Friends of Groups

In Gedling Borough we have 4 active friends of groups that act as guardians for some of our parks, green spaces and Local Nature Reserves.

They are the Friends of:

Arnot Hill Park
Hobbucks
Gedling House Woods
Netherfield Wildlife Action Group and Gedling Conservation Trust

The Friends of Arnot Hill Park

The Friends of Arnot Hill Park is a group of like minded people who voluntarily help to look after the park. You too can join and help shape its future.

There are two strands to the Friends of Arnot Hill Park. There is a wider group of members who come together at certain times of the year to discuss issues and be involved in initiatives to develop the park. They also contribute articles to the groups newsletter. The second strand is a core group of members who manage the regular affairs and who meet on a regular basis and report back to the wider membership. See here for the current 'Friends Of' newsletter.

The Friends of the Hobbucks

The Hobbucks is situated on the urban fringe of Arnold in the Killisick ward of Gedling Borough. The site occupies a total area of approximately 14 hectares, once part of the open countryside, is now an angular and almost linear area of land. The area to the east and west is largely private housing, to the south Guinness Housing Trust properties and the remaining borders open fields and a landfill site. The land is owned and partially maintained by Gedling Borough Council.

The area benefits from significant native flora, hedgerows, wild flower meadows, scrubland, grassland, veteran trees and plantation woodland, which are a valuable habitat for the sites vertebrae, species of bird and small mammals. The site is accessible by a network of paths.

In 2007 local residents joined together to make improvements to the site and encourage the site to be used as an educational resource, from which the Friends of the Hobbucks was established. To date the group have 15 active members. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust produced a Management Plan for the site, with the aim of promoting a feeling of pride in the nature area and this is currently being monitored and the work carried out by the friends group.

The Friends of Gedling House Woods

FGHW has its origins in concern among local residents for Gedling House Woods and Meadowlands. This concern led to the creation of a formally constituted body with appointed officers and a regulating committee. Subsequently, a legal partnership was agreed in 2003 with Gedling Borough Council, the owners of Gedling House Woods and Meadowlands. The partnership provides for the joint management of Gedling House Woods and Meadowlands. It is clear, however, that in addition to managing and improving the woods and meadows, FGHW has an important role in extending into the local community and local schools a greater awareness of the value of the site.

The Netherfield Wildlife Action Group and Gedling Conservation Trust

The trust runs and manages the Netherfield Lagoons.

The Netherfield Lagoons, Local Nature Reserve is situated on the Trent Valley Flood Plain in Nottinghamshire and has been partly used as a dump for coal slurry but with two remaining gravel ponds. The two slurry pits are separated by a raised causeway, which is elevated some 50 feet (15 m) above the pits, giving a commanding view of the area. The largest tank is virtually full but retains some water, with muddy edges attractive to waders and roosting gulls and terns. The smaller tank is mainly deep water, attracting good numbers of wildfowl, with smaller birds, especially warblers, feeding and breeding around the tank edges. The site consists roughly of three compartments, the Slurry Lagoon, the Deep Pit and the two Gravel Pits.