Gift to Nature » green gym

Gift to Nature project featured on BBC

Tracy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:29:35 +0000

Our Director Ian Boyd was enthusing about our iconic Wall Lizards on the BBC this week.

Conservation at Munsley Bog

Sam — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:43:38 +0000

The Green Gym cleared bramble, bracken and Willow, in order to make room for smaller wetland plants, such as Heath Spotted Orchid and Marsh Pennywort. They also set to work repairing dams in order to maintain water tables, again to help these type of plants flourish. The cut Willow was recycled, as it was used to create a woven willow fence to replace a broken section of the existing cleft-oak fencing.

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.

Totland Meadow Gets a Haircut

Sam — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:37:27 +0000

The IW Green Gym visited Totland Meadow last Wednesday, the previous day we commissioned Roger Lamlugh to cut a section of the meadow to the west of the field and GGs task was to rake up all of the cuttings. This removes nutrients from the ground and encourages a more diverse mixture of plants. The cut material was stacked onto the hibernaculum and in amongst the hedgerow undergrowth. Braken had started to encroach from the north-east corner, this was cleared and the material stacked. Volunteers also cut down encroaching scrub and cleared litter.