09 June 2009, Tuesday

Alexandra Park Family Fun Trail

The fourth weekend in May saw the summer start, glorious sun greeting a stream of families keen to complete the Rangers hidden trail around the lower section of Alexandra Park.

The families had to navigate their way around the park and discover facts and secrets that they never knew existed. Once completed the children could collect a small prize and make a bug house to take home with them.

Filed Under: General
Posted by: Stuart Alexander

13 May 2009, Wednesday

Coastal grassland restoration at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve

The recent work in Warren Glen to remove gorse, bracken and bracken litter may seem drastic but the results can be even more spectacular. Take a look at this video clip of an area of Warren Glen that was scraped a couple of years ago, now a colourful example of coastal cliff-top grassland.

The work to restore cliff-top grassland and heathland at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve has been funded by Natural England.

Filed Under: Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve
Posted by: Andy Phillips

12 May 2009, Tuesday

Coastal Cliff Dormice

Soft rock coastal undercliff has now been confirmed as a dormouse habitat in the south-east. After a couple years of planning, a new dormouse monitoring programme has started at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve. Instead of just monitoring traditional woodland dormice habitats, the young regenerating open scrubby woodland and scrub of the cliff-top and undercliff of Warren Glen was also chosen to study.

The woodland and scrub on the cliff-top and undercliff is in a constant flux of destruction and regeneration due to coastal erosion, and historical maps of the area show that this habitat has existed on the cliff-top and undercliff for long continous periods of time. Whereas mature closed canopy woodland was for long periods very much reduced to what is present at the site today.

It was assumed that the undercliff scrub and woodland was an important habitat for dormice at the site and linked the three gill woodlands creating a large continuous area of dormice habitat but until now this was not proven. Now that a dormouse has been recorded, on the first survey round, using an area of open regenerating scrub on the undercliff we are closer to understanding how dormice use the site. Also the numbers of dormice recorded in other areas of the survey area was very high for this time of year.

This has been a very successful start to the monitoring programme and thanks should go to Martin Newcombe who is supervising the work and to Hastings Ranger Alex Bayley, and volunteers Martin Usher and Ian Standivan for installing the dormouse nest boxes and survey tubes.

Filed Under: Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve
Posted by: Andy Phillips

11 May 2009, Monday

Summerfields Wood Educational Visit

The rangers took a class from St Mary’s Star of the Sea on a fun filled journey around Summerfield’s Wood Local Nature Reserve this May.

A group of 29 children explored the woods through a series of fun activities starting with a ‘Human Tree’ and finishing of by creating a ‘Journey Stick’ to take home. The woods were awash with spring colour and even the baby duckings were on form.

If your school class or group is interested in visiting a green space in Hastings please contact the ranger service on 01424 451050 or email: rangers@hastings.gov.uk

Filed Under: Summerfields Wood
Posted by: Stuart Alexander

01 May 2009, Friday

wildhastings Twitter

Follow the wildhastings Twitter for website updates and edits, select wildlife sightings, new wildlife website links and anything else that might be of interest to wildhastings readers.

twitter.com/wildhastings

Filed Under: General
Posted by: Andy Phillips

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