Bid to make Ray Mill Island a 'thriving natural sanctuary'

Ray Mill Island neighbours are ‘taking matters into their own hands’ to boost the biodiversity of this ‘little jewel’ in Maidenhead.

Two environmentally passionate friends have launched Friends of Ray Mill Island, a new volunteer group.

Walking around Ray Mill Island, Tara Crist and Nivi Bhide noticed that despite its popularity, the area was ‘wearing and tearing – surviving, not thriving.’

The pair decided to ‘take matters into their own hands’ to enrich the Island, boosting its biodiversity, sprucing the place up and educating people on the environment.

The new Friends group aims to ‘transform the island into a thriving natural sanctuary, showcasing nature at its best.’

It is part of Wild Maidenhead’s Wilder Parks project, which aims for 30 per cent wilding in parks.

Practical tasks for the Friends include maintaining picnic tables and benches, setting up information signs, installing bird and bat boxes, revitalising flower beds, creating nature trails, maintaining streams and making tags for trees and plants.

There will also be tree planting initiatives and working parties to look into opportunities for improving the area.

Nivi said: “We started off with the two of us, and within a few weeks, we have grown to 15 members with many more people helping on the periphery. We want to increase our circle of friends.”

Previously, attempts were made to engage the council for the project – these were unsuccessful under the previous administration.

The new one is interested in supporting the endeavour but lacks the funds to take on the project itself, Tara says.

The Friends are now looking for people and charities to volunteer their time and skills, as well as sponsorship.

There will be an open day on Sunday (June 23), 3-6 pm, with the aim of showcasing the changes already made and enticing more people to get involved.

The day will see visits from community groups, health and mental health organisations, and eco-friendly small businesses, with activities like yoga, meditation and dance.

“We want people with a love for the Island to come along and be around nature,” said Tara.

To find out more about sponsorship, visit rbwmtogether.rbwm.gov.uk/friends-of-parks-green-spaces