News Autumn/Winter 2025/26
Shalford Repair Cafe 17th January
We have been asked to circulate this flyer about the new Shalford Repair Cafe. They have a Kick- off meeting on 17th January at 2 pm in the Shalford Village Upper Hall .
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Seeing this flyer has got us asking - Does Shamley Green village want to be involved in any community based activities like this in the future?
Not only Repairing, but also Lending and Sharing? If Yes the village would need a new group of volunteers to get it going.
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We have a talented bunch of local woodworkers in the village that we already know of but who else in the village has a hidden talent or hobby? Perhaps we should be starting to make a list! Definitely food for thought in 2026.
Help needed for Shamley Green’s toads!
It’s that time of year again, when the toads and frogs of Shamley Green will be crossing the road to get to their breeding ponds, only to perish under the wheels of a car - but you can help save them from this gruesome end!! We will soon be erecting the temporary Toad Fence which stops them getting on to busy Woodhill Lane in the first place.
Can you spare an hour or two to help with this? It’s not difficult work, but there’s a lot of fence to do so we need you! For details please email Regena on toads@surrey-arg.org.uk to join one of our friendly working parties from 19th January.
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We will also be looking for people to help on the Toad Patrol from early February onwards, when we rescue amphibians in great numbers on mild damp evenings. In 2025 we saved nearly 3000 toads, frogs and newts from the risk of death! Please email Regena on toads@surrey-arg.org.uk to be added to our WhatsApp toad patrol group - after an introductory session you will then be able to join our patrol teams who can respond rapidly when the weather is right for toads to be on the move.
Big Garden Bird Watch 23-25 January - will you see a Hawfinch?
The SGEG bird group was REALLY pleased to record Hawfinches on 20th November on the edge of Pithouse Copse above Madgehole, a male and 2 females. These striking birds are on the Red List because their numbers have declined, and their range has shrunk dramatically. It’s not clear exactly what’s causing this decline, but it’s likely that the loss of mature woodland containing Hornbeam, Beech, Yew and Cherry trees is partly to blame, as well as disease.
From late autumn, when migrant birds start arriving from the continent, they could pop up almost anywhere, including parks and gardens with mature trees – so keep your eyes peeled and maybe you'll be able to include one in your Big Garden Bird Watch results!
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You’re most likely to see them high up in the canopy, but they will occasionally come down to the ground to drink or feed. Hawfinches are incredibly shy and secretive birds, making them really tricky to spot. Winter is the best time to look for them, but expect a challenge!
A male Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes,
a chunky and powerful bird with a huge beak that’s strong enough to crack open cherry stones
But whilst we all love to spot a rarity, actually the most valuable data gained from the annual Big Garden Birdwatch is how well or badly our commonest species are doing. Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers like you take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring. Click here for more information and to sign up for the 2026 Birdwatch which takes place 23-25th January.
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Woodland Working Party
A fun and rewarding day was had on 11th October by an extremely merry band of villagers who made up our first SGEG Woodland Working Party. Previously working parties have planted bulbs, pulled Himalayan balsam and planted and watered trees and hedges but this was a first.
Together we cleared holly, brambles and other undergrowth by the footpath in the Lords Hill area and used the material to make a wonderful dead hedge. This may not sound very wonderful but in fact it is. As the RSPB says 'a dead hedge is a wonderful habitat that’s full of life. Dead hedges provide hiding places and nesting habitats for all sorts of creatures, as well as food for insects’. The hedge can be added to at any time. The cleared area is now much more accessible and this will help with biodiversity too by allowing more light to reach the ground
Jon and Rob from WEAG taught us our new skills, like coppicing and making stakes, and even high wire walking and we are very grateful to them for their expertise, which they have put to good effect in Healy’s Wood, in Wonersh. We really enjoyed working together, across the Parish. Thanks also to Alison and Katie for the tea and biscuits.
It was interesting to see what a fabulous array of tools we managed to come up with between us, some had not been used for a while and some were very up to date. We plan to do more woodland work.
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If you would like to be involved another time please let us know at info@shamleygreenenvironment.co.uk
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WE ARE HOPING TO HAVE ANOTHER WOODLAND WORKING PARTY ON 14TH FEBRUARY 2026
New Year Plant Hunt 1st-4th January 2026
New year 2023 hazel catkins
The New Year Plant Hunt run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland is a fun way to do your bit for nature on a New Year ramble. Each year, across a set of days around New Year, intrepid botanists of all ages and abilities set out to record which wild plants they can find in bloom. By recording the wild plants in flower in your local patch in the depths of winter, you can help BSBI gather valuable data about how our wild or naturalised plants are responding to a changing climate, and how this might impact the other species that rely upon them.
Although the very cold weather and snow cover meant that we didn't get out this year, SGEG did the New Year Plant Hunt in 2025 and found 10 species in flower around Shamley Green in miserable new year weather, and see our New Year 2023 Wildflower Diary for details of a much brighter hunt when we recorded 13! It's amazing how many little things can be found in flower when you look hard!
Red dead nettle hoping to attract an early bumble bee in 2023
2025 results for the Toad Patrol - it was a bumper year!
It was a very good year for our rescues of frogs, toads and newts, even better than 2024, with 2782 animals carefully transported from the lethal Lordshill and Woodhill Road crossings to the safety of their breeding ponds. The toad fence was also great, adding another 306 caught in the buckets. For the latest figures species by species go to our Toad crossing reports for 2025. It shows that there were a good number of female toads in 2025. Also it was good to see the number of frogs back up again in 2025 on the Woodhill crossing, having plummeted in 2023/24.
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​A great THANK YOU to everyone for their help and hard work in making this wonderful success possible.
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Regena has produced a very informative Q&A sheet with everything you need to know about the toad migration and the Toad Patrol - click here to read it.
Recognition for Regena!
Fantastic news! Our own Toad Patrol leader and SGEG member Regena Coult has won the 'Green' category in this year's #BBC #CommunityHeroes Award for her hours and hours and years and years of commitment to our local amphibians.
Regena says:
“I’m delighted to have received this award as it helps to publicise the difficulties faced by toads and other amphibians.
This award is not just a personal win for me. It was made possible by the dedication of our wonderful toad team who contribute of their time and effort to help save toads. Some put in more, some less, as they are able. Every single hour of volunteering counts and every single toad saved, makes a difference.”
The hedge project to create habitat and connect woodland has had a further 500 saplings added at the end of last year.
Our kind and generous landlord who allows us to erect the toad fence on his field has made his land available for this project.
Hedges are a biodiversity powerhouse and benefit invertebrates, birds, bats, small mammals and, of course, amphibians!