Out & About July 2017

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The Hutch at the Discovery Centre, Thatcham is a
fitting memorial to mother and daughter nature lovers
Elizabeth and Ann Hutchings, as Wendy Tobitt from
the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust discovered
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Picture: Becky O’Melia
The
hutch
with a
view
When Elizabeth Morrison was
growing up in the village of
Thatcham in the 1930s she played
outdoors with her friends, roaming
freely through the country beside the River
Kennet.
Elizabeth loved nature, and birds in particular;
she could name most birds by sight, and knew
their calls and songs too.
Years later Elizabeth took her own children
Ann, David and Margaret to the same places
and passed on her love of wildlife; encouraging
them to look out for birds and listen for the
different calls to identify which ones were
singing.
When Elizabeth died in 2012, her children
decided to create a legacy in their mother’s
name, so she would always be remembered in
a place where she loved being close to nature
and they chose the Nature Discovery Centre in
Thatcham as the location.
Sadly, in 2014 Elizabeth’s daughter Ann
Hutchings died after a brave battle with cancer.
Discussions between the family and the Wildlife
Trust, which runs the Nature Discovery Centre
on behalf of West Berkshire Council, continued
and this winter The Hutch was unveiled as the
memorial to mother and daughter.
“Our family name is Hutchings and Ann was
always known as Hutch, so we were very
pleased when the lovely staff at the Nature
Discovery Centre agreed to call the building
The Hutch.
“It is a fitting and lasting legacy to our dear
sister and mother,” said Ann’s sister, Margaret
Neville, when she visited the Nature Discovery
Centre recently.
Built from sustainably-sourced green oak
timbers with larch walls and roof, The Hutch
is already a favourite spot for Nature Tots and
Young Rangers, two of the nature clubs run at
the Nature Discovery Centre, as well as school
groups.
“Ann was a popular school teacher, so the
fact that The Hutch is being used for so many
groups of young people to teach them about
birds and nature is absolutely perfect,” said
Margaret.
Manager of the Nature Discovery Centre Liz
Shearer helped Ann’s sister and brother create
The Hutch.
She says: “We were very happy to work with
Margaret and David to create The Hutch as a
lasting memorial to their mother Elizabeth and
sister Ann.”
This spring, take a moment to sit with your
family inside The Hutch and enjoy the birdsong
from nearby trees.You too could pass on a
love of wildlife to the next generation, just as
Elizabeth did.
The Hutchings family from the left:
Sue Hutchings (Ann’s sister-in-law),
Ann Parker (Ann’s wife),
David Hutchings and Margaret Neville
(Ann’s brother and sister) and
Richard Neville (Ann’s brother-in-law).
Ann Hutchings