New play area coming soon...
The borough’s newest destination play area in Cantley Park, Wokingham is taking shape!
The new play area, funded by developers’ contributions from new housing, is in the finishing stages with the installation of the exciting and inclusive play equipment almost complete.
A special feature at the new Cantley Park play area will be Yalp interactive equipment which is designed to make playing outside as interactive as gaming - but without the screen time.
The play area has been designed to appeal to a wide age range – including teenagers as well as younger children and will be inclusive with wheelchair accessible equipment. The space has been designed to encourage all children and families to play together in carefully laid out inclusive play zones.
To find out more visit our news site.
Christmas at Dinton
Don't forget to visit Dinton Pastures Country Park 11 and 12 December to enjoy a weekend of live music, mulled wine and mince pies!
Dinton Pastures will also be running some exciting activities for you to get involved in - including meeting beautiful reindeer from Riverways Farm, Christmas climbing at our Dinton Activity Centre, creative Christmas crafts and even a guided paddle around the lake in fancy dress! There is something for all the family.
Find out more by visiting the Dinton Pastures webpage.
Nature park opening in Ashridge Farm
Did you know we have another nature park coming soon to the Ashridge Farm development? The 4.5-hectare beauty spot is located at the northern edge of Wokingham town and was landscaped by highways contractor Balfour Beatty and civil engineering partner Scape.
The green space includes numerous features to protect and improve the diversity of local wildlife. The site boasts two ponds with a total area of about 1,500 sq m, one of which is an “eco pond” that will attract crested newts, dragonflies and damselflies and grass snakes.
It has footpaths with natural topsoil surfacing plus hibernation quarters for small mammals, bat boxes and “beetle hotels” made of local wood. There are also tunnels to allow newts to cross under the road safely and barriers to stop them trying where it isn't safe.
It has been seeded with grass, wildflowers and wetland marsh plants and up to 70 trees will be planted on site, about four times the number removed to make way for the road.
Much more open space will follow as part of the new housing and this will link to existing green spaces to the east and west, also funded by the new developments.
National tree week
National Tree Week is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, running from Saturday 27 November to Sunday 5 December.
Trees are complicated, wonderful lifeforms that have been on our planet for thousands of years and they’re integral to our survival. But how much do you really know about them? Here are 3 facts you might not have known about trees...
- A tree’s leaves aren’t naturally always green. A chemical called chlorophyll makes them green and during the autumn, less sunlight means less chlorophyll is produced. That’s why leaves turn red, yellow, orange and even purple during the colder months.
- Trees release chemicals called phytoncides and research has shown that when we breathe them in it can reduce blood pressure, lower anxiety and even increase our pain threshold. Trees can make us happier, more relaxed and more creative.
- Trees can ‘talk’ to each other and even share nutrients using special fungi on their roots called mycorrhiza. Trees in forests are connected in giants webs that allow them to communicate and share vital resources like water and even carbon.
Garden Forest Scheme
In celebration of National Tree Week, we have launched a pilot Garden Forest Scheme, which is part of our aspiration to become a net-zero carbon borough, and we are inviting residents to apply for a tree, or trees, for their own garden.
Over the next five years, we are looking to plant 250,000 trees across the borough to increase carbon sequestration rates and the garden forest scheme is just one part of this. Carbon sequestration is a process whereby the trees will draw excess CO2 from the atmosphere and store it.
In order to apply to the Garden Forest Scheme, visit its Engage platform, where you will find an expression of interest form and more information about the scheme, and the project as a whole.
Find out more via our news webpage.
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