Spigot Mere Appeal

Friday, March 8th 2019

Regular visitors to the reserve have noticed and expressed their excitement at the work that has taken place over the winter, work that has been carried out by staff, volunteers and contractors alike. The cascading ponds have been rebuilt, more than one hundred conifers have been removed from a dark block on the beckside, one of the willow compartments has been pollarded and coppiced, the wild bird seed field is being re-sown as are the three heather paddocks, the inner scrapes have seen some essential maintenance and the bridges around the reserve have had major repairs.

Importantly, a large section of the flagship ponds area has received a face lift with new dams being built, some dredging being done in places badly choked with Reed Mace, and many of the bunds destroyed by the cattle and ponies being re-built. It has been a period of intense but essential activity which has made a significant dent in the reserve finances.

Going a step further, the decision was taken on the back of the success achieved with Plovers Pool, to develop the last remaining, previously untouched section of the far moor to create a large shallow mere with a water surface area of some 2, 500 square metres. (Don't be fooled by the puddle in the picture - the whole dark area will be water!).  Partially cleared of large tracts of gorse, the project is well underway but has stalled due to the recent heavy rain. Named Spigot Mere after a WW2 grenade unearthed early in the construction phase and dealt with by the bomb squad, it will be completed as soon as conditions allow and already looks enormous! The Exmoor ponies give some idea of the scale in this photograph taken from outside of the reserve.

All of this work has been expensive and although we are constantly applying for grants (Foxglove is a registered charity) and received notification of £10, 000 last week, we need more to ensure the job is completed. In due course we would like to see a hide on this feature as well.

If you feel you may like to help and could assist us by making a contribution however small, there are several ways that you can do so. You can send a cheque to the Wathgill address, or phone the Field Centre on 01748 830045 to make a card donation. Alternatively, you can use the 'just giving' option on our website. Of course you are welcome to call in and leave a donation in person too, and if you are a UK taxpayer by filling out a gift aid form you can make your donation go even further. We don't like to ask you but Foxglove is your reserve too, and any financial assistance with the huge amount of work going on would be really helpful on this occasion. 

You can also help with no cost to yourself at all by placing your blue tokens in the container for Foxglove in the local Catterick Garrison Tesco store! Thank you!

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