Do-gooder

Day 288 #365DaysWild

One of those days that probably marks me down as some kind of do-gooder. Or tree-hugger..

First a meeting with the Sherwood Landscape Partnership to walk Bestwood Country Park at the Dynamo House. Thanks to joint vice-chair Ian Hart for opening up and getting the all-important drinks boiling!!

We took the chance to extol the excellent work of the members of the Friends of Bestwood Country Park (FoBCP) Wildlife Group. Although I gave up the chairmanship of the main Friends’ group last year I seem to have retained some of the tasks including attending meetings. In this case it was no hardship. Amused to be introduced as living in my own mini country park!

Marbled white butterfly

We formed the wildlife group because we recognised that the recording of the biodiversity of the 650 acres was being woefully-neglected. Bestwood Country Park is on reclaimed land of the former site of the Bestwood Colliery. It was only after Trees4Climate planting was initiated that we recognised that birds of prey and whinchats were using the rough grassland that would be lost under trees. RSPB Officer Carl Cornish has been especially important in facilitating the group as it has gone on to do so much good work, as has FoBCP joint vice-chair Alan Green.

We shared the recent butterfly edition of the group mini-mag 'The Dynamo' put together by Alan and Dynamo editor David then socked ‘em with the Wildlife Group newsletter and the photo ID sheet of the Butterflies of Bestwood Country Park produced from Group members’ photos. All brilliant!!!

'How can we use the
route of the pipeline for wildlife..?'

The group's volunteering to dredge years of sanitary products and wet wipes from a tributary of our River Leen went miles beyond what could be reasonably-expected and must mark them out as wildlife heroes. 

With Carl’s assistance they’ve created a butterfly transect to record the butterflies of Bestwood. This year our first marbled white!

Most-recently they have been locking horns with Severn Trent whose massive pipeline works are cutting a sorry gash across the park. Much wildlife disturbance has ensued including the destruction of a regionally-important colony of waxcap fungi. Credit here to Imogen who has given untold hours with Carl to protecting our waxcaps..

'..a bespoke luxury
residence for voles ..?'

The Sherwood Landscape Partnership also looked at the wildlife group’s innovative use of sheep fleece (which was led by Imogen) as a weed suppressant around the newly-planted edible hedge. No need for nasty glyphosate!! The fleece has also, accidentally, become a bespoke, luxury residence for voles displaced by Severn Trent! Group members Hayley & Rory spent a busy afternoon retro-fitting 500 vole guards around the recently-planted hedge.

But amongst the mud and oppressive sky I was delighted to see my first swallow of the year on the Pit Tip Top. Eagle-eyed Hayley beat me to seeing the swallow by the finest of margins!! The first record of a swallow in Nottingham this year!

Then home for a zoom meeting organised by Notts & Derbys Wildlife Trusts speaking for Friends’ groups across the two counties with the Green Party candidate for the East Midlands Mayor pressing the need for the new mayoralty to promote biodiversity. We had previously met with the Labour candidate at her request in March.

All of this when the lunar calendar said we should be planting our potatoes!