Nature Conservation in Rugby
We had a very prolonged dry spell in summer which was generally not good news for a nature reserve. However, it did give the volunteers an opportunity to restore Reservoir Pond while the water level went from low to virtually non-existent.
The pond is an important breeding site for the common frog. The pond had become severely choked by flag iris and reedmace. The resulting encroachment meant very limited open water for the frogs to mate and spawn.
Continue reading “Restoring Reservoir Pond”Management work for nature conservation resumed on 4th October and will continue through to the spring of next year
The work so far has concentrated on two main areas:
– Grassland cutting
– Opening up an aeriel corridor from Gun Hill across to the Plateau.
Grass cutting and raking off of the arisings has been on the go for the last two months. We have maintained a very good pace this season, with usually three brush cutters in action, with an energetic crew completing all the clearance. We expect to be finished by the end of November. The unimproved grasslands of the cutting are its core asset and deserve the full attention of the volunteer group.
Continue reading “Ashlawn Grasslands Maintenance 2022”This is an excellent time of year to look for fingi. It’s also when lichens are more visible after leaf fall
Continue reading “A great time to go looking for fungi”Ashlawn Cutting was award a Gold and Overall Winner award in the Environmental category of Rugby in Bloom.
The awards presentation took place at the Benn Hall on Tuesday 8th November. The local volunteers attending the presentation received an an unexpected additional award. Our group was given a special award for outstanding contribution to Rugby in Bloom. In addition to a certificate, we also received an engraved glass trophy,
Continue reading “Rugby in Bloom Awards”The Big Butterfly Count begins on Friday 15th July 2022 and will run until Sunday 7th August.
This is a UK-wide survey aimed at helping Butterfly Conservation assess the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see.
More information is available on the dedicated survey website. From here, you can download an identification chart to assist with the survey. Alternatively, why not download the free app to assist with both identification and submission of results. This is available for both iOS and Android.
A lot of the work undertaken in recent weeks has focused on improving the woodland edges. This has been a mix of coppicing, laying new live hedge rows, putting cut material into dead hedges and complete tree removal (especially sycamore).
Continue reading “Ashlawn Cutting – Early Spring Update”Volunteers from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) have very kindly provided and installed a kestrel nesting box in the reserve. This was put in place on the 21st of March.
Continue reading “Swift Valley gets a Kestrel Box”A lot of progress has been made in this latest month. Work has taken place on:
The volunteer work group has made excellent progress in the first half of the maintenance season, working on two main fronts.