AGM

Our AGM was on Thursday 12 th May. The committee were appointed as follows:
Geoff Brookes Chairman
Pam Owen Vice Chairman
David Bowden Treasurer
Phil Brockhurst Membership secretary
Christine Travers Brookes Secretary
Mike Mottershead Committee Member

Don Heath has decided to stand down this year, although he is still offering us considerable support. We thank Don for all his hard work - he was also our vice chairman for a period of time. We have one vacancy if anyone feels they would like to join the committee and become part of this exciting year ahead please ring 07792814607 to discuss this.

June Jukes

June Jukes came to talk about the history of Cannock Chase. The land was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield but became part of Henry 8ths territory. She explained how it was coppiced and the wood used in furnaces or for building timber framed houses and ships.
In the wartime the Chase was used by the military and a railway ran through the area. The M.O.D. wanted to claim the area and make the land out of bounds to the public. The Association of Friends Of Cannock Chase was formed in November 1947. In 1958 the area was given the status as an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty(AONB)
Further battles have ensued to prevent the area being swallowed up by the M6 and no doubt there will be future challenges but The Friends of Cannock Chase have an active membership with events planned throughout the year. For enquiries or to join contact June Jukes on 01543 571241. Their membership is £7 per year. Their website is www.friendsofcannockchase.btck.co.uk
As an aside our Etching Hill is part of the AONB.

The speaker for the evening of 10th march was Joan Lockley of the Hedgehog rescue. She gave us lots of interesting information on how to encourage and protect hedgehogs. Here are some useful tips:






Dangers / extinction
Hedgehogs have been around for 20 million years! They are becoming extinct. There are below one million hedgehogs left now. The reasons for the decline are garden strimmers; cars; badgers; compost heaps and garden forks, bonfires, netting- they get trapped, cattle grids - some have ladders in them for hedgehogs now; concrete drains- they wear their feet down trying to get out; slug pellets; insect sprays; garden pools- they can swim but get exhausted unless people have built a shallow exit route for the hedgehogs ( build up some stones at one end); sheds- they go in and get locked in without food; slug pellets; anti freeze (they like the sweet taste, but it is a poison) and also sprays put on roses (which they lick off their fur when cleaning themselves). In addition there is habitat loss due to the decline of hedgerows. 100,000 miles of hedgerows have been lost. Contact the rescue centre if you see a hedgehog out by day ( they are nocturnal) or if you suspect a hedgehog is sick.

Attracting hedgehogs to your garden
Some things can be done to encourage hedgehogs such as leaving a patch of long grass or a rough area, leave a hole in a fence, feed them mealworms and cat biscuits as well as a tin a night of the cheapest cat food (they take in and excrete a tins worth per night! ) level water for them to drink, have a feed station and remove dangers - see above.
A hedgehog safe space may be created by putting two parallel rows of 6-8 bricks and covering these with a slab. This creates a small tunnel (it should be five and a half inches wide) Leave the feeding dish at the end. Hedgehog rescue telephone 01922 419532 or 07837 409533 website www.wmhr.org.uk

On Saturday 5th March we collected around 30 bags of rubbish during our Clean for the Queen event. We had 23 volunteers who turned up, including Amanda Milling our local MP.

The rubbish collected included a single bed headboard, some builders rubbish, broken glass and a tent as well as general rubbish. Our volunteers wore the visibility vests which were kindly donated to us by Rugeley Power Station.

It seemed fitting to start the event with the National Anthem and to end with afternoon tea. Tescos helped to part fund the refreshments. We had sandwiches, pork pie, crisps, scones with clotted cream and jam.

New faces



Our MP Amanda Milling

familiar faces



family groups



scattered on the hillside picking litter

wrapped up warm

finding litter everywhere

A presentation to our Facebook page manager

chatting to the MP

litter picking dogs

afternoon tea

Welcome to the Friends of Etchinghill 2016

We know how important the hill is to everyone in the area as it is part of the AONB area of outstanding natural beauty, a site of geomorphic importance RIGS site, a site of biological importance SBI and a site of selective heritage SHINE. Apart from all the titles it is a tranquil area which has formerly been used for beacons due to its height.

Our group has been running for 5 years and we have helped to keep the hill free from litter and tried to maintain the paths as well as working with the Trustees of the hill on preparing the ground to reinstate the heathland, setting heathers and clearing brash. We have found funds to replace the information boards around the hill and encouraged the council to provide extra litter bins. We have an active friendly group of volunteers who give up an hour every few months to help with these things. The Friends of Etchinghill also have guest speakers who tell us about our native wildlife, managing the environment, local history and other local news.

We are always keen to hear your stories of how you have enjoyed the hill in the past.

We have a website www.etchinghill.co.uk and update a blog of our activities which can be accessed through the website. We also have a Facebook page Friends of Etchinghill. Our chairman, Geoff Brookes, can also be contacted on 07792 814607.

We invite you to join us at any of our events throughout the year. See our programme itemised opposite.

All meetings are held at the hall of The Church of the Holy Spirit, Mount Road Etchinghill and litter picks start from there. We provide all equipment and refreshments after litter picks. All meetings are free of charge unless otherwise stated and they are open to everyone.

During 2016 we are working with the Trustees of the hill to find ways that we may be able to restore the views from the top of the mount. This would involve thinning the trees, as this was one of the main issues raised at previous meetings we have had. We hope to apply for funding to achieve this and we would welcome any comments that you would like us to consider. The Trustees are keen to work with us and with the members of the community whilst we draw up plans and apply for funds. If you have any comments please feel free to either ring 07792 814607 or to attend our first meeting of the year where we will have space to discuss this.

If you would like to become a member we charge £1 per person for the year (or part year) payable in April and will send you regular updates and minutes of meetings (members also get discounts at some local shops ask us for further details) Come along and join in - We are a friendly group. We look forward to meeting you.

New Year

Happy New Year to all our members and friends. On New Years Eve 13 of us decided to climb the hill to see the fireworks at midnight. The evening was dry and clear, although it was cold. The fireworks could be seen all around the district as well as in Rugeley town and Etching Hill.

Planting Heathers

November 13th 2015
The Trustees asked if our members could help clear bracken that had been cut prior to the planting of heathers on the hill. Around 15 of our volunteers turned up to assist the Trustees ecologist and the clerk to the Trustees. Wheelbarrows raced up and down the hill all morning. At lunchtime everyone returned to the church hall for a well earned soup and a roll.

December 7th 2015
The Trustees put out another request for our volunteers to assist them -this time with spreading the heathers on the newly cleared slopes of the hill. Pitchforks at hand, our volunteers spent a morning working on this project. Once again the ecologist and the clerk to the Trustees were present guiding our members in the correct technique. The autumn tints on the hill made a wonderful backdrop for the activity. Next year we hope to see signs that the heather has started to return.

Following this the group has received a letter of thanks from the Trustees for all the hard work put in by our members. The activity has brought the two groups together and we hope to be able to assist the Trustees with further projects in the coming year.