Biodiversity Around Towns Scheme
Biodiversity Around Towns Scheme
About Us
What have we achieved so far? - Well quite a lot actually!
Tree Nursery: In our first 12 months we obtained a licence from Suffolk County Council for some land to be used as a tree nursery. When we first walked on the site we discovered bee orchids, which was a great start. Since then we have laid out an area of seedling beds, protected it with a rabbit and deer - proof fence and planted more than four hundred young trees and tree seeds. In addition regular working parties on the site have resulted in pruning dead trees, creating habitat piles for reptiles and amphibians, brush piles for nesting birds such as Dunnock, Wren and Blackbirds, and the installation of bird boxes and bird feeders. In conjunction with Green Light Trust we are also undertaking regular bio-diversity checks over the next three years just to find out what grows there now and what will appear in the future. So far we have identified 43 different plants and three amphibians,Common Toad, Smooth Newt and juvenile Great Crested Newt.
Pond: Our licence also gives us the right to restore an adjacent pond which is 193 metres in circumference and contains a struggling Great Crested Newt colony. We have already cleared the southern side of the bank to allow in more light and this winter we made a start on removing some silt and overgrown plants to increase the depth. Both of these measures should help the newts considerably. We have also installed nesting boxes around the pond including one for owls. 20 bird species have been identified (with the help of Cliff Darke) as using the site, including heron and kingfisher and blue tits and moorhens have nested successfully. A pond dipping morning with Adrian Walters, the Sudbury Common Lands Ranger, produced a species of insect he had not seen in the Sudbury area before.
Schools: An important part of our work is introducing children into practical tree growing and the reasons for biodiversity and we have already taken the Green Light Trust “Seed to Tree” programme into three local Primary Schools, Wells Hall, Pot Kiln and Acton. After some discussion as to the reasons why we need trees the children gather their own seeds to then plant in their school seed bed. The children will tend these beds as the trees appear and eventually plant the saplings out into a local woodland. We believe that children who plant their own trees will learn to love and protect the woodlands they create. This is a rolling programme which we will introduce into each new primary intake year and extend to other local primary schools in the next year or so. We are grateful to Great Cornard, Acton, Long Melford and Chilton Parish Councils, Sudbury Municpal Charities and County Councillors Colin Spence and Jack Owen for their financial support with this and other projects.
