About the Friends

The Friends of Aston’s Eyot was formed in 2010. We care deeply about protecting and preserving Aston’s Eyot to this day.

How we were set up

In the 2000s, there was a lot of concern about the future of Aston’s Eyot. Local residents met in March and April 2010 and formed a plan to secure the Eyot’s future. The residents noticed the land was deteriorating and the environment left neglected. A wildlife and community friendly management plan was proposed.

By autumn 2010, the Friends were set up with a committe and a constitution. The aims in the constitution still stand to this day:

1. To protect, care for, and manage or assist in the management of Aston’s Eyot for wildlife, and as a wild area.
2. To promote continuing open access to the public for quiet enjoyment of the area.
3. To maintain and where necessary restore the variety of wildlife habitats including woodland, scrub, grassland, orchards, river banks and aquatic habitats.
4. To survey and record species of fauna and flora present, reporting on the results of surveys where appropriate.
5. To involve the wider public in activities such as working parties, wildlife events and other appropriate events.

What we do

We manage the area, retaining its characteristic rough scrubby nature, with the agreement of Christ Church College. We’re also enhancing the area by tackling some of the huge areas of nettle and thistles, eliminating invasive knotweed, encouraging wild flower habitats for butterflies and other insects, removing accumulated rubbish & litter, keeping the smaller paths open and generally encouraging quiet community use.

We’re a fully fledged charity. We’re registered with the Charity Comission and have Trustees who govern the charity.

We operate to a management plan that has largely been the same since 2010. You can read a version of the management plan from 2016 (PDF, 310KB).

Join as a Friend of Aston’s Eyot

In order to carry out our work we require Public Liability Insurance, tools, equipment, and much more. All of these things cost money, and we are entirely funded by donations. This is why we ask our members to join as Friends and pay £8 to support our work.