Notice Board
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IW Bioblitz 2013
added 9 May 2013 This year’s Bioblitz is planned to take place on Tuesday 28th May in Yarmouth from 10am to 4pm. The recording hub and information point will be based at the Eco-challenger and marquee on Yarmouth Green. A number of local organisations are attending including the Wildlife Trust, Wight Squirrel Project, Natural Enterprise, Medina Valley Centre, Wight Nature Fund and various activities and walks are planned. The recording area includes Norton Spit, Saltern Wood, Mill Copse, the northern part of the cycleway and the town of Yarmouth Over 900 species have previously been recorded from the target area. Some of these species won’t be around in May but there are still plenty of things to look for. Some groups are definitely under-recorded, so whatever your interest, please do some recording and let us know what you find. Expert help will be on hand to assist with identification. Previous species totals for Bioblitzes are Firestone Copse 447 (2010) Brading Down 330 (2011) and Compton 396 (2012). Click here for a poster. |
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"In the Wild" Photography Competition
added 2 Apr 2013 This group has been set up to encourage young photographers on the Isle of Wight to take photographs of the wonderful animals/insects, landscapes and plants of the Isle of Wight. For further details and to enter, click here. |
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Help Needed!
added 3 Jan 2013 Picture Library The IWNHAS have identified some important tasks that need to be undertaken in the next year. Following the changeover to our new website, we urgently need someone to take on the task of editing our vast picture library and making an update and cogent picture reference site to run on the website. This will enable our members to access some of our brilliant pictures taken over the years. Access to the Countryside Group. Colin Black has stepped down from this Group and we thank him for all his hard work over the years. However, we are looking for a Leader or Leaders for this Group. Please contact the Thursday Office, by phone (01983 282596) or e mail (iwnhas@btconnect.com) and someone will get back to you. |
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Help protect the Island's orchards Would you like to help protect the Island's traditional orchards? Then make a date in your diaries for 22 March 2011. The West Wight Landscape Partnership (WWLP) are helping the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) put the Island on the map of their national survey of traditional orchards. So what's special about a 'traditional' orchard? The trees are usually larger, grown on more vigorous rootstocks, and more widely spaced than in more recent orchards. They're not treated with pesticides or artificial fertilisers. That makes them a great habitat for wildlife, which is why PTES are interested, and why traditional orchards are a priority habitat for Biodiversity Action Plans. Traditional orchards may also be a refuge for rare or local varieties, they're beautiful, and of course they can produce delicious crops of fruits and nuts. PTES have identified over 200 possible sites across the whole Island, but so far volunteers have only checked about 20 of these on the ground. More volunteers are needed to find out whether those sites really are traditional orchards, and if so whether they're in good condition. Only when we know what we've got can we protect our traditional orchards and then manage them so that they can keep providing a home for our wildlife. If you know of any traditional orchards on the Island, please let WWLP or PTES know just in case any have been missed in the initial PTES survey. A training day for volunteer orchard surveyors will be held at The beautiful North Court gardens include one of the best traditional orchards on the Island. The training day is free, but you do need to book. To find out more and book your place, ring the West Wight Landscape Partnership on 759779 or email orchards@wwlp.co.uk. You can find out more about the traditional orchard survey here. |
Apple blossom. © HH
An old Apple tree. © HH
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