Varsity Volunteers

This year the Woodland Trust set up it’s first ‘Varsity Volunteers’ group for students of Exeter and Plymouth Universities, aimed at offering nature conservation opportunities on Dartmoor, meaningful practical work experience and a platform for networking for students. Rosy Stanesby, who attended all of the events has written a blog about her time with the group: I have had the awesome experience of becoming a Woodland Trust Varsity Volunteer this winter. With a fantastic bunch of people, we have madeRead more

Time shows overall success for nest box breeding birds

2022 was the 68th year of monitoring nest boxes at Yarner Wood, and the tally of monitored Pied flycatcher nests has now surpassed 3000 !. As previously blogged about https://wordpress.com/post/eastdartmoorwoods.org/15286, nest boxes were originally provided in 1955 to research nest height choice by tits. The boxes attracted pied flycatchers to breed at the reserve for the first time, and so have been maintained and monitored ever since. Today, weekly nest monitoring is carried out by a group of Natural England staffRead more
2 Comments

Did You Know Dormice Snore?

Did you know Hazel Dormice snore? No, I didn’t either until last week when I looked down on an amber ball of fur, pink feet neatly curled, eyes firmly shut and black tail end gripped like a miniature feather duster. The noise was the exact sort of high-pitched sigh you’d imagine from these little snoozers. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a snort of glee. I needn’t have bothered as there was no waking him. The licensedRead more
1 Comment

A Focus on Lichens and What They Need

The East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve (NNR) is special for many things, and one of them is lichens. Therefore, we were very fortunate that as part of the Festival of NNRs Granite Elements held an exhibition titled ‘Focus on Lichens: a Weekend of Art and Science‘ on 11th and 12th June at The Woodland Centre situated in Yarner Wood. Please see the summary by Clare Benson (Granitite Elements). “Lichens are all around us, but are easily overlooked. This exhibition wasRead more

Moth Night at Yarner Wood

Devon Moth Group help celebrate Yarner Wood’s species richness on 20th May 2022 Nineteen people gathered for the first Devon Moth Group field meeting of the year and to celebrate national Moth Night. The theme of this year’s Moth Night was woodland, so Yarner Wood, part of the East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve, was a fitting location and we’re grateful to the warden Albert Knott for facilitating the event. Thirteen traps of various designs were deployed along rides radiating fromRead more

Nice Day for a Bio-blitz

1952 was a landmark year for Yarner Wood and, as a fine example of an upland western oak wood it became England’s first ever National Nature Reserve. Over time, the area protected for Dartmoor’s wildlife has expanded and now the East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve also includes the heaths, bogs and streams of Trendlebere Down that connect with ribbons of mixed woodland flowing along the Bovey Valley. After a significant 7 decades of protecting the habitats and species of EastRead more