Season 2, Episode 6 of the Devon Wildlife Warden Podcast – Click here to listen.
This episode brings you:
An interview about moths and butterflies with Barry Henwood, who is the Devon moth recorder. Emily and Barry talk about a moth evening that Barry ran for Wildlife Wardens, why butterflies and moths are important, how Barry became interested in moths and butterflies, what being the Devon moth recorder involves, species trends in the UK, threats to moths and butterflies and what can be done to help them.
An update on Wildlife Warden projects.
Things that you can do to help wildlife, and how to get closer to nature. This includes the Big Butterfly Count, taking part in DWT events, taking part in Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust events, wildlife gardening ideas and signing a petition to stop nuclear waste services from blasting sound from air guns into the Irish Sea.
Season 2, Episode 5 of the Devon Wildlife Warden Podcast – Click here to listen, or here to read.
This episode brings you:
A delve into the threats which traditional orchards face, and how these habitats are beneficial for wildlife.
An interview with Amy Walkden, who is the Tree Warden for Abbotskerswell, about being a Tree Warden and planting a community orchard.
An update on Wildlife Warden projects.
Advice on how to help wildlife in June. This includes taking part in DWT’s 30 days wild challenge, reporting sightings of flatworms to Buglife, and Plantlife’s No Mow May.
James Garling, a University of Exeter student, is researching possible solutions to water pollution in the Teign catchment for his undergraduate dissertation project. Here is the executive summary of his study as well as a shortened version of his report which he created for ACT. James proposes nature-based solutions and gives guidance on what landowners and members of the public can do to tackle this very important issue!
Season 2, Episode 4 of the Devon Wildlife Warden Podcast – Click here to listen. to read.
This episode brings you:
Emily talks about how climate change is affecting seasonality in plant and animal species, and what this means. She also talks about what we can do to reduce the impacts of ecological mismatch.
An update on Wildlife Warden Projects.
Suggestions on how to help wildlife. This includes supporting DWT’s beaver project by becoming a ‘Beaver Believer’, submitting records of wood anemones to the DBRC, getting involved with the DLNP’s ‘Naturally Healthy May’ initiative, applying for a Woodland Trust free tree pack, and helping hedgehogs.
Spring is my favourite time of the year and it is most certainly here (even though it may be snowing in other parts of the country!). Everyone looks forward to the warmth of spring and the extra hours of daylight, and so do I, but what first excites me about spring is the unfurling of hawthorn leaves in my garden, along with the blossoming of blackthorn, the frogspawn and the first spring flowers such as the early dog violet. Recently, I have discovered that I have magpies and sparrows nesting in my garden and, for the first time ever, I saw a pair of rare, lesser spotted woodpeckers calling to each other on Dartmoor. This is also the time of year when pollinators start emerging, and I only have to walk out of my kitchen door to hear the buzz of hundreds of insects pollinating the goat willow in my garden. This fascinating bee fly in the photo, below, decided to rest on my arm a few days ago!
Calling for stories to go on our website We are in the process of updating our Wildlife Warden Website, and would like to include inspirational case studies. If you are a Wildlife Warden and would like one of your projects to be included on the website, please send me a short paragraph describing the project along with any photos that you have.
The Devon Biodiversity Records Centre are calling for people to submit sightings of wood anemones. They are an ancient woodland indicator species, so any records will provide crucial data for the DBRC’s Ancient Woodland Inventory Network.
Wild About Devon event for councillors The Devon Local Nature Partnership are hosting an online knowledge share event on the 29th of April for parish councillors, town councillors and clerks. Grass cutting, pesticides and tree planting will be discussed.
Do share information about this event with your parish/town councillors and clerks, as they may not be part of the Wild About Devon network for councillors, so may not be aware of it.
Catch up with Moor Meadows’ hedge talk Moor Meadows hosted a brilliant talk about how to manage hedgerows for wildlife, which you can catch up with here.
Wildlife Warden training sessions Peter Chandler, one of our Wildlife Wardens, led a couple of training sessions in how to lay hedges and coppice. Peter also demonstrated the process of hurdle making and spoke about the useful products that can be made from a laid hedge. Thank you, Peter! Also, thanks to Fraser Rush for demonstrating bird ringing to a group of very interested Wildlife Wardens. We also provided a couple of training sessions in how to identify tree species in winter, which can be a tricky task!
Public consultation on changes to protected landscapes (National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) The government commissioned a review on the way that National Parks and AONB are managed, and they are asking for the publics opinion on their response to the review. This is an opportunity to ask for protected landscapes to be managed better for wildlife. The RSPB have provided advice on how to respond to the consultation in 5 minutes or 15 minutes depending on how much time you can spare. The deadline for responding is the 9th of April.
Current projects Here is an overview of some of the wonderful things that you have been up to since the last newsletter. Abbotskerswell Listen to Emily’s latest podcast here! In this episode Emily talks to Kate Morley and Laura Fairs, who are leading the Devon Wildland Initiative. Ashton Shira and Dom have been working hard on several projects. They created a new orchard on village hall land, and 32 local people helped with the planting. They have joined forces with Elliott Fairs (WW for Doddidiscombsleigh) to survey hedgerows and encourage landowners to manage them better for wildlife. Shira has continued writing articles for the parish magazine on topics such as hedgehogs, dormice, deadwood, water quality and hedges. Bridford Bridford Wildlife Wardens have created a management plan to increase the floral diversity of road verges throughout the parish, and it has been approved by the parish council! They are also making wildlife friendly improvements to the local recreation ground, have been creating bird boxes, and have plans to do bat and swift surveys. Chudleigh Chudleigh Wild hosted a talk about local wildlife by naturalist John Walters as well as a talk on hedgehogs and how to encourage them into gardens. They have teamed up with the River Teign Restoration Project, and are looking for local volunteers to monitor water quality. They are also helping Professor Fiona Mathews to pilot her Motus radio tracking project, which aims to track the movements of greater horseshoe bats. College Ward Chris and Sarah have continued to manage Ogwell Cross Cemetery and Wolborough Churchyard. They have sowed yellow rattle, planted bulbs, put up several bird boxes and have designed information boards to go up on both sites. Dawlish Dave, Scott and Jo have continued to survey water quality for the Westcountry CSI. Dave has created a wildlife area at the local allotments, which includes a bug hotel. They have worked with the town council to create a new management plan for some of the parish’s verges, and the council has agreed to a trial. Dave gave a presentation about the Wildlife Warden Scheme to the U3a Natural History group, which has since sparked conversation about the possibility of managing parts of St Gregory’s churchyard for wildlife. Dave and Scott are working with the town council to organise Dawlish’s Turn the Tide event. Jo was busy conducting bird surveys over the winter (ring reads and the December WeBS count at Dawlish Warren), and has also been speaking on Radio Devon about birds and what people can do to help them. Dunsford Julia and Pip have been organising monthly meetings for Wildlife Wardens and local people throughout the Teign valley. The next meetings are taking place at 6:30pm on the 21st of April at the Palk Arms (Hennock) and the 25th of May at the Claycutters Arms (Chudleigh Knighton). Exminster Local Wildlife Warden, Peter Chandler, planted 195 saplings from the Woodland Trust with children from the local school, which was a great success. ACT is on the steering group for ‘Exminster and Nature Recovery’, which is a partnership between the parish council, Exminster Green spaces, DWT and the RSPB. Holcombe Burnell Kate has arranged a trial to recycle tree guards with Devon Contract Waste, planted 61 wild service trees for the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, created a ‘Beer Can Fairy’ to raise awareness of littering, wrote an article for the local parish magazine, held a stand at Longdown Farmer’s Market (where she ran a pine cone bird feeder activity for children and gave away hedgerow management information) and has continued to survey sites for the Westcountry CSI. Ideford Dom and Robin have created a wildlife display in the village hall using photos from photographers in the village. They also asked villagers to complete a questionnaire so that they could find out how different species are faring in the parish. Here are the results! Robin is collecting metaldehyde slug pellets from villagers and will take them to be recycled. They are illegal to use as of the 1st of April. Kingsteignton Wildlife Wardens have been successful in getting their nature trail idea approved by the town council, a working group has been set up between the town councillors and the Wildlife Wardens, and a Kingsteignton Wild Facebook Group has been created. Ogwell Ogwild planted 33 trees at Rectory Field (a Woodland Trust site that they are managing), including native trees and fruit trees. Villagers helped with the planting, and some paid to have their own memorial tree. They have also planted wildflowers across the village. Shaldon Paul has been writing monthly articles for the parish magazine. Topics include the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, the Woodland Trust’s Nature Calendar Project, biodiversity loss and how to help wildlife in your garden. Teignmouth Local Wildlife Wardens have started meeting to discuss potential projects. They have agreed to look for local green spaces in the town that can be managed better for wildlife.
We have lots of ideas for potential Wildlife Warden training sessions that will take place this spring and summer, and I look forward to seeing some at those events!
Season 2, Episode 3 of the Devon Wildlife Warden Podcast – Click here to listen, or here to read.
This episode brings you:
The importance of habitat connectivity, and how the Devon Wildlands initiative is achieving this along the Haldon Ridge through rewilding and traditional land management practices.
ACT’s 4Fs group (food, farming, forestry and fisheries) organised a visit to Embercombe (one of the Devon Wildland initiative’s core sites), and Emily has included several recordings of interesting conversations that happened during the visit. Topics include wildlife bridges, beavers, how to talk to landowners and monitoring wildlife.
Information about several initiatives and upcoming events that are being organised by other organisations.
Winter is here and walks in the countryside can seem a bit dull, until you look more closely and notice the vibrant splashes of colour which come in the form of wild berries! Not only are they beautiful, berries provide a lifeline for many species of birds and mammals which otherwise wouldn’t make it through the cold winter months. I was amazed to read that birds choose which berries to eat first so that they have enough food available to last the whole winter. This article from the Woodland Trust provides information about various winter berries and their value to wildlife and people.
Here is a message from Audrey Compton (Lead of ACT’s Ecology Group) to all of you!
Our Teignbridge Wildife Warden Scheme has completed its first year – and it has been an extraordinary success, helping wildlife and people throughout our district! To our Wildlife Wardens, to our ACT Ecology Group and to everyone who has helped in any way, thank you so much for turning a vague dream into a vibrant reality; together we have put together a template which anyone can use, anywhere, to help wildlife survive and recover. Keep talking about it to your friends and family wherever they live (whether it is Devon UK or Denver US!) and let’s spread the Wildlife Warden scheme around. Have a wonderful Winter Solstice, Christmas and New Year – and if you can, share your wildlife sightings with us via our Facebook page and our Groups io email!
National Tree week It is National Tree week! I read today that there are 115 ancient oak trees with a circumference greater than 9m in England and only 96 in the rest of Europe. This is a staggering statistic and it just goes to show how important our trees are.
Here are some things that you can do to help trees and woodlands:
Old trees, like this ash, can provide a home for numerous species. Can you spot the young tawny owl? I took this photo from my student house when I was at university in Cornwall.
Upcoming webinars
7pm, 9th of Dec – Wild About Devon – The Exmoor Non-Native Invasive Species project will be showing a short film and giving an update on their work. Book here
7:30pm, 9th of Dec – Moor Meadows – Conservation Grazing Part 2 – Find out about the ways livestock can support the making of an ecologically rich meadow. Book here
7:30pm, 13th of Dec – Devon Mammal Group – Devon Bat Survey 2021 Results. Book here
Catch up with recent webinars
Catch up with previous Wild About Devon webinars here. Recent talks cover light pollution and marine conservation.
Catch up with previous talks, hosted by Moor Meadows, here. Recently, author Nicholas Gates, gave a brilliant talk for Moor Meadows about the importance of orchards, which you can watch here.
An introduction to harvest mice and information on how to get involved with the Devon Harvest Mouse Project. Watch it here.
The Environment Act 2021 A new Environment Act was passed in November which, now that we have left the EU, replaces EU environmental laws. Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, wrotethat it is “the most ground-breaking piece of environmental legislation in many years”. It will set statutory targets for nature recovery in four priority areas, which are air quality, biodiversity, water and waste.
Here are some measures that the act will enforce:
A target to reverse the decline in species abundance by the end of 2030.
A requirement for planning applications to provide at least 10% biodiversity net gain.
The creation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
An enhanced NERC (biodiversity reporting) duty on public authorities.
A legal duty for water companies to secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts from storm overflows.
Here is the Devon Wildlife Trust’s response to the new act. They welcome it, but also point out some reasons that they believe “prevent it from living up to its promise to be a world leading piece of legislation”.
For more information, you can read this press release. Please do get in touch if you would like us to hold a discussion about this on Zoom in the new year.
Current projects Here is an overview of some of the wonderful things that you have been up to. Abbotskerswell Catch up with Emily Marbaix’s brilliant Wildlife Warden podcast here! Ashton Shira Rub wrote an article for the parish magazine about meadow restoration and fungi. She has also recently signed up to survey the water quality of local streams and rivers for the Westcountry CSI scheme. Bishopsteignton Sarah Cochrane wrote an article for the parish magazine about ethical cleaning products and promoted the Ethical Consumer website. Bovey Tracey Ann Sullivan and Janet Miller are helping Natural England to survey dormice at East Dartmoor NNR. They are also continuing to survey wildlife across the parish. Bridford We now have a group of 3 WWs in Bridford. They haven’t yet completed introductory training, but they have already introduced themselves to their parish council, written an article for their parish magazine and have responded to a planning application. Buckland in the Moor Since attending our seed nursery training session, Rebecca Gethin has sowed seeds of hazel, hornbeam, sweet chestnut, hawthorn, rowan, elder, wayfairing tree and wild service tree as well as several species of wildflower. Chudleigh Chudleigh Wild provided a pond walk for a local wildlife gardening group. They also gave a talk to their local U3A group. They have just been awarded £3,000 from their Coop bid, which will pay for a brush cutter, high pruning saw and for materials to make a nature trail in the town. Dawlish Clive Sheppard-Allen is continuing to work hard to secure land for a community wildlife area in Holcombe. Dunsford Julia Kirkland has created a seed swap box, which is in the village shop! Holcombe Burnell Kate Morley reported 2 instances of fly-tipping, wrote an awareness piece on hedgehogs which she has displayed on a village notice board, took part in sensory walks training (with the charity SENSE) so that she can lead walks for people with sensory loss, facilitated ACT’s children’s stand at the Great Big Green Week, arranged a tree guard recycling pilot trial with Devon Contract Waste, assisted at Ide School ‘Moth’s to a flame‘ project for COP26, reported dead hedgehogs and has continued to complete surveys for the Westcountry CSI. Ideford Robin Aaronson and Dominic Morby wrote an article for their parish magazine about wildlife gardening, pressed for a TPO on a magnificent oak tree, created a wildlife notice board for the village green, are working on a permenant wildlife display for the village hall, secured a repair by SW Water to a sewer that was polluting a ditch, created a wildlife questionnaire which has been distributed to parishioners, have signed up to host a free tree hub for DWT’s Saving Devon’s Treescapes project and are assisting a councillor in launching Sustainable Ideford. They are also holding a wildlife stand this weekend at Ideford Artisan Market. Kingsteignton Kingsteignton WWs presented their idea for a nature trail to the town council and have applied for funding. They have also set up a group called Kingsteignton Wild. Hanna Dolling helped to plant 400 trees at Clifford Park as part of national tree week! Ogwell The Ogwild team have continued to organise numerous volunteer work parties to look after the wildflower patches across the village. They have ordered 30 trees (a mixture of native trees and fruit trees, which were donated by members of the public) to plant at Rectory Field. They have also collected wildflower seed which they have offered to local people. Shaldon Paul Havemann has written several articles for the parish magazine. He has covered a range of topics, including the dredging of Exmouth Marina, the River Teign Restoration Project, wildlife gardening, eco-anxiety, the state of dragonflies and advice on reducing your carbon footprint. Starcross Alison McGregor met with the Starcross Action for Trees group to plan a hedgerow and tree survey around the village with a view to planting more and protecting what they already have. Tedburn St. Mary Tedburn WWs organised a hedge ramble, where they practiced their ID skills and collected seeds which they will use to start their own tree nursery.
Thank you very much for all of your hard work over the last year! It has been brilliant to see all of your projects develop. It hasn’t been the easiest of years, so don’t worry if you haven’t been able to spend as much time as you would like on the scheme. We really appreciate anything that you are able to do as a Wildlife Warden.
We are organising some social events for Wildlife Wardens in the new year. Because of the current risk from Covid, we have decided that these will take place outdoors. Please do let me know if there are any suitable walks in your area.
The Devon Biodiversity Records Centre are calling for people to 
