Thank you so much to Jacquie from the IOW Hedgehog rescue who came to talk to us about our graveyard habit, its suitability for hedgehogs and how we might encourage them to come and stay.
https://www.facebook.com/saveourhedgehogs/
After a very helpful question and answer session we all had a wander round and she chatted about the different environments, the glow worms and the possible siting of a pond. Jacquie felt that the area was ideal for hedgehogs but was a little concerned about their impact on the glow worm population…. hedgehogs eat insects and insect larvae! We will be doing a lot more research on this and getting in expert advise on how to maximize the habitat for the glow worms.
We had a good look once again at the trees and saw that we have a good selection of standards coming through. We are lacking in hazel and could do with some more hedgerows. Jacquie also suggested fruit trees like damsons and greengages for the insects and we all liked the idea of that. We also felt that more ‘rides’ crossing through the old section of graves would improve the habitat.
Sandra continues to collect the data for the plant species and the list is comprehensive and very long.
We decided on the location of the pond to be dug and we will be following this up soon with our groundsman.
The Haven Eco-Church 