Conservation Centre with Eco-friendly Holidays, Campsite, Nature Trails & Courses in West Wales

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A helping hand for wildlife

There are lots of opportunities to provide a helping hand to wildlife this Spring, and here are just a few suggestions to get you started.   If you’re aged between 13 and 25, or know someone who is, how about becoming a ‘Hedgehog Champion’?  The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)  is asking people to become Hedgehog Champions to rally support from their neighbours and work together to create ideal hedgehog habitat throughout their street, estate or communal grounds.

Photo: hedgehogstreet.org.uk

PTES is also looking for volunteers to take part in their  ‘Living with mammals‘ survey.  You’ll need to be quick to register though, as the closing date is 6th May.  The survey requires you to spend some time observing a chosen site (e.g. your garden or allotment) throughout the survey period.

You can do smaller things too, such as  not using slug pellets.  These can be fatal to hedgehogs, as can weedkillers and other chemicals – hedgehogs will already be on pest control duty anyway.  As hedgehogs have a fairly large territory, they may use a number of different gardens to forage for food.  If you want to encourage them make sure there’s an easy way in and out of yours.

With the arrival of Spring,  thoughts are turning to new plants for the garden, so why not choose your plants with wildlife in mind?  If you need any help , the RHS pollinator plant list will give you some ideas for pollinator-friendly plants.  Pollinators such as bees are  a vital part of our ecosystem, and are also fascinating creatures.  If you’d like to find out more about them, we have a one day ‘Bumblebees’ course on June 9th from 10 – 4 pm.

Buff tailed bumblebee

Buff-tailed bumblebee

We’re in the process of planting lots of wildlife-friendly plants in our new demonstration community garden here at Denmark Farm.  Why not come along to our  Open Day June 16th for a  guided tour and to have your questions answered by Malcolm Berry, a teacher in natural gardening, who is helping us to create the new garden with the help of volunteers.

There’s no need to wait until the Open Day to visit though.  Spring is a great time of year at Denmark Farm, with migrant birds such as pied flycatcher, redstart, and willow warbler in full song, and plenty of other wildlife to be found, from large red damselflies on the pond, to common lizards around the training centre.  Drop in anytime to explore our 40 acre nature reserve for yourself!

 

 

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