Category: Wildlife Conservation
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Sycamore class visits Hirst Meadow
On 20th November 2023, the St Mary Bourne school children from Sycamore Class visited Hirst Meadow to plant four juniper trees. The juniper trees had been planted in pots in 2022, by the previous year’s Sycamore Class and they were now ready to be planted out into their final positions in Hirst Meadow. The school…
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The Remarkable Journey of the Toads
In our tranquil village of St. Mary Bourne, a heartwarming spectacle unfolds every year as dusk settles in – the migration of toads. These resilient amphibians embark on an extraordinary journey, returning to their ancestral birthplace. Despite facing numerous obstacles along the way, including the main road through St Mary Bourne, the toads persist, driven…
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Unveiling the New Hirst Meadow Sign
Last week the children of Sycamore class from St Mary Bourne Primary School, helped us unveil the new sign and information board at Hirst Meadow. Sustainable Bourne Valley (SBV) has been slowly and steadily transforming an unused plot of land in the centre of St Mary Bourne into a haven for wildlife, creating a habitat…
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Dark Skies in The Bourne Valley
For billions of years, all life has relied on Earth’s predictable rhythm of day and night. This rhythm is encoded in the DNA of all plants and animals, including us. Humans have radically disrupted this cycle by lighting up the night sky. Plants and animals depend on Earth’s daily cycle of light and dark to…
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The Lake & Bourne Rivulet Survey 2021 – Butterfly, Dragonfly & Damselfly Report
Between April and October 2021, a survey was conducted at the Lake in St Mary Bourne (the “Lake”) and the adjoining Bourne Rivulet. The objective was to establish a baseline for butterfly, dragonfly, and damselfly populations. While ideally conducted in 2020 before habitat management changes, the one-year difference is not expected to impact the findings…