August newsletter 2019

A busy month for surveys and training!

Botanical Survey - Willowfields/Land at Mill Place, Saturday 10th August
A huge thank you to Flo who led the botany survey alongside Hannah, at the Land at Mill Place! We recorded over 35 different plant species in this area. The importance of surveys like this is to identify and map each plant so we gain an understanding of the current biodiversity of the site. From this, we can identify any invasive species and develop management plans accordingly. A targeted survey at a key time of year, such as the end of summer, is appropriate for us to understand the distribution of the species within a site. Thank you to everyone who came along! We are looking forward to the next survey in the springtime.​

Butterfly and Dragonfly Survey - Willowfields/Land at Mill Place, Sunday 11th August
Another successful survey undertaken, with 10 species of butterfly and 4 species of damsel/dragonfly. With this information we can determine what plants are critical to keep or plant, so these insects can thrive. Additionally, we sent these results so it could be included with the Big Butterfly Count 2019 which is a nationwide survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment, very similar to what we did! This result is, of course, an underestimate of what was there and a slightly lower count than last month, which shows the importance of frequently doing these surveys. This shows the changing biodiversity throughout the year and which species thrive when. Huge thanks to all who came out for the last insect survey of the season.

​Wildflower Turf Training Morning - Thursday 29th August
 
Within Wild About Datchet, we are always thinking of ways to improve our village for the people and, of course, for the wildlife. This is why Georgie and Niamh travelled down to Basingstoke to learn about the benefits of wildflowers in a community and how to grow and maintain them. This was led by the Wildflower Turf company, who provided turf for the 2012 London Olympics and have many years experience in this industry.
 
So why add wildflowers?
Well, it engages people with their natural surroundings and can act as an education tool, it reduces carbon footprint, it increases biodiversity, it’s aesthetically pleasing, it increases sustainability and finally, mitigates against air pollution - wildflowers have a multistory (different layers) and different leaf shapes which makes a wildflower patch effective at capturing air pollution. Additionally, it takes less maintenance than constantly cutting grass, so less costs and man hours overall. When considering where wildflowers would be ideal in Datchet, there were a range of options - such as the area surrounding The Green, along the footpath at the edge of the Rec, etc.
 
If you have any ideas, please get in touch, we’d love to hear what you think!