The BNCF conference, held on 11 June 2011 at Thames Valley Park, was attended by well over 50 people from various conservation related organisations in and around Berkshire, including bird clubs, local authorities and volunteer groups as well as the Environment Agency, Thames Water and BBOWT.  A range of excellent talks were given on the topic of habitat creation and restoration as well as the importance of evidence based conservation and these talks raised interesting questions and debate amongst the attendees.  As well as the presentations, a display of posters from a number of the organisations gave further insight into the work being carried out across the county and attendees were also presented with free plant seedlings to take away by British Flora.  The day was completed with a guided walk around the Thames Valley Park Nature Reserve which was enjoyed by many, despite the inclement weather. 

From feedback received, 95% felt the overall day fully met or exceeded their expectations and 95% also felt that the fantastic facilities at Oracle fully met or exceeded their expectations.  The conference was a great opportunity for organisations to come together to discuss habitat creation, restoration and management, to share new ideas and best practice and hopefully lead to new working partnerships and conservation projects across Berkshire.  The success of the day and the positive feedback received suggests that the BNCF Conference could well become an annual event.