Project takes flight to save rare butterflies

A leading Devon-based conservation charity is hoping to turn around the fortunes of four of the county's rarest butterflies.

The Devon Fritillary Recovery Project is the work of Devon Wildlife Trust. Its aim is to help struggling populations of high brown, pearl-bordered, small pearl-bordered and marsh fritillary butterflies.

All have seen their populations shrink dramatically in recent decades due to changes in farming, loss of habitat and climate change. The high brown fritillary, for example, has seen its numbers crash by 96% and is now one of the UK's 'most threatened species'. 

The new project, which is set to run for 2 years, is receiving support from Natural England's Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme. The Species Recovery Programme (SRP), which Natural England has been operating for more than thirty years, focusses on reducing the risk of extinction and promoting the recovery of our most threatened species, through bespoke targeted action for these species. The Programme has been enhanced through the new Species Recovery Programme Capital Grants Scheme (SRPCGS) launched in April 2023, driving nature's recovery through collaboration with partner organisations.

A winter of butterfly restoration work will now begin on land managed by Devon Wildlife Trust. Staff and volunteers will be working on 122 hectares – about the same size as 160 football pitches – across 12 of the charity's nature reserves. These include:

• Blackadon nature reserve, Dart Valley nature reserve, Emsworthy Mire and Dunsford nature reserve (Dartmoor)
• Teigngrace Meadow nature reserve (near Bovey Tracey)
• Marsland nature reserve (near Hartland)
• Dunsdon nature reserve, Meshaw Moor nature reserve, Vealand Farm nature reserve, Veilstone nature reserve and Volehouse Moor nature reserve (all near Holsworthy)
• Rackenford Moor nature reserve (near Tiverton)

Jenny Cawson is Devon Fritillary Recovery Project Officer. Jenny said:

"Devon Wildlife Trust's nature reserves offer some of the last homes to our struggling butterflies, so it's vital that we work hard to keep them in good condition. The launch of our Devon Fritillary Recovery Project signals the start of a huge effort to not only stabilise the populations of these rare species but to restore their numbers. Our goal is for their numbers to grow, and populations spread across the wider Devon countryside. The work we'll be able to do during this project will leave a positive legacy which will last for years to come."

Key among the tasks for the charity will be to manage the levels of scrub and gorse across the 12 nature reserves. Helping staff and volunteers will be a new 'robo-flail' – a remote controlled machine which is able to venture into steep and difficult to get to corners of the Trust's wildlife havens.

Jenny Cawson said:

"The robo-flail will prove an enormous help. It can go where it's unsafe or impossible for staff to go, especially on very steep slopes. Our aim is not to remove all bracken and gorse from our reserves, but to ensure that there's a better balance between scrubby and open areas. This is just what butterflies need to thrive."

Other parts of the project will see areas of wildflower-rich Culm grassland meadows restored, plus an extensive monitoring effort counting the numbers of butterflies from the four key fritillary species. These measurements will act as a check on the success of the project, monitoring their numbers over a series of summers.

High brown fritillary: one of the rare butterflies the project is helping. Photo credit Chris Root

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Devon Wildlife Trust is the county's leading environmental charity, with more than 36,000 members. The charity manages 60 nature reserves across Devon, including a range of beautiful landscapes such as woodlands, meadows, wetlands and heaths. Devon Wildlife Trust relies on charitable donations, grants and the generous support of its members and the general public to raise more than £5million every year. Money raised is spent maintaining our work for wildlife conservation and education in Devon, for present and future generations. More at www.devonwildlifetrust.org

New community award will help struggling wildlife

A leading Devon conservation charity has launched a new award to highlight the wonderful work local community groups are doing to encourage struggling nature.

The Wilder Communities Award is the idea of Devon Wildlife Trust. The inaugural award has been made recently to an East Devon community.

Awards are open to everyone in Devon – from groups of allotment holders and workplace employees to residents’ associations, schools and care home communities.

Staff at the conservation charity are keen to stress that the scheme is not a competition. Instead, applications will be reviewed by Devon Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Communities Team. The application process is open now and can be completed on-line via the Trust’s website. Applicants can find lots of guidance, examples and ideas about how to help local wildlife.

Applications to the Wilder Community application process is free.

 

The Trust’s Wilder Communities Team are especially keen to hear from Devon communities who are working for nature in several ways, including:

• Creating space for nature: providing more food, water and homes for wildlife.

• Protecting the local environment: working to protect rivers and streams, to improve soil health, and reduce waste and pollution.

• Connecting local people with nature: bringing local communities together so that they can discover, learn and connect with wildlife.

Each Wilder Communities Award will be made for 12 months, but communities can look to re-new year-on-year. The schemes organisers hope that this will encourage communities to develop their wildlife plans over time, making them more ambitious and increasing their positive impact.

Katie Wilkinson is Devon Wildlife Trust Wilder Communities Team Lead. Katie said:

‘’We have been inspired by the hundreds communities across Devon who are leading amazing projects to help wildlife where they live, learn, work, or socialise. So, we have launched a brand-new award to celebrate their efforts.

There is so much to be hopeful for when we see so many people dedicating their time to help nature’s recovery. From holding environmental festivals to running community science projects or managing a local greenspace for wildlife, and campaigning to get swift nesting boxes installed in a town centre. When communities work together on a common cause they can achieve great things.

Thinking globally and acting locally will help us build a sustainable future where nature and people can thrive’’.

 

The first group to be designated as a Wilder Community is the East Devon village of Chardstock. Gill Keam is leader of the Chardstock Wilder Community. Gill reacted to becoming a Wilder Community pioneer and said:

“I feel so incredibly fortunate to have lived in this beautiful location within the Blackdown Hills for over 23 years. Being surrounded by all the treasures that this rural location has to offer is wonderful.

Our local community already does so much in support of the nature on our doorstep and in relation to connecting to it. So, when the opportunity to recognise and celebrate these connections was presented by the Devon Wildlife Trust’s new Wilder Communities Award, it felt like the ideal opportunity to bring our community even closer to nature.

Using our application form as a springboard, we have been able to acknowledge so much of the fabulous work already being done locally, and to set ourselves some challenges to do even more over the coming months and years.”

 

The Wilder Communities application process is open now. People and communities who want to discover more about what it takes to be a Wilder Community should visit the Devon Wildlife Trust website https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wilder-communities

Community members of Chardstock village celebrate receiving their Wilder Communities Award.

 Far left is Gill Keam (Chardstock community). Middle (crouching) Katie Wilkinson, Devon Wildlife Trust Wilder Communities Lead

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About Devon Wildlife Trust. Nature is in trouble and Devon Wildlife Trust’s mission stems from the need for urgent change and our belief that, if enough people care and act, we can bring nature back and do it on a grand scale. For 60 years, we have been at the forefront of protecting wildlife and the wild places that make Devon so special and believe, passionately, that a better world is one where nature and people thrive together. We are the only Devon focused charity that exists to protect all wildlife in Devon, on land and at sea. Homepage | Devon Wildlife Trust

Volunteers celebrate four decades of devotion to Devon nature reserve

A dedicated group of volunteers has celebrated 40 years of work conserving one of the North Devon’s best-loved nature havens.

Halsdon and Dolton Local Group was formed in 1983 to help promote local the preservation of wildlife and specifically to look after a local nature reserve. Ever since its volunteers have worked in tandem with the Devon Wildlife Trust to conserve the charity’s Halsdon nature reserve, a 57 hectare site near Great Torrington. Its combination of beautiful woodland and a stunning section of the River Torridge, makes it popular with visitors and a home to huge numbers of wildflowers, butterflies, moths, birds and much more besides.

The Group recently celebrated its significant birthday staging a public open day at the nature reserve. The event included walking tours, moth identification, badge making, a cake stall and river dipping in search of aquatic insects. Joining the Group’s volunteers and local families were Devon Wildlife Trust’s Chief Executive Harry Barton and Mike Moser, Chair of North Devon’s UNESCO Biosphere Partnership.

Local Group member Marion Philips said:

“The idea behind today’s event is trying to get local families involved. I have lived in Dolton for 40 years and been involved with Devon Wildlife Trust much of this time. Back then, local young mums and I used to get involved doing facepainting and pond dipping. We also organised work parties to help look after the nature reserve. The focus then was clearing the invasive rhododendron. We once had 90 people come to a work party. It was exciting and we got a lot of work done.”

Dawn Lenn, Devon Wildlife Trust’s Volunteer Coordinator said:

“We are so pleased to be able to celebrate 40 years of wonderful service by Halsdon and Dolton Local Group. Over the decades they have contributed countless hours of hard work, helping to maintain Halsdon nature reserve as a haven for people and wildlife.

But that is not all the Group has achieved. Each year they have also staged a programme of regular nature-based walks and talks, bringing the wonders of wildlife to hundreds of local people.”

The event also gave Halsdon and Dolton Local Group an opportunity to celebrate a special award for one of their founder members. Local-resident and former schoolteacher, Diana Goodacre was presented with a Devon Wildlife Fellowship – the charity’s top accolade for its volunteers and supporters. The award was in recognition of her four decades of volunteering in the cause of local wildlife and its conservation.

Diana Goodacre said:

“I volunteer because it’s part of who I am. You feel you’ve done something worthwhile, and my upbringing showed that the natural world is so important.

The bluebell woods in spring here at Halsdon make me think this is what heaven must be like. But I love all of the nature reserve.”

For the latest volunteer opportunities and public events organised by Dolton Local Group go to the Devon Wildlife Trust website at www.devonwildlifetrust.org

Halsdon and Dolton Local Group’s Diana Goodacre receives her Devon Wildlife Trust fellowship award from Mike Moser while Harry Barton applauds

10th anniversary celebrates growth of Coronation Meadows

Ten years ago, the former Prince of Wales launched Coronation Meadows in 2013 to honour the 60th year of the late Queen’s accession to the throne.

In the face of the catastrophic loss of 97% of our wildflower meadows since the 1930s, the plan was to create new and restored meadows using donor seed from remaining fragments of ancient and traditional meadows.

The Wildlife Trusts and Plantlife – charities for whom the former Prince of Wales was patron – worked together to identify 60 species-rich meadows which are known as Coronation Meadows, one for every year of the Queen’s reign at that time. These special places became donors to provide precious seed to increase the amount of valuable and beautiful wildflower habitat elsewhere.

Dunsdon National Nature Reserve, near Holsworthy, was chosen as Devon’s Coronation Meadow. The 63 hectare site is owned and managed by the conservation charity Devon Wildlife Trust. Its network of Culm grassland fields support a rich mix of wildflowers including lesser butterfly orchids, ragged robin and bird’s foot trefoil. These in turn are home to a huge range of insects from bumblebees to the rare marsh fritillary butterfly.

The Wildlife Trusts and Plantlife charities have now conducted a national audit of the success of the project which reveals that a fantastic 101 new wildflower meadows have been created or restored since the Coronation Meadows project began a decade ago.

The charities are delighted that the Coronation Meadows project has increased the number of wildflower meadows and benefitted a vast array of wildlife, from bees and butterflies to bats and birds. The area is still expanding as the charities continue to harvest and spread the wildflower seed in localities close to the original sites so that the distinctive character of each area’s flora is preserved.

Biffa Award, through the Landfill Communities Fund, contributed £1million to fund the equipment and training needed for meadow restorations. In the first three years of the project alone, more than 700 volunteers gave their time to get the project off the ground. Seed was harvested from Coronation Meadows donor sites either as green hay, brush harvested seed or by hand, and this was used to seed second sites in the same area.

Steve Hussey of Devon Wildlife Trust, says:
“We’re very proud of Dunsdon National Nature Reserve’s status as Devon’s Coronation Meadow. It makes for a beautiful place to visit at this time of year.

More than 90% of Devon’s Culm grassland meadows have disappeared over the past 75 years, but at Dunsdon wildlife still flourishes in its full colourful range of wildflowers and butterflies.

The award of Coronation Meadow status has helped us spread Dunsdon’s good influence. Each year we’ve harvested some of the seeds from its meadows and spread them on other grassland sites nearby, enriching their plant diversity and giving local wildlife an important boost.”

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says:
“The expansion of our beautiful wildflower meadows is a wonderful legacy for communities everywhere to enjoy. The magnificent sight of wild orchids shimmering in a field of delicate wild grasses in the afternoon sun to the hum of bees is something that everyone deserves to experience and enjoy.

“As the nature and climate crises deepen, we must be bold if we want to reverse declines and help revive our meadow heritage. Ancient meadows have evolved alongside traditional farming methods over hundreds of years. Many of these have been selected as Local Wildlife Sites because of the rare and threatened plants that are found there but they have limited protection in planning policy. The next review of the National Planning Policy Framework later this year must see their protection strengthened. We also need to see greater support for wildflower meadows in the new farm environment schemes – it is critical that farmers are rewarded for restoring locally distinctive natural habitats where wild plants can thrive.”

 

To find out more about Dunsdon – Devon’s Coronation Meadow – go to the nature reserve pages of Devon Wildlife Trust’s website www.devonwildlifetrust.org

 

 

Marsh fritillary butterfly, one of the rare species that Devon’s Coronation Meadow supports. Photo credit Chris Root

Dunsdon National Nature Reserve, Devon’s Coronation Meadow. Photo credit Sam Rose

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For more information, see http://coronationmeadows.org.uk The original Coronation Meadows project brought together Plantlife, The Wildlife Trusts and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, to celebrate surviving meadows, create new ones and encourage people to discover and enjoy their local special places for wildflowers.

 

For more information on The Wildlife Trusts, Plantlife, Biffa Award

The Wildlife Trusts’ big nature challenge – 30 Days Wild – is back this June

Let nature inspire you every day during our wildest month!

30 Days Wild, the UK’s biggest nature challenge run by The Wildlife Trusts, invites people of all ages to connect with nature every single day during the month of June. This year there’s a new twist: 30 Days Wild will take you on a week-by-week adventure moving through five different themes:

·         tune into the senses

·         movement and play

·         learning and discovery

·         helping nature

·         emotional connection to nature 

These themes will help guide everyone taking up the challenge to reach that 30 day target, whether tuning into the sound of bird life, moving through your local woods by moonlight, building a den, discovering an unexplored country lane or local park, making time to build a bug hotel or owl box or starting a diary of your day-to-day wildlife sightings.

New 30 Days Wild activity packs include a wild bee poster along with seeds and other materials to inspire you to do something wild every single day.

30 Days Wild is funded thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery and has grown a huge and dedicated fan base – over two million people have taken part over the last 9 years.

Last year over 500,000 people took part in the challenge including 114,245 households, 11,740 schools, 898 care homes and 1,384 businesses. Popular activities include wildlife-watching, eating outdoors, planting wildflower seeds and listening to birdsong. Other favourite pastimes included bug-hunting, fruit-picking, growing plants and flowers, exploring a nature reserve, creating a mini pond or going on a beach or river walk.

We all know how much happier and healthier we feel when connecting with nature – and we have research to prove it – so save the date!

David Oakes, actor and ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“I truly hope you’ll join in the 30 Days Wild challenge wherever you are in the UK! We need nature more than ever and 30 Days Wild is a chance to really celebrate our connection to the precious green and blue spaces both on our doorstep and further afield. Whether you’ve a legendary forest a short train ride away, or a young sapling in your local park that is primed to be the Tree of the Year 2523; whether you turn down the tunes on your next jog in favour of nature’s wild beats, or head to your nearest coastline to explore the rhythms in the rock pools and the sounds of the sand dunes; whatever you choose to do, there are limitless opportunities to dive into this 30 day adventure. However much time you can spare each day there’s always an opportunity to take part, whatever your age. Please get involved and tell all your family and friends to join in too!”

Zoe Hughes, Devon Wildlife Trust says:

“I go outdoors regularly, but there’s something special about 30 Days Wild. The challenge encourages me to connect with my natural surroundings even more and work towards a goal which feels like a big achievement in a busy month. A free activity that makes you feel happier and healthier, with lots of inspiration along the way – what’s not to love!”

30 Days Wild – Big Wild Pub Quiz:

To help motivate people on this journey, we’ve enlisted the help of our Devon friends David Oakes and Sophie Pavelle for the Big Wild Pub Quiz on the 11^th June taking place at 5pm at Samuel Jones, Commercial Road Exeter EX2 1AW. Entry is £1 per person for teams up to 6 people. All welcome!

David Oakes continues:

“Come and join me and the glorious Sophie Pavelle here in Exeter on the 11^th June for the Big Wild Pub quiz or if you can’t make that date join us online via YouTube on Sunday evening, the 18th June, for fun and games with the Wildlife Trusts Big Wild Quiz. Come along to be top of the pollinators or just tune in to be entertained by the incredible and fascinating world of bison, beavers, bees, beetles and bats! Other wildlife species are available. I can't wait to see you then.”

The Wildlife Trusts provide free resources for everyone who signs up. Just register your interest here wildlifetrusts.org/30dayswild. There is also a 30 Days Wild session planner specially designed for teachers to use in class.

 

 The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild kicks off on 1 June

·         Actor David Oakes and Sophie Pavelle to host Big Wild Pub Quiz in Exeter 11^th June 

·         More than 3000 Devon residents took part in 30 Days Wild last year, with 2,169 already signed up for 2023

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30 Days Wild has attracted support from a range of famous faces including TV presenters Monty Don, Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall, Ellie Harrison, James McVey, Alison Steadman and Dr Amir Khan. This year it is championed by writer, ornithologist, activist and Birdgirl, Mya-Rose Craig.

The University of Derby conducted a 5-year evaluation of 30 Days Wild participants from 2015-2020: it found that people reported they felt happier and healthier from taking part, with positive effects lasting for at least two months afterwards.

•  See a summary, 30 Days Wild – a five-year review, can be downloaded here. 

• 30 Days Wild: Development and Evaluation of a Large-Scale Nature Engagemen Campaign to Improve Well-Being by Miles Richardson, Adam Cormack, Lucy McRobert, Ralph Underhill was published Feb 2016. Online here.

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