Our Projects
We are a friendly, active group and we are always looking for more ideas and more folks who want to get involved in any way. We meet casually on the third Friday evening of each month at the Harlton Hare and Hounds pub at 8pm. You can get the latest news of our activities through our Calendar on this site, by signing up for our free newsletter, joining our WhatsApp group (email for joining info) or by email: hnheco@gmail.com. We are also on Facebook! Below are examples of our past and ongoing projects. Click on titles for more information.
South Cambs Scything Workgroup
The South Cambs Scything Workgroup is a new initiative set up in November 2024 to organise weekly scything and raking sessions during the growing season, mostly in South Cambs but we can travel further afield. Click on the title above for more information.
Friends of the Rhee: River Rhee Water Monitoring
Friends of the Rhee is currently co-ordinating a period of monitoring and testing of Rhee Water quality. For more about the project and Friends of the Rhee, click on the title above.
Haslingfield Tree Trail 2024
Inspired by the village of Bassingbourn, the Haslingfield Tree Trail brought together tree-loving residents Pat Fullick, Solveig Symons, Michelle Golder, Colin Stroud and artist Liz Hales to create something special for our village. We started with a winter walk round (not recommended for easy tree identification!) in 2023, and after some hiccups the trail was launched at the Autumn Market in October 2024. We’ve already had fantastic feedback and even seen groups of people wandering around to enjoy the walk. The Trail is now available at the Anglican Church, Neighbourhood Plan events, or by writing to hnheco.co.uk. The Tree Trail was created with the support of the Parish Council and is free! However, donations to support the work of the Eco Group are very welcome. Use the button below to donate.
The Cambridge Nature Festival
June 2024 and 2025
Our Guided walk to the Haslingfield Quarry carried on in 2024 with 21participants from all over Cambs. In 2025 the walk will take place on June 15th - see our events page or click on the title above for details.
June/July 2023
We organised two events for this year’s Cambridge Nature Festival.
On June 11th we hosted a Guided Walk to our orchid rich Haslingfield Quarry, or clunch pit, which is the only local site at which the rare Man Orchid can reliably be found, and also boasts bee orchids, common spotted orchids, twayblades and many other wild flowers. Led by Parish Councillor Clive Blower, who has been helping to look after this very special site for many years, the event was very well attended, with people coming from all around Cambridge.
On July 1st and 2nd we carried out our first every BioBlitz Nature Survey at Harlton Quarry. With existing records from former Harlton resident Martin Johns, and assistance from local experts like Vince Lea of the Barton based Countryside Regeneration Trust, botanist Ashley Arbon and lots of local enthusiasts, we surveyed plants, bats, small mammals, and moths, and reported our findings to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Environmental Records Centre (CPERC).
Harlton and Haslingfield Let it Grow Project
From Spring 2023
We encouraged residents of our communities to “let it grow” and not mow a patch of their gardens in May and June. Harlton Parish Council even agreed to leave the land on their village triangle untouched, with the gorgeous results above. We had an enthusiastic response with lots of people signing up and sending us photos. We kept a list of all the plant species people identified and at the request of the Cambridge and Peterborough Environmental Records Centre we have sent them our results for their records - more than 100 different species!
Community Share Fair for the Coronation
8 May 2023
In partnership with the Haslingfield Parish Council, we organised a celebration of our local families, gardeners, crafters, artists and small businesses, with shared food, textile repairs, outdoor games, and a play tent with planet friendly and economical activities like rock painting, textiles, sand play and much more.
The Queen’s Green Jubilee
Fri 3 June - Sun 5 June 2022
We partnered with the Haslingfield Parish Council to provide three days of activities with an eco twist for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, for which we received significant funding from the Lottery’s Together for Our Planet scheme.
We had a wonderful weekend full of outdoor fun and inspiration, including art, stories, crafts, sport and cake! Huge thanks are owed to all our wonderful volunteers, stall holders and guests for making it such a memorable weekend.
Working with Parish Councils - Declaration of Climate and Ecological Emergency
We submitted a request to the Haslingfield Parish Council asking them to declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency and take whatever steps they could to mitigate the two, interconnected crises. In September 2021, the Council voted to declare an emergency, and a few months later adopted a plan which included informing ensuring their planning application responses reflected the need for renewable energy and efficiency, managing public spaces for nature, and communicating information to the community. You can see these materials on their website, here: https://haslingfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk/environment#
At the invitation of Harlton Parish Council, we have introduced ourselves at their AGM and told them about our projects and plan. They have also been very supportive.
November 2024 update
We are currently supporting the Haslingfield Parish Council in reviewing its Climate Emergency Plan for next January, 2025. We also, with the help of Parish Councillors Liz Hales and Ann O’Brien, submitted a draft biodiversity plan for the parish, which is currently under consideration by the council. However they have already adopted a few ideas, such as leaving standing wood in the Wellhouse meadow when two trees recently required removal. Standing dead wood is hugely beneficial for wildlife - see this article for info: Deadwood in Woodland - British Habitats - Woodland Trust.
We are always looking for further advice on these subjects, so if sustainability or biodiversity or your things, please get in touch by email to hnheco@gmail.com.
Haslingfield Environmental Working Group - Increasing Biodiversity
Ongoing from 2021
Working together with the Haslingfield Parish Council, we have helped to devise a new mowing plan for the Well House meadow, which we hope will increase biodiversity in the meadow and allow wildflowers to flourish longer. We are also working hard to make sure all grass cuttings are removed from the main meadow and spread into the margins, as this will help reduce the nutrients in the soil which allows more wildflowers to compete. We are carrying out regular plant surveys of the meadow and have also tried our hand at small mammal and insect surveys. We are also planting annual wildflower seeds in the space left by the yearly Guy Fawkes bonfire. We saw the results with a lovely, colourful display and masses of butterflies in 2023.
We have also been looking after the small green on Lilac Close, planting two wildflower verges and other plants good for pollinators.
We have recently been given the opportunity to look after some of the space behind the village green and in front of the Methodist Church. This space already has quite a few wildflowers, including dead nettle, mallow, ground ivy, yarrow, buttercup and more, and we plan to add further seeds this fall.
