Say No to the Mow
Various local groups are seeking to make Bristol Parks less mower happy. Short grass is fine for football and perhaps a picnic, but isn’t much use to wild creatures and flowers. The objective is to leave at least a few bits of every green space uncut for most of the year. Below is the BS3 Wildlife Group and My Wild South Bristol statement. f you would like to make a statement on behalf of your local park or green space, or just as a concerned citizen, please send it to Martyn Cordey who is heading the campaign (martyn8@blueyonder.co.uk) and copy this newsletter in.
To Bristol City Council: The BS3 Wildlife Group promotes the My Wild Bedminster and My Wild South Bristol projects aiming to raise public awareness of the wildlife in our neighbourhoods and to encourage domestic gardeners, allotment holders, park support groups and others to encourage wildlife through habitat improvements. We work amicably with similar groups in North Bristol and with agencies such as Bristol Parks and Avon Wildlife Trust. We strongly support the Say No to the Mow campaign in the belief that every park and public space has a part to play in promoting wildlife whilst at the same time ensuring that the space is also available for other activities, such as, sports, children’s play and quiet contemplation. Many park support groups have already successfully negotiated agreements with Bristol Parks ensuring that sections of their park are left to become ‘wild’ rather than constantly being mown into so-called ‘amenity grass’. We need more of this enlightened and flexible approach.
Malago Tree Walk
Katie Murray has recently graduated from UWE and has developed a tree walk for the Malago. We understand that others are developing tree walks for Greville Smyth and Victoria Parks and look forward to seeing these. Anywhere else?
Katie says, ‘The benefits gained from having access to green space are exceptional . Particularly for urban dwellers, the extent, composition and access to green space is increasingly recognised as crucial to improved human well-being and quality of life. Throughout my degree studying Environmental Management, I found myself focusing on ‘greening’ our urban environment and how we can help reduce the inequalities in distribution of these spaces. It is important that we recognise, learn about and appreciate the current green spaces and inspire stewardship. Community groups, such as the BS3 Wildlife Group, are key to making the changes towards a more sustainable and greener city. In the recent lockdown circumstances, green space accessibility was significant to many; to be outside could have been considered a luxury. Encouraging people to appreciate the environment that surrounds them seemed significant. The BS3 Malago Tree Trail is an opportunity to explore the local green corridor and learn about the various tree species along the route. I hope this will stimulate more and more people to value our city’s trees and may even motivate others to develop their own routes. The purpose of this project was to apply the skills learnt and passion gained from my course at the University of the West of England and I hope I have successfully translated my passion for our environment within this project.
’Fishponds Community Orchard
We are slowly building links with groups to the north of the River Avon as part of our aim to establish a network of linked green spaces across Bristol allowing wildlife to move freely and safely around the city. We are very pleased to have made connections with folk in Fishponds. Is this the beginning of ‘My Wild BS16’?
Bats
Elaine G reports: ‘Last year the British Bat Society asked for volunteers to record bats. We had seen bats over the garden for years and I always wondered which ones they are. Anyway, Robert and I volunteered. They were monitoring set locations throughout the UK. I had hoped our garden in Southville would be one! But, the nearest to us was The Mardyke pub in Hotwells. The landlord was amenable and over the summer, Robert set up the recorder in the day and collected the recordings next day which were then sent off to be analysed. This happened over about five different nights. They collected a huge amount of data nationwide. We only received our results a couple of months ago. The Mardyke had five species of bat: Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Common pipistrelle and the most frequent and smallest UK bat, weighing about the same as a 20pence piece); Pipistrellus pygmaeus (Soprano pipistrelle); Myotis sp (there are six closely related myotis species); Nyctalus noctula (Common Noctule bat and one of the largest in the UK) and Nyctalus leiseri (Leisler’s bat). We also made some recordings in our garden and a friend, whose garden in North Bristol was one of the set locations, was able to analyse our recordings. We had two species: Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Nyctalus noctula.’
There are several informative bat sites on google. One suggestion is that having a pond is attractive to bats because there will be insects flying nearby and that bat boxes are a good idea, although you need to be patient as it may take a couple of years before any bats move in. Sites will advise on making and siting bat boxes. Do you have any bat news to share with this newsletter?
Avon Wildlife Trust is back
We’ve been working well with AWT for several years, especially in relation to their My Wild City project which mirrors our twin aims of raising public awareness and enhancing habitats. We were therefore concerned for friends who were furloughed in March. But, they are now back, although, as with all returning workers, it’s difficult to be sure about the future. Fingers crossed!!! Once they get themselves sorted out, they will probably return to focusing on some of Bristol’s Local Nature Reserves. AWT is also inviting everyone to visit their Grow Wilder site in Stapleton. This is open from 10 to 5 every day. Go to the AWT website for more details.
The Birds of Ashton Court
The new Friends of Ashton Court Estate (FACE) has received some wildlife reports including on birds, bats and fungi undertaken by some of Bristol’s specialist wildlife groups. The bird report relates to 2019 and indicates 55 species, some frequently seen and other just once or twice. FACE is considering turning this into a report with pictures, but they have no pictures. We’ll be asking shortly for bird photographs not necessarily taken at Ashton Court, so please rummage around to see what you have.
Could YOU be a wildlife recorder?
An important part of our wildlife activity is to report sightings to recording agencies such as BRERC (Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre). This helps to create a national picture showing if particular species are increasing or decreasing in number and whereabouts this is happening. So far, Peter H has been our main Records Officer and he has concentrated on passing on the data in our annual reports on butterflies, moths and winter birds. However, as our membership has increased and become much more aware of local wildlife, including posting the many excellent pictures appearing on our facebook and instagram sites, it’s getting too much for one person. We would like, therefore to create a small team of recorders: Peter and perhaps three or four others. We can offer some ‘training’ which could take as much as half an hour, but we’ll work out details like that once we have a group. If you are interested in helping in this way, please get in touch via mywildbedminster@virginmedia.com
Do you have any wildlife news that you would like to share with this Newsletter or our instagram and facebook pages? Please pass this newsletter on to others and invite them to join in. The Newsletter and access to our facebook and instagram pages is free.