British Naturalists' Society CCNR Article

Earlier this year, I was asked to write an article for the British Naturalists' Society. As I am passionate about the Calne Community Nature Reserve, I decided that this would be my topic of choice.

To ensure that the article isn't behind a paywall, I have reproduced the article below. Many thanks to the BNA for publishing my article.


Sowing the seed

For over a decade I have had Myalgic encephalomyelitis, which often leaves me housebound, and, fortunately less often these days stuck in bed for a day or two at a time.

Being forced to slow down and take each day as it comes allowed me discover the wonderful world of botany. Over time this developed into a greater understanding of the natural world and the struggles it is facing.

As the years progressed, through the frustration of not being able to get out and be productive in the community, I began online projects, followed by volunteering for local charities, before becoming a Town Councillor for Calne in 2021. This platform has allowed me to push for more tree planting and sensitive use of the land that the council own.

A friend and colleague told me of the Felixstowe Community Nature Reserve in July 2021. This project run by Dr Adrian Cooper, with the aim of creating a combined nature reserve the same area of a football pitch, out of the gardens and allotments of local people, really caught my attention.

I set to work immediately, creating a Facebook page and submission form for residents of the Calne Community Area to pledge their wildlife-friendly space to a Calne Community Nature Reserve.

 

Germination of the project

As pledges came in, I realised that it was important to take the online pledges and turn them into real world action.

I began by creating a graphic entitled ‘Can a single plant make a difference?’. This highlighted the success of a single teasel plant that had self-sown in my back garden, in a gap between wall and concrete. Along with identifying some of the invertebrate species that had discovered and used the plant, I used a piece of research that indicates that the humble teasel may be able to digest invertebrates, taken in additional nutrients to increase seed set and seed mass by up to 30%. With this single plant, I wanted to highlight that even a small space can become a wildlife-friendly space.

Bee on Teasel
Next, I contacted local experts and enthusiasts to contribute articles on single topics. The aim of which is to provide solid and sensible advice for people to follow when gardening to support hedgehogs, swifts, etc. With one lovely piece on providing a space of butterflies by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Conservation Lead for North Wiltshire, who happens to be a local resident that has pledged his garden to the reserve.

To further support those wanting to garden for wildlife, I have initiated a series of graphics advising people of five wildlife-friendly gardening jobs that they can be doing that season.

With every item I publish, I find it important to include a call to action, something that readers can do right now.

Whether that be installing swift boxes where appropriate, or creating a pile of fallen leaves to leave over winter as a home for hibernating animals, which can lead on to providing encouragement for the leaf pile to be left even longer to encourage detritivores, it’s important to ensure that the call to action can be followed as soon as possible.

To support this action, I have setup an activity on iRecord to allow those within the Calne Community Nature Reserve area to record the species that they discover in their gardens, allotments, etc.

Finally, I wanted to support the wellbeing of those at home, who may not be able to get out and either garden for wildlife or record the species in their space. I found a 2015 study in the Netherlands that discovered stress could be lowered by simply looking at pictures of nature. With this in mind, I set up a YouTube channel. This includes helpful evidence-based information, along with ‘Mindful Minutes’. These Mindful Minutes are clips of nature often taken from areas of our community nature reserve. The clips are used together with relaxing music to provide a short window for mindfulness meditation.

 

Eight months on and future growth

As the UK’s 16 million gardens take up over 10 million acres of land, more than all of our National Nature Reserves combined the Calne Community Nature Reserve (CCNR) offers a way to pool together the patches of land that we privately own and begin to provide a joined up natural network within the Calne Community Area, using evidence-led wildlife-friendly gardening.

CCNR Map

We are now close to 70%, or 4455 square metres of the 6,400 square metres required to meet the size of an adult football pitch.

The nature reserve habitat types consist of the following areas: Garden, Allotment, Bug Hotels / Insect Lodges, Hedgerow, Nesting Boxes, Pond, Window box or containers. The spaces pledged start from 1 square metre all the way up to 1,714 square metres, with even the smallest of the 45 pledged places providing a much-needed oasis in the sea of tarmac we are surrounded with in our built-up areas.

Many of the social media posts that I publish reach hundreds of people in the local area, with some recent posts reaching around 2,000 people each, with interaction growing, showing that the interest is there.

However, social media platforms are not the only outlets I’ve used for engagement. Other platforms include a BBC Wiltshire radio interview, an article in the Town Council’s magazine which is delivered to all residents, along with various leaflets that I have written by request for local organisations.

The project is currently in its eighth month and the scope is already beginning to widen. From germinating seeds for a local volunteer project along the nearby Abberd Brook, to discussions with Wiltshire Council regarding reducing the mowing schedule of the Calne bypass verge, to assisting with the potential creation of a ‘Friends’ group for the Town Gardens, with the aim of increasing pollinator-friendly planting and education.

It feels important to engage in discussions that take in other spaces. To bridge tarmac desert that separates gardens and the more open green spaces in and around the town.

 

Even tiny spaces for wildlife can make a difference.

Conclusion

For anyone wanting an update on the teasel that helped launch, and garner interest in, this project. Although dead, It is still in place. It will continue to provide a structure for spiders to create webs and be an educational piece for my children. The rosette of leaves that became clear at the end of last year has now produced some stems with flower buds, providing a new generation of teasel in such an unlikely place.

It seems clear that what started as a desktop exercise to provide some social engagement regarding the creation of safe spaces for our wildlife has taken root in the local community.

I recently received an invitation by Wiltshire Council to attend their workshop titled ‘Community Local Nature Recovery Strategy Pilot’, as the representative for the CCNR project, along with other local organisations. This pilot scheme has the potential to influence strategy throughout Wiltshire, for my part, I will be highlighting the aims and successes of initiatives such as the Community Nature Reserve.

The Calne Community Nature Reserve project has grown to advocate, educate, and support wildlife-friendly spaces, in both privately-owned and public spaces. I will push these aims as far as possible in an endeavour to bridge the gap between gardens and other spaces to create the mosaic of appropriate habitats that our struggling species need – not just to survive, but to thrive.

 

For more information, please visit:

https://linktr.ee/calnecommunitynaturereserve

 

 

Sources:

Carnivory in the Teasel Dipsacus fullonum — The Effect of Experimental Feeding on Growth and Seed Set. 2022. Carnivory in the Teasel Dipsacus fullonum — The Effect of Experimental Feeding on Growth and Seed Set. [ONLINE] Available at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0017935. [Accessed 16 March 2022].

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2022. Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Viewing Green and Built Settings. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4690962/. [Accessed 16 March 2022].

British Trust for Ornithology. 2022. Explore your garden this spring with Gardenwatch | BTO - British Trust for Ornithology. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.bto.org/community/news/201905-explore-your-garden-spring-gardenwatch. [Accessed 17 March 2022].


Calne Tree of the Year 2022

 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫!



We know that trees are essential to our health and well-being and can be beautiful and interesting as in the case of the Indian Bean trees planted in Calne town centre to celebrate Twinning.
Nominate your favourite tree or group of trees in Calne for the Tree of the Year competition and be in with the chance winning a prize - including a tree planted in one of Calne’s public spaces.
Your chosen tree can be growing anywhere – a street, park, or garden but must be visible to the public. It can be old or young, large or small, and to nominate it you don’t need to know the species.
Calne Town Council’s Amenities, Conservation and Sustainability Manager will inspect all nominations and the winner will be decided by the Calne in Bloom Working Group judges.
The aim of this special competition is to help people take more notice of their environment with special emphasis on trees.
To make a submission, and submit a photo visit https://www.calne.gov.uk/tree-comp/
alternatively, scan the QR code.
Find us on Facebook to learn more about our work and how to get involved:

New Ceramic Art installed at Beach Terrace in Calne

I am pleased to announce that the ceramic tile designs have now been installed at Beach Terrace.

The tiles that were previously installed had disappeared over the years, with a single bat tile the only reminder of what once was. The previous collection of ceramic creatures were created under the direction of David Reeves.

The new tiles continue the nature theme with species that can be found at various points along the river Marden.

Thanks to the artists, Richard Cowdy, Vivien ap Rhys Price and Robert MacNaughton. Also to the Calne Town Council grounds team for installation. Special thanks to my wife, Lucy, for her vision in originating this project.

Viewing these tiles in person is recommended, however a short video of the tiles can be seen here:




This brings our Beach Terrace Project to a successful close.
They will feature in the upcoming Calne Public Art Trail later this year.

Calne Public Art Trail - Update

As part of our 2021 funding package from Calne Town Council, we are updating the c.2000 Calne Public Art Trail.

Along with updating the leaflet with some of the fantastic new art that has been created and installed in Calne since 2000, we are creating an interactive map with everything we don't have space for in the leaflet.


Creating an interactive map is allowing us to include extensive information about each piece of art, along with photographs and video content. 

We are excited to include some of the public art of our neighbouring parishes of Calne Without, Bremhill, Cherhill, and Hilmarton. Many of the pieces showing the historic connections between the parishes and beyond.


We are hoping to have the leaflet available in the autumn and will keep you all updated.