News

Dear Friends,

Cotswold Gliding Club have kindly supported our charity by donating a trial gliding lesson for our raffle this year, so if you have ever fancied taking to the skies in a glider, come to our shop in Threadneedle Street to buy a ticket in our raffle to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize. If you fancy being pampered you could win a Spa Day for two at the Cheltenham Park Hotel or visit Gifford’s magical local circus (tickets for two adults and two children). You also stand the chance of winning a Hamper from Suma – the UK’s leading supplier of natural, ethically sourced and organic foods – containing coffee, paté, pesto, fruit, nuts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pasta. Our raffle is a great fundraiser for our charity, so please support us by buying a ticket or selling them to family and friends.

Created: 20 August 2016

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We don’t want to join the commercial landslide into Christmas, but there is no getting away from the fact that signs of Christmas have been in many shops for several weeks already. From the end of October we will be stocking our usual range of Christmas cards, featuring British wildlife. Stocks are limited so remember to buy early!

As well as our usual range, we have been searching high and low for interesting new gift ideas which fit our ethos. One new item already proving popular is the “Bottle Light” – a rechargeable LED light that fits into the top of a bottle to create a gentle ambient light. We are also pleased to have a range of playing cards with natural world themes, and a range of dipped beeswax candles (UK and European beeswax).

The introduction of the 5p charge on single use carrier bags has encouraged us to widen our range of bags. We have new stock of organic string bags in various colours, and of Onya bags in various designs. These are all made of recycled plastic drinks bottles, and pack down into a small pouch to fit in a handbag or pocket.

And remember, every gift that you buy at SVP eco shop makes a difference to your local environment by supporting our work!

Created: 20 August 2016

Lots of outdoor work can seem really daunting. If you would like some help we can provide a team to tackle those difficult jobs for you.

 We offer a range of services including: pond creation and restoration, tree planting (woodlands and orchards), hedge work (planting, laying and gapping up), creating wildflower meadows, installing fencing and kissing gates, coppicing and small tree work.

 Stroud Valleys Project has a special interest and expertise in creating and restoring wildlife friendly places so they can be shared by people and wildlife. Our aim is to help local people to garden for wildlife so that the Stroud District area is good for nature, has improved habitats and encourages wildlife. In addition, our aim is to provide meaningful opportunities for our volunteers to work in this field of work. The wildlife gardening scheme provides a bridge between volunteering and paid work for our volunteers.

We aim to tackle jobs that would take one or two people a long time and that we can tackle quickly with a team. Call us today for an informal discussion or call into the eco shop to discuss your needs.

 We don’t want to join the commercial landslide into Christmas, but there is no getting away from the fact that signs of Christmas have been in many shops for several weeks already. From the end of October we will be stocking our usual range of Christmas cards, featuring British wildlife. As well as our usual range, we have been searching high and low for interesting new gift ideas which fit our ethos. One new item already proving popular is the “Bottle Light” – a rechargeable LED light that fits into the top of a bottle to create a gentle ambient light. We are also pleased to have a range of playing cards with natural world themes, and a range of dipped beeswax candles.

The introduction of the 5p charge on single use carrier bags has encouraged us to widen our range of bags. We have new stock of organic string bags in various colours, and of ‘Onya’ bags in various designs. These are all made of recycled plastic drinks bottles, and pack down into a small pouch to fit in a handbag or pocket.

And remember, every gift that you buy at the eco shop makes a difference to your local environment by supporting our work!

Created: 11 January 2017

I’ve just returned to Stroud after a week in the sun in Spain and it is really starting to feel autumnal now. The leaves are turning golden and it’s noticeable that the evenings are getting darker much earlier: it’s harvest time! To celebrate we are organising our Pumpkins and Apples in the Park – if you have grown pumpkins this year, please remember to keep one and enter our carved pumpkin competition. It’s on Sunday 25 October with a Carved Pumpkin Lantern Trail, and judging between 5.30pm and 6pm. The pumpkins look amazing all lit up round Stratford Park and there will be prizes from our eco shop so whether you’re a regular visitor to this event or are thinking of coming along for the first time, get the date in your diary. You can also bring your own apples to be pressed (one carrier bag each; if you would like to take the juice home, please bring your own bottles). Apple pressings will be from 11 to 12.30pm and 2 to 3pm. More information is available on our website, or in the eco shop.

If you have a garden or some land now is the time to clear it up for winter or perhaps embark on a new landscaping project. If it feels a bit daunting we may be able to help. We can provide a team of people to help with those jobs where a few extra hands will help. We have a special interest and expertise in creating and restoring wildlife friendly places. If you are interested do contact us for more information.

I’ve been working with the team on Shaping the Heart of Stroud to develop a Neighbourhood Plan for Stroud town centre which will be launched on 3 October at the Sub rooms, hope to see you there!

Created: 20 August 2016

Following careful moth trapping with Bob Smith from Butterfly Conservation, a highlight for the charity and the participants was when they discovered three Garden Tiger Moths at Bisley Road Cemetery, which is a local nature reserve managed by Stroud Town Council. The caterpillar of these moths is known as a Woolly Bear due to its fluffy appearance. Older readers may have been very familiar with these species but they have declined rapidly in recent years.

The ‘Moths of Bisley Road Cemetery’ event found 100 different moths in the cemetery. A record of the moths at the cemetery will be sent to the county Moth Recorder who collates data sent from all over Gloucestershire. Each year Gloucestershire records are sent to a number of national and county databases where they are available for analysis.

Bob Smith said that there are around 25,000 species of insect in this country, most of which are never seen. Monitoring moths and butterflies provides an important indicator of insect welfare generally and, indirectly, of the welfare of their predators, including birds, bats, spiders and predatory insects; and also of the state of the environment - and it's really interesting!

Created: 25 November 2015

Stoud Valleys Project wins a gold certificate in the 2015 Stroud in Bloom Competition for the Capel's Mill display.  Heart-felt thanks to Deborah Roberts, who volunteers with us on the Capel's Mill site, as she took the pictures and arranged the display so beautifully.

Created: 25 November 2015

The holiday season is with us, Stroud town centre is much more vibrant at this time of year with lots of families and young people out and about creating a lively atmosphere all week long.

I love the Peli Pop Up Park. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s next door to the Cornhill where Stroud Farmers Market is.  The rain garden is looking good, helped by the rain we have had this week, the green wall planted with herbs has started to establish itself and now we are starting to get some courgettes ready in the raised bed . I am still looking for recycled containers of some sort we can use to put on the tarmac and paved area so we can grow more plants, can anyone help?

Come and join us for a Moth Night in Cam on Friday 4 September from 8.30pm at a nature reserve in Cam. Neil Woodward, moth expert, will set up traps to attract moths during the evening for us to look at. This is a reserve with a rich habitat for moths, so we hope to see some unusual and exciting species

It’s a tough time for charities like ours.  The “Financial Sustainability Review”  produced by NCVO says charities have not seen the recovery experienced by the economy overall. We are seeing some of these difficulties reported in the media.

Small and medium-sized organisations have been hardest hit, with charities with incomes between £100,000 and £1m seeing the biggest falls in their income and assets. Such charities saw an overall fall of 38% in their income from government sources between 2007/8 and 2012/13

We are spending more and more time and energy on fundraising when we would like to be spending time working with our volunteers on our local environment. This vital work cannot happen without funding. Where is all the money?

Created: 20 August 2016

The star of Poldark has been invited to attend a scything workshop run by Stroud Valleys Project.

As the series is partly filmed in our area, the charity wrote to Aidan Turner, who plays Ross Poldark in the hit TV series, asking if he would like to attend the event. His Scything in the programme aroused a great deal of interest and some people said that his scything technique needed improvement.

“A number of experts have said that Ross Poldark’s scything technique could do with improving and would give him back ache if carried out over a long period of time, which is why I wrote to Aidan Turner to invite him to come along to our event. We run a scything workshop each year using Austrian Scythes which are lighter. Scything is a wildlife-friendly way to manage gardens and larger areas of land,” says Clare Mahdiyone, Stroud Valleys Project’s chief executive.

The workshop takes place on Wednesday 15 July in Stroud and is suitable for beginners as well as those with some experience of scything. It is organised in conjunction with Flora Locale, a charity that promotes the conservation of native wild plants. 

Clilck here for more information about the course

To book a place, contact Stroud Valleys Project on 01453 753358 or visit the charity at its Eco Shop at 8 Threadneedle Street, Stroud.

Photo courtesy of Stroud News and Jounal

Created: 06 July 2015

Stroud has been blooming! Everywhere looked lovely and I know a great deal of volunteer effort went into creating it, so well done to all. We entered the Stroud in Bloom window display and were very pleased to be awarded gold. Special thanks go to our brilliant volunteer, Deb Roberts, who took the superb photos and created our display.

As part of our Adult Education work we have been working on the Peli Pop Up Park (temporary park next to the farmers market) with our learners, and last week created a new rain garden with the help of Robert Bray Associates, sustainable drainage consultants. The plants are still getting established but already look lovely. The rain garden will be watered with the rain collected from the roof of the pub. It’s well worth a look. Next on the list is to plant up a green wall in the garden. We are also in the process of creating a small pond and rockery at The Exchange. At the time of going to press we are making a planting plan and it’s all very exciting.

We are organising pond dipping events during the summer holidays. If you have your own pond/water butt and have always wondered what those creatures are that you find, come and join us and our experts to find out.

We are organising ‘Bring Your Wellies To Work’ Lunchtime Walks; the next one is on Monday 10th August. It’s a 45 minute walk, so you will have time for a sandwich too.

One way you can support our work is to join our 100 Club. Contributors pay just £2 a month and are entered into a draw four times a year. Half the money raised goes to the charity and the other half goes to the winners. Even though our numbers are small at the moment, the prizes have been very good, so please help our charity and call into the eco shop to join.

Created: 20 August 2016