Representatives of Forncett Nature Matters steering group and several of our supporters went to Poringland on 18th February for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s (NWT) conference to hear about the results of their ‘Wilder Connections’ project which focused on three areas in the South Norfolk Claylands (funded by the Green Recovery Challenge). Ben Newton, Project Officer, outlined the scope of the project which included the restoration of ponds, hedges, copses, trees and associated margins and grasslands, the improvement of habitat connection for wildlife, and connecting people to nature through engaging communities and landowners. These aims coincide with our own, and though Forncett was not in one of the three discrete areas, we have received lots of support from NWT, who also keep in touch with what we’re doing.
The morning was devoted mainly to contributions from farmers and landowners, and the afternoon to feedback from community groups. There were so many brilliant and inspirational speakers that it’s difficult to cover the whole conference adequately. Hilary Hosea has written the report which follows, and I’ll add a bit more after that.
“One of the farmers who spoke to us was Nick Meade of the Earsham Estate, part of the Waveney Farming Cluster; the 39 farms in this group are involved in various types of regenerative farming and are trying to improve their land to benefit the biodiversity of plants and animals alongside their agricultural enterprises. The Estate worked with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust as part of the Claylands initiative for 18 months to improve connectivity and habitat in the landscape. There were new plantings of trees and hedges and the restoration of ponds. Nick said that across the whole estate there were 95 ponds some of which had been filled in. During the project six were recreated, some in the corners of fields, which made them easier to maintain and to fit in with farming activities. Surveys of the pond wildlife were carried out by NWT volunteers, and the zones where Great Crested Newts survive were mapped so attempts to link their habitats could be made. Some ponds were dredged, surrounding scrub taken out and trees pollarded to open up the watery space. Some were modified by making shallow edges to benefit breeding frogs and newts. About eight ponds were made deeper to help maintain water and some had weed taken out such as Bog Bean which can become dominant. The new Zealand Stonecrop that forms dense mats and excludes other species was removed by hand and will be monitored. Buffer areas of rough grass were made around some ponds to enhance their potential as connected habitats for wildlife.” [Hilary Hosea]
The Earsham Hall Estate that Hilary mentions is also one of four farms which are working with volunteers to create links and corridors between them, with Earsham to the south and Old Hall Farm at Woodton to the north . This dairy farm (www.oldhallfarm.co.uk) is run by Stuart and Rebecca Mayhew and features in Sarah Langford’s wonderful book, ‘Rooted’ (1). The couple, who also farm regeneratively, have replanted many hedges and mob graze their animals, keeping calves at foot for much longer than most herds nowadays. They sell unpasteurised milk and have a farm shop and cafe which are well worth visiting. They also provided the conference attendees with a magnificent lunch which catered for all dietary needs.
Vic Long of Fir Grove Farm, Wreningham, told us about a wildflower meadow which became Norfolk’s Coronation Meadow. Find the story of its development here
Community members scything Photo: Thanks to NWT‘Wild Norfolk for All’ is a new initiative by NWT which hopes to increase space for nature by 30% by 2030. As Argus Hardy, a WildEast founder told us, this can be done without significantly affecting crop yields by planting hedges, creating habitat around footpaths, around field margins (Wild Stories - Wild Edges ) and restoring waterways and ponds.
Helen Baczkowska, Acting Head of Nature Recovery at NWT, told us what kinds of habitat would benefit a variety of creatures: sheltered dark woodland and crevices in tree bark for the rare Barbastelle Bat (of which we have a small number in Forncett) with nearby hedges along which to forage for the moths that feed on hedgerow wildflowers; one of the best habitats for Barn Owls is tussocky grassland where voles a-plenty make for easy snacking; and of course Norfolk’s Great Crested Newts need ponds linked by easily traversed habitat - they need to move from one to another. Helen also recommended MAGIC maps
Patrick Barkham, natural history writer, President of NWT and Guardian journalist, opened his talk with the well known quote from E M Forster’s novel, Howard’s End: “Only connect.... live no more in fragments”. From NWT’s countywide reach of ‘Wilder Connections’ to Forncett Nature Matters’ more modest scope ‘connecting people : connecting nature,’ connectivity was at the heart of everyone’s message. An interesting aspect of Patrick’s talk was that he felt our communities of South Norfolk (and of North Suffolk too) were enriched in the 1960s and 70s by the the influx of artists, writers, naturalists, self sufficiency seekers and a smattering of hippies. (He’s writing a biography of Roger Deakin, one of the best known settlers.) The Tree Fairs of Suffolk and Norfolk will be remembered by many, and I’m guessing that Patrick visited with his nature loving parents. Many of these folk, now in their 70s and 80s, stayed on and are now well integrated, serving their communities, still passionate about environmental matters and active in campaigning for restoring wildlife balance. There were quite a few of us in the audience!
I had to leave the conference at this point, and the community group report that follows was written by Emily Syme, one of FNM’s supporters:
“A project that may interest FNM members is underway in Stoke Holy Cross. The conference heard from a group of volunteers about Jubilee Meadow, a piece of land which had been given to the Parish Council by developers building housing nearby. After consultation with villagers it was decided that the land would be used as a wildflower meadow, providing a refuge for wildlife and for the villagers themselves! With the support of the NWT as part of the Claylands Project the volunteers have begun transforming the previously arable land. There is a mature hedge along one boundary, and more trees and hedging are being planted. Owl and other bird boxes have been donated and put up, and wildflower seeds sown. There are ‘untidy’ areas with log, stone, and grass piles to encourage and support insects, amphibians and small mammals.
The project is already connecting the village and will be a wonderful community resource. It is well worth looking at the beautifully drawn plan on their website which also has a wealth of useful information.” [Emily Syme].
In conclusion, the NWT team has been delighted with all the great initiatives that are taking place around the Claylands and, although the project finishes at the end of March, they will be continuing to work with landowners and communities in South Norfolk, which is good news for all of us nature lovers and brilliant for the wildlife. Thank you NWT for your sterling work and inspiration.
February 2023
1 Rooted. Sarah Langford. 2022, Penguin Viking ISBN 978-0-241-50374-4
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- Written by: Christina Wakeford
February 21st Forncett Nature Matters members were able to join Alan Dawson’s lovely Zoom talk on how we can stop the terrible decline of the UK butterfly population. Alan is a recorder of butterflies in Norfolk for Butterfly Conservation, a national organisation that is embarking on a campaign to halt the desperate loss of our butterflies and moths. They ask people to register their wild spaces where these beautiful insects can feed, breed and shelter, free from pesticides. A few choice plants in a pot can really help. School grounds, community woodland and village verges where butterfly food plants can grow are all vital areas of support and our gardens in countryside and town can provide vital nectar and caterpillar food plants.
We also have in Norfolk, on heath-land such as Kelling, Buxton Heath and East Ruston Common, the Silver Studded Blue that has an extraordinary life-cycle. The male has bright blue wings, rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on the hind wings, while the females have brown upper wings with orange spots on the hind wing. The female lays eggs only once a year between June and August in the vicinity of ants nests because her species has a mutual symbiotic relationship with two kinds of black ants. When the caterpillars hatch the ants transport them to their nests and farm them for the sugars they excrete. The ants keep the larvae clean and at a constant temperature and carry them out to feed on the leaves of Ling and Bell Heather, Gorse and Bird’s Foot Trefoil. This is done at dusk and the ants guard them against predators including other ants. The ants allow the caterpillars to pupate in their nest and take them out to the heath-land when they emerge.
The Painted Lady is a beautiful migrant from North Africa. When they arrive in the UK they choose thistles and Hemp Agrimony as food plants. They can be seen in August at Warham Camp, a Neolithic dwelling site in North Norfolk. In high summer, if we are lucky, the immigrants from Europe, Peacocks and Red Admirals, arrive feeding on nettles and brambles. So if you want beautiful butterflies in your garden keep a patch of nettles.
Peacock Butterfly Photo: Carol SharpOur gardens can be havens and places of survival for butterflies. Planting Marjoram, Verbena bonariensis, perennial wallflowers, like Bowles Mauve, Buddlejas, of which there are a profusion of beautiful varieties, and Lavenders can help their survival by providing the nectar they need. The handsome ‘weeds’ including nettles, grasses and brambles, that Alan mentioned are vital food plants for the caterpillars. Sallows, Buckthorns, Holly and Ivy are important food plants too.
Alan recommended a very user-friendly app - iRecord Butterflies which is a really good way of improving your ID skills. You can send your sightings to Butterfly Conservation at any time, which is a helpful way of saying thank you to them for the valuable conservation work they’re doing. Your data will be added to their Norfolk map.
Alan’s talk was recorded and you can enjoy it here
Alan says “My role on the committee of the Norfolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation is Transect Coordinator. Transects are set routes, mainly on managed land, that are walked weekly from April to September, with the butterflies encountered being counted. We have about 60 of these in Norfolk and they feed in to a national scheme that helps keep track of British butterfly numbers as well as what is happening in Norfolk. One of the things I do is to analyse the results from the 50,000 or so butterflies that are counted in Norfolk in a year.”
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- Written by: Hilary Hosea
We were delighted with the turnout for our meeting on Friday 20 January 2023, 7pm, at Forncett Village Hall, in spite of the very cold, wet evening. Over fifty people from up and down the river and beyond, as well as a good number of Forncett folk, attended and enjoyed the inspiring presentations by our three speakers.
Tim Fisher of the Norfolk Rivers Trust gave the introductory talk, outlining the scope of the Trust’s work and his own role as Volunteer and Engagement Officer. As a result of the interest shown during the evening and the questions asked, Tim is going to work on a plan to visit the catchment and meet some of the people who have land bordering the river. He invited people to contact him to register their interest, ideas and observations, or to inquire about volunteering for the trust
Tim Fisher explains the work of the Norfolk Rivers Trust. Photo: C SharpRodney Aldis, one of the campaigners for the Chet Valley B-Line, then told us about the concept of B-Lines, which were originally devised by Buglife to conserve and increase the dramatically declining numbers of our native pollinators. The aim was to create countrywide networks of wildflower-rich habitats as a food source for all insects. (This in turn supports insect-eating birds, bats, amphibians etc, and so on up the food chain.) Funded by a Water, Mills and Marshes grant, the Chet project took off. The Rivers Trust supplied funding for an area near the headwaters of the River Chet to be seeded with green hay. This is a method of transferring seed from an established native meadow to a newly prepared site in a nearby location, thus preserving local flora. For optimal effect a B-Line should contain ‘stepping stones’ of flower-rich habitat no more than 500m apart along the 3km wide pathways, which enables the insects to fly from one to another. The B-Lines are often situated in river valleys which form a continuous linear structure providing the essential migration, dispersal and genetic exchange of wild species.
The Chet B-Line was the inspiration for Forncett Nature Matters’ interest in creating something similar along the River Tas catchment, in addition to our initial aim of encouraging wildlife corridors throughout our own village. We now have contacts and supporters along the twenty mile length of our river, one of whom, was our next speaker.
The health and biodiversity of our river was addressed by Ross Jolliffe, in his wonderfully illustrated talk about the Tas which borders his property. Wildlife of the water and riverbank were shown in Ross’s fine photos and video. A precious, rare, small colony of native White-clawed Crayfish has been discovered! Countrywide, the survival of this species has been threatened by the invasive American Signal Crayfish; work at Banham and Bristol Zoos is being undertaken to breed our native crayfish for release into suitable areas.
There were brown trout, pike and chubb in an underwater film of the river, and Ross also showed us otters and water voles, as well as a variety of raptors, deer, and much bird life adjacent to the river. The four and a half acres were initially overgrown with willow and choked with a tangled, impenetrable under storey of nettles and brambles which needed cutting back to readmit light and encourage a wider range of flora. Nowadays the area is lightly and sympathetically managed, and winding paths are cut through the vegetation. The results of Ross’s strategy are brilliant for wildlife. You can watch Ross’s short video here
There was much animated discussion following the talks while people enjoyed homemade cake and a cuppa. New contacts were forged and plans for future activities made.
A very big thank you to all our participants. The speakers gave generously of their time and expertise and we are very grateful for their input and willingness to share their knowledge. Thank you to Norman Stevens for organising the tech side of things. It was also good to have on hand Helen Baczkowska of Norfolk Wildlife Trust who has supported us since FNM’s beginnings.
The Tas at Forncett. Photo: Penny Deegan
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- Written by: Christina Wakeford
RECENT EVENTS
Ponds for Wildlife talk - Friday 16th September: This was a beautifully illustrated talk on all aspects of pond construction and planting, by Norman Stevens, showing the steps in making a pond and the wonderful wildlife that have thrived in and around it since.
Autumn Walk and Seed Swap - Saturday 29th October: By the time you read this we will have had our autumn walk, spotting berries and looking at places wildlife will be starting to nestle into for the colder weather. On return we shared seeds we have saved from wildlife friendly plants as well as some actual plants. For pictures and full reports of all events please see our website under Nature Notes.
COMING EVENTS
Butterfly conservation talk Tues 21st February: Zoom 7pm - 9.30pm: A talk given by the Norfolk Butterfly Conservation Trust about the decline of butterflies, the type of flowering plants and habitats they need and what we can do in our gardens to help them. With lots of lovely pics of butterflies of course.
WIDER CONNECTIONS
Norfolk Green Care Network: We are pleased to become members of Norfolk Green Care Network, who welcome all those who are interested or actively involved in fostering activities that in some way deliver ‘nature connection’ for people. We look forward to networking with some of the other groups across the county.
NWT Claylands Wilder Connections project: A couple more workshops left but lots of dates for volunteers to help with hedge planting across the county. Take a look here.
WHAT'S ABOUT
Autumn is the best time for planting trees. For smaller spaces a crabapple is an excellent choice, its gorgeous spring blossom for the pollinating insects followed by decorative red, pink, orange or yellow fruits. Some are good for making crabapple jelly, with any fallen fruits for the birds; other varieties persist on the tree until the new year when they become soft and palatable for blackbirds.
Mahonia, with its sweetly scented yellow flowers from November to March, is a good evegreen shrub, loved by bees when they emerge on mild, sunny days in autumn or winter. It likes semi-shade best; winter flowering hellebores could be planted around it.
Small garden pond, ideal for wildlife. Photo: C WakefordIf you haven’t got a pond for the wildlife to drink from and bathe in, you can provide a shallow container; keep it topped up with fresh water and ice-free in the winter.
Clematis cirrhosa is a lovely winter flowering climber for a sunny sheltered spot, and the scented shrubby winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) is ok in some shade. Both attract the bees. It’s not too late to add some sun-loving crocuses and grape-hyacinths which will flower in early spring ready for the bumble bees.
In October there were several village gardens displaying colourful specimens of Pyracantha, with their masses of yellow, orange or scarlet berries - a wonderful dense shrub which provides shelter, nesting potential and food for the birds, its white flowers in spring alive with beneficial insects. Small birds will roost safely within. You can also get little straw roosting ‘pockets’ online or at a garden centre. It’s amazing how many wrens will snuggle together in them to stay alive in freezing weather.
If you haven’t done so already, consider leaving a sheltered and undisturbed corner of your garden as a wildlife haven. Leave the grass long, add fallen leaves and sticks tucked under a hedge or shrub, and a pile of stones and logs; if you ‘plant’ some of the logs upright in the ground you’ll almost certainly get lesser stag beetles as the cut edges rot, and if you’re really lucky, perhaps a greater stag beetle.
Hedgehogs need to weigh 600g to hibernate successfully. Photo: Jesmond Dene, Creative Commons
Our hedgehogs will be looking for a safe, dry place to hibernate when the weather turns cold. To survive hibernation they ideally need to be 600g+ in weight, so if you find a small one, please call our local Charlie’s Hedgehog Helpline 07835 498970 to be directed to your nearest rescuer.
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- Written by: Christina Wakeford
The weather was unseasonably warm for our October ramble, when a convivial group of us enjoyed looking out for the colourful leaves, fruits and berries of the season. Between us we were able to identify everything.
Autumn colours during the walk.Photo: C SharpThere were also lots of field mushrooms on the grassy track - the warm damp weather being perfect for them. The most dramatic leaves were those of a garden ‘Smoke Bush’ ( Cotinus coggygria), glowing fiery red, overhanging Cheyney’s Lane. The wild shrubs and trees were mostly more subtle shades of gold and yellow, and were decorated with rose hips as well as some very late blackberries. Country lore has it that the Devil spits on the blackberries at Michaelmas, so after that you eat them at your own risk!
Masses of shared seeds to choose from. Photo A RaeWe returned to the Village Hall for tea and homemade cake, and then swapped seeds which had been collected and donated by several supporters - thank you to them. The seeds were wild and garden varieties, all good for pollinating insects, and included some bags of mixed seed from a thriving wildflower meadow. We’ll look forward to seeing them growing in our gardens next year.
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- Written by: Christina Wakeford