News

Posted on

Take a Walk on the Boardwalk next Spring?

The last few months have been exciting times for the YVS Committee as it has worked with a team at UEA to seek funding from the Greater Norwich Growth Board and the National Lottery Community Fund to replace the UEA Boardwalk.

Firstly though, a big thank you for the generosity of all who have contributed to the fund to replace the University of East Anglia (UEA) Boardwalk, exceeding the target of £5,000. The UEA/YVS bids for additional funding would not have been viable without your clear signal of strong community support.

Added to this is now £260,899 of funding from the Greater Norwich Growth Board. Taken together with funds from other sources, the total now covers the estimated cost of replacement of £439,708. Work on the new boardwalk will begin in Autumn 2026 to a timetable that will minimise the disturbance to wildlife. Completion is due in Spring 2027. See the UEA press release for more detail.

The UEA and Yare Valley Society (YVS) are also seeking funding from the National Lottery Community Fund for a “UEA Boardwalk Community Engagement Project”. The Project is a partnership between the YVS and UEA. It will give opportunities for people to say what they expect for the boardwalk, and their views and ideas for a launch event, for creating signage and interpretation panels, and for guiding promotional and educational materials.

The old boardwalk
The UEA team: Justine and Orla

The YVS committee was thrilled to work with a great UEA team. YVS and UEA worked in close cooperation to seek funds from the Greater Norwich Growth Board and the National Lottery Fund. Regular meetings and correspondence took place, and the YVS committee expresses its gratitude to the UEA team, Justine Mann and Orla Condra for their exceptional effort in preparing and assembling the extensive documentation.

Members of the YVS team, the UEA team, UEA Estate team, the Fringe Project, and Eaton Residents Association on site. Photo courtesy of UEA
Posted on

Conservation Volunteers May 2026

All are welcome to join in the conservation activities. This monthly the activities include dealing with invasive plants such as yellow archangel, and in the Yare Valley at Bluebell woods next to Eaton Park, giving some tlc to some recently planted trees. Mark Webster’s full letter and programme are here.

Posted on

Norwich Community Gardens Festival

On the 25 to 26th April Norwich Community Gardens Festival will celebrate and make better known the work of many volunteers who give time to caring for green spaces around the City. You can come along and support the volunteers in a range of activities across the City. Included is an opportunity to meet volunteers at Danby Wood in the Yare Valley between 9am and 3pm on Sunday 26th.

Other attractions are a Norwich Tales and Trails Puzzle Walk, a bike ride, a herb propagation workshop and a children’s Spotting and Activity Sheet.

All the details can be found at here.

Posted on

Yare Valley Meadow Makers AGM 2026

The Yare Valley Meadow Makers will hold their AGM Meeting at Warwick Arms Public House (upstairs room) on Wednesday the 15th of April 7:30-9:30pm.

The YVMM continue to extend their activities. Amongst the past year achievements were

  • An interpretation/notice board erected at the top of UEA Broad Hay meadow,
  • Received a Norfolk Biodiversity award in the spaces for nature and wellbeing category.
  • Over 5kg of wildflower seeds sown on the UEA Broad hay meadow
  • Further planting on Strawberry field to better establish yellow rattle.
  • Trial sowing of wildflower seed on the old donkey sanctuary to see how this might develop.
  • Planting of 165 native trees on the UEA meadows to help provide better support for wildflowers in times of drought.

Amongst the activities proposed for next year are botanical surveys, more tree planting, Yellow rattle and Red Bartsia seed collection, and a review of the old donkey sanctuary.

The Agenda for the AGM is here, and the Annual Report for 2025-2026 is here.

Posted on

Conservation Volunteers April 2026

Mark Webster of the Conservation Volunteers writes:

“Not sure if it’s Spring or not yet?  The weather is variable but we will be staying out all month, although we do have our semi-indoor Jolly Trips this month too: these are our much-loved and much-anticipated ‘works outings’ where we go to places chosen by some of our regular volunteers for a work-free day out.  These ‘thank you’ days are open to all existing volunteers (including Easton students) although if any day is oversubscribed then preference will be given to those who have done the most task days with us already.  Please do ask any eligible people to book for these days as soon as you can by contacting me ( 07740 899 691 / mark.webster@tcv.org.uk ) or telling their leader during a task day.

There are still some actual practical tasks to do as well though, including wildflower planting at two new Broadland sites, removing invasive species (no, not balsam yet!) and various jobs to keep pathways open across Norfolk so that people can get into their local green spaces even when the weeds start to grow up!

Whether volunteers are joining us at Sainsburys in Norwich or on-site, please can I suggest that you ask them to leave enough time to get to the meeting point BEFORE the minibus arrives.  We usually have to get on to the work area as soon as we do arrive, and we don’t want them to miss their chance to join us.  At some sites it can be difficult to find us once we have left the meeting point, but if they are lost or running late they can call or text (or whatsapp) 07740 899 691.  I will see if I can direct them on to where the team are – or get someone to come and find them (if we can do this without disrupting the rest of the team too much).  It is also worth noting that parking can sometimes be extremely limited near to where we are actually working, hence the need for a meeting point with spaces, but perhaps some distance from where we are working.”

The full programme can be found here.

Posted on

Come and plant a Woodland Trust tree on the UEA Meadows

Volunteers from the Yare Valley Meadow Makers (YVMM) have in recent years put a lot of effort in improving the meadowland at UEA. With trees from the Woodland Trust, they and the UEA Biodiversity Heroes are taking another step to improve the ecology of the meadows. The trees will add to those already planted in February this year.

Matt Tomlinson of the YVMM writes:

“We have 105 wildlife focused native trees coming from the Woodland Trust and need your help to plant them on the UEA Meadows. The trees will give more shade (better able to cope with droughts), increased habitat diversity and link together the wooded habitats on campus and lake sides. As well as providing an excellent habitat in their own right. In the future they will be coppiced to create valuable scrub habitat.

Species include 15 x silver birch, 15 x hazel, 15 x hawthorn, 15 x rowan, 15 x English oak, 30 x blackthorn”

Join the work party at UEA Meadows on Saturday March 7th 10-12 am

Meet at the same place as in February, at the new sign on the UEA meadows (Bluebell Road entrance near North Park Avenue) What3words ///free.doctor.blocks 

Posted on

Conservation Volunteers March 2026

The Conservation Volunteers are looking forward to Spring with their activities this month. The hedge cutting season will end shortly to avoid the main bird nesting season from March to August, but hedge planting will continue apace. There are plenty of other conservation activities as well. If you would like to give your support the monthly programme from Mark Webster is here.

Posted on

Conservation Volunteers Programme February 2026

Learn a new skill of building a leaky dam. Is there a place for such dams on the river Yare?

Mark Webster of the Conservation Volunteers writes:

“I am particularly excited to announce the long-awaited start of the Leaky Dams project in the Tas Valley, where we will be making and installing natural flood defences, using trees sourced from the immediate area to create barriers to slow down floodwaters in a measured way. There’s also more chances to learn the ancient craft of hedge laying at Easton College, restoring a historic pond to how it was in the 1930s (we have the photographic proof of that!) and plenty of hedge and fruit tree planting – including a new community orchard in Cringleford, and new and old sites to see across Broadland. Plus there’s another chance to see the epic Blickling Hall estate.”

The full programme is here.

Posted on

Plant a tree in the Valley

The Yare Valley Meadow Makers (YVMM) invite you to join with them and the UEA Biodiversity Heroes in planting trees in the university meadow.

Matt Tomlinson (centre of photo) of the YVMM writes:

“To beat the winter blues we have a winter work party planned, joining with UEA biodiversity heroes.

We are planting trees on the UEA meadows. For more shade (better able to cope with droughts), increased habitat diversity and linking together the wooded habitats on campus and lake sides. As well as providing an excellent habitat in their own right. Species are wild pear, spindle, hazel, blackthorn, rowan and wych elm. All excellent for wildlife, kindly supplied by the council and UEA.

[Come along at] 9-12am on Wednesday 11th February, meet at the new sign [in the photo] on the UEA meadow, if you are a little late please walk down the meadows to find us.”

YVMM hope to have another work party in late February, this time planting trees supplied by the Woodland Trust.

Posted on

Conservation Volunteers Programme January 2026

The Conservation Volunteers go forward into the New Year as active as ever. Their first outing is on Monday 5th January to Flordon Common. They will be working in the Yare Valley on Wednesday the 14th and Friday the 23rd clearing brambles and planting trees in Bluebell Wood at the Junction of Bluebell Road and North Park Avenue, and now part of Eaton Park. Is this a remnant of the wood Kett’s army camped in on their march to Norwich before setting up camp on Mousehold Heath?

The full programme is here.