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Thursday, June 17, 2021 WOKINGHAM.TODAY
Cycle ride back CYCLISTS will be hopping on to their bikes for this year’s wheelie-good bike ride event. The Rotary Club of Easthampstead is hosting its Three Counties Cycle Ride event on Sunday, September 12. Starting and finishing at Garth Hill College, cyclists can choose distances of either 15 miles, 33 miles or 54 miles following scenic routes through Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The routes will be clearly signed throughout with marshals and drink stations. At the finish line, riders will receive a medal, certificate and refreshments. Organiser Dave Donaldson said: “The Three Counties Cycle Ride is an event for cycling families and the seasoned enthusiast alike, with a choice of three routes weaving through picturesque country lanes”. Having raised £15,000 for various charities two years ago, Mr Donaldson says that many organisations in the community benefit from the event. “Since the cycle ride was founded in 1983, well over £500,000 have been raised for our charities and this year’s principal beneficiaries will be Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Breakthrough Learning, Daisy’s Dream and NHS Berkshire Healthcare.” Previous charities include Macmillan Cancer Support, British Heart Foundation, Stroke Association and Alzheimer’s Society. Entry costs £20 for advance booking for anyone over 16, and £25 for entry on the day. For under 16s, entry costs £10 and a 20% discount applies to all groups registering online. Closing date is Friday, September 10. Supporters include Tesco, Fraser's Retail, Print Room Group, Cycling UK Reading, Berkshire Cycle Co, Garth Hill College, The Old Manor Bracknell, The Stag and Hounds Binfield, and local Guides and Scouts. � For more information or to register, log on to 3CCR.org
NEWS | 11
Bee careful! Council sorry for mowing down rare orchids EXCLUSIVE By CHARLOTTE KING cking@wokingham.today A SONNING conservationist has called on the borough council to “get its act together” after its contractors mowed down a field of protected plants — just one day after it was asked to safeguard them.
On Tuesday, June 8, village resident and director of ecology charity Rewilding Britain Alastair Driver discovered a patch of Bee Orchids on Shepherds Hill on the Earley/Woodley/Sonning border. He said they were “a pretty incredible” find, and has now urged Wokingham Borough Council to reconsider its biodiversity strategy to stop “unnecessary mowing”. “Bee Orchids are pretty unusual, and there are none in Sonning that I’m aware of,” he said. “I’ve lived here a long time, I’m a professional ecologist and naturalist, and we’ve never come across them. “So, to find 27 flowering in an area of grassland on the Shepherds Hill Roundabout was pretty incredible.” Mr Driver said despite contacting the council and receiving confirmation the flowers would be protected, he was sad to hear they had been mowed down only a day later.
CUT BACK: The area by Shepherds Hill where bee orchids were seen growing
“It’s not difficult to spot them — they’re quite striking,” he said. “It’s a pretty sad state of affairs. “And it doesn’t matter how hard people tried to [protect the plants]. If the end result is the flowers get mowed down, the council may as well not care at all.” Wokingham Borough Council said it will now consider additional measures to “safeguard” certain species, and is grateful Mr Driver highlighted the plants. “We had been made aware of the Bee Orchids by Mr Driver,” a spokesperson said. “We confirmed the location and asked our contractors Tivoli Group not to mow the area and be aware of wildflowers
generally in the area. “We apologise they were cut.” Bee Orchids are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). This means nobody can intentionally uproot the flowers. Mr Driver said the council has a “legal duty” to protect the species, and all wildflower meadows in the borough. “We’ve got a climate and a biodiversity crisis, so local authorities have to go to do their bit,” he said. “They need to get their act together and quickly. They mow a lot of buttercups and daisies but it’s completely unnecessary.
“In many places, mowing isn’t done because of visibility issues but a historical tidiness mentality.” Now, the charity director is calling on the council to reassess its mowing practices to better support wildflowers and pollinating insects. “This was an area that didn’t need mowing,” he said. “So it’s got to be sorted. “Another year will go by where lots of wildflowers and pollinating areas have been mowed unnecessarily in the middle of flowering season. “A lot of Thames Valley farmland doesn’t support wildflower grasslands, so these are some of the best bits we have left.” Mr Driver said in the past 100 years, the UK has lost 90% of its wildflower meadows to development. Wokingham Borough Council said it welcomes residents and community members to let it know when they find a plant of interest. The spokesperson said the council will try to pinpoint the plant’s location before sending the details over to its contractors. “We request that the area is left uncut providing the plant the opportunity to bloom and disperse their seeds,” they explained. “At the start of each grass cutting season a reminder is sent out to contractors of previously reported wildflower areas.”
