Flora and Fauna event at the Old Rec, Saturday 30 May 2026, 8am-midday
The ‘Old Rec’ is a meadow at the bottom of Broad Lane, Cottenham, just before the bridge over the Lode. It is so-called because it was created as the parish recreation ground in the 19th century during the Enclosures. In recent years the field has been actively managed to encourage biodiversity.
To discover more about the flora and fauna to be found at the Old Rec join volunteers from Sustainable Cottenham’s Nature Recovery Group on the morning of Saturday 30th May 2026. There will be experts on hand to talk about the small mammals which live in the area as well as the moths that fly at night and to show you some of the plants and trees which can be found there.
The event will begin early – at 8am prompt – when we find out whether we have caught any small mammals*. They will be released by 10am to avoid putting them under stress.
There will be short talks and tours about the flora and fauna at 9am, 10am and 11am.
*If you want to see our volunteer setting the small mammal traps the evening before, come to the Old Rec at 6pm on Friday 29th May.
Meet at The Old Rec, Broad Lane, Cottenham CB24 8SW (last grass field on the right before bridge over Lode). W3W///succumbs.basic.nickname
- This event is part of the Cambridge Nature Festival 2026, 23rd May – 30 June, a celebration of Nature on your doorstep. View all events
- This is a family-friendly event but please ensure under 18s are accompanied by a responsible adult. (There is open water in the field, albeit shallow).
- There is no guarantee of seeing any small mammals or moths but it would be surprising if we didn’t!
- If you have any questions, contact chris@sustainablecottenham.org.uk
Dragons in the Moat March 2026
About 50 adults and children were able to see at close quarters the newts living in the Moat on Tenison Manor at the recent Dragons in the Moat event held by volunteers from Sustainable Cottenham. There are two types of newts living there: Great Crested Newts (a protected species) and Smooth Newts. In the spring they come back to the water in the Moat to breed, having hibernated in the nearby vegetation and gardens.
They are difficult to spot during the day but become active after dark and can be seen with a torch. Fortunately, one of the organisers holds a Newt Licence so they were able to carefully catch a male and allow everyone to see his impressive dragon-like crest before releasing him again. There are over 50 Great Crested Newts in the area and two newts were even rescued from a road drain!
Work on the Old Rec, Broad Lane, 2024
Under the supervision of Employee Volunteering, volunteers from Astra Zeneca weeded and mulched the new hedge around the ponds on the Old Rec, Broad Lane. The photo on the left shows the level of weeds they cleared and the one on the right gives an idea of how much clearer the area around the hedge was afterwards.
Nature recovery activity around Cottenham 2023
Earlier this year we were greatly saddened by the death of Cllr Dr John Loveluck who led Sustainable Cottenham’s Nature Recovery group from its formation in 2020. Under his leadership the publicly owned green spaces in Cottenham thrived and new activities were initiatived.
- Crowlands moat on Tenison Manor has great crested newts, mature trees and wild grass areas. Reed clearing with volunteers from Sustainable Cottenham and the Scouts has increased the open water habitat favoured by great crested newts for breeding. A count in April found that the newt population was thriving.
- A series of seasonal ponds have been created on Cottenham Parish’s Old Rec on Broad Lane to suit birds, amphibians and invertebrates. The ponds were designed by Natural England, created by New Life on the Old West (NLOW) and funded through the National Heritage Lottery fund. Local volunteers undertook hedge planting to provide a barrier and further habitat improvement. The vagaries of the 2023 season led to an excessive growth of sow thistle on the disturbed ground during the summer but wildflowers have been sown and it is hoped that the new pond plants and wild flowers will do better next year.
- The Parish-owned WARG Field on Histon Road has wildflowers, grasses and bee orchids, as well as apple trees, and a newly hand-dug pond funded by The National lottery.
- The Parish Council’s mowing policy has been changed to leave certain areas uncut in summer to allow plants to flourish.
- A small area of the Village Green has been sown with wildflowers and managed to encourage proliferation in future years.
- Fen Reeves Wood on Twenty Pence Road is former agricultural land owned by Cottenham Parish Council. It is being managed for nature and improved access, with bulb planting, coppicing, path clearance, and bird box installation, undertaken by Sustainable Cottenham volunteers and the Scouts, with plants, tools, and additional volunteers provided by the NLOW project.
Our next task is to prepare a Nature Recovery Plan. If you are interested in being part of the team, contact naturerecovery@sustainablecottenham.org.uk
Update Summer 2022
WARG Field (entrance between 118 and 114 Histon Road) has been looking great with the Parish Council’s new mowing policy, despite the cold, dry spring. The yellow hawkbit has provided most of the colour but, nestling away among the wild flowers and grasses, the bee orchids flowered for the first time in many years. The 3 new apple trees are bedding in well, but will need careful monitoring and watering over the summer. Please keep to the mown areas to avoid trampling the flowers, but do go and have a look – by foot or by bike as there is no public parking at the site.
