Milford Conservation Volunteers (MCV) received their 2020 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (equivalent to the MBE for volunteer groups) at a presentation held at South Lawn Hotel earlier this week.
The Chief Executive of the New Forest National Park Authority – Alison Barnes thanked MCV members for the work undertaken locally. She said that the group was an exemplar of all the good things that can be done by volunteers for wildlife, habitats and the community.
Alison said that an example of this was in providing two first class bird hide facilities at Sturt Pond and at The Pans Wetlands in Keyhaven. She went on to say how the volunteers continue to work closely with the Parish Council in upgrading the footpaths through the nature reserves, repairing river banks, coppicing in the woodlands and pulling non-native invasive plant species along the Danes Stream.
She thanked the group members for their enterprising schemes and looked forward to hearing about new projects the group is currently working on. She said that because of their inspirational work she had great pleasure in making the original nomination of MCV for this prestigious award.
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| The Lord Lieutenant presenting the QAVS to MCV Chairman David Horne |
HM Lord Lieutenant – Nigel Atkinson then gave some background to the Queen’s Award, saying that across the country, only 230 awards had been made in 2020. He said that there were numerous and vigorous procedures that are carried out, including site visits to see and talk to volunteers in action, on all nominated groups before an award is eventually decided. Mr Atkinson said that only five nominations were awarded across the whole of Hampshire in 2020. He also congratulated the group in producing their own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) and said that the group were in the course of updating the Plan to cover the next five-to-ten-year period.
The Lord Lieutenant invited his Deputy – Mr Tom Floyd to read the citation signed by the Queen which reads;
Elizabeth the Second, being cognisant of the said group’s outstanding voluntary work in the community and being desirous of showing Our Royal Favour do hereby confer upon it: The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2020.
The Lord Lieutenant presented the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to David Horne – Chairman of the Milford Conservation Volunteers.
The Chairman thanked Alison Barnes and the Lord Lieutenant for their kind words. He said that the work of the group stems from the efforts of a superb management committee and its volunteers, including past and present members. David thanked them all for their ongoing commitment.
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| Alison Barnes (CEO - New Forest National Park Authority), HM Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson (Queen’s Representative), Keith Metcalf (MCV Conservation Officer) and David Horne (MCV Chairman). |
Please tell where 'The Pans Wetland' is? I was born & raised in Milford but have never heard of this before. I would be really interested to know how long this name has been about, or is it a new name given by newcomers to the village?
ReplyDeleteHi Pete. The answer to your question is 'since 1841'. The Pans were first noted in the Tithe map. It is thought that the name originated from the 'saltpan' industry. You probably do know the site, but probably by another name, possibly Avon Water or maybe Avon Floods which is is where the 'Flood Gate' is located at the beginning of the Ancient Highway. The Pans (freshwater) sits immediately west of Avon Water which is tidal. The Pans was arable land in more recent times but used to regularly flood until John Edgar installed a pumping station in 1965. About 20 years ago, the present farmer (Simeon Morgan) decided to abandon the pump house as presumably, it became unviable and so Simeon put this new area of wetland into a Stewardship Scheme and allowed the Pans to permanently flood. In 2016 (as Conservation Officer) for the Milford Conservation Volunteers (MCV), I approached Edgar's and Simeon Morgan to ask if MCV could renovate the small building and turn it into a bird observatory. We carried out the upgrade and completed the transformation of the pump house into a hide in 2017. We have recorded many birds from the site including Great White Egret, Bittern, Bearded Reedling, Water Rail, Marsh Harrier and another 100+ species. We can all learn more about our historic past ..... Keith Metcalf
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a comprehensive explanation Keith.
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