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Hampton Nature Reserve

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Written by Paul Arestides, Transforming Lives Trainee

As a charity, our aim is to manage our reserves for reptiles and amphibians, this has been very successful, even if I do say so myself! The fact we have the largest number of great crested newts in Europe (globally according to Reserve Warden, Clare and staff member Darren) along with, grass snakes, common lizards and smooth newts on our Hampton reserve is testament to that.

But as a trainee on the Transforming Lives project (funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund), I have also witnessed some amazing wildlife across all our reserves, especially at Hampton. As a keen birder I became very wobbly at the knees on our recent Froglife away day, not only did we have a hobby performing acrobatic flight across the reserve, but was also joined by two peregrines, yes two! It was a breathtaking moment to witness such majesty in the sky over the reserve.

Hampton is also home to many dragonflies, damselflies, moths, butterflies, insects and fauna. I’ve had the privilege of seeing burnet companion, small heath, dingy skipper, four spotted chaser, azure damselfly, green tiger beetle, orchids and many other fascinating wildlife. It’s been an incredible feeling to be a small part of helping to continue the amazing success of this truly unique nature reserve and look forward to seeing the changing landscape over the next few months.

Hampton Nature Reserve is a private site, but there are regular volunteer days where you can help us with site maintenance and species surveys. Contact our Reserve Warden at: clare.middleton@froglife.org for further information or click here.

 

Global Wellness Day

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Written by Eve Goddard, Transforming Lives Trainee

8th June is Global Wellness Day. Its purpose is to ask the question, even if for just one day, “How can I live a healthier and better life?” Since it began in Turkey in 2012, GWD has grown and in 2023 tens of thousands of events took place globally encouraging millions of people to take part in and help celebrate the day.

The theme for the 2024 Global Wellness Day is #MagentaNature and centers around four pillars of the #MagentaNature philosophy:

  1. Eat Natural
    Immerse yourself in the nourishing embrace of natural foods. Let your senses revel in the vibrant colors and flavors that the Earth graciously offers.
    Make every meal a celebration of the diverse, wholesome gifts nature provides.
  2. Be in Nature
    Step into the enchanting realm of the outdoors. Whether it’s a majestic forest, a serene park, or a quiet corner of your garden, allow yourself to be surrounded by the living tapestry of nature. Let the sun kiss your skin, breathe in the crisp air, and let the symphony of nature’s sounds
    become the backdrop to your daily life.
  3. Protect Nature
    Become a guardian of the environment. Take conscious steps to reduce your ecological footprint. Embrace sustainable practices, recycle, and contribute to the well-being of the planet. By protecting nature, you preserve the sanctity of our shared home for generations to come.
  4. Be in Nature (Spiritual)
    Engage in spiritual practices that foster a deep connection with the natural world. Whether through meditation, mindful contemplation, or simply taking moments of stillness in a natural setting, allow your spirit to intertwine with the essence of the Earth. Recognize that you are not separate from nature but an integral part of its grand tapestry.

This sounds like a great initiative to us, we at Froglife are busy protecting our reptiles and amphibians and their habitats and encourage others to do the same. Across the country, we continue engaging all walks of life with the natural world through such projects as the Transforming Lives: Froglife Trainees, and Green Pathways for Life

We support great locations like our Boardwalks and Eye Nature Reserves in Peterborough, these give the public an opportunity to be in nature, both physically and spiritually.

Boardwalks Nature Reserve
Eye Green Nature Reserve

So, this Global Wellness Day, is there anything you could do to? Could you prepare a seasonal meal? Could you encourage a friend to enjoy the outdoors with you? Could you create a wildlife pond- a place for nature and for quiet contemplation? Our Pond Visualiser App could help you take those first steps.

Transforming Lives: Wellies in the Woods

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Froglife’s Transforming Lives Trainees reflect on their experiences shadowing Groundworks and their ‘Wellies in the Woods’ project. 

Written by Vaughan Foulkes-Arnold and Elizabeth Disdel: Transforming Lives Trainees

As part of the Transforming Lives Traineeship, we have had the opportunity to shadow other organisations to see what the sector has in terms of career options. We were kindly invited by Groundworks to see one of their flagship programmes that tried to connect some of the most deprived areas in Peterborough to a natural setting.

We arrived at Central Park in Peterborough to observe week one of ‘Wellies in the Woods’ a group session for adults with very young children that aims to promote confidence in parents to engage in outdoor activities with their families. The session was structured in a way to make everyone feel at ease, so the main activity of reading the fantastic story ‘Superworm’ was followed by a little hunt around the trees and shrubbery for cards we had placed with creatures that could be found in the book.

The session’s location had the benefit of the large amount of Squirrels, one of which took a tomato from my hands, to the amusement of the children (and adults). It was impressive to see the improvement in confidence in one session from the attendees. 

As part of the day, Hannah, the session leader, provided pots with magnifying glasses to see insects more closely, which makes the experience more exciting, more interactive and personal to the participants. We have been asked to return in 8 weeks to see the final session and it will be interesting to see the changes in confidence and engagement.

-Vaughan- 

When working in some parts of conservation, I think that you can get a little bit stuck in a ‘mechanics’ mindset. By this, I mean that you become very obsessed with the nitty gritty of certain parts of your reserve – should I remove all of those reeds? Where is the best place to build that hibernacula? When was the last time we desilted the pond? This is all incredibly important and vital work, and without it, our Nature Reserves would not flourish as they do. However, sometimes it is nice to have the opportunity to take a step back, and look at the whole picture, rather than the individual brush strokes.

For me, taking a step back looked like shadowing Groundworks during their ‘Wellies in the Woods’ project, spending time with the young people taking their first stumbles and tentative steps into outdoor spaces; watching toddlers scoop up handfuls of leaves and being nose to nose with a crawling woodlouse. It is spending time with people outdoors like this that I am reminded that conservation is more than the everyday work that goes into ensuring that natural spaces are kept habitable for the wildlife they support. A huge part of conservation is grassroots – it starts with the small humans! The more we show them how lovely wild spaces are, ensure they feel safe and secure in them, and show them how to take care of nature, the more young people will grow up with an innate investment in the world around them; they will WANT to look after their local greenspaces!

Spending time with Hannah, an outdoor learning leader from Groundwork, was an excellent opportunity to see young people connecting with nature and we look forward to coming back again to see their progress. Thank you to Hannah and Groundwork hosting us!

-Elizabeth-

 

 

 

Work Experience Blog

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My name is Katie and I am thankful for having the opportunity to do my work experience at Froglife, the past few days have helped me to learn about both office and practical skills that I may need for future jobs. I have improved my knowledge of how to read and input data such as surveys, and I have also developed my communication skills by helping Briony to deliver sessions in schools.

Monday 21st June 2021: My first day working at Froglife was Monday and the first thing that I did was some office work where I sorted some session feedback. I then sat in a meeting about the conservation of great crested newts with a guest speaker. After that Briony and I headed to Nacro in Peterborough for our first session where they built and painted birdhouses and butterfly houses to put up in the garden. We then came back to the office where I looked through some of Froglife’s photos and created some social media posts.

Tuesday 22nd June 2021: On Tuesday morning I typed up some session feedback and then continued to create a few more social media posts. We then went to a primary school in Whittlesey for our second session of the week where the class were taught about the life cycle of a newt. We then went to the school’s outdoor area where they planted blackthorn tree saplings around the edge and then they built a hibernaculum near the woodland area. Afterwards, we came back to the office where I created a staff survey on survey monkey and then we went for a site visit at Nene Valley community centre before the end of the day.

Wednesday 23rd June 2021: today is my last day of work experience at Froglife and I have done some office work. First I typed up some survey data about reptile conservation into excel and then corrected any errors I made in the survey I created on Monday and then finally I have typed up this blog.

Local Funding Helps Pond Take Shape

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Wildlife conservation charity, Froglife has now completed a programme of work to create a wildlife area around an existing pond, with a £500 grant awarded by the WestRaven Big Local Community Grant at the WestRaven community garden in Ravensthorpe.

The creation of the wildlife area and pond area (additional larger pond is part of future work due to take place later this year) is a valuable asset to the community garden by providing an educational tool for local residents and other users of the garden including young people taking part in Froglife’s BBC Children in Need funded Green Pathways project. Froglife aims to teach as many people as possible about the extensive biodiversity and benefits of a simple garden pond and providing habitats for local wildlife.

Green Pathways is a youth project providing practical outdoor activities with young people aged 5-18 in Peterborough, Northamptonshire and the Fenland district. The project supports those with extra difficulties in their lives to improve green spaces for wildlife and people; and learn about and enjoy the environment.

By raising awareness of ponds and demonstrating what a great feature they are in a garden Froglife aims to inspire local people to create their own ponds at home. Froglife also hope to encourage people to get outside and become more active, as this has proven to reduce stress, improve mental health and enhance fitness. This project will benefit local residents as well as teaching good habits to the next generation for a healthier future.

The funds awarded have been used to buy materials to make wildlife homes, provide additional fencing, and enhance the existing fencing around the pond site. It has also been used to purchase two benches so people can sit and relax and enjoy this much improved area. The construction and painting of the wildlife homes, bench and the fencing has all been carried out by young people on the Green Pathways project.  

“The children have really enjoyed assembling the benches, and changing them from plain brown to the multi-coloured eye-catching design they are now” said their teacher Adam Billitt

“We got to use a saw and a drill to make a bird box which was great and then we painted pictures on that we thought would attract the birds” said one of the young people

“It’s great to teach the young people new skills and make a huge difference to wildlife and a community at the same time” said Froglife’s Learning Officer

To find out more about the Green Pathways Project visit: http://www.froglife.org/what-we-do/green-pathways/peterborough/

Bags of Help

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Bags logoTesco has teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative in hundreds of regions across England and Wales. The scheme will see three community groups and projects in each of these regions awarded grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag charge.

Bags of Help offers community groups and projects in each of Tesco’s 390 regions across the UK a share of revenue generated from the five pence charge levied on single-use carrier bags. The public will now vote in store from 27 February until 6 March on who should receive the £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 awards.

Froglife have been selected in the East Anglian region for visitor infrastructure and habitat works at the Boardwalks Nature Reserve in Peterborough. Please look out in your local stores in this region for your chance to vote.

www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp

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