Volunteer at Brandy Hole Copse

Volunteer at Brandy Hole Copse

(This webpage was first published on 24th March 2023.)

Volunteers have contributed their time and energy to the upkeep of the Copse for decades, enabling it to become a public-access Local Nature Reserve. Could you help continue their legacy and to sustain the Copse as a place for both people and wildlife to thrive?


There are opportunities to learn new skills, share your own knowledge, or simply provide manpower with Chichester District Council-guided working parties, and/or to volunteer to help with the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse.

Working Parties (Chichester District Council-guided)


Frequency: with effect from June 2023, CDC Working Parties (successor to Green Gym sessions) will take place monthly and the schedule will be published here. Activities are decided nearer the time, depending on what needs doing and the best time/weather for any wildlife surveys. There is always something new to see/learn and the more hands (and eyes) who take part, the more can be achieved. Please volunteer below.


  • Tuesday 8th October 2024
  • Tuesday 12th November 2024
  • Tuesday 10th December 2024
  • Tuesday 14th January 2025


N.B. to make it easier to remember, dates are usually the second Tuesday of the month. Working Parties start at 10am and run until noon. Occasionally dates may need to change in response to the availability of Chichester District Council officers. Activities are decided nearer the time, depending on what needs doing and the constraints of/opportunities for wildlife conservation/surveys.

Previous CDC-guided Working Parties in 2024

  • Tuesday 10th September - pond water levels were too high for us to access, so it was back to the satisfying task of clearing laurel (as an alien species that suppresses biodiversity). Pleasing turn-out.
  • Tuesday 13th August, 10am to noon - 7 of us cut back existing paths and explored the wildlife to be found in the neighbouring field, where open areas proved rich with flora, and crickets! Next to no butterflies (weather cool and blowy) although 5 speckled woods cheered us in a sunny glade on our way back to hang up our tools.
  • Tuesday 9th July, 10am to noon - wildlife survey intentions were abandoned due to cool damp weather. Between the 5 of us we managed to cut back laurel in the Copse and clear an overgrown path through the adjoining field, enabling it to continue to be used.
  • Tuesday 11th June, 10am to noon - back to 6 of us and another go at clearing duckweed from Brandy Hole Pond (subsequently determined that this will need to be a professional job). A half-hearted attempt to look for butterflies (weather mostly too dull and cool) morphed into observing other insects, birds and plants in the adjacent uncultivated small field which complements the Copse.
  • Tuesday 14th May, 10am to noon - only 4 of us this time and still too dull/cold for butterflies! We pulled variegated archangel (invasive species), cut a small amount of laurel (used to top up a dead hedge) and made a start on clearing duckweed from Brandy Hole Pond.
  • Tuesday 9th April, 10am to noon - it was too gloomy/cold for butterflies, so we looked to see what plants we could find - over 40 different species. Once again there were 6 of us.
  • Tuesday 19th March, 10am to noon - 23 different different species of birds seen or heard in our bird survey, where 4 volunteers joined 2 CDC staff members in the drizzle. Particular highlights were the grey wagtail (notable for its sunny yellow colouring and likely to be nesting nearby) and the tiny firecrest in bright spring plumage that we encountered at close quarters.
  • Tuesday 13th February, 10am to noon - more cutting chestnut stakes and control of laurel. 6 people participated and we are really starting to see a difference in the amount of laurel standing (and the piles of brash, which need to decompose for the woodland floor to recover). The larger laurel trees will need professional felling, which we hope CDC can arrange (although maybe not now before this year's nesting season).
  • Tuesday 16th January, 10am to noon - cutting chestnut stakes to use offsite for Strategic Wildlife Corridor projects and control of laurel. 3 volunteers joined 2 staff members from Chichester District Council's Environment team. The north part of the Copse was somewhat flooded with a couple of trees down and ice to break through on the paths!

Previous CDC-guided Working Parties in 2023

  • Tuesday 12th December 2023, 10am to noon - cutting chestnut stakes* and control of laurel. 6 people participated even though it poured (the stakes had been cut by 11am, but we were having such a good time that we declined to go home early!). Willow and Cops Ponds were overflowing; ephemeral ponds were highlighting lower ground; and, more alarmingly, it was evident that run-off from the Lane was entering the Copse from the west.    * The stakes have been used along the Hambrook chalk stream at 5 landowners' locations. They hold coir rolls in place alongside the undercut of the bank and different native aquatic plants are inserted in the coir. As well as enhancing the biodiversity of native vegetation along the bank, which in turn filters the water, the rolls also provide instant habitat for water voles that can burrow into them.
  • Tuesday 14th November, 10am to noon - cutting chestnut stakes for conservation project elsewhere in Strategic Wildlife Corridor. This was a change of plan from more laurel cutting as only 2 volunteers attended, likely due to windy rainy weather.
  • Tuesday 17th October 2023, 10am to noon - control of laurel (third Tuesday of the month). 9 people participated - our best turnout yet! We felled the laurel by the entrance from Bristol Gardens, the only two other laurels we found in that section east of Centurion Way, plus another near the top of the bank by Brandy Hole Lane. A good turnout resulted in a really productive morning and we made a noticeable difference to light reaching the woodland floor. Future Working Party(ies) will focus on cutting back laurel within the western areas of the Copse.
  • Tuesday 12th September 2023, 10am to noon - pond investigations. 7 people participated. Water level was extremely low in Willow pond and there were no plants. Fauna included Ramshorn and Lesser Pond Snails; Water Hoglouse; Pea Cockles; Freshwater Shrimps; Pond Skaters; Water Beetles; Daphnia; Cyclops and a young Swamp Spider. Biotic index 4/10. No evidence of invasive alien species was found at Cops pond, where work hoped to eliminate Parrot’s Feather and New Zealand Pigmyweed was previously undertaken circa 2017/18. No pond dipping was undertaken in Cops pond due to difficulty of access and to avoid risk of contamination, if fragments of invasive species survive. Brandy Hole pond was blanketed with pondweed and sampling difficult - our most obvious catch was the Common Backswimmer beetle.
  • Tuesday 8th August 2023, 10am to noon - making records of trees. 6 people participated. We identified 26 different species of tree and expect there are still more to be found. We touched and sniffed and really looked at the different ways trees grow, finding that several of the taller woodland oaks are likely to be of the same vintage (circa 200? years old) based on girth. As ever when really looking, there were surprises: a green crab spider (Diaea dorsata) found on turning over a leaf; and a patch of woodland floor hopping with young common frogs (Rana temporaria). Enchanter's nightshade (Circaea lutetiana) told us of sun-dappled woodland and is an ancient woodland indicator species.
  • Tuesday 11th July 2023, 10am to noon - observation and records of butterflies. 3 people participated. Also supporting dormice habitat in the Copse (2 people).
  • Tuesday 13th June 2023, 10am to noon - control of Laurel. 6 people participated.

Volunteer for Chichester District Council-guided working parties

* Chichester District Council's Data Protection information can be found here. Please see the "Data protection policy - customer services" section.  The Friends of Brandy Hole Copse's Privacy Policy can be found on our Brandy Hole Copse page.

Volunteer with the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse


The Friends' pool of volunteers has dwindled over time and, in autumn 2023, we find ourselves in need of a new Committee to take forward the Friends' mission to promote conservation and biodiversity in and nearby the Copse. How this is done will be down to those involved - your skills, time and passion. Whether you would consider joining the Committee, or wish to offer your support in another way, please complete the form below.


We would love you to join us as a member and attend our first Annual General Meeting for some time on the evening of Thursday 5th October 2023.


Our thanks go to the two long-term members of the Friends who continue to undertake maintenance work independently most weeks, for example keeping footpaths clear.

Express interest in helping the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse

Friends' Privacy Policy

This may be downloaded to read (see right).


Please note that interactions through this website are subject to Chichester Tree Wardens' Privacy Policy. Communications intended for the Friends of Brandy Hole Copse will be passed on to the Friends by Chichester Tree Wardens.

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