Latest News
See our latest news and details of current and past projects...
Hedge Planting March 2026
Following the success of our previous hedge planting events, we had a fabulous turn out for our Spring 2026 hedge planting - with the work completed in record time. Once again we planted a range of native British species, including hawthorne, dogrose, elder and hazel, which were donated to us following our application to the Woodland Trust. This time the hedge will provide a border to a section of the right of the path leading towards the willow bridge from Eaton Socon. It was fantastic to see so many members of the local community of all ages getting involved in improving our local environment - and even getting stuck in to a bit of weeding on the bog garden after the hedge was planted!
The hedge planted this time last year is becoming well established and it is incredible to see this area of land gradually transforming with a much greater diversity of plants and habitats for our local wildlife.
If getting involved with this kind of event takes your fancy, subscribe to our Facebook page to be notified of upcoming events, or email us at chair@eatonsoconpightle.org.
New Information Board by Switch Now
Co workers at local Not For Profit Switch Now are regular attenders at our Monday morning volunteer sessions, and they have now designed, made and installed a second information board on the Pightle. This board contains information about native trees on one side, and flowers on the reverse. You can find the sign on the path alongside the cricket ground. Many thanks to Switch Now for their skills and time.
Hedge Planting March 2025
On the morning of 22 March 2025, 8 Pightle regulars and 12 volunteers of all ages from the general public planted, staked, and mulched over 300 young plants in 2 hours to create a new hedgerow on the Pightle.
The hedge marks the border between an area of the Pightle known as McNish Wood and the moorings. The ‘whips’ (young but established plants), donated to the Pightle by the wonderful Woodland Trust, comprise native British species including hazel, holly, elder, hawthorn and dogrose. In time the new hedge will provide habitat, food and shelter for insects, rodents and birds on the Pightle and, as they mature together, will complement the woodland area that fringes the pitch at Eaton Socon Cricket Club.
Sincere thanks to all who contributed their time and hard work to make the planting such a success. The hedge has established well in it's first year in spite of the dry summer.
If getting involved with this kind of event takes your fancy, subscribe to our Facebook page to be notified of upcoming events, or email us at chair@eatonsoconpightle.org. There will be a hedge planting event coming soon in Spring 2026.
Bog Garden
Anyone walking towards the Willow Bridge from Eaton Socon will have noticed a series of changes taking place to the right of the path over the past year. This is the ongoing work to create a bog garden on the Pightle, with the aim of increasing our biodiversity.
The project came about after we were successful in our application to Huntingdonshire District Council’s Community Biodiversity Grant Scheme for an ecological review. In summer 2024, we were delighted to welcome two of HDC’s Graduate Ecologists to the Pightle, where they spent a half day conducting an extensive review of the fauna and flora across the site.
The subsequent 58-page report detailed the many species already present and made recommendations for improving and enhancing the ecology. We were then invited to apply for a grant for a biodiversity project of our choosing.
It was decided that a bog garden would be an ideal project, benefitting a variety of species and being suited to an area of the Pightle which frequently flooded and remained damp for most of the year.
Having been successful in securing the grant, work started in May 2025. Our volunteers began by carrying out the unenviable task of clearing the site, which was thickly covered with nettles, brambles and wild raspberry bushes! The design for the bog garden was then marked out, and a digger hired to excavate trenches of around 18” deep. The trenches were laid with gravel and lined with a membrane, before the soil was replaced. This will enable the soil to retain water even during drier spells. The site has begun to be planted with a variety of native, bog loving plant species, and it will become ideal habitat for a variety of insects, amphibians and birds. Our team of volunteers will soon be starting on the second phase of planting.
We were pleased to be able to repurpose the benches which were removed from the market square as part of the recent renovations, and two of these benches have already been installed overlooking the area.
As the project progresses, we will be adding paths and further benches to allow visitors to spend time in and enjoy the garden.
If you are interested in taking part in projects like this, get in touch at chair@eatonsoconpightle.org.uk or see our volunteering information
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Saving Britain's Black Poplars
According to the Woodland Trust, only around 7000 wild black poplars remain in Britain - and only 600 of these are female. The following article explains the importance of this native species and the role the Pightle is playing in helping to preserve the black poplar for future generations.
By Derek Giles
The black poplar tree (Populus nigra betulifolia) is now thought to be Britain's most endangered native timber tree, and has been in decline for the past 200 years. A thousand years ago it thrived across the lowland floodplains of the British countryside. It was once such a common sight that it features in many classic paintings of the British countryside, including John Constable's The Haywain. Black poplars were commonly planted near farms and developing villages as they were considered so useful for building and scaffolding. The shaped lower branches were especially prized for frames, and the toughness and straightness of the young pollard branches made the tree prized by fletchers. Indeed it is said that arrows from the excavated 'Mary Rose' originated from Huntingdonshire black poplars.
There are so few wild black poplars left in the country that is is unlikely that they will pollinate each other, instead the large numbers of cultivated trees will pollinate them. This means that there are hardly ever any new truly wild black poplars. Over half of the remaining 7000 trees identified in are recent survey are situated in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.
The ratio of male to female trees is estimated at 10:1. The species is dioecious - that is, male and female flowers on different plants - with flowers in catkins and pollination by wind. Here in Huntingdonshire only 40 mature trees are known to survive, most of which are in decline, therefore action is needed to secure the survival of this tree.
As part of St Neots Town Council's 'Plant a Millennium Tree' project, both male and female black poplars were planted in the Pightle in 2000 from 'whipps'. Whilst the two female trees grew quite slowly at first, all are becoming well established and are thriving. In late 2013, twelve male and twelve female pollards were taken; some of these will be grown locally, but the majority have gone to help the restoration of a quarry site at Bluntisham. It is hoped that in future years these four trees will pollinate together and that more cuttings will be taken from these trees in the Pightle to help halt this majestic tree's decline and rejuvenate it once again.