Celebrating 21 years of composting in Gloucestershire
Bisley Community Composting Scheme (BCCS) has been turning unwanted plant material into soil-enriching compost for more than two decades. It was the first community composting scheme in the Stroud District and is the longest-running initiative of its kind in Gloucestershire.
This summer, it marked its 21st birthday with a celebration at its site on Bisley Chestergate Allotments and Community Orchard.
This CIC is run by a volunteer committee (with help from some paid labour), with members coming from the Bisley-with-Lypiatt parish. The idea is that gardeners bring prunings, cuttings and weeds to the BCCS site to be hot-composted and take-home unlimited amounts of unsieved compost to use in their gardens to return valuable nutrients to the soil, help sequester carbon and benefit wildlife.
Celebrating two decades 🔗
On 15 August, local people and Bisley volunteers gathered at the site to celebrate 21 years in operation. The day started with a dawn chorus walk followed by a tour of the community composting and demonstration site. This was led by Lesley Greene and Liz Howlett, both directors of Bisley CCS, who have brought limitless reserves of composting experience, enthusiasm and commitment since the idea emerged during a meeting of allotment holders in 2004. The scheme was set up the following year with the help of a start-up grant from Gloucestershire County Council.
Geologist, composter and founder of Rhizophilia, Eddie Bailey, gave a rousing speech to officially ‘open’ the newly installed blacksmith-forged gate into the site. The gate was commissioned to commemorate the huge contribution of Alan Evans, one of the founding directors of Bisley CCS. Alan was a composting expert and world-renowned blacksmith.
On the Gloucester Master Composter stand we offered lots of composting advice, and people took part in a soil health workshop. There were also wildlife walks with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, with officers Rob, Jen and Bec encouraging everyone to ‘bioblitz’ the site i.e. working together to find and identify as many plants, animals, and insects as possible within a set time.
The Trust team set up seven moth traps around the site, and more than 170 different species of moths were captured and identified on the day, including seven new ones not previously seen in Bisley. The joyous day ended with a bat walk.
Become a Master Composter in Gloucestershire
Attend one of our training courses and become an influencer in your local community, who encourages others to compost, reduce their waste and care for their environment. Find out more about the role and sign up to volunteer with us.