Join Staffordshire Wildlife Trust for a BioBlitz at Cecilly Brook Local Nature Reserve on Thursday 24th April 2025 between 10am and 3pm. Drop in to bug hunt, bird watch or examine plants and trees to find and record as much wildlife as we can.
This event is free for Moorlands residents thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. Suitable for all ages (children must be supervised by parent/guardian). Please wear suitable clothing for the weather and sturdy footwear.
Look out for the SWT shelter.
For more information go to staffs-wildlife.org.uk
Forthcoming Events 2025
All these volunteering events are free.
If you haven’t joined us before, we would appreciate it if you could phone or email if you wish to take part.
email: cecillymill@btinternet.com Phone: Anne Beardmore 07748528354
Unless otherwise stated these work parties start at 10am meeting on the Leisure Centre car park off Ashbourne Road, Cheadle.
January
Sunday 19th Litter Pick
Thursday 30th Nest box Clearing & Numbering
February
Thursday 13th Hales Hall Pool Replacing Fence Posts
Cleaning of Information Boards at HHP & Cecilly Brook
Sunday 16th Litter Pick
Thursday 20th Bramble Control
March
Thursday 13th Riverfly Survey
Sunday 16th Litter Pick
Thursday 27th Preparation & Seed Sowing selected areas along Cecilly Brook
April
Thursday 10th Maintenance at Labyrinth Art Installation
Sunday 20th Litter Pick
May
Thursday 8th Control of Docks by removing seed heads.
Sunday 18th Litter Pick
Thursday 22nd Riverfly Survey
June
Thursday 5th Balsam Pulling Session
AGM 7.30pm @ Thorley Drive Pavilion
Please get in touch if you wish to volunteer or have any queries about any of these volunteering opportunities.
Bat & Moth Evening Adventure 2024
Another successful Bat & Moth Evening for 2024 despite the stormy conditions of the night before. 30 adults & 5 children attended from a wide area which included Uttoxeter, Marchington & Stafford as well as more locally from Cheadle.
Moth trapping the previous night meant we had some live specimens to look at. There followed a short talk about moths & our light trap was set up which attracted more moths on the night.
Mark from SWT then gave a short talk on bats before issuing bat detectors & leading an evening walk along the Brook path towards Mill Rd footbridge listening in to Pipestrelle bats foraging among the trees & along the Brook.
Lots of positive comments were received. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the evening. Thanks to all the volunteers who turned out to help & support.
Water Quality Testing
We continue to monitor water quality once a month at Cecilly Brook. The results generally show that the brook has a good or very good ecological status. Phosphate levels are always low, but nitrate levels vary recording higher levels in certain months especially after heavy rain.
Litter Picks 2023
Over the last year 43 bags of litter have been removed from and around Cecilly Brook, mainly plastic in the form of drinks bottles and snack packaging, glass bottles and cans. We have also removed larger items from the brook itself including shopping trolleys, bicycle wheels, metal poles and a children’s scooter.
Bat and Moth Evening 2023
Cubs from 2nd Cheadle Scout Group presented one of the bat boxes they had made to Friends of Cecilly Brook for putting up on the reserve, when they attended the very successful Bat and Moth Evening Adventure in August. 50 people attended the evening, both adults and children. We were able to show them different species of moths that had been caught in the light trap and we listened to Pipistrelle bats’ echo locations on our walk along the brook.
Hedge Planting 2023
After twice being cancelled because of snow, it was third time lucky for the hedge planting on Cecilly Brook nature reserve on 16th March.
Seven volunteers helped Mark, Senior Reserves Officer for Staffs Wildlife Trust, to plant native hedging whips including hawthorn, holly, blackthorn and dog rose at the top of the Thorley Drive meadow.
When established the hedge will provide a natural corridor for wildlife as well as providing shelter and food. Hedges also sequester carbon and help mitigate flooding.
The recent wet weather should help the whips to get established.
Riverfly Survey
On 29th September we did a riverfly survey using the kick sampling method, taking in total a 3-minute sample from the riverbed. Lots of Gammarus and quite a few small Olives as well as other invertebrates and some surprises like a Bullhead were caught in the sample.
Later in the year on 3rd November we did some invertebrate sampling, again using the kick sampling method, with a group of Eco Warriors from one of our local primary schools.
Some of the invertebrates we identified included: a Burrower Mayfly larva, a Caseless Caddisfly larva, Gammarus, Water Slater, small Olives, Midge larvae.
Leaf Clearance
Volunteers worked with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust officers Mark and Will to clear the leaves from the paths running alongside Cecilly Brook on 24th November. When wet the leaves can be really slippery so we try to clear away as many as possible.
Leaf litter is however really important in lots of ways. The fallen leaves put nutrients back into the soil and provide nesting material, hiding places and protected spots for animals. They provide shelter for toads, hedgehogs and caterpillars in the winter and food for wood lice and other mini beats and fungi.
Flush only the 3Ps
The pictures below show the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) next to the road bridge at Oakamoor Road. CSOs carry away both sewage from homes and storm water from drains and roads. They are a safety valve to release pressure when large volumes of water enter the sewers, for example during a heavy storm. The excess water enters into watercourses to prevent flooding of homes and buildings.
This first picture shows all the wet wipes on the grid of the CSO. These have made their way into the sewerage system having been flushed down toilets. Many also get into Cecilly Brook or get attached to overhanging branches. Not all wipes labelled flushable and biodegradable disintegrate once flushed. They can take 500 years to decompose as some contain plastic resins and so pose a risk to local wildlife and the environment.
A big thank you to the Severn Trent River Rangers who removed all the wipes and cleaned up around the overflow after the Friends of Cecilly Brook and Hales Hall Pool met up with Senior River Ranger Stuart Hill. As this picture shows they did a really great job.
Please only flush the 3Ps – Poo, Pee, Paper – so we don’t have this problem again in the future.