Following on from my last post on the meadows things have gone into orbit.
That was two weeks ago. We’ve been on about this for years.
Here’s a video of me talking about it over 4 years ago.
https://youtu.be/4xqnkHr8n6g?si=QZLtwWNaRXKsvwBa
And after the second Avocet arrived so did lots of people but the Avocet left and people still came from far and wide to see it. 
They didn’t waste their trip and went off to explore the whole area. I bumped into them later and they’d really enjoyed their time and thanked me for the directions.
It occurred to me that without those directions they would have struggled to find their way.
So I knocked up a few way markers
The next day I got wind of some money for footpaths in the area. Although I’ve been asking for this for years the council has approved £50,000 to spend on them. Including way marking!
At about the same time the local MP stood up in parliament and said this:
https://x.com/MattRodda/status/1856341177257148541
I immediately wrote to him and asked if they’d care to meet me to look at the issues we’ve faced as a community and he agreed.
Then we had storm Bert. In no time the Holy Brook burst its banks and there was a lot of flooding all over the country. Not as a result of the brook overflowing, it was just a microcosm of a national event. Of course Reading was affected and the meadows showed their mettle and held back millions of gallons of water.
The rising waters triggered a beautiful wildlife event. Countless money spiders climbed up the grass to escape the rising waters.
As the Holy brook met the spiders ducks moved in, including the pretty little Mandarin. There were at least 10 but there were likely to have been many more hidden in the marsh. I couldn’t get a photo though.
During the downpour I went to the pub. There was a folk gig on and it was about Land Access Rights.
Nick Hayes, author of the Book of Trespass and more relevantly Wild Service , Why Nature Needs you is also an excellent singer and is part of the Shamrackle Ceilidh band.
During their set he said a few words about the purpose of the movement and invited me up to say a few more words. You can watch it here https://youtu.be/4GDrRQPjAtk?si=Jy8bVBHMWZYP5Q6L
The rising waters also triggered another comment in Parliament. Matt Rodda again, concerned about flooding and the minister responding with support for nature based solutions.
https://x.com/mattrodda/status/1861339109425291540?s=48&t=AZZf7fCfSn-LrSfBTIkD0g
That meeting (in about 3 weeks) will be even more interesting now.
I mentioned this to a farmer on whose farm I do a bit of work. He has a similar but tiny wetland on the banks of the Thames a few miles upstream of Reading.
He suggested I join him for a meeting with an Eco Hydrologist. He also said he could steer me towards funding. There’s apparently lots of money to improve wetlands for floodwater storage and biodiversity.
I’m beginning to get really excited now.
We’ve had rare birds, a major flood event, people coming from far and wide, footpath funding, twice mentioned in parliament, offered funding, and a growing group of people pledging to come for another marsh trampling event before Christmas.
If you want to join there’s a WhatsApp group for that event:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FcVNUbDpw6L7IYxJq62SiS
There’s one more obstacle, we need to get a formal agreement with the land owners so we can access funding and make some really ambitious plans.
One of the major landowners and the owner of the prime areas to manage to achieve the multitude of benefits is Reading Borough council. So far all I’ve had by way of a response is they’re a bit too busy at the moment.
I suspect the minister’s interest might change that.
Rural Reading 