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News Update
Archive
Coming Up
Sunday 20 May 2012,
2pm
Habitat Improvement, St
Swithuns Churchyard
This month meadow raking and scrub
clearance. Park in the field opposite the lych gate
SU 487 319.
An
article published in a recent parish magazine:
Habitat Conservation at
St Swithuns Churchyard
Can you help?
The
churchyard at St Swithuns is unquestionably one of the finest and
most important examples of ‘nature in churchyards’ in our area. It
offers us all an opportunity to study and better understand our
relationship with our local wildlife. We must endeavour to protect
and preserve this unique local natural environment, not just for
the present but for the benefit of future generations too.
In
case you didn’t already know, St Swithuns church actually sits on
an island. The streams that surround it are rich in
chalk-stream fauna and flora. The graveyard beyond the church
offers an equally fantastic ‘grassy’ habitat, and the many trees,
bushes and wildflowers further increase this diverse ecosystem.
Here are some of the species that can be found:
 Otter and water vole
(photo);
Dragonflies – such as, southern hawker, blue emperor, common darter;
Butterflies – such as, red admiral, speckled wood, comma;
Moths – tiger, yellow underwing, brimstone;
Stag Beetle;
Birds – grey heron, little egret, great spotted
woodpecker, tree creeper;
Reptiles and amphibians – slow worm, frogs,
toads; and
Bats – common pipistrelle and Natterer’s.
The
churchyard at St Swithuns is unquestionably one of the finest and
most important examples of ‘nature in churchyards’ in our area. It
offers us all an opportunity to study and better understand our
relationship with our local wildlife. We must endeavour to protect
and preserve this unique local natural environment, not just for
the present but for the benefit of future generations too.
In
case you didn’t already know, St Swithuns church actually sits on
an island. The streams that surround it are rich in chalk-stream
fauna and flora. The graveyard beyond the church offers an equally
fantastic ‘grassy’ habitat, and the many trees, bushes and
wildflowers further increase this diverse ecosystem. Here are some
of the species that can be found:
But
these habitats are becoming increasingly fragile, being highly
sensitive to invasion by dominant and/or non-native species, and
also to decay. If neglected, the very ‘life’ of the churchyard
will be threatened.
So
what should we do about this? Well, actually we can do a great
deal – not just to help protect the existing wildlife, but also to
improve the habitats to bring in new species.
Several years ago, a major habitat improvement project was
undertaken by Hampshire Wildlife Trust (HWT). This included the
embedding of three otter holts, improvements to the river banks for
water voles, narrowing the streams using faggots to ensure adequate
water flow and prevention of silting, and some clearance of small
trees and scrub to enable more light at ground level for
wildflowers.
In
more recent years, Worthys Conservation Volunteers has also
undertaken some smaller-scale improvements, most notably to benefit
wildflowers, both on and close to the river banks.
We
now want to renew this conservation work, and with consultation
with HWT start a programme of improvements and also educational
studies. But we very much need some extra hands, not just to help
with the more physical tasks but some of the lighter chores too.
Initially, the plan is to carry out improvements over the next
twelve months, and then to pull back on the heavy tasks and
implement a regime of ongoing management for future years.
We
would welcome your help, or maybe you would just like to be kept
informed. Please email
enquires@worthysconservationvolunteers.org.uk
or
phone/text Bruce on 07919 111221.
As
the proverb says ‘many hands make light work’! So please come and
join us and help this ‘worthy’ cause for local nature. The next
working party at St Swithuns will be on Sunday 20 November, 1.30pm.
Bruce Graham, WCV Coordinator
Get the full article here
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