Wild Ealing

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Our Civic Day event this year was a visit to a 27 acre nature reserve in Perivale. Perivale Wood is run by volunteer members of the Selborne Society. It’s not generally open to the public, apart from an open day in spring when the bluebells are out. They run a wide variety of educational programmes for children and a hold talks and events for Selborne Society members. You can join the Selborne Society for £10. The centre of activities is the delightful Bluebell Centre, a low carbon building which was constructed by volunteers, using recycled materials and straw bales. John Sears talked to us about the construction work which ended in December 2016. We then plunged into a meadow full of wild flowers and on into a woodland, led by Andy Pedley (left). To the sounds of birdsong and the woodpecker drilling, Andy told us about the many measures society members have taken to help protect wildlife and habitats: nest boxes, bee hotels, encouraging wildflowers, coppicing, pond maintenance. The visit ended with a cup of tea and biscuits in the Bluebell Centre. Thanks to John Sears, Vivienne Cane-Honeysett and Andy Pedley for a very rewarding afternoon.