Gift to Nature » Nature Notes

Fort Victoria Foray on Thursday- come and join Gift to Nature

Sam — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:42:15 +0000

Earth casting, origami, tree dressing & bug hunts in Totland this weekend

Sam — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:37:11 +0000

Family drop-in Arts day in our beautiful wildlife meadow. Earth casting with Eccleston George artists, origami and tree dressing. Plus wildlife activities which will include hunting for bugs, lizard, orchids and butterflies. FREE to all ages.

When: Sat 17th Jul 2010

Directions: behind Totland Rec Ground – turn right at Colwell Rd roundabout and follow signs.

Supported By; West Wight Landscape Partnership, Island 2000, IWC.

Newts in your Neighbourhood

Tracy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:39:36 +0000

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is launching a new project to promote ponds on the Isle of Wight. In partnership with the Environment Agency, West Wight Landscape Partnership and Kitbridge Enterprises, they are currently trying to find out more about newts on the Isle of Wight.

If you’d like to take part in a simple (and fun!) torch survey to look for newts the survey form is attached here.

For further info please look out for the article in our Spring Gift to Nature newsletter.

Calling all Friends!

Tracy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:09:55 +0000

Just as we enjoy hearing from our Business Fundraising members, equally we’d love to hear from the Friends of Gift to Nature about their wildlife observations or things they’re doing to help conservation. Please do email us with anything you’d like to let others know about – whether it’s the wildlife you look after in your garden, a comment about a Gift to Nature site you’ve visited, or a sighting of a Mad March Hare – and if you have a photo even better. In fact, even better than THAT would be if anyone could produce a photo of a Mad March Hare helping the wildlife at a G2N site!

Heather Cooper kindly sent in these photos of the Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies she saw last summer. Remember the 2009 ‘invasion’ of Britain by millions of Painted Lady butterflies from North Africa? Who knows what the wildlife highlight of 2010 will be ……..?

Winter feasting

Tracy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:44:40 +0000

G2N sites provide a natural larder of berries, fruit, seeds, nuts – just think of the Hawthorn bushes at Totland Meadow or the fruit trees at Sandown Wetlands Orchard. But everyone can help by feeding the birds which come into gardens, plus you then have the added bonus of being able to observe them at close quarters.

Put out high-energy food such as fat balls, pastry, cheese, nuts and seeds, fruit (apples, pears, sultanas). Don’t forget to keep the food topped up daily though, as once birds start to associate a garden with food they’ll waste needless energy flying there if on arrival the table is bare! Different species have different requirements in terms of how the food is ‘served up’ – so mix and match with hanging feeders, bird tables, food like cheese or pastry wedged into cracks in walls, or scattered on the ground. You might even put out any left over dog or cat food! It’s a good idea too to ensure they are able to access unfrozen drinking water even if it’s just some warm water in an upturned bin-lid.

Fieldfare by Wikimedia user MPF

Pearl-bordered Fritillary returns to Parkhurst

Sam — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:50:23 +0000

Conservation work in January this year

Excellent news from Parkhurst, the Pearl-bordered Fritillary population is recovering. This is in part thanks to conservation work Gift to Nature funded. Green Gym volunteers cleared swathes of ride edges to provide the essential habitat for this rare little butterfly. The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is one of our most threatened species, principally due to the reduction in coppicing, the butterfly responds well to clearing work which provides their favourite food sources.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary courtesy of ukbutterflies.co.uk

Parkhurst is now back in Forestry Commission management after a lapse of a few years and has already undergone quite a transformation in 2009 which will lead to some interesting changes in the future.

BeeWick Success Update

Sam — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:42:46 +0000

I am continuing my rolling tests of the BeeWicks. They are still coming up though they’re taking a little longer now.

Cottage Garden for Bees

Sam — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:47:56 +0000

The Bedford Lodge has been a member of Gift to Nature since 2008, Karena has created a real little urban oasis. Cottage style garden plants like chives, sage, and lavender are fantastic for bees and butterflies.

Trenches in the Bog

Sam — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:55:34 +0000

Test trench at Bohemia Bog to determine the water level in an area we want to extend the bog.