About us
Friends of Kinson Common
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Redhill Common Conservation Group
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Redhill Common Conservation Group
 | The Redhill Common Conservation Group was born in September2002.
A Committee voted in, constitution written and with the help of Mark Miller the Countryside Officer, were on our way.
Sometimes feeling as though we were trudging through treacle with frustration,other times highly elated at the way things were going and we could see the vision of how we wanted the Common.
The Common has 43.75 acres of heathland and a few of us remembered the Common since we were kids , so to see with hard gorse clearance the heathland growing back is a joy to us all.
Redhill Park which is now grassland and used for football pitches and general recreational pursuits was 40-50 years ago just like our patch. Now lost forever it makes our Common even more precious.
The history of Redhill Common is rather vague, although round the periphery has been a pig farm, cottages , two public houses, one with stables.
The Common itself appears to have been a walkway from the river via a ferry to Poole Harbour. Not too far away was the boundary line of Dorset /Hampshire, hence Boundary Road. On the edge of the Common was an ale house and bakery: local women would launder Bournemouth's elite washing using the gorse for drying and scenting at the same time. There are also small pits that were dug to use for brick making.
The work that our group carry out is still fundamentally clearing gorse that has been allowed to get out of hand by past Councils when their policies from on high - the Government - were totally alien to policies now.What we are clearing now is 15-20 years of neglect. The results are great: more birds,butterflies, creepy crawlies, lizards as well as deer that come in from the river.We also have a badger sett and plenty of foxes.
Within the group we have very enthusiastic people who do weekly butterfly counts, health walks and guided walks as well as visitor number surveys. We also encourage the Scouts to come and help with gorse clearance and the Brownies to plant bulbs.
We have to date, 20 members on our books and hold monthly meetings at which the local Councillors and local beat officer may drop in.
We go to other events with our display boards which have information concerning the group, what we do and how the group is actually run.
We are totally transparent
We have working dates given to us by Parks/Countryside and our own voluntary dates. We are covered by the Council's insurance and have first aid training.
There is a community board on site which is for information concerning what is happening on the Common and general use by local residents.
The group has a social life-
Like they say " all work and no play" don't they !
We have hot bacon butties, mince pies on a working day out on the Common near Christmas as well as a party. In the summer we have a BBQ and a day out somewhere as a "Field study" day.
As with other " Friends" we have won the Green Flag three years running.
This is our 5th year of a five year plan and guess what ?
We are starting on clearing gorse that we cleared five years ago !
Good old Mother Nature, she'll never let you down, always hard work where she's concerned !
If you would like to join us please contact-
P.WRIGHT- Tel 01202-516424
or
L.A.WHITESIDE- Tel 01202-528180
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Site details:
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Size-7 hectares.
Grid Ref: SZ 088 955
Designations: Local Nature Reserve (Since 2006).
Public Open Space
Managed for nature conservation since 1998.
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and now .....
| a few photographs of.. |  |
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I wonder..
| where this leads ? |  |
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This shows
| recent scrub clearance |  |
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Stour Valley Festival 2007
 | | We had our display at this event as well as the Kinson Common Community Open Day on August 12th |
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Scavenger hunt
Wednesday 30th July
2 to 4 pm
Attention !
Brownies, Beavers,Cubs,Scouts and schoolchildren.
We have-
Dorset Police,Dorset Fire & Rescue and Ice Cream van !
Meet between the 2 noticeboards on main footpath.
Park in The Grove.
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Our display..
| at the Turbary fete on July 12th 2008 |  |
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