep husbandry. Whatever the plan is, our weekly email will have all the information you need to get involved.

We've worked in the amazing wild-flower meadows here for the last few years. The owners don't treat them with chemicals, so they are traditional meadows with a broad range of species. We helped to pull ragwort so that the hay wasn't contaminated with this potentially poisonous plant. Last year there were amazing butterflies everywhere. This time they're hoping a ragwort pull won't be required on their land so we're actually working on the neighbouring farm, near to an SSSI. We'll be cutting back scrub which is encroaching onto the grassland. This probably won't take us very long, so we will pull ragwort in their fields as well and there will be no shortage of that work. Come along to admire the views and the wild flowers and for some Summer grassland slashing, sawing and uprooting.

The meeting will be held at 8pm in the Jury Room. Come along if you would like to learn more about how we run or would like to get more involved. Or join us for a pint at Far from the Madding Crowd from around 9pm.

We're off for our monthly visit to our most regular work site this week. Working with the expert wardens from Natural England we'll be doing whatever reserve maintenance work they've got planned for us this week. At this time of year, it will most likely be fencing, path work or looking after one of the flocks of sheep which graze the chalk grassland and keep it in great condition. We'll give full details in our weekly email.

Despite its urban surroundings the Lye Valley is an exceptionally important natural habitat with several rare species only found in one or two other places in Oxfordshire. One of our annual tasks is raking the fen after it has been cut by Oxford City Council staff. Our task may be careful management of sensitive habitat, but it can still be very hard work. It can also be wet even in warm weather. It's a satisfying job though because you can clearly see the difference when it's done. We also sometimes pollard willows nearby to stop them shading out the fen. Come along and help us do this vital work.

We started a wall-repair project here in May. We did a lot, but there is still plenty left to repair. Today we'll be dismantling some partly-collapsed wall and repairing it with lime mortar, which was the traditional material used for buildings before the twentieth century. It's likely that a lot of mixing of mortar will be required, along with sorting out stones and finally placing them back on the wall. If we can, we'll also replace the capping on the wall, which will require some more mixing and artistic shaping. We might also do some small scrub clearance jobs and generally tidy up where we can. When repaired, the wall should be good for many years to come.

We'll be meeting at the Jam Factory near the station for a good meal. The table will be booked for 8pm. Check out their website for the new summer menu and please email Tom by the night of Tuesday the 24th to book.

We'll be putting some finishing touches to our splendid fence around this park in West Oxford today, managed by Oxford City Council. Since finishing the fence won't take the whole day, we'll also be doing a few other fence and gate repair jobs, then getting our waders on and doing some pond work. So it should be a varied day's work here. Come along and join the fun!

We had a day on this small but important nature reserve in southern Oxford in the Winter. On that occasion we did some coppicing, cleared some tree branches which were overshadowing one side of the pool and built an otter holt. This time we've chosen a warmer time of year so we can get into the water in our wellies and waders to complete the work around the pond. That will give us a lot of spare scrub and so we will build another otter holt, near to the previous one. This will give the otters an extra choice of home, but more to the point the scrub cutting will greatly increase biodiversity around the southern end of the pond. We'll bring all our waders and wellies, so come along, get your rubber gear on and prepare to jump in!

Tonight is our monthly committee meeting - come along if you would like to get more involved in the running of the charity. Alternatively, you can meet us in Far From the Madding Crowd afterwards. Please note this month's meeting will be held in the PLOWMAN ROOM of the Town Hall. Sadly no ploughman's lunch will be provided.

This will be a Saturday afternoon out and about! It will involve our own very cool Oxford rivers and it'll be loads of fun... other details to follow..

A Summer visit to this important site in the Chilterns. Aston Rowant is a National Nature Reserve, run by the government's conservation agency Natural England. We'll be helping the wardens with whatever they want doing at this time of year, whilst enjoying the views and hopefully the nice weather. For more information about exactly what we'll be doing, join our email list and you'll get full details.

This small spit of land next to the river is not quite an island, but it does sometimes look like one. The last few years we've cut the sedgy grass and, importantly, raked if off the site so that it doesn't enrich the soil. The low-nutrient soil is vital for promoting wild flowers such as fritillaries. We've also pollarded some of the smaller willows to stop them overshadowing the fen. Come along and help with this vital but very hard work. You can do it at your own pace of course! It's usually really nice working alongside the river, particularly when the weather is kind to us. Come along and join in!

Just a good pub social. We had a great time when Michelle took us there at the beginning of the year. I also love the fact that crepes are the main item on the menu! I'll be there from 8pm.

This site in north Oxford is a former rubbish dump, which is now a popular community resource as well as an impressive nature reserve. We've done lots of work clearing scrub, creating paths and building a bird hide. Today we will be doing some scrub clearance around the meadow, and possibly removing excess reeds from the ponds, which will require waders and possibly a small boat! Come along and help with this important work.

Another visit to this stunning Oxford City Council nature reserve to the south-west of the city. There are great views and fantastic woodland, grassland and wetland habitats. Today we'll be repairing a walkway constructed from railway sleepers. This will help to maintain safe public access to the site. Come along and get involved.

South Newington is a village in North Oxfordshire towards Banbury. We'll be doing two different jobs in the parish this week. Firstly we'll be building a set of steps to improve access to a newly planted woodland up a steep slope. Secondly, we'll be in a different part of the village, coppicing trees alongside an ancient lane. This type of work will improve access, but also drastically increase biodiversity by letting the light reach the ground and kick-start growth of a lot of woodland plant species. It will be interesting to call back in the future and see what grows back where we've worked. Come along for some enjoyable step-building and first coppicing of the year.

Tonight is our monthly committee meeting - come along if you'd like to get more involved in the running of the charity. Alternatively, we will be heading to Far from the Madding Crowd for a pint or join afterwards if you would like to come along. Please note: This month's meeting will be held in the BARRISTERS ROOM of the Town Hall.

This week we'll be doing a series of jobs at this village primary school to significantly improve the school nature area. We'll be clearing some scrub from around the pond, building a new dipping platform, cutting a meadow, pollarding a willow, surfacing a network of paths, and planting a hedge, possibly two of them. It's a lot of small jobs which altogether will hopefully make an amazing nature area with examples of 5 or 6 different types of habitat. We'll be working with locals, perhaps including parents, pupils and staff. There will be loads to do, so please come along and do your bit!

We'll be scrub-clearing and helping to restore a pond at this site in Piddington parish, near Bicester. We'll be working for the parish council who are creating a new woodland for the jubilee-year. There'll be lots coppicing to do, as well as bramble to cut and possibly some earth to move. The trees will be planted later in the Winter. Come along for lots of top quality conservation work helping to create a woodland that will hopefully be enjoyed by generations to come.

This week we'll be working at Shotover Country Park, which is managed by Oxford City Council. This is a last-minute change from the previously advertised task at Port Meadow. We'll be removing sycamore saplings from a relatively remote corner of the site. More information has already been sent out in the weekly email, so please email tasks@ocv.org.uk if you want a copy forwarding to you!

We're close to home again today with another day's walling at Holywell Cemetery - a space for urban wildlife in the centre of Oxford. We're working our way along the stone wall at the rear of the site, rebuilding those parts of it that have collapsed, using traditional lime mortar. There will be lots of mortar to mix and stone to sort out, and there will be also be chance to have a go at laying the new stones if you want. If we have a really good turnout then we can do some scrub clearance as well, as there will certainly be loads needed after the wet spring which has allowed some very vigorous growth. Given the convenient location, feel free to come along for part of the day if you prefer.

We last went to this beautiful privately owned woodland late last Winter. There's loads and loads of work to do coppicing it, because it hasn't been actively managed for some time. Today we'll get ourselves some hedgelaying stakes and binders and create some dense log piles for invertebrates and some messier scrub piles for other wildlife. But the main purpose is of course to open the canopy to let in light and promote regeneration. This means rare plants on the floor of the woodland and a source of food for birds and small mammals. In fact, since it's hazel coppice there may even be rare dormice, which are thought to benefit hugely from maintaining the traditional coppice cycle. So come along and join the fun.

Tonight we are holding our monthly committee meeting - come along if you fancy getting more involved in the running of the charity. Afterwards, we'll head to Far from the Madding Crowd for a pint or two if you fancy coming along. Tonight's meeting will be in the usual Jury Room.

Our first hedgelaying task of the season and we're off to a site we've worked at many times in the past, doing coppicing, hedgelaying and repairing the banks of the lake. This time we'll be laying another section of a rather mature hedge we started last year, so there will be some coppicing involved as well. The aim will be to make the hedge denser, so it provides better habitat for birds and small mammals, and we'll also let in more light to help regenerate an area of recently coppiced woodland. No previous experience of hedgelaying required, so come along and get stuck in.

Day one of a double-bill of fen-raking this weekend. There are two fens at the Lye Valley and we will most-likely do one each day. This is vital work to maintain the rich diversity of species on this SSSI in East Oxford. The reeds will have been cut by the city council, so our job will be to rake them off the fen so that the soil is not enriched by the decaying matter. To maintain the interesting plants it's important to keep the soil really low in nutrients. It's hard work but really important work.

Day two of a double-bill of fen-raking at this SSSI in East Oxford. The reeds will have been cut and will just need raking off to maintain variety of species on this fen. It can be hard work but is a vitally important bit of management to maintain the site. If we finish all the raking, there may be some other bits of scrub clearance to do at the edge of the fen. Come along and join in. Many hands make light work!

We're off to this nature reserve and town green in North Oxford today to do a bit of scrub clearance and possibly remove some dangerous and unsightly rubbish as well. It used to be a rubbish tip and the small piles of old bricks and rubble are home to lizards, with the ponds and wetland home to birds, amphibians and reptiles. It's possible that we'll build a bench for users of our bird hide screen. In the past we've also pulled up bramble and golden rod to create a meadow and cleared a lot of scrub to create a network of paths.

Our first Autumn visit to this Natural England nature reserve in the Chilterns. At this time of year we could be doing fencing work, looking after the sheep, or perhaps starting on some Autumn scrub bashing on the grassland or some coppicing in the woods. We'll be working with one of the wardens from Natural England and they will tell us their priorities. It's an amazingly diverse nature reserve, so it could be almost anything. As usual our weekly e-mail will have all the details.

We'll be getting a curry on the Cowley Road. If you want to join us for a drink after, then we'll most probably be at the Star from about 9pm - but take my mobile number just in case: 07887 928115

It's unusual for us to work at this National Nature Reserve two weeks running, but we will be back this week to help the wardens with whatever their priorities are. It could be scrub clearance on the grassland, coppicing ash and hazel, or any number of other tasks around the site. If we're on the hillside the views over Oxfordshire are splendid. Update: This week we'll be gathering up the lambs for foot trimming and ear tagging. There may also be a bit of roof construction and fence deconstruction.

This week we're running a hedgelaying training session at this site in Boar's Hill in Oxford owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust. We'll be laying a length of hedge to create a dense natural barrier providing habitat for birds and small mammals. Without hedgelaying hedges would eventually become simply lines of trees or get very gappy if they were just trimmed by machinery. This week's project will be a chance to learn how to lay a hedge under the guidance of one of our experienced volunteers. No previous experience is needed and this is a great opportunity to learn a new skill.

Tonight is our monthly committee meeting, held in the town Hall. Come along if you fancy learning more about how the charity is run, or if you think you might like to get more involved. We will follow the meeting with a few pints at Far From the Madding Crowd.

It's a new destination for us this week as we work with the parish council and alongside members of the Kirtlington Wildlife and Conservation Society (KWACS). We'll be helping to pull up thick reeds from their impressive village pond. If we need a break from standing in cold water in waders and wellies then we'll also be clearing a badly overgrown hedge in preparation for replanting, and clearing scrub from a churchyard managed for wildlife. So there's loads to do around this picturesque village just north of Oxford. Come along and get involved.

We'll be learning about coppicing and woodland management from an expert this weekend. We're off to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire to catch up with ex-OCVer, TV personality, coppicer, hurdle-maker and green woodworker Brian Williamson. He'll be telling us about the coppice restoration work he's doing at Westonbirt and helping us improve our own knowledge and skills covering everything from tool use to woodland management. We're hoping this will be interesting to everyone, whether a newcomer or old-hand. On the Saturday evening we can guarantee a roaring campfire, good food and drink, and somewhere flat to pitch your tent. No hot showers though! Come along if you want to learn about coppicing and woodland skills. There will be a bit of hands-on work to do, with the main focus on training.

It's our regular monthly trip to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. Since we're working directly with the wardens from Natural England they will plan the task for this week, based on their priorities for managing this site. At this time of year it's likely to be coppicing in the woodland or scrub-bashing to maintain the splendid chalk grassland. Full details will be on the weekly email as usual.

We'll be working with the Friends of the Trap Grounds at this site in North Oxford this week. You would never guess this was formerly a rubbish tip, as there are splendid ponds, woods and even some meadow providing a range of habitat. It links up with nearby Burgess Field and Port Meadow via the trees and scrub along the railway, increasing the value to wildlife still further. There is a network of paths that OCV helped create along with a bridge and bird hide. Today we're most likely to be scrub clearing, removing any dangerous rubbish remaining or doing other general maintenance tasks to keep this site in perfect condition for wildlife and the local community.

A second visit to Lincombe Lane in Boars Hill. The land is owned by the Oxford Preservation Trust and managed with advice from BBOWT. We'll be continuing the hedge we started laying last time on our training session. This will hopefully result in a rejuvenated hedge with potential to be much denser and provide habitat and food for birds and small mammals. If there are gaps left then we may replant them as well this time. Come along and get involved.

Tonight is our monthly committee meeting, held in the town Hall. Come along if you fancy learning more about how the charity is run, or if you think you might like to get more involved. We will follow the meeting with a few pints at Far From the Madding Crowd.

We're off to work at this SSSI just north of Oxford this week. We'll be working with one of the BBOWT wardens helping to clear scrub and look after this valuable grassland and heathland site. We've been promised a roaring bonfire to keep us warm in the depths of Winter, so feel free to bring potatoes or parsnips to bake in the embers. More details about this task will be included in our weekly email as usual so do join our mailing list if you're not on it already.

The plan for this week is to do some fencing at this splendid City Council site on the south-west side of Oxford. We normally do fencing in the Summer months, but this job is a bit more urgent to allow grazing on the site, which can be an important part of management. After all, a cow, sheep or horse can eat a lot more scrub than even the most determined OCVer can clear in a day! So come along and keep your fencing skills up-to-date over the Winter months. More details will be included in the weekly email as usual.

Our last task before Christmas and we're off to our most regular site, Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve about 15 miles south of Oxford. We'll be working with one of the friendly wardens from Natural England, who help keep this site the showcase nature reserve that it is. Tradition dictates that we have a bonfire for cooking potatoes on the last task before Christmas, but this will be confirmed in the weekly email before the task along with all the other details as usual.

Our Christmas Party is close to Christmas this year, on the shortest day of the year, and supposedly the day the world ends. So a good day for a party. Everyone associated with OCV is welcome to attend even if you've only been to the occasional task, or even if you haven't been to any yet. As usual, it will be a case of bring-your-own drinks and buffet food. It would be helpful if you let us know roughly what you're intending to bring so we can vaguely co-ordinate and not get too much of one thing or another, but that's not essential. There will be a conservation pub quiz, with questions devised by the task programmer. Festivities will get underway at 7pm and we will go on to late, possibly adjourning to a late-opening pub nearby. We've promised not to publicise the exact location, so please email tasks@ocv.org.uk if you would like to come so we can give you the full address. Hope you can make it.

It's only two days before Christmas and many people will be away from home and so we've decided not to have a task today. But save your energy for next week - we're having a task between Christmas and New Year instead. That will certainly help you work off some of that excess turkey! Happy Christmas from OCV.

In August we started work on improving the sleeper boardwalk on this site on the south-west of Oxford. It was hard work lifting, flattening and replacing the sleepers to keep the public access completely up-to-scratch. Today we'll be continuing with that work, although there probably won't be so many people out for a walk! This job may be a bit weather dependant, so make sure you're on the email list in case of a last-minute alteration. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter, but email is the most reliable way to make sure you're up-to-date with us. Happy New Year from OCV.

We're kicking off the new year with a visit to this Local Wildlife Site in Tackley. We've done a lot of work here over the years: fencing around it, installing steps and clearing lots and lots of scrub. It's grazed by the neighbouring farmer's cows and sheep and so we just need to come in and take care of the bigger, thorny stuff the stock can't handle. Then when Spring comes there will be the usual array of chalk grassland species including Snake's Head Fritillary, Salad Burnet and Yellow Rattle. We usually have a good bonfire to keep us warm on this site.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly. If you'd like to come along and see how we run things and perhaps get more involved, please feel free to join us. The meeting will be held in the Panel Room of the Town Hall from 8-9pm. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd from about 9pm.

We've got a day close to home this week. We're at Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre in Headington, which is where we base our operations. We'll be working with the Principal and helping to manage the wide variety of habitat on the site which are studied by the students young and old. In the past we've helped clear felled trees, lay hedges, build dipping platforms and improve ponds. Best of all, if we forget any tools it's not far to go back for them!

(TASK CANCELLED) One of our regular monthly tasks at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve. We'll be working with one of the wardens from Natural England who maintain the nationally important chalk grassland and other habitat. We could be clearing scrub, coppicing or looking after one of the flocks of sheep. This is a good site for enjoying splendid views across Oxfordshire. Check our weekly email for more details.

We are going for a meal at Atomic Pizza http://atomicpizzas.co.uk/ - (far end of Cowley Rd) at 7.30pm on Thurs 24th January. Where else could you get a pizza named after Xena, Dogtanian, or Hanibal from the A-Team? Those are my TV memories right there! We will most likely be going on to a near-by pub afterwards, so please feel free to come along for the meal or just to the pub. If you would like to come, please let Michelle know by next Mon 21st Jan.

We're having a day coppicing in the ancient Brasenose Woods to the East of Oxford. Woodland like this has been managed by coppicing for centuries to provide a steady supply of timber every few years. Nowadays we keep the coppice cycle going by clearing a section of woodland so that the ground flora get plenty of light and a new cycle of regeneration begins. The habitat piles we leave will be good cover for small mammals and habitat for invertebrates, which will eventually benefit birds as well.

We'll be working near the Windmill Centre in Deddington CP this week. A couple of years back we did some hedgelaying round here and coppiced an area of woodland. It's a very small wood so even though the regrowth was very rapid we decided to wait a year before coppicing the next section or coupe. Coppicing is the traditional way of ensuring a steady supply of timber by cutting different sections of a wood in rotation. The result is a patchwork of habitat of different ages which is excellent for biodiversity. Today's job will be more coppicing and also giving the hedge a bit of loving care.

We're helping out Cultivate today. They are a recently-established local food co-op who grow lots of different crops on their site near the Earth Centre at Wittenham Clumps. Although it might seem that farming is all about stopping wildlife eating your crops, there are actually many great ways in which food producers can boost biodiversity, especially as the “natural” landscape in the UK has actually been created by centuries of farming. In the past OCV has helped farmers who leave their field margins to grow wild and manage their hedgerows in the traditional way. Today we'll be helping Cultivate install bat boxes and build a beetle bank. We'll be working alongside some of their regular volunteers who will be planting fruit trees, so we might help out there too.

We'll be back in Brasenose Woods for some more coppicing today. Coppicing is the traditional way to manage woodland to provide a regular supply of timber. Even though the trees are cut down to ground level, they regenerate from their root system and trees become effectively immortal when managed in this way. Originally wood products harvested from Brasenose were used throughout the city by the colleges, some of whom owned the wood before the city council. We may take some binders for hedgelaying, but most of the material will be left as habitat. Then the area cleared will begin a new cycle of regeneration with positive outcomes for biodiversity.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly.This month we're in the Panel Room - if you'd like to come along and see how we run things and perhaps get more involved, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd from about 9pm.

A task at one of our favourite sites this week, back by popular demand! We'll be working with some of the National Trust wardens responsible for this stunning site in the Chilterns and some of the locals from the Friends of Watlington Hill. Scrub clearance here normally involves a great view over Oxfordshire, huge bonfires and crowds of Red Kites above us. The scrub clearance work is necessary to maintain the chalk grassland which is an important part of the landscape in southern England, and home to rare flora and fauna.

This is the third and final stretch of hedge to lay at this site in Boar's Hill, south of Oxford. We've been laying the hedge in the traditional way in two previous sessions this Winter to make it a denser habitat for small mammals, insects and birds. Our work will also improve the view over the fields and increase the longevity and effectiveness of the hedge as a barrier. Come along and help us finish the job.

After a splendid day's scrub clearance in December we're going back to do another day's work at this SSSI just to the East of Oxford, only a couple of miles from Barton. It's managed by BBOWT, our local Wildlife Trust, because of the site's importance. Part of it is ancient broadleaved woodland and there is also limestone grassland and heathland. We're likely to be clearing gorse and silver birch, and a blazing bonfire is on the cards as well. If you haven't been to this site before then it's well worth a visit and a bit of a hidden gem very close to the city.

This month, we will be meeting for some Italian food at Gino's Spaghetti House on Gloucester Green at 7.30pm. The restaurant serves a variety of pizzas, pasta dishes, salads, and meat and fish dishes, so there should be something for everyone. We'll then move on to a nearby pub for a pint or two. Everyone welcome, even if you've not been on a task before! Just let Nat (socials@ocv.org.uk) know by 17th Feb if you'd like to come.

Our February visit to this National Nature Reserve managed by Natural England. We do a wide variety of types of work on this site, everything from trimming sheep feet, fencing, coppicing and lots of clearing scrub. It's an important site and we'll be working with some very knowledgeable wardens who can tell you everything about its important chalk grassland with its rare juniper bushes and wildflowers, the ancient Ridgeway trail which very close by, and the various pieces of ancient woodland.

Last year we had two days at this site in Kennington, in south Oxford, just outside the southern bypass and close to Redbridge. We are working to sensitively manage the ponds by cutting back some of the willows from the banks to let in light. We've also built otter holts here and coppiced an small area. Today we'll be doing some straightforward willow cutting and hopefully the next time we come we will see the benefits of increased biodiversity around the banks and at the water's edge.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly.This month we're in the Panel Room - if you'd like to come along and see how we run things and perhaps get more involved, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd from about 9pm.

The parish council who manage this site are creating a new woodland where once was a very under-used field. By the time we arrive they will most-likely have begun some of the planting but we will be working to clear scrub from an area containing a dew pond in need of re-lining with puddled clay. Even small ponds can have a dramatic effect on biodiversity in an area, supporting amphibians, reptiles and insects as well as whole extra collection of aquatic plants. (So if you don't have a garden pond, go and dig one straightaway!) We'll also be installing a new kissing gate and possibly even re-painting some railings. Come along and find out more.

As we reach the end of the scrub-bashing season we might be helping to maintain chalk grassland on this National Nature Reserve or possibly helping with all sorts of other jobs needed to keep it the important site for wildlife that it is. We'll be working with the wardens from Natural England, the government's conservation body. Full details of today's tasks will be in the weekly email as usual, so join our mailing list if you're not on it already!

This week we'll be back at Raleigh Park where we recently replaced a large section of the boundary fence. A site like this really needs grazing to keep the grass and scrub down to levels where interesting flora can flourish, so the aim of the fencing was to enable this to take place. With the livestock on its way for the Spring we'll be fixing a last few dubious sections of fence and working through a long list of other conservation mini-projects on the site.

This month, we'll be going for a tasty meal at Le Kesh. Le Kesh is a Lebanese & Morrocan fusion restaurant, located on Cowley Road. It offers a large selection of excellent food at affordable prices. Their menu can be found here: http://keshoxford.com/. The selection of tajines on offer are particularly delicious. We'll then move on to a local pub for post-dinner drinks. Please email me by Friday 22nd March at socials@ocv.org.uk if you would like to join us there.

With bird nesting season beginning and hopefully the worst of the Winter frost past, we'll be able to continue the wall repairs we're undertaking in this churchyard in central Oxford. The cemetery is managed in a way which encourages urban wildlife. Even with the noise we make on an OCV task we've still seen foxes, mice, rabbits, and a variety of birds. Today's task is to reassemble more of the wall we took apart last year. We'll be using lime mortar, so there will be quite a lot of mixing required as well as the rewarding task of seeing the wall go back together, hopefully being solid for many years to come. There will be lots to do, but it's mainly light tasks such as carefully dismantling sections of wall and sorting stone. If we finish on time we'll probably head over for a drink at the nearby Turf Tavern.

The committee meets once a month in the Oxford Town Hall to make sure that the group operates smoothly.This month we're in the Panel Room - if you'd like to come along and see how we run things and perhaps get more involved, please feel free to join us. Alternatively, we'll be in Far from the Madding Crowd from about 9pm.

It's a new site for us this week. We'll be helping to repair a drystone wall at this ancient churchyard in Begbroke near Kidlington. Dry stone walls are a familiar part of the landscape in many parts of the British Isles, and before modern materials were available they were one of the most permanent ways to mark a boundary or contain livestock. This wall is on the edge of the countryside and will make a great home for wildlife, from insects to lizards and small mammals. No previous experience is necessary, and everyone is welcome to come along and join in. Dry stone walling is a fun activity, and a useful skill to learn. If you have some patience and good spatial skills it will help a lot!

This week we'll be in north Oxfordshire working at the site of Deddington castle. We did some work here a few years ago, clearing scrub and building revetments to prevent a footpath getting muddy. The results of that work still looked pretty good when last inspected, having blended in nicely and been partly disguised by vegetation regrowth. Today's work will be repairing a dry stone wall which has collapsed in places. So it’s another chance to refresh our skills with this traditional way to maintain boundaries using long-lasting natural and local materials. Dry stone walls can also be a good home for a range of wildlife, providing shelter for invertebrates, small mammals and even lizards. As usual no-experience is necessary and it's one of the few conservation activities we do that doesn't really need any tools.

Due to popular demand, we will be going to see comedy at The Glee Club for this month's OCV social. The show starts at 7pm at The Glee Club on Hythe Bridge Street and will include comedy by Steve Williams, Dave Johns, Matt Rees & Zoe Lyons. Food and drink are available for purchase at the venue. More details can be found on The Glee Club's website (http://www.glee.co.uk/oxford-comedy). To book your place, please email me by 5 April at socials@ocv.org.uk.

Our regular trip to this National Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. We'll be working with one of the wardens who look after this large site, which includes ancient woodland and chalk grassland. At this time of year we often help with fencing projects to contain the sheep which keep the scrub under control. Sometimes we look after the sheep themselves and occasionally we help to maintain paths and steps. As usual the full details and exact meeting place will be included in the weekly email.

We're going a bit further afield for a residential this year. We'll be working in the Southern Uplands of Scotland with the Borders Forest Trust who are working to re-create a valley of wooded wilderness with the rich diversity of native species that existed here thousands of years ago before human activities dominated. So far volunteers have planted over 500,000 native trees and that's most likely the type of work we'll be continuing: planting Juniper at the end of a remote valley. The plan is to set off from Oxford on the Friday morning, work two days of the weekend and stay for one full day more to properly see the area, perhaps including a hike, before coming back on the Tuesday afternoon. We'll be staying in a hall with cooking facilities, heating, toilets and hot-water/showers, but we'll be sleeping on the floor so sleeping bags will be required. Further details will be provided nearer the time.

We were last at Chilswell Valley in the winter when we were checking and repairing the fences and clearing some big scrub at the edge of the grassland. This task we have to be careful about nesting birds, so we’re going to focus on the smaller scrub springing up all over the place. It’s a steep sided valley and parts of the slopes are important for a certain type of snail, the details of which the task programmer has forgotten. Clearing the small scrub is the kind of work that is quite simple to do but very important to maintain the grassland habitat. And because the valley is so steep it is guaranteed to be good exercise!

This month's committee meeting is the AGM - a chance for members to exercise their voting powers! The meeting will be held from 8-9pm in the St. Aldates Room of the Town Hall. If you would like to come along and learn more about the work of the committee then all members are welcome. Alternatively you can join us for a pint at Far From the Madding Crowd afterwards.

A second visit to this Norman churchyard just north of Oxford. We'll be continuing the work on two dry stone walls that we started in April. We've done most of the taking down, and so today there will be a chance to get started putting everything back. If you've not done dry stone walling before, then don't worry, you will be able to learn on the job. If we get a section finished we may also put a lime mortar capping on to protect our handiwork. More details in the weekly email as usual.

We're back to one of our favourite sites this week. We'll be helping the reserve wardens maintain the nationally important calcareous grassland habitat. At this time of year we might actually begin to see some of the rare plants that our work helps to protect. We'll most likely we helping out with fence and gate repairs, looking after one of the flocks of sheep or doing whatever other maintenance jobs are required on the site. As usual everyone will be welcome and full details of the project and the meeting place will be given in the weekly email.

We'll be starting a construction project at this Christian retreat centre in West Oxfordshire. Last year we cleared a path and built steps and a bridge to make a nature walk through the woods. Today we'll be building a platform out into the lake to enable people to get in and out of boats, go on to the lake and skirt the around the reedbeds by boat. This work will involve bashing in some posts and some bits of woodwork to create platform that will enable people to enjoy the wildlife at this site.

Today's task will be erosion control on the footpaths at Shotover Country Park. We'll be making some steps and revetments using timber felled from the site itself. This will stop the paths washing away and getting full of potholes which get muddy and wet, and then wider as people have to skirt round the puddles. Come along and join in the sawing and bashing.

This month, we're meeting up at the Turf Tavern in central Oxford for a pint or two. They have a great terrace, which is fantastic to soak up the spring sunshine... We'll be there from about 7pm, so there's no need to book a place - just turn up at any point during the evening. All are welcome, including new volunteers! We're looking forward to seeing many of you there:-) If you can't find us then you can try calling Jo on 07887 928115, although reception is not great in there.