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Would you consider helping us by buying a ticket, and asking your friends and family too?
⬅ Click the logo for more information. The June draw was made on 27 June 2025. Well done to the winners and thanks to everyone participating 1st prize £54.00 goes to Sue Johnson, Welton 2nd prize £32.40 goes to Martin & Kathy 3rd prize £21.60 goes to Jean & John Filewood |
Looking for the July 2024 orienteering report?
Click HERE |
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Are you interested in volunteering with Nettleham Woodland Trust?
Our next work morning is 14 June 9:00-13:00 Meet at the Threshold at ALNR. Please email [email protected] if you are coming |
Butterfly Conservation visits ALNR |
Ian and Tim from Butterfly Conservation Lincolnshire came out to ALNR on Saturday 21 June - probably the hottest day of the year so far!
Tim brought his moth trap containing many species that he had trapped the night before, which proved extremely popular with visitors as he allowed us to let the moths rest on our fingers. Ian brought some pheromone lures for particular species of clearwing moth that he felt may be resident on the Reserve. We are delighted he found all three species. Do join in with the Big Butterfly Count between 18th of July and 10th of August. It's vital that we monitor the pollinators around us, they are an important indicator species for the health of the environment. If you get any photos of butterflies, moths or dragonflies at the Reserve, please send them to us. |
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Lincolnshire Environmental Awards 2024
Nettleham Woodland Trust entered Ashing Lane Nature Reserve into the Lincolnshire Environmental Awards this year and were selected to be one of the three schemes invited to present their project to the event on 28 September at Whisby Nature Park.
Su and Georgs (completing his last volunteering session as a Gold Duke of Edinburgh candidate) spoke to the audience about "People, Pounds and Posterity".
We were runners up alongside the The Community Growers CIC from Boston, and the winners were Cherry Fields at Cherry Willingham.
Su and Georgs (completing his last volunteering session as a Gold Duke of Edinburgh candidate) spoke to the audience about "People, Pounds and Posterity".
We were runners up alongside the The Community Growers CIC from Boston, and the winners were Cherry Fields at Cherry Willingham.
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Work morning 22 SeptemberWe had a lovely splashy (and filthy) morning at ALNR today, pulling encroaching bulrushes out of the lake, cutting back the vegetation around the entrance to the culvert as the ditch along the north edge of Coop Wood goes under the bridleway and making the entrance at that end of Coop Wood easier to use.
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The Artist's SeatWe were delighted to welcome Carolyn and Colin Mitchell to the Reserve on 17 August, to show them the lovely bench that has been installed in memory of Andy Mitchell. Andy was a local artist who painted the natural world and his family very generously donated the proceeds of a sale of his work last year to Nettleham Woodland Trust.
The Artist's Seat can be found in the Memorial Garden in South Wood, looking out over the meadow and sheltered by the hedge. 
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Work on the path between Watts and South Wood near Beatles PondThe July work morning was spent making repairs to the path between Watts Wood and Beatles Pond that had become very closed in and wet throughout the winter. The plan was to cut back the overhanging vegetation to allow in more light and use the brush to fill in the wet areas. these were then covered with a layer of wood chip, brought down from the stock near the Threshold by Attilla, our mower with the trailer on the back. Well done to the volunteers, a very successful task.
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Work on the footpath along the north edge of North WoodRegular visitors will recognise this view of the footpath beside the Dunholme Beck across the north of North Wood. Over this wet winter it has got more and more difficult to traverse without wellies, so we have started to improve it.
Our March work morning was spent cutting back the hedge on the north side and the woodland edge on the south side, to let more air and light in, which will help to dry it up. The task for the April work morning was to flatten the mud as much as possible and spread grass seed over the muddy areas. We have put canes and hazard tape around these areas, so please walk on the north edge, keep your boots clean and let the grass come up. |
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Many thanks to IGas for a grant of £846 to pay for tools and equipment for use at our monthly maintenance work mornings.
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Thanks also to the Michael Cornish Charitable Trust for a generous grant of £1,000. The money will pay for our charity's public indemnity and equipment insurance for 2024, as well as a week of orienteering events in July involving local schools and youth groups.
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CUNNING RUNNING IN MONKS WOODOn Sunday 5th February NWT organised its first orienteering activity in Monks Wood. The main purpose of this Sunday morning event was to test the special map and the controls financed by our funders, Magic LocalGiving. Two short courses, each with seven controls, were set out. Participants then read the map to plan a route from the carpark through the woodland back to the carpark taking in features such as the Monk Oak, our Humber Bridge and the tunnel.
We were helped by families, teachers and the school dog from Ellison Boulters Primary School and one of our Duke of Edinburgh Award gold candidates. We counted them all out and counted them all back. Everyone was happy and no-one too muddy. It proved to be ideal for novices. |
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The area is small and the routes currently depend on using the paths. At the moment the woods are too thick and prickly for people to run through, but over the next few years many of the lower horizontal branches will be cut back to allow more smaller woodland plants such as bluebells to grow on the forest floor. So, perhaps by 2030, orienteers will be able to practice advanced compass skills away from the paths, but only outside the nesting season. We look forward to this.
In the meantime NWT would be pleased to welcome small groups of orienteering novices to Monks Wood. We also have a nature trail. Please get in touch through our contacts page.
In the meantime NWT would be pleased to welcome small groups of orienteering novices to Monks Wood. We also have a nature trail. Please get in touch through our contacts page.
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Tree planting at Minster FieldsWe have successfully planted 300 new trees at Minster Fields, which is part of Nettleham Parish. Nett Zero (the Nettleham Parish Council's climate change working group) has worked with the developer (Taylor Lindsey) to plant a new copse on the amenity land on the south east corner between the ring road and Nettleham Road.
The weather was kind, despite the forecast. We planted 12 species to enhance biodiversity, including flowers, fruit and nuts and some species are also enjoyed by butterflies and pollinators. Here is the list: beech, buckthorn, crab apple, field maple, hawthorn, hazel, hornbeam, oak, rowan, silver birch, spindleberry and wild cherry. You can see the trees from the Nettleham Road, so hopefully they will also provide interest and enjoyment to the locals who use the site. |
Community Champion in NettlehamA very big thank you to all the members of the Coop who shopped in Nettleham between 4 December 2022 and 4 March 2023!
We will receive a whopping £915.36! |
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A big thank you to Gusto Community Fund - we have been given a £500 grant to help us maintain the Reserve.
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The Tower
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Planting East and West Copse, PC Wood, Police HQ Nettleham 29/01 & 5/2/2022
We are delighted that about 2,500 new trees have been planted in the village, courtesy of the Police HQ with trees from LCC's Treescapes Fund - more photos HERE
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WORK ON MONKS WOOD'S NORTH WOOD PATH IMPROVEMENTS
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The path from Dunholme Beck through the North Wood to our ‘Humber bridge’ will be closed for several months FROM MONDAY 17 JANUARY.
Photo taken on 4th February 2021
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In January 2022, the level of the path from the 'Humber Bridge" was raised by a metre. Along the edges of the path, channels have been shaped into a series of ponds which will hold the water in winter.
When the ground has dried out, hopefully in early spring, the path will be rolled and grass seed sown. Along the damp edges, a wildflower seed mixture suitable for clay and wet soils will be sown. We hope that these improvements will alleviate future flooding from the ditch and make North Wood more accessible to visitors in winter. It will take a few months for the grass seed to grow before the path can be re-opened for public access. We thank you for your patience. NWT would like to thank Lincolnshire County Council's Community Wildlife Grant and Localgiving's Magic Little Grants for generously funding the flooding alleviation project in North Wood. 
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Please remember that Ashing Lane Nature Reserve was created to protect nature.
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Dogs should be on a lead - there may be sheep in the meadows and wildlife such as deer and ground nesting birds should not be disturbed.
Keep dogs out of the ponds and lake. There are bins for dog waste in the car park and near the main entrance into South Wood |
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... and PLEASE take your rubbish home
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Now installed..
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https://www.thebikestoragecompany.co.uk/product/the-toastrack-cycle-rack/
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NETTLEHAM WOODLAND
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Also in lockdown, because we enjoy going on a walk there we decided to raise some money for the trust. We chose to walk around the Close we live on and ask for some sponsors from our neighbours and friends and family. We thought it would be a good idea to do it on VE day which is why we decided to do 75 laps, this was about 5km. Lots of our neighbours came out to support us on this journey and to enjoy their afternoon tea . We had our VE day afternoon tea on our front garden in between doing all the walking.
After we did this Bertie was very tired, I was a bit tired too. In the end we raised £309. Thank you to Freddie and Bertie and well done! |
Close encounter... Ashing Lane Nature Reserve resident meets a young visitor
Susie took this amazing photo at Coop Lake on Christmas morning.
The Monk Oak Bench June 2019 |
Now installed, with thanks to our sponsors
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A Forester's Jottings Rod Newborough is the Woodland Advisor for Nettleham Woodland Trust. A professional forester for half a century he has gathered together collection of short stories which he has published in this booklet " A Forester's Jottings"
A unique insight into the life of a forester and excellent value at £3.00 a copy, inclusive P&P. All proceeds to NWT. Please use the contact form to enquire |
Drone footage of ALNR - summer 2018
With thanks to Richard Ball and Stuart Dallas.
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Clean It Up!
There are a few visitors to Ashing Lane Nature Reserve who do not TAKE THEIR LITTER HOME, but there are other wonderful folk who help us to keep ALNR such a wonderful place to visit and to them a very big THANK YOU! |
29 April 2017
Chris Williams has been looking closely at the drone footage that Mark has shot, and has done some research about some of the details revealed:
"Back in the day, I was a historian and of course read about making discoveries of ancient sites by the use of aerial photography to show old lines in arable fields. Well, it also works down Ashing Lane without a lot of sunshine, although what I can see is neither medieval nor Roman nor Iron Age.
The best example is at 38 seconds on [the] latest film, where there is a good view of South Wood. The hedges dividing Monks Wood from Coop Wood (left … or east) and Watts Wood (right or west) are obvious, but there are also two more north-south dividing lines, roughly from top to bottom either side of the South Glade.
These date back to the Dunholme Tithe Award of 1844. If I am right
- the right-hand third was numbered 79, It was known as Hardings Meadow, owned by Edward Watson and farmed by Thomas Moffatt. It was 7 acres, 1 rood and 1 perch in area.
- the other two sections were both numbered 78. They were known as Far Hardings, owned by Eliza Dixon and farmed by John Morris. They were 10 acres, 3 rood and 8 perch in area.
All three were described as ‘Meadow'."
Chris Williams has been looking closely at the drone footage that Mark has shot, and has done some research about some of the details revealed:
"Back in the day, I was a historian and of course read about making discoveries of ancient sites by the use of aerial photography to show old lines in arable fields. Well, it also works down Ashing Lane without a lot of sunshine, although what I can see is neither medieval nor Roman nor Iron Age.
The best example is at 38 seconds on [the] latest film, where there is a good view of South Wood. The hedges dividing Monks Wood from Coop Wood (left … or east) and Watts Wood (right or west) are obvious, but there are also two more north-south dividing lines, roughly from top to bottom either side of the South Glade.
These date back to the Dunholme Tithe Award of 1844. If I am right
- the right-hand third was numbered 79, It was known as Hardings Meadow, owned by Edward Watson and farmed by Thomas Moffatt. It was 7 acres, 1 rood and 1 perch in area.
- the other two sections were both numbered 78. They were known as Far Hardings, owned by Eliza Dixon and farmed by John Morris. They were 10 acres, 3 rood and 8 perch in area.
All three were described as ‘Meadow'."
Biodiversity
We like to record the different plants, birds and animals seen at our woodlands, please see the detailed pages in the ALNR menu for more information.
