OAKS MEADOW PROJECT CIO

AGM ANNUAL REPORT 26.11.24

I would like to start with a thank you to all of those who are here this evening. While the AGM is a prerequisite for the project as a registered charity, it is actually a good opportunity to reflect on the year that has passed and to look forward to the coming year with purpose and enthusiasm. The charity is now four years old and we have progressed from crawling to toddling to now walking with more confidence to achieve what we set out at the inception of the project.

Grateful thanks go to my fellow trustees who have committed their time and energy to the project and made all the plans for last year materialise in 2024. As time goes by, individual skills are emerging and their roles becoming more defined, which is a great help to me to know who to delegate the different tasks to.

Nothing would have been possible without the support of our volunteers who have turned up in all weathers to maintain the site and care for all the amenities that are on offer to the general public. Special thanks goes to Bill and Daphne Baldry who have attended every working party and who even provide coffee and sausage rolls to sustain the workforce on occasion.

I was fortunate to be away for January, February and March and missed all the rain that was unrelenting during those months. The meadow was flooded, the pond was up to the jetty and only the ducks could reflect in the reflective garden.

The water subsided in April and spring started to show it’s face. The carpet of golden dandelions looked splendid, the fruit trees in the orchard had lots of pink and white blossoms and the vegetable beds were planted up. David Thorpe started cutting the grass, Jon Cook cut back the front hedges and strimmed the verge and Kev Brand sorted out the toilets and rain water collection tanks.

Once the sun could be relied on in the summer, more and more people started to visit the meadow. It was especially popular with children and carers with many saying it was the best play ground in the area with the mud kitchen being the highlight for all ages. The feedback from visitors spoke of the freedom to run around in a safe environment, appreciation of seeing the natural world and a toilet on site as being the main attractions.

The Indigo Opportunities group have attended most Mondays to maintain their sensory garden and help generally. One day they brought the whole team for a picnic but got them to work first by topping up the dead hedge. The sights of wildlife and flowers, the sounds of the bees and the birds, the smells of honeysuckle and roses and the taste of apples and tomatoes made this summer a joy to behold. A Midsummer event wasn’t as well attended as we had hoped, but lessons were learnt and those who did attend enjoyed all that was on offer. Ian Clark made a superb bug house (more of a palace really) which children helped to fill on the day and continue to visit now for general interest. A children’s story time in August was very popular with children and adults alike, with thanks to Gerry ‘Bards Aloud’ a professional storyteller, and this time the weather was perfect.

This year we have focussed more on maintaining and improving what we have already, so there has been no major addition requiring funding. Ian Clark made a fabulous job of repairing and painting the chairs in the playhouse, as well as painting the toilets green and, with the help of Darren Lambert, staining the oak gates. Bill Baldry has continued to care for the orchard trees and the new hedges around the site. Daphne and Darren have been regular helpers in the reflective garden where we have nearly got on top of the weeds that seem to have a life of their own in there. Steve Green organised the thinning out of rushes and reeds in the pond again with the help of Bill and Daphne.

Chris Holman and Darren kept the grass trimmed around the play ground equipment.

A mild Autumn has been most welcome with the colours of the leaves adding a beautiful glow to the meadow. Flowers have still been flourishing in the reflective garden and the berries, hedgerow fruits and crab apples have been made into some tasty treats. The return of Gerry the storyteller for spooky tales at the end of October was very popular. Children enjoyed playing traditional games of apple bobbing and hoopla as well as roasting marshmallows over the fire. The adults warmed up with soup from the cauldron and I was able to bring my best witches outfit out of the wardrobe.

There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes too which you may not be aware of. Diana Marjoram as Treasurer keeps a close eye on our finances and takes the minutes at the trustee meetings which happen throughout the year. Georgina Shelley designs the event posters, writes articles for the community newsletter and keeps me on my toes with new and exciting ideas. Darren Lambert runs the website and holds all documents and policies somewhere in a cloud. He has also set up a donation button on the website and developed QR codes for booking events. Steve Green as health and safety officer inspects the play ground equipment weekly and liaises with Sovereign for official inspections.

We are grateful for the continued support from Combs Parish Council. They fund our yearly insurance cover, the maintenance package for the playground equipment and have contributed towards the carpark. John Matthissen our Mid Suffolk District Councillor has funded cycle stands and football goal posts from his locality budget. MSDC has granted CIL funding towards the car park and drainage.

2024 is finishing on a high note with the Wild Heritage Suffolk ‘Let it Grow’ project moving into Oaks Meadow and working in partnership with us. Arlette Eno-Daynes and Sue Reynard have tried to maintain the vegetable beds, but without additional help it has been difficult to keep on top of it. WHS are taking over that area of the meadow and will be running their project from there from now on. I will now ask Richard Bergson from WHS to explain about the work their charity does and how they see integration into Oaks Meadow.

Desiree Shelley, Chair of Oaks Meadow Project CIO

26.11.24