Back in September of 2015, the Norbury Park Conservation Group (NPCG) was set up by Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) staff to take care of the 531 hectares of mixed habitat at Norbury Park situated within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This beautiful Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) encompasses woodland, farmland, river valley, chalk grassland and meadows. Five years ago, three generous volunteers stood forward to lead the group themselves, forming a self-led volunteer group.

The group had a challenging start due to the Covid pandemic in 2020, as their inauguration coincided with lockdown. When lockdown eased, volunteers were initially able to work in groups of six outdoors. With a good response from volunteers, they started running two groups of six volunteers working apart, each group with a designated leader and a first aider. Despite this tricky start, the group powered through and grew from strength to strength, ensuring the continued care of this special site.

Over the years, NPCG have led various conservation tasks on behalf of SWT and carry out woodland management, access and infrastructure tasks for Surrey County Council, ensuring the site is a haven for wildlife and accessible for the community to enjoy. Activities have been numerous and include meadow management, wildflower surveys, installing and moving fencing for conservation grazing, removing invasive plant species, hedge planting and maintenance, footpath maintenance, gate repairs, deer fencing and pond recovery.

In 2023, NPCG were finalists in the green category of the BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey Make A Difference Awards, reaching the final four out of hundreds of other nominees. This was a fabulous recognition of the volunteers’ enormous efforts to make their local area better for nature. Other notable achievements of the group which they are particularly proud of include the full recovery of the previously overgrown pond and sawpit areas, including the establishment of access paths, fencing repairs and sweet chestnut fencing installation.

The past ten years of commitment and dedication from NPCG volunteers has made a huge impact on the management of the site, including globally-rare chalk grassland. Some of the volunteers who are active today were there on the very first volunteer day in September 2015 and remain a significant part of the site’s success story. The group continues to care diligently for the site, thanks to the leadership of Paul, Joy and Peter, the incredibly dedicated individuals who have taken the initiative to organise tasks and passionately lead the group of volunteers efficiently, effectively and safely.

As the group celebrates their 10th anniversary, we’d like to say huge thank you to all our volunteers, past and present, who look after Norbury Park so beautifully.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering at SWT please reach out to volunteers@surreywt.org.uk