OVERTON CONSERVATION
We enhance spaces for wildlife in Overton and aim to get you out enjoying and appreciating the beautiful nature on your doorstep. Give nature just a couple of hours a month of your time by helping us manage the green spaces of our village.
GREEN SPACES
We've teamed up with Basingstoke and Deane Council's ranger team to maintain and improve these beautiful areas and we'd love your help. We're a super friendly group of nature geeks, who are out there come rain or shine to make space for our wilder friends.
SAPLEY LANE
Sapley Lane play area is a new addition to our catalogue of green spaces we look after in the village.
Aside from bramble clearing at the top of Winchester Street, we are awaiting the exciting development of this site from green lawn to something much more biodiverse with wildflowers and trees and even a nature playground.
COMMUNITY ORCHARD
The Community Orchard hosts a couple of lovely events every year such as Wassail and Harvest Festival. We also make sure the trees are pruned and mulched and generally kept in good health.
OVERTON HILL
When: Last Saturday of the month at 10am-12pm
Meeting point: Overton Hill Car Park (next to the recycling centre)
What to bring: Weather appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear, we'll provide tools, gloves and always tea and biscuits.
Sign up here to be added to our WhatsApp group to be notified of any date changes or severe weather related cancellations. We may also decide to work on one of our other sites.
MONTHLY MEETING
The team meets roughly once a month to keep momentum going on all our projects and to discuss new ideas for how we can further enhance the biodiversity of the village.
The meetings are open to anyone who is interested in our green spaces.
Where: The Old House at Home
When: Wednesday evening mid-month
Sign up to join our WhatsApp group to be notified of exact dates and times and let us know you're coming.
WHAT CAN I DO IN MY GARDEN?
The Basingstoke Green Team provide free garden survey to help you find out what you can do in your garden to assist our pollinators and local wildlife. CLICK HERE to book.
On their website, Natural Basingstoke has put together lots of things you can do in your community or your own garden to promote biodiversity. They call it Random Acts of Wilderness.
COULD YOU BECOME A POLLINATOR PROTECTOR?
Hampshire Countryside Service is running a Pollinator Protector campaign and Sustainable Overton have taken the pledge. Could you pledge a patch in your own garden to help our declining population of pollinators? The link takes you to more information about the pledge.
WALKS IN AND AROUND OVERTON
THE TREE TRAIL
Enjoy the beauty of the variety of trees as you walk around Overton, circling the river Test. Read more about the trees HERE. The trail starts on the Community Centre forecourt by the traffic lights in the middle of the village. The tour is on roads, some with footpaths. All the trees are visible from the footpath or road. Click on the image to download the pdf.
THE THREE TRAILS
We are lucky to have access to abundant green spaces in Overton. We've put together a series of trails in this download so you can go out and explore them for yourself. Click on the image to download the pdf.
OUR GOALS FOR GREENING OVERTON
For Overton Hill, we have a future goal of becoming a SINC (a locally important site identified by district or county council). We have a number of SINCs around Overton already and it is vital we take care of them and do our best to add more locally important sites to the map.
According to the Basingstoke Ecological Emergency page, 176 hectares of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation has been lost between 2010 and 2019. The general decline in the condition of grassland SINCs is mainly a result of agricultural improvement or neglect. Our biodiversity has suffered in the process.
As a more general goal for Overton, we want to create green corridors throughout the village for wildlife to move freely from green space to green space.
Nature conservation is not just an ethical consideration, it is essential for our economic, social and personal well-being.
Click on each question for a more in-depth answer.