The Conservation Garden

Spring is nearly here, the first daffodils are out and members of the Malvern local group have observed bees and frogspawn in their gardens. What can we do to encourage more wildlife to thrive this year? Rachel Salisbury’s talk on Thursday evening provided many ideas and discussed the environmental issues behind the choices we all make when planning what to plant in our gardens.

A conservation garden doesn't have to be unkempt. While there may be corners left not tidied or a fallen log left where it fell, the plants can be planned and managed in relatively formal designs. A wide range of plants is a good idea. It's best to know and understand your garden; encouraging plants which are naturally at home there, growing drought resistant plants in dry soils and not trying to turn alkaline soil into acid. Containers look attractive but watering them through the summer months may not be ecologically desirable. A pond is always a great wildlife habitat – even a small one will attract frogs, newts, water-loving insects and birds. A bird table and nest boxes will provide food and protection. It is better to manage without pesticides and other chemicals if possible, not least because most sprays are not particular to one type of insect and will kill beneficial ones as well as pests.

Some people are adamant that only “native” species of plants should be grown in our gardens. It is difficult to define precisely what native means and there are some native species one would definitely prefer not to have in the garden, like the creeping buttercup. Celandines, marsh marigolds, primroses, violets and honesty are all very attractive. Single varieties of most species are better for attracting bees and other pollinaters; the doubles are pretty but the bees can’t reach the pollen. There's no need to feel guilty about having some 'exotic' species; the buddleia is a prime example of a non-native plant which attracts more butterflies and moths than almost any other common species.

Gardening should not be a battle but an enjoyable and harmonious process. We are part of the ecology and gardens are for our benefit as well as the plants and wildlife we hope to encourage.

We're looking forward to our next talk - Rob Allen, Reserves officer at the Trust, on Wetlands Creation and Conservation, on March 29^th at 7.30 pm.(Chase Sixth Form Annexe, Geraldine Close).  Don't forget you can find out more about us and other groups around the county on the Trust's website

Alison, Malvern local group

Hard work at Feckenham

We've been busy this winter on the reserve. 

Contractors are in pollarding the big old crack willows along the NW boundary hedge line. This is a continuation of work started last year to maintain and contain these very big trees that, unless work was done to reduce their height, would ultimately result in damage and even them being blown down in a strong wind. We have left existing cracks and holes to encourage bats and woodpeckers. 

Other contractors are felling some ash in the wood alongside the main pool. This is thinning work as nothing has been done to this stand of trees since they were planted in the early 1980s. Thinning will encourage more diverse ground cover as more light is let in and will also benefit the growth of the hazel understory. 


My regular hard-working Wednesday volunters have been busy.  We've cut another 10% of the reed bed, which we found to be very successful in previous years; regenerating growth producing taller denser and stronger re-growth.  This will provide better habitat for nesting warblers in the coming months. 

More work has been done on coppicing in the alders to reduce leaf drop into the dragonfly ponds and allow in more light. We've also started work on coppicing/pollarding the cross hedge between the paddock and the alder carr. This work is part of the greater scheme of things to open up the reed bed and marsh to enable birds such as snipe and other similar species to fly into the wet areas without having to dodge tall trees and high hedges. We'll be leaving any dead trees in the hedge line as habitat and 'cuckoo posts'. 

We've now completed the clearance work to the aged blackthorn where we have had our brown hairstreak success. This will now allow fresh suckers to grow and provide a small micro climate for BH to use in the future. 

Nothing to report on rare bird sightings and in general the reserve has been very quiet. We have had our bird-ringers on site and they have also found it to be very quiet. Last week I did, however, put up 2 woodcock, which was a bonus.

Paul, Feckenham Wylde Moor

Madagascan Wildlife

The island of Madagascar was the subject of a fascinating illustrated talk recently given by Phred Newbury to the Malvern local group. 

Madagascar is two and a half times the size of the British Isles and is the fourth largest island in the world.  It has been inhabited for only 2000 years by people believed to be of Indonesian descent. The island encompasses rainforests in the east and deciduous dry forests in the west separated by a high plateau. Looking at a map, it is clear that Madagascar would fit to the east coast of Africa like a jigsaw piece and it is thought that it broke away from Africa some 160 million years ago. As in Australia, this has led to the evolution of different animals and birds and many of the island’s species are found only in Madagascar. A good example is the Fossa, a large mammalian, nocturnal carnivore. New species continue to be discovered there.

The lemur is unique to Madagascar, where there are around 90 species. In Africa, lemurs were predated by monkeys and apes - they survived in Madagascar where there are no monkeys or apes. Even now they are hunted for food by humans despite being an endangered species.

Phred travelled over much of the island but her main objective was to visit the small, undeveloped island of Nosy Mangabe in the far north east of Madagascar in the hope of seeing Aye Aye Lemurs which are relatively safe there. Stephen Fry and Mark Cardwadine had failed to find these rare primates in the television programme Last Chance to See; Phred was very fortunate to see one of these amazing creatures only a short distance from her tent.

Phred supports Durrell, a wildlife conservation trust which was established by Gerald Durrell the writer who founded Jersey zoo. The trust’s mission is to save species from extinction and much of its work is carried out in Madagascar where it attempts to raise awareness of the importance of conservation amongst local people. She showed many excellent Durrell photographs of animals, birds, lizards, plants and insects which are endemic to Madagascar.

Our next indoor meeting will be held on Thursday 1st March when Rachel Salisbury will give an illustrated talk entitled The Conservation Garden. The meeting starts at 7.30 pm at the Chase Academy Sixth Form Annexe, Geraldine Close, Barnards Green WR14 3PF and we'd love to see you there.

Derek, Malvern local group

Honeycomb at Beaconwood

I was out in Beaconwood on Tuesday and came across this fallen tree - with a lovely honeycomb interior.

Just a quick reminder about our talk in Bournville tomorrow evening (providing we don't get too deluged with snow tonight)...come along and discover more about Hidden Places, Secret Lives with Rosemary Winnall.

Sylvia, South Birmingham local group

Tasting Broadway

Sorry!  This is staff hi-jacking the blog again ... but this time it's about volunteers and volunteering!

Last Wednesday, 25^th Jan, a group of 16 volunteers headed to Broadway Gravel Pit, a small 1.6 hectare wetland reserve just north west of Broadway village. The reserve is a seasonally flooded gravel pit featuring open woodland, scrub and carr woodland which has been colonised by plenty of birds, plants and animals since being used for gravel extraction. It's owned by Wychavon District Council but managed by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.   

Mark Turner, the volunteer reserve manager for the site, has been involved in the reserve for over 23 years.  With his passion for the site and the need for more management, it was decided that we would run a volunteer taster day to raise awareness of the reserve and also to maybe start a regular work party.  The taster day gave participants the chance to get involved with some hands-on practical conservation. 

There are five species of willow on the reserve: white, grey, crack, goat and osier.  These help support a wide range of wildlife - over 150 species of moth are known to feed on the foliage, for example.  However, some of the large willows take up large amounts of water.  Those of you who know the site will have noticed how dry the gravel pits have been recently.  This is due to a combination of factors, such as the general lowering of the water table and the lack of rain, but it is hoped that reducing the amount of large willows will retain water on site. So we felled some of the large willows but stacked the large pieces of timber to form a valuable dead wood habitat.

We also constructed a woven willow screen adjacent to the hide to stop disturbance to the birds by passing visitors.  The willow weaving team did a beautiful job, as you can see from this picture.

We also planted some hawthorn and blackthorn saplings in the new hedgerow by the car park so there will be plenty of berries for birds to feed on throughout the winter for many years to come.       

 The weather held up for us, and we all have a rewarding and fun day.  A big thank you to all the attended and hopefully we will see you all soon.

Without our 450 Worcestershire Wildlife Trust volunteers across the county we couldn’t do the range of work we do.  From practical conservation to education volunteering, volunteers are involved with all aspects of our work.  It’s not just us that benefit, there can be enormous benefits for the volunteers too. It’s a chance to meet new people and learn new skills as well providing the opportunity to keep fit in the great outdoors.  If you’re interested in volunteering, whether at Broadway Gravel Pit or elsewhere, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Anna Bunney anna@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org

Conservation Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator