About Us
Wild About Loddiswell Video Review of 2023 - photos contributed by members to our Facebook page
Having held our AGM on 20th February 2024 which included an excellent talk by Kelvin Boot , please see below the slide show that was playing during the meeting.
Faced with the grim consequences of climate change, many of us wonder what we can do to make a difference and it's easy to feel powerless. But there are things that we can all do at home, which might seem small, but could really make a difference, especially if we work together.
In the autumn of 2021 a small group of like minded individuals in the village, with a common interest in wildlife and conservation, came together to plan some exciting projects which will enhance the biodiversity in and around the village, improving it for wildlife and the enjoyment of the community.
We will be working to conserve Ham Butts, which is already a great habitat for wildlife, ensuring that it is managed in the best possible way for wildlife, working with the Primary School which has its forest school there. We have several ideas for the site which will involve planting a few more trees. Existing pathways will be maintained, information signs provided and wildlife surveys conducted. We hope also to enhance the verges at either end with wildflowers along with the island with the bench.
We also plan to restore and enhance with native wildflowers the roadside verges around the village, improving their aesthetic quality and biodiversity value.
We have other exciting plans for green spaces in the village and will be encouraging residents to make their gardens more wildlife friendly. We will be creating wildlife corridors, hedgehog highways and taking other measures to increase connectivity.
We will be working closely with the Devon Wildlife Trust's Avon Valley Project and have already received valuable advice from Lynne Kenderdine who leads the project. We are very fortunate to have several experts in the fields of wildlife, conservation and ecology living in the parish - their expertise is invaluable and will ensure that the projects are managed in the best possible way.
We would like to involve the whole community and very much hope that you will join us in this initiative, we need plenty of volunteers! We would also welcome any suggestions and questions.
We hope to build on previous events and hold further events such as bat walks, an evening with a moth expert and moth trap, talks by wildlife experts and more.
We are very fortunate to have some very special wildlife, both flora and forna, in the Avon Valley and its catchment, much of it rare and endangered. it would be lovely to have a community effort to preserve it for future generations.
Once it's gone, it's gone......we must work together to conserve our green spaces, protect our wildlife and keep our village and parish beautiful.
Our Aims
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To enhance the biodiversity of the green spaces in and around Loddiswell, to improve them for wildlife and the enjoyment and well being of the local community
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In the wild areas to use only native trees, plants and seeds, with local provenance where possible
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To be open and inclusive to the whole community
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To support and encourage residents and businesses to value and improve their local environments and to make their gardens more wildlife friendly.
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To increase connectivity, for example by creating wildlife corridors and hedgehog highways.
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To provide information and encourage residents to live more sustainably.
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To protect our green spaces from unnecessary development.
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To seek advice from Devon Wildlife Trust and to work alongside the Avon Valley Project.
Projects
Tree Planting at Ham Butts
Five trees have been planted at Ham Butts with the children from the primary school's forest school. Already a wild area, it will be sensitively managed for wildlife. Nearby verges will be enhanced with native wildflowers
Restoring our Roadside Verges
We plan to restore and enhance, where necessary, the roadside verges around the village with native wildflowers, thereby improving the biodiversity. Seed will be sourced locally. Care will be taken to cut them at the correct time of year.
Please click on the links below for more information
Other Projects
The Old School Field - please see the section below for the current situation.
We have planted wild daffodils, snowdrops and English bluebells around the trees on the Courtledge and hope, with permission from the Parish Council, to create some beds with herbs and bee and butterfly friendly flowers. Already a lovely wild area, we are working in conjunction with SHDC and the Church PCC to help manage the Parish Churchyard for wildflowers and wildlife.
The Old School Field
The old school field has been left untouched for several years and is rewilding itself beautifully. It already has a rich diversity of wildflowers and its tussocky grass is an ideal hunting ground for barn owls, which are frequently seen there. An ecological survey has recorded, amongst others, resident dormice, slow worms and hedgehogs. It is also a foraging area for very rare bats: greater and lesser horseshoe and barbastelle have been recorded there.
It is the last, real, green space in the centre of the village and it seems a great shame for DCC to shoehorn more houses into it, which is their intention. It would be lovely if this could be kept as a sanctuary for wildlife and for the enjoyment of the village, accessible to all. Our thoughts for the field are:
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To manage the spinney for both people and wildlife
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To create a community orchard
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Create a wildflower meadow
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Create a pond
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Maintain the hedges for wildlife
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Create an area for well-being, where people can sit quietly and connect with nature.
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