A preliminary meeting on 11 April was a resounding success, with over a hundred applications to join and enough volunteers for a strong committee.  The Friends met again on 22 August to elect Committee & Chairperson, ratify the constitution, and work on a strategy for fighting the threat to Muggeridge Field. 

Despite this being in the midst of the holiday season, there was still a good turnout, 73 people, and a number of apologies from others who were away.

The progress made to date was reviewed and a suggested constitution for the Friends of Chesworth Farm was presented for consideration. It was agreed that the proposed constitution would be adopted and a committee was appointed for the day to day management of the Friends’ group.

Steve Delahunt, Head Warden, reviewed recent sightings at Chesworth Farm, including some unusual dragonflies, the Bright Emerald and the Scarce Chaser. He also confirmed that there was a pair of nesting skylarks on Muggeridge Field, the site which WSCC wants to sell as a prime building site.

A small working group has already placed some useful information notices on the site and attention will now turn to the funding and provision of more permanent signs for visitors. A page has also been set up on Facebook while the Friends website is under construction.

The committee will now start to prepare a wish list of some of the beneficial work that should be started on the site.

David Moore