An exciting nature restoration project is underway on the Old Berkeley Golf Course, where Oxford Preservation Trust (OPT) is restoring an area of historically drained land back to wetland.
As part of the project, volunteers from Oxford Conservation Volunteers (OCV) completed two new boardwalks in May 2026, along with short sections of post-and-rail fencing made from recycled fencing from another OPT site. The boardwalks make it easier for visitors to explore the wetter parts of the site while protecting the fragile habitats that are beginning to recover.
Wetlands are among the UK’s most valuable habitats, providing homes for a wide variety of wildlife including dragonflies, frogs, amphibians and wetland birds. They also play an important role in tackling climate change by storing carbon in waterlogged soils, improving water quality and helping to reduce flood risk by slowing the movement of water through the landscape.
The restored wetland will also benefit one of Oxfordshire’s rarest plants, Ivy-leaved Crowfoot, which now survives at just a single site in the county – the Old Berkeley Golf Course. Restoring wetter conditions will help safeguard this nationally important population while encouraging many other wetland plants and animals to return.
The project has been delivered by OPT with ecologist Rod d’Ayala, supported by volunteers from Oxford Conservation Volunteers, Abingdon Green Gym and OPT’s Green Spaces volunteers. Funding from Vale of White Horse District Council’s Climate Action Fund has helped make the work possible.
The restoration is already showing encouraging results, with water being retained on site for much longer than before. As the wetland develops over the coming years, it will become an increasingly valuable haven for wildlife and an attractive place for local people to enjoy nature on Boars Hill. We look forward to sharing further updates as the wetland continues to take shape.
To find out more about OPT’s work, please visit: www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk
