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Oxford Urban Wildlife Group

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    • Spring Open Afternoon at Boundary Brook Nature Reserve 2025
    • Winter Greetings and Events
    • Boundary Brook Open day and AGM Saturday 8th June 2024
    • Boundary Brook Nature Reserve Features on Country File
    • Boundary Brook Nature Reserve receive an Oxford Preservation Trust Award 2022
    • TVERC Species Surveys & Volunteer Opportunity!
    • Funding Success! Ponds, Glades & Woodlands Project funded by TOE
    • Boundary Brook Nature Park joins BBOWT’s Wild Oxford project
    • OUWG AGM and Public Open Afternoon
  • Guides and Resources
    • Make Woodpile habitats
    • Wildcam Footage
    • Rare Wetland Plant Conservation at Boundary Brook Nature Reserve
    • How to Grow a Wildflower Meadow: A Step-by-Step Guide
    • Plant ID and Poetry: Spring Flowers
      • Early Summer Wildflowers at Boundary Brook
      • Autumn Plants at Boundary Brook
    • Butterflies at Boundary Brook
    • Birds of Boundary Brook – and how to spot them!
    • How to create a nature-rich hedge at home
      • Hedge-laying for Biodiversity at Boundary Brook
    • Woodsman’s Wisdom
    • Mindfulness in Nature
    • Bat Surveying at Boundary Brook
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  • Boundary Brook Nature Reserve Features on Country File
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Home / About Us

About Us

Red Admiral in wildflower meadow

Who we are

Oxford Urban Wildlife Group (OUWG) was established by a group of community wildlife enthusiasts in 1988 with a vision to maintain and conserve wildlife in Oxford, and to help local people discover the city’s wildlife and wild places.

Boundary Brook is one of the most extraordinary community projects I’ve ever encountered. I love its history and narrative – the fact that it began as an abandoned allotment, and is now an explosion of biodiversity that is also used by the local school.

— Yin Lu, local resident and winner of our nature (up-close) photography competition

What we do

We have been fulfilling our mission over the past 30 years by creating and managing Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, a three-acre wildlife haven in the heart of East Oxford featuring mixed woodland, pond, butterfly glades, and a demonstration wildlife garden.

View a map of Boundary Brook Nature Reserve

Slow-worm
The slow-worm is a protected species, and can be found at Boundary Brook Nature Reserve

The Reserve won the coveted Oxfordshire Special Conservation Award in 1991 and has since been designated a Site of Nature Conservation Interest. Over the years, it has protected native species and offered a wide range of habitats to encourage wildlife to flourish, including protected badgers, Brown Hairstreak butterflies and slow-worms, and rare snake’s-head fritillaries and wetland plants.

Visiting Boundary Brook Nature Reserve

OUWG – Protecting Wildlife for 30 Years

View a gallery of OUWG over its 30-year history

Future plans

OUWG enters its 30th year at a time when wild spaces and species are increasingly under threat. We aim to inspire new generations to enjoy and continue to nurture this beautiful and increasingly rare wild space on our doorstep for decades to come.

We provide opportunities for practical conservation work, an inspiring educational space for school groups, and open days for the local community to learn more about the Reserve and our resident wildlife.

Our plans for our fourth decade include:

  • A new gate to make Boundary Brook Nature Reserve more accessible to all
  • A slow-worm ‘highway’ to be developed on site to provide essential routes for this protected species
  • Coppicing/hedge-laying courses open to the public
  • A new pond-dipping platform
  • Forest schools
  • Live camera trails

Read our Case Study and our Management Plan

Boundary Brook Nature Reserve Case Study HE proof 2 3.pdf

5-Year Management Plan for Boundary Brook Nature Reserve

We depend on the support of the local community to make these plans a reality. As OUWG enters its fourth decade and a new phase in its development, it has never been a better time to get involved.

Because of the proximity of Boundary Brook Nature Reserve to the East Ward Allotments from which it was created over 30 years ago, the Reserve has to be a secure site, with OUWG members given a key upon joining. We have therefore made membership very affordable at just £5/year.

If you share our enthusiasm for wildlife and wild spaces and want to help shape the future of Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, please get in touch or become a member today to access a range of benefits.

Take a virtual tour of Boundary Brook

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Oxford Urban Wildlife Group is a registered charity – No. 1101126

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