Environmental Projects

The Onslow Womblers

Who are we? We are local residents who pick up litter in the village on a voluntary basis in an effort to keep our environment clean. 

We’re a friendly bunch who enjoy a chat as we amble around picking up litter and we get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the results of our work.

When do we womble? It’s fairly ad hoc – we wait for a dry day and then email or text our group of Womblers to see who would like to come out to pick. There’s no set schedule. Sometimes we go out during the week; sometimes at the weekend. If you prefer, you can womble alone – we’ll provide the equipment and you can go out whenever it suits you.

Where do we go? We naturally tend to pick on the roads where Womblers live as people are motivated to keep their nearest areas clean. We also focus on litter hotspots such as near the shops and the village hall, outside Queen Eleanor’s school, near the One Stop, St John’s Road and Alresford Road.

If we’re tackling an area where we know there is a lot of litter, we book the council to come and collect the rubbish from wherever we’ve been picking. Otherwise we empty it into a public litter bin or take it home and put it in a wheelie bin.

What’s involved? There’s no commitment. You can add your name to our contact list without being obliged to actually come out on any of the dates. You can give it a go once and then never again – although you should be warned that litter picking is addictive. We normally pick for 1-2 hours, but you can just come for half an hour if you prefer, or drop out and go home early when you’ve had enough.

What do I need to bring? We have litter picking sticks and plastic hoops to hold rubbish bags for you to use – you just need to bring a bin liner and your enthusiasm. It’s also useful to wear gloves so if there’s something stuck in a hedge and you can’t get it out with your litter picking stick, you can grab it instead.

How can I give it a go? If you would like to add your name to the list of Womblers to be notified next time we’re out and about, please email  OnslowWomblers@gmail.com

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The Mount Volunteers

A group has been set up to try and improve the Downs on the hill above Onslow Village, known as the Mount. There are 4 fields (14.5 Ha) – all owned by Guildford Borough Council  – which run approximately East/West from above the town to the top of the Farnham Road.  

All four fields are chalk grassland. Chalk grassland is an exceptionally biodiverse, but very rare, habitat, which we are fortunate to have close to Onslow Village. However, on three of the fields, the hawthorn, brambles and wild clematis are taking over and causing the wild flower and grass mix to suffer.  If left un-managed, the grassland will transition to scrub and then to woodland, losing the specialist chalk flora and fauna. There is a real danger of losing this area of habitat which forms part of a necklace of chalk grassland sites running from Dorking to the Hogs Back, on the edge of the Surrey Hills AONB and the Wildlife Trusts’ “Biodiversity Opportunity Area”. 

The Mount Volunteers now meet monthly over the autumn and winter months, when there is no risk of disturbing ground-nesting birds (including skylarks). The plan is to incrementally clear the scrub from the third of the four fields, before considering the other fields. Volunteers remove scrub using tree poppers and mattocks. Importantly, the tree poppers remove scrub roots, so offer a far more permanent solution than machine-cutting. We also dig scrapes (a bare patch of earth) and plant kidney vetch seeds – the sole plantfood of the Small Blue butterfly. When the Volunteers cannot work practically on the field in summer, other activities are organized such as bat and small mammal walks, butterfly walks and a botanical survey with the Botanical Society.  The Mount Volunteers was set up by Guildford Environmental Forum.

This project has great potential for lasting impact. Once the fields are successfully brought back under control (this might take up to 5-10 seasons of combined mechanical and volunteer effort) the volunteer effort alone should be sufficient to manage the area alongside the normal grazing and mowing regime. The impact of the work should therefore last for generations.

To find out more and to see the dates of our next conservation dig visit our website below.

To contact us email : mountvolunteers@gmail.com

Click here to visit the website and find out more

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All Saints Community Orchard

We have been developing part of the field behind the church and church hall for the past 4 years or so. There are now over 100 hedge saplings planted, 10 fruit trees, 4 raised beds for soft fruit and vegetables, a woodland trail and a wildflower meadow. We have regular work mornings and are always delighted to welcome neighbours and volunteers to help maintain and develop the area for the benefit of all the community. The work mornings are on Saturday mornings usually towards the end of the month – do join us at any time between 10am and 1pm. Please visit the church website for the dates of upcoming work days

Click here to visit the website and find out more

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Centennial Garden

The Centennial  Garden is the area around the bench on Wilderness Road close to the parade of shops.  It was originally landscaped to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 but over the years it suffered from neglect and by 2020 it was in a sorry state.  However, when OVRA’s plans to celebrate the Village’s 100^thBirthday in 2020 had to be abandoned due to Covid, overhauling the Jubilee Garden and transforming it into the Centennial Garden seemed a fitting way to mark the occasion.  After much work by volunteers and generous donations by local businesses the project was completed.  Members of the OVRA team now oversee it’s maintenance so that it can be enjoyed by all.  If you are able to help out with this we’d love to hear from you!  Just email us on info@OVRA.org.uk.

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Recycling in Onslow Village

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Recycling Hub at All Saints Church

All Saints have teamed with TerraCycle to become a recycling drop-off point. TerraCycle is an innovative recycling company that recycles typically hard-to-recycle waste, that we can’t leave out for kerbside collection.

In recycling these items, we raise money for a number of charities including Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care and Kicks Count.

The collection bins are in the foyer of the church which is open 9am to 5pm, seven days a week. 

Here are the items that are currently being collected:

Writing Instruments: All writing instruments (except for wooden pencils and chalk) are accepted : Any brand of pen, felt tip, highlighter, marker, correction fluid pot, correction tape, mechanical pencil and eraser pen regardless of their composition.
Not accepted: Glue sticks, erasers, rulers or other cutting objects.

Coffee Pouches (Check the website below to see what types) 

Air, Home and Laundry care: 

Oral Care:

Electric toothbrush heads and covers
Electric flosser nozzles
Flossing sticks and interdental brushes
Dental floss containers
Manual toothbrushes
Not accepted: Battery operated toothbrushes, Electric toothbrush handles, Toothpaste tubes and caps, Outer cardboard and plastic packaging for toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss containers, Dental floss, Batteries

Candles:

We collect any candle, including tea lights, candle tins and jars. They all go to a lovely company in Devon called ‘The Candle Recycling Company’.

Inkjet Cartridges:

In conjunction with Recycle4Charity, we recycle inkjet cartridges to raise money for All Saints. Any brand of inkjet cartridge is accepted, but no laser printer cartridges.

Click here to visit the website where you can see photos of what is accepted for recycling

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Other Recycling Opportunities in Guildford

(Within walking distance of Onslow Village)

Where	Items accepted for recycling	Location of recycling bin/s
Boots, High Street	The Recycle at Boots scheme accepts a wide range of toiletries and cosmetics. A very small sample of what can be taken: Baby dummies, deodorant sticks, eyebrow soap, face powder, false nails, lip balm, shaving gel, tanning serum, toothpaste tubes, travel minis, and much more.  See website for very clear details of the products that the scheme accepts, and the forms which those products can take.  The scheme is linked to an Advantage Card reward scheme.	Generally somewhere near the top of the escalator in the cosmetics department.
Boots Opticians, Swan Lane:	Contact lenses, Blister packs. Read more here  Spectacles for Guildford Lions Club,Hearing aids for Guildford Lions Club.	Just to the right of the entrance.
Robert Dyas, White Lion Walk:	Batteries.  Electricals: within 28 days of purchasing a replacement item.  Receipt needed. More info here.	To the left of the tills on the ground floor.   Ask at the tills.
M&S High Street:	Soft plastics. Details here	In the food hall, by the trolley park.  If the bin is full, ask at the Customer Service desk nearby, as they also have backroom facilities to recycle all the plastic generated by the store.
St Nicolas’ Church, Bury Street	Plastic screw tops from plastic milk containers.	In the narthex at the west end of the church, reached via the south door.  Generally open during the day.
Specsavers, Friary Street	Glasses read more here. Contact lenses including plastic packaging  read more here.	Partway down the shop on the left.  Ask the receptionist who is just inside the door.
Superdrug, High Street	Empty blister packs from medication.   Personal only – not bulk.	At the back of the store, by the pharmacy.
Zero, High Street  At the junction of High St and North St	Packaging and/or products including: Babybel, biscuits, crackers, bread, cheese, Ferrero Rocher, Flash, disposable gloves, Kinder, Marigolds, Pringles, Sistema food storage, and others. Full details here – read carefully!	Partway down the shop on the left.

Note:
This information was last updated on 2/12/24, and items accepted by different schemes may change over time.  It’s always worth checking before making a special trip.
Recycling bins may be relocated within a store, or removed altogether to be emptied or repaired.  If you can’t find them, just ask!

If you know of other town centre collection schemes, please let us know via info@ovra.org.uk

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Recycling at Tesco

There are recycling bins for soft plastics (eg. the bags that vegetables come in, carrier bags, lids from punnets) in the store foyer.

Behind the tills at the far end of the store there are bins for recycling batteries, light bulbs and printer cartridges.

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Christmas Tree Recycling at Onslow Village Hall

For approximately 2 weeks after Christmas the council set up a pen in the car park of the Village Hall for real Christmas trees.  Once you’ve removed all the decorations carry your tree to the hall, toss it into the pen and the council will take it away.  If there is no pen, please do not leave your tree!