As the years pass, gradual changes in the landscape may go unnoticed but, sometimes, as we walk through the woods, we may dig deep into the recesses of our memories to recall what it was like before the Fingle Woods restoration began. Perhaps we try...
A small herd of cows is going to be tagged with GPS in a new scheme by the Woodland Trust to track their “moovements” and how they can boost diversity. Six Dexter cows started roaming Avon Valley Woods at the weekend. At least one of these...
Thanks to our members and supporters we have been able to buy our part of Ausewell Woods, joining once again with the National Trust, to manage the valuable woodland habitat and refuge for wildlife. Ausewell is described as a lost world, a refuge for increasing rare and...
Each night a sleepy corner of the country is being turned into a march of the amphibians as hundreds of toads and newts make a perilous journey across a busy road to breed. This mass migration to the Woodland Trust owned Haddon Wood, near Castle Carey,...
On a rare dry Dartmoor day, the Timber! celebration took place, once again, at Pullabrook Wood in the Bovey Valley. As before, it was hosted by the Woodland Trust and Natural England but, this year, recent storms and floods have left the woods feeling a...
Following the volunteer signs through Fingle Woods felt like a treasure hunt. As I went past each yellow sign that was propped up against a tree and safely pinned down with a rock or clod of mud, I became excited about what I was going...
A rather shorter Newsletter this month as we were decidedly thin on the ground for our working party on the 7th - weddings, AGMs of other organisations, digital alarms being fitted, all taking their toll – so only 5 workers but none the less very...
Frogspawn in Fingle woods is another signal that winter is drawing to an end. But, is it early and what will happen when, or if, there is a cold snap? Data from Nature’s Calendar (a citizen science project run by the Woodland Trust and the UK...
January is normally a quite month for most people. Post-Christmas, the short days and inclement weather tend to mean hunkering down until spring has truly sprung, which usually doesn’t happen until well into March, especially on Dartmoor! However, if you are a National Trust Volunteer...
The usual suspects turned up promptly on February 1st and were pleased to note that in addition to the quick hedge the Bishops Knoll flats had planted several good size apple trees on their side of the fence. In contrast to the past few weeks...