27th Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 25^th November 2025 at 7.00pm.

Great Wilbraham Memorial Hall

• 7.00 pm AGM of society

• 7.45 pm Break for drinks

• 8.00 pm Speaker Dr Laurie Friday and questions.

• 9.00 pm Finish

Dr Friday is an experienced zoologist with a background in freshwater and fenland ecology; she has worked extensively with Cambridge Zero and has strong connections to stakeholders across the Fens landscape. She has recently retired as a Programme Manager of the Cambridge Centre for Landscape Regeneration (CLR) and as Director of the Isaac Newton Trust.

The CLR is led by the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the RSPB, the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme and NIAB; it fosters research in three UK landscapes of which Fenland is one. Here it explores the possible future of the Fens, tackling challenges such as habitat restoration and climate resilience within the context of supporting local communities. Laurie has maintained a 40-year relationship with Wicken Fen, carrying out her postdoctoral research on water beetles and carnivorous plants there in the 1980s, chairing the reserve’s Management Committee, and now partnering the Fen in a wetland restoration project.

She will be talking on Tuesday 25th November 2025 at our AGM on:

‘Restoring wetland biodiversity: what can our ditches do for us?’

This is of course particularly relevant to those of us living in this area with its predominance of ditches, many of which have been present for hundreds of years. The ditches and the Wilbraham River co-exist as a waterway system that has been modified to respond to agricultural need. Now however the waterways are drying and the ecosystems failing. We hope that Dr Friday's work will give us some guidance for their future protection.

All are welcome to the AGM and/or the talk. The event is free of charge. Parking is limited and we would ask you to park respectfully of the surrounding area.

Rebecca Lomas Secretary   WRPS 07718899471   wilbrahamriver@gmail.com