Greener Great Coxwell Awarded £33k for Community Heat and Hot Water Feasibility Study 
We are really excited to report that Greener Great Coxwell has been successful in our application to the Rural Community Energy Fund for the Phase 1 Community Heat and Hot Water Project feasibility study.  With the help of similar projects, especially Heating Upper Heyford and the Greater SouthEast Energy Hub, and the fantastic support of a large number of our residents, we proposed an ambitious project to make sustainable and reliable heat available to the whole village. This grant will enable our energy consultants, Locogen, to carry out the initial study and recommend the way forward. We will update the village as the study progresses over the next few months.

Find out more about the project at: www.greenergreatcoxwell.com
Contact us for more information at: [email protected]
You can find more detailed Energy Project Bulletins on the website at : https://greenergreatcoxwell.com/great-coxwell-community-energy-bulletins/
 
Great Coxwell Well and Pump. 
Greener Great Coxwell are looking into the possibility of restoring the well on the triangle of land at the bottom the cobbled path from the Church. After all, our name comes from the fact the village had plenty of water. We have contacted the Parish Council and Oxfordshire County Council and both are happy for us to explore more and say they do not think the well has a registered title owner. If anyone has any interesting information on the well and it’s pump we would love to hear. 
Please email:  [email protected]

Can the individual really affect climate change? 
Yes. You can, and here’s how…. If you think you want to do more yourself to help 'Just have a Think' have made an excellent short video talking through the different things you could do and the impact that would make.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRTic6mjCFk

Thank you, 
Greener Great Coxwell
 
web: www.greenergreatcoxwell.com
mail: [email protected]

Greener Great Coxwell Limited is registered in England as a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. 

Registration number: 8761

Great Coxwell used to be full of mature walnut trees , sadly these were all cut down down during the first world war.
 
There are a two walnut trees in my garden from which I have grown a few seedlings now 2/3 years old .
 
If anyone would like one please let me know.
 
Andrew Whiting
Five Elms
[email protected]
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I was passed some old village photos recently which I thought might be of interest. Click on the image for the original. If anyone has anything to add or further information please email [email protected]

I have been unable to find the copyright owners for these, if you are the owner or need a photo removed please email [email protected]

Hi,

We wanted to explain one or two things about our plans at Colleymore ahead of a time later in the year when we can organise a walk of the fields for anyone interested to discuss things further. 

For people who’d like to know more about the background to the farming system we’re hoping to put in place here, this link gives more information. https://wildfarmed.co.uk/andys-farming-journey/

The overarching principle is to have as much biodiversity in the fields as possible. Not just around the margins, but in the field itself. To do this, the harvestable crops are planted in strips, and surrounded by a mixture of different plants, ideally from as many different families as possible.

Our first attempt to establish things last autumn was very difficult. Supply chain issues led to the very late arrival of machinery followed by ongoing issues with it. As a result we didn’t get going until things were too wet. A lot of what we had hoped to plant didn’t get done and some of what we did is by no means optimal! With a fair spring, we’ll get things back on track. 

In some fields, such as those around Badbury Clump , we have drilled into the existing pastures and will attempt to add some additional species into the pasture strips this spring. Elsewhere , we have had to create a clean seedbed so as to get the multispecies mixes off to a good start. That’s why you’ll see some ploughing at the moment. Once the mixtures are established, the hope is to disturb the ground as little as we can. 

Over the growing season you may see a sprayer in the field. This is because we are testing the use of compost teas and seaweed sprays as ways to encourage soil biology. Fungicides, pesticides, herbicides - anything ending in “cide” in fact - will never be used. Everything we are trying to do is about encouraging as much life and diversity as possible.

Apologies if some locked gates have caused any inconvenience recently. We had to do this after suffering crop damage from joy riders. Doing so in a hurry meant that there were a couple of footpaths that were inadvertently locked for a little while

If we get approval from the relevant authorities, the below map gives an idea of what we hope to put in place over the coming seasons. You’ll see that overall the plan is to ‘farm in rectangles’, giving the rest of the land over to different habitats. Alongside the tree planting underway this autumn, we hope to add significant amounts of agroforestry - as indicated by the north/south strips on the map. 

We’d like to setup a system by which, either by simple signposts or QR code links for phones, we can share information about what’s going on in each field so that for those interested  it’s easier to follow the various processes and experiments. We will get there with this, it might just take a little time. 

It’s a huge privilege to have taken on the stewardship of this land and we’ll do our very best to live up to the responsibilities that come with that. 


Andy 

Pink and brown areas are flower rich habitats or, in some places, new woodland.

Blue and green diagonal stripes are grassland

The north south striped pink strips are agroforestry 

A second wave of agroforestry is planned for 5019, the big field near the village, and to break up the winds that blow across what Adam told me is often referred to as “Siberia” - the two fields behind the church.

You can download the image here.

A delivery from (Clayton Villa) to Asylum Welcome will be taken on Tuesday 15th ,this month. If you would like to contribute, please leave at Clayton Villa by 14th.
Thank you,
Sally Tipple

Dear all,
 
Here is the info about our next concert at Stonevale.  After about 120 concerts, we decided it was time to go paperless.  Please feel free to print the programme if you prefer, but Osman was also very happy to announce his pieces.
 
Osman is an old pupil of mine, and some of you might remember his many wonderful appearances here at Stonevale,  as a school boy.  He is now even more impressive as a professional musician!  So please be quick in booking seats, as I have already had a few reservations.
 
Best wishes,
Lynette

Download programme here

I am pleased to say that Open House Drop In will be resuming next Wednesday, 2nd February, with coffee and biscuits at 10.30.

Sylvia
(07923 563662) 

The next Stonevale Concert will be on Sunday, 13th February at 4 - Osman Tack (piano).

Lynette
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The talk will be held on Zoom and the link will be sent out to all members a few days before the talk.

Speaker: Mr Richard Ovenden OBE FSA FRSA,  chief librarian at the Bodley Library in Oxford. 

Richard will talk about his role and the work of libraries across the country.  He has held positions at the library of Durham University, the House of Lords Library, and the University of Edinburgh Library.  He also serves as the director of the Bodleian Library’s centre for the study of the book, and holds a professional fellowship at Balliol College.
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The following documents have been added to the website:

Parish Council Meeting Minutes December 13th 2021