Wilding the Commons
Cookham and Maidenhead have the great benefit of large areas of Commons, saved from enclosure in earlier times and now owned by the National Trust. WildCookham is working with the Trust to encourage greater biodiversity, through seeding wild flowers, in some of the small areas of Common in Cookham. This is being matched by the Trust's own activities on the larger areas such as Pinkneys Green.
Volunteers completed the initial phase of our project in Autumn 2019, clearing and then seeding parts of the Commons in Cookham Dean - on Hardings Green, at Bigfrith and outside St John the Baptist Church. Local residents generously provided the funds for the seeds and we also had welcome help from the National Trust.
We now await the outcome this year and, all being well, we plan to extend the scheme to other areas of Common in Autumn 2020.
Among the pleasures of the project have been the great efforts of the volunteers, completing the whole project in just one week, as well as the financial support from residents - a great example of what can be achieved at a local level. Our photos show one of the volunteer teams and the land at Bigfrith, next to the old village shop, scarified and ready for seeding.