Our News
Shamley Green Village Litter Pick,
Saturday 10th May - update
The Shamley Green Environment Group enjoyed a lovely sunny amble around the village’s paths and roads for the Spring Litter Pick on Saturday 10th May.
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Huge thanks for the volunteers who joined us finding rubbish mainly themed around the habits of smoking, vaping and drinking. However we happily noted a significant decrease in the volume collected since our last walk in the Autumn, likely due to the efforts of everyone in the community who picks up litter when spotted while out and about but also the very lush hedgerow foliage might have played a part in obscuring some items from view.
Big thanks too to Wonersh and Shamley Green Parish Councillor Kevin Sloan, who kindly joined us meaning we were covered by public liability insurance, always good! (Parish Councillor and SGEG member Chris Howard usually attends but she was at the seventh annual Surrey Day in Oxted this time because she is also Visit Surrey’s Chair).
Jim and Glynis Drummond hosted coffee and cake at The Malt House for volunteers afterwards. The children were fascinated by the many newts in the pond and a new family joined the Toad Patrol.
Many thanks to Kate Elmes Rudd who organised and inspired the event.
If you’d like to join the next litter pick, or join the toad patrol, or find out more about SGEG’s activities check out the regular updates on this news page.
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And to get emails informing you of upcoming events drop us a line on info@shamleygreenenvironment.co.uk to be added to our volunteers' mailing list.
Is invertebrate diversity increasing in our village?
Green-veined White Butterfly Pieris napi
Results of a survey carried out by entomologist and ecologist Scotty Dodd in 2024 are very encouraging. In 2021 he found 9 different species of insects and spiders with a conservation designation in Shamley Green, whereas in 2024 this number had increased to 14!
All surveys are just a ‘snapshot’ of what is around at the time and should be read with caution, but we do think that a more diverse plant population in Shamley Green may be promoting greater diversity in our insects too, and that’s really encouraging!
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There has been a catastrophic collapse in insect populations in the last 50 years, not only in the UK but worldwide - just think, when was the last time you had to scrape a layer of squashed insects off your windscreen after a long journey?
Insects are at the heart of every ecosystem so this collapse can’t be ignored. Even food production will be jeopardised if the collapse is allowed to continue unchecked. So it’s good to feel that Shamley Green is doing its bit to help, both on our commons and in many people’s gardens too, simply by mowing less and at the right time to promote plant diversity, and keeping a bit more dead wood around for the creatures that rely on it.
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Click here for photos of our notable and rare inverebrate species, and details of Scotty Dodd's 2021 and 2024 surveys.
Over 200 species of moths recorded in Shamley Green in 2024
This is the third sequential year that moth recording by light trap has been carried out by local resident John Portess at The Bungalow. The prolonged heavy rains in the early part of the year played havoc with the lives of all insects, particularly butterflies. Local moths though appear to have weathered the storm and put on a good show with over 200 species recorded in his Shamley Green Garden.
See our Reports page for links to John's 2024 results, and a fascinating account of the equipment and methods he uses.
And see Moths in Shamley Green for John's earlier results and some of his photos from 2022 and 2023 - an amazing variety of shapes and sizes ranging from bright and colourful to resembling dead twigs!!
Dusky Thorn Moth Ennomos fuscantara
Shamley Green Village Litter Pick,
Saturday 10th May
The Shamley Green Environment Group Litter Pick takes place on Saturday 10th May: Meet at 10.30am outside the Arbuthnot Hall, bring your children and dogs too if you like!
We have some suggested areas for picking, but do come with your suggestions as well. Please bring high-viz if you have it, and wear walking shoes, and to minimise plastic please bring your own trug or bucket for rubbish collecting. We'll also have bin-bags, and a few litter pickers, but if you have your own please bring them along.
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It's a really fun event, and it's great to be helping keep the village lovely place to live in!
Here we are enjoying tea and homemade cake after last year’s Litter Pick – same again this year, at the Malt House, and we would be really grateful for cake donations to fuel this year’s efforts.
To sign up to pick litter or to offer cakes, please contact kate@shamleygreenenvironment.co.uk