MWHG Newsletter: 9th November 2026

20 hours ago

7 min read

Dear Volunteers and Supporters,

The annual general meeting (AGM) is always a valuable opportunity to reflect on the Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group's achievements over the past year, share updates on future projects, and recognise the dedication of the volunteers who make the Group's work possible. Around 40 members and volunteers gathered at Selsey Town Hall on Saturday 10th October to celebrate recent successes, discuss plans for the future, and begin looking ahead to the Group's forthcoming 30th anniversary.

Please check out our 2026 Annual Report for a recap of the amazing work our project leaders and volunteering groups accomplished between April 2025-26.

This year, we were delighted to have Leah Mathias-Collins, Group Environment Manager at Vitacress, as our guest speaker to talk about their 'Second Nature' programme, which focuses on six key areas: emissions, water, plastics, waste, sustainable growing and biodiversity. It was great to see a locally based, international business making environmental sustainability and net zero Science Based Targets part of their overall strategy.

Leah Mathias-Collins speaking at the 2026 AGM

MWHG volunteers have been working with Vitacress to survey wildlife at its Runcton site during the summer months. We enjoyed a fascinating presentation showing how the data collected by volunteers complements other monitoring techniques used across the site, including some great camera trap footage and the results of sophisticated bioacoustic monitoring equipment that identifies bird and bat species from their calls. The project provides a valuable insight into local biodiversity, and we look forward to continuing the surveys next season.

Wittering Area Community Conservation Project

By Jane Reeve | Wittering Area Community Conservation Project

Since the last newsletter in September, we have been busy with the seasonal work of habitat management and getting muddy. We have enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather, so layers have come off and lots of water has been drunk.

We had a chop at some of the thicker bramble along the Cakeham Road cycle path where we had planted a hedge last year. It has done really well and putting layers of woodchip at the base of the young trees seems to have locked in some moisture and kept the roots cool during the hot dry summer. We were treated to a great display of Clouded Yellow butterflies on the adjacent Bristly Oxtongue on the adjacent verges. We hope to plant the other side of the cycle path this winter so in the future this will be an amazing green corridor.

We have also worked on the three ponds that we manage in Birdham and given the banks a light trim so that willow, bramble and bindweed don’t completely take over. These ponds have all had water vole signs on them and are connected so are an important piece of habitat. They also act as water storage areas as Westlands Lane and Church Lane where they are located, are prone to flooding. On one of the ponds, we found lots of harvest mice nests deep in the sedges that we were trimming back, none occupied, but fantastic to see.

We have carried out work at the Selsey Beryl James Tree Nursery cutting back some of the competing growth around the young trees and piling up compost on the beds. At the West Wittering Tree Nursery, Charlie is keeping the site in great shape, but we had a session reorganising the paving stones, removing some unwanted plastic containers and sheeting, and getting it ready for winter. I planted out some acorns and hope they germinate but ensuring the mice don’t munch them might be a challenge.

We have started work removing a large and established bank of bramble from a ditch area next to a footpath off Elms Lane in West Wittering this autumn. The ditch needs to be accessible for any future drainage improvement work but actually being able to see it and access it is the first step. We have enjoyed lovey sunny days doing this work and lots of compliments from local people using the footpath as the bramble had narrowed the path considerably.

We had a lovely team of Civil Engineers from a London based company, Enable, join us for a work party at Hilton Park Pond. They were super fun, very hard working and responsible, listened to instructions and seemed to enjoy themselves as they have asked to come back next year 😊. We were very lucky to have the support of a local company that allowed us to use their toilet facilities which just made life easier for everyone. More work to do at this site as unfortunately we found fly tipped white goods and other items that we will need to try and get out of the pond.

We are always looking for more volunteers to help at these sessions. They are fun and very satisfying. No previous experience is needed; it is just like extreme gardening. We provide the tools and just ask that you bring good strong gardening gloves. You can stay for as long as you like but every hour is appreciated. We have a good refreshment break with a chance to chat and get to know everyone. Homemade cakes and cookies are provided and also very happy to provide allergen free cake and biscuits, just let me know what you need.

We really appreciate all the volunteers and other people that support our work. Big shout out of THANKS to our funders, the Woodger Trust, which allows us to do this important work.

Jane, Project Officer, Community Conservation Project

Heritage News

By Bill Martin | Our Heritage, Selsey Tramway Project, Sidlesham Heritage Project

Land Settlement Association Project

The Weald and Downland Living Museum have submitted a planning application for the rebuild of the LSA house at the South Downs National Park.

Selsey Tramway Project

Although the Tramway exhibition at the Novium has now finished, our film can still be viewed on YouTube - The Selsey Tramway.

Despite the wind and rain of the last few weeks the latest weed control matting on Chalder Station platform (pictured below) is helping to reduce the amount of undergrowth.

Heritage Presentations

A talk about the history of the Tramway at Emsworth U3A was held in October, with the next talk due at the Alzheimer's Society next year.

In the new year there will also be a presentation about the Land Settlement Association at Chichester Probus club.

Autumn Educational Work

By Emma Horton | Wildlife Warriors

The new academic year began in September with the Wildlife Warrior team busy delivering nature sessions for pupils at Sidlesham Primary School. We made the most of the school’s fantastic natural outdoor spaces. The children collected and identified autumn leaves and seeds in the woodland area, and enjoyed bug hunting and creating bug hotels. We also spent a session looking closely at the tiny creatures that the children discovered whilst pond dipping. Other autumnal activities included leaf painting, observing the intricate veins on the leaf surfaces, and being creative making characters from acorns, conkers and other seeds and leaves. We used willow that had been cleared from some of our pond sites during recent vegetation management sessions, to weave willow rings, which the youngsters decorated to make amazing ‘Autumn Crowns’. Many thanks to our brilliant team of volunteers who make the nature sessions so enjoyable.

During last half term we also visited a number of community groups on the Manhood Peninsula delivering Wildlife Warriors sessions. We made the most of the light evenings, before the clocks changed, to get out onto Birdham recreation ground with the young Beavers to collect a variety of leaves which they added to their ‘leaf wheels’. They then had the opportunity to dissect owl pellets, discovering what Barn owls eat by looking closely at the bones and skulls they found and identifying them on a chart.

1st Birdham and Wittering Cubs also welcomed us to deliver a session looking at creatures that hibernate. We made hedgehog cress pots and saw some very enthusiastic cubs making their own flapping bats to take home.

We recently visited Hunston Brownies for an autumn session making hedgehog cress pots and crafting some beautiful autumn crowns by adding ivy, pine cones and berries to their willow rings.

Perhaps the most memorable wildlife session was with East Wittering Guides in mid-September when we were joined by bat expert Sam Kelly. The evening had taking months of planning to get the timings right for the bats to be active and for the Girl Guides to be able to see the bats emerging from their roost, just after sunset. Sam shared her knowledge of these small flying mammals with the group and the girls were keen to go outside with bat detectors to spot and try to count the bats as they emerged. The Guides were very interested in using the bat detectors, with the device detecting the bats by converting their echolocation ultrasound signals to audible frequencies. We were able to determine that the bats living there were Common Pipistrelles. The guides then made bat kites to take home. Our thanks to Sam Kelly for such a brilliant evening with bats.

I also want to thank all the uniformed group leaders and their helpers for making us so welcome. It is so important for children to have extra social and educational opportunities outside of school and the leaders are a real asset to the youngsters and dedicate a lot of time to their organisations in a voluntary capacity.

Please get in touch if you run or have contact details for other community groups on the Manhood Peninsula that would be interested in the MWHG delivering free wildlife sessions to young people.

Wildlife Survey Results

By Nikki Timney | Find Wildlife From Home Survey

In September and October, 8 wildlife records were submitted to us by our volunteers and supporters. Our wildlife survey has now received a grand total of 2,112 records. Thank you to everyone who contributes their time to the survey.

Take a look at some of the photos and survey results we received in the last two months.

Survey Results for September and October

Buff-tailed Bumblebee by F McStea

1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee	1 Dunnock
1 Pearly Underwing Moth
1 Silver Y Moth	4 Wood Pigeons

Tell us about the wildlife you've seen in your garden, neighbourhood and surrounding local area and we will also submit your records to the National Biological Records Centre on your behalf.