Wychwood Forest is benefiting from a new project designed to introduce young volunteers to conservation work.

Jane Bowley is project officer for the Wychwood V Project, which began in April 2008, and with her encouragement young people have already become involved in many aspects of caring for the environment in the area.

She said: “Wychwood is one of 152 projects across the country being funded by V, the youth volunteering charity, as part of its Vinvolved programme.

“The Friends of Wychwood have been awarded £150,000 to provide new opportunities for young people aged 16 to 25 to become involved in the activities of the Wychwood Project.

“The Wychwood Project has been supporting local community conservation work in the 41 parishes in West Oxfordshire within the historic Royal Hunting Forest of Wychwood for ten years, but this is a major new initiative to work specifically with this age group.”

This month, a group have been working with Ms Bowley and her colleagues from Wychwood at the fish ponds of the former Eynsham Abbey, monastic ponds dating from before the Reformation.

Roberta Iley, of Charlbury, was one of the team working on some clearance during half-term, while taking a break from revision for her A-level exams.

“I am a fairly new recruit,” she said. “It is nice to be doing some practical conservation work. It is all very well doing the theory, but it has been good to be out there doing actual work.

“So far I have also been making bird boxes, to be put up for tree sparrows to use in the woodlands around here. It was good DIY fun.

“At the fish ponds we have been dredging a stream. We were wading in the water, so that was a lot more physical work, dredging out the silt and freeing up the stream so that it can flow into the ponds.

“We have also been busy clearing vegetation. I got to use tools such as a hand-held sickle and others which I had never used before”

Seventeen-year-old Roberta’s A-level studies are in biology, chemistry, maths and geography and she hopes to go on to follow a degree course in biology, with the long-term objective of a career in conservation, including on issues of climate change.

She recently attended the Climate X conference for West Oxfordshire. “It was very interesting because there were so many groups telling us about work that they had done, which we had not known about.”

Also hard at work at Eynsham has been 19-year-old Vincent Day, from Stonesfield. “Despite the cold weather, everybody warmed up with all the hard work — we dug up loads and loads of clay-type mud,” he said. “It was quite heavy and very, very muddy — but we enjoyed a laugh when we were trying not to fall in. We were using large shovels and rakes to collect the mud together.

“Another challenge was to keep the line of the bank of the stream level with a line of trees on the opposite side.” Vincent was looking forward to another new area of work for him — tree planting, at Swinford Lock, on the following day.

As well as finding the work so worthwhile in itself, Vincent is looking on the experience as being useful to prospective employers when he is applying for work in the outdoors, following the completion of his course at Abingdon and Witney College.

The tree planting was very successful — over two days the young people planted 150 young hazel, ash and other native species, which are to be part of a coppicing scheme.

Working alongside Vincent has been Ted Clarke, who lives in Oxford. Ted, who is 21, has already had a change of career. Initially starting out to study modern languages, he discovered that his real love was for the outdoors and in September will be starting a course in countryside management; he has a particular interest in forestry.

“The Wychwood V Project is something that I discovered by chance,” he said “and when I heard about it I wanted to get involved. Through Jane Bowley’s links with the Wychwood Project I have been able to make links myself with various other areas of conservation. I have previously done volunteering work with other organisations, but this is much more diverse.”

Ted has been able to turn his hand to some dry-stone walling, and has been introduced to hedgelaying and ditch clearance. He is also looking forward to a chance to work with the Oxfordshire Woodland Project.

Ted added: “Conservation and forestry will be growing issues with the demands that there are upon land.” Also gaining experience that will benefit her in her future career is 20-year-old Penny Kittle, from Standlake.

She is studying geography at Oxford Brookes University and plans next to follow a course for a teaching qualification. “I want to pass on all this enthusiasm to the next generation,” she said. “And I hope that I will still be able to do voluntary work as well.”

She was another of the ‘mudlarks’ at Eynsham, having earlier enjoyed involvement with other Wychwood Project enterprises, including the Lower Windrush Valley Project.

“Two years ago I did a work placement, carrying out species identification and working on the nature reserve at Standlake and on footpaths. It was brilliant fun and I loved being at the Wychwood office — everybody talked to everybody else about their work,” she recalls.

Penny is on the Wychwood V steering panel. “Jane Bowley very much wants the project to be for and led by young people, with our thoughts and ideas — and she takes them and runs with them,” she added. At last summer’s Wychwood Fair, at Ducklington, Penny was busy recruiting volunteers and she had further success at the recent community volunteering event at Oxford Brookes.

The young people’s involvement in planning, monitoring and evaluating Wychwood V activities is one of the objectives of the three-year project.

Ms Bowley added. “The young people will gain experience in planning and organising different events and activities, which will provide valuable skills for their future lives.”

Other ideas include creative arts projects on local history themes, photographic recordings, mentoring young people with disabilities so that they can enjoy the countryside, and working with children’s groups on environmental projects. For those who enjoy indoor work as well, there are publicity and newsletter-preparation possibilities.

Ms Bowley added: “It is a real pleasure to meet so many young people interested in the environment and to see their enthusiasm.”

Young people interested can contact Ms Bowley on 01993 814131.