SoFA held another successful Coffee Morning on Saturday 08 July at the United Reform church, Formby. There were 54 members present with 13 visitors, as well as six National Trust (NT) Staff.
Frank Hyland (chair) welcomed everyone to the SoFA Coffee Morning event, he was pleased so see so many there on a sunny Saturday morning. Many cups of tea and coffee were consumed as well as lots of biscuits.
We were given an update by Paul Semple who informed us that planning permission for the Victoria Road project had been refused. He advised us that the National Trust is considering an appeal against the decision, the result of which will take a while. Future updates will be available on NT Formby website.
The Lifeboat Road project is still ongoing and has a different project manager for this scheme.
NT Formby are continuing to work with young people across Sefton. These young people have been visiting NT Formby, participating in activities such as art in woods, yoga etc.
As Paul Semple is leaving the NT, Edwina (vice chair) presented Paul with a farewell gift from SoFA. Paul will be missed by us all at SoFA. However, there continues to be a super team who’ll continue to work with us at Formby.
Bree (NT Ranger) gave us an update on Wicks Lake as we’d recently given them a £5000 donation. The fence around the lake has now been replaced. We were informed that everyone is more than welcome to visit Wicks Lake to see for ourselves the work that has been completed and how our money has been spent. They require more funding to address footpaths and bridge.
She also let us know that they have found great crested newts in the lake, which is great news. Also, for the first time in three years some natterjack toads have appeared. This year there has been a large drop in number of sand lizards, but they are unsure as to why this has occurred, it could do with the very cool spring.
Chris Hunter (Ranger) informed us that they are managing the habitat for red squirrels and all other species that live at Formby Woods. They need to diversify the woodland, as it was very dense and over stocked when first planted. Thinning work needed to be done; they now have licences to carry out this work. He informed us that some thinning was carried out last winter. Thinning will open the canopy and woodland floor which increases the health of the trees, encourages more vegetation and smaller tree etc. may appear. This will create natural nutrients for the red squirrel. Currently there are about 100 animals but could reach 200. It is Lancashire wildlife trust who carry out the squirrel count.
The volunteers at Formby assist with the practical work such as fencing, paths and planting. They also have corporate groups who support them by collecting rubbish that has been left on the beach.
John Sebastianelli share results from a recent Volunteers Survey. The results being that Formby volunteers were happiest of all volunteers at National Trust sites.
Lorraine from Speke Hall thanked Frank for the invitation. They have planted 7000 trees and plants; this is to offset aircraft omissions. However, the trees will take between 60-70 years to grow to full height. They have discovered five new species of bees, one being the ‘hairy footed bee’. The rangers are very excited about the find. Rhododendrons are being cut back and removed and are being replaced with seasonal bulbs. This will give more colour all year round. They have made the playground and accessible one which takes wheelchairs in the roundabout.
Their bookshop is doing well, so far this year they have raised £1,000 via the bookshop. She thanked their volunteers for the work put into make the book shop a great success.
Frank informed those present that we still have a couple of events during August and September, with the Speaker Meetings restarting later in September at Christ Church, Southport. Information about these events will appear on our website and full details will be in the members’ Autumn Magazine.
Photos of Wicks Lake supplied by NT’s Bree with the Coffee Morning photos supplied by an Association member.
If you are interested in joining SoFA please contact us using our Contact Form.
