The Round Moat

The Round Moat is a medieval ringwork within Fowlmere village that is maintained by the Parish Council (FPC).

It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument #1014823, a well used recreation space for the local community & a haven for local wildlife having a priority habitat inventory as ‘Deciduous Woodland’ (though it does have meadows in the centre.)

With the wildlife in mind, a group the ‘Friends of the Round Moat, Fowlmere‘ was setup in January 2021 by Cllr Peter Collinson, with the full backing of the FPC, to improve the biodiversity of the space & increase the benefits it can afford the local community.

Later in the year Cllr Collinson, again with unanimous support of the FPC, secured a grant through Cambridge Water’s PEBBLE fund 2021 for biodiversity improvements to the Round Moat.

The following has so far been achieved with the PEBBLE fund & the assistance of volunteers & local wildlife experts:

• Creation of a ‘bug hotel’ (a habitat to improve insect diversity & numbers), often visited by local children as people place natural curiosities they find on top of it.
• Wild areas to give protected shelter to a diverse range of species, including a number of bramble areas.
• A large area of mown grass (to offset the tall grass) that attract butterflies, badgers & energetic children.
• Thanks to a donation & the efforts of two councillors, the installation of a 6 seater wooden picnic bench.
• Numerous bird boxes of varied types (for different species) have been installed.
• With the assistance of the Cambridgeshire Bat Group (CBG on Facebook) the purchased & donated bat boxes have been erected in key locations in the Round Moat with more to follow.