News

WOCoRe had the opportunity on 7 October to speak with the team working on the Oxfordshire Local Area Energy Plan (OxLAEP). LAEP is a process for translating national clean energy targets into actionable plans at the local level. Staff from the consultancy firm Arup, which is coordinating the work, and from six local authorities visited the…

Our plan to record moths at the hydro site over the summer ran into problems when the light sensor unit on the moth trap failed. That’s now been fixed and we set up the trap on the evening of 17 August. We recorded ten moths the following morning, from seven species. Some of these were…

The hydro will be open as part of Oxford Open Doors, Sunday 14 September, 14:00–17:00. Do drop in to see the hydro and fish pass, our mosaic ‘human sundial’ and our insect-friendly garden. It is unlikely we will be generating by that date, given the low river levels this summer. As part of your visit…

We’ve been spotting a variety of bee species at the hydro this spring. They are feeding on nectar from the flowering shrubs and trees and the plants in the flower border. Here are photos of some of them. Davies’ colletes This is a type of plasterer bee. Like the mining bees the females create a…

WOCoRe and Low Carbon West Oxford are seeking views from Osney residents about creating a forum for people interested in wildlife gardening. Many people who live on Osney Island already support wildlife, for example by growing pollinator-friendly plants, feeding garden birds and providing nest boxes.  Currently there is no community forum through which people interested in wildlife gardening can share experiences,…

WOCoRe is partnering with a new flood action group in South Oxford to help them manage grant funding for an innovative project. South Oxford Flood Action Group (SOFLAG) has been awarded a grant of just under £20,000 to set up a local flood monitoring system. This includes a borehole and gauge boards on local streams and ditches. Local…

Barbara Hammond was on That’s TV this week talking about the anniversary of Osney Lock Hydro. She emphasised the importance of the site in raising awareness of the potential of community generation. You can see the short piece on Facebook and X.

Thanks to volunteer Alan Barlow, the bench and chairs in the hydro garden have been fully renovated so visitors can sit and watch the river. Alan has also made a bird box and a couple of bee nesting boxes which were installed on site today.

The latest Oxford Sausage blog features the hydro. It stars in a piece about Osney’s history of using the river as a source of power.

Osney Lock Hydro started operating on 16 May 2015. Investors, volunteers, partners and directors gathered on the evening of Friday 16 May 2025 to mark its 10th birthday. A commemorative bench for David Hammond RIBA, architect and driving force behind the initial project, was officially unveiled. David died in 2023. Founder director and company secretary…

On the evening of 24 April we put out a light trap for moths in the hydro garden. It was quite a chilly evening and the following morning we found just one visitor in the trap – this velvety brown muslin moth. This was a male, dark in colour and nocturnal. The females are white…

Eight members of Wallingford U3A science group visited the hydro on 15 April to hear about what we do and how it all came about. There was a great deal of interest and engagement. The visit was organised by Dr Anna Harvey (far left), the science and technology coordinator for the group.