Monday 9 May 2011

Volunteer Lookers Needed

For several years cattle have grazed Elvetham Heath and Fleet Pond. Recently we have also started grazing parts of Hazeley Heath.
A ranger checks the fencing and cattle on the various sites every day, but we need people to keep an eye on the cattle at the weekend and evenings in particular.

Lookers are generally local people who use a particular site a few times a week for dog walking or exercise, and while they are doing so, they keep an eye out for the cattle or any problems such as damaged gates or fencing. They then contact a member of the Countryside team if they spot anything. It’s as simple as that!

It’s a great opportunity if you want to do some volunteer work but can’t give up lots of your time, if you want to get involved with the management of your local nature reserve, or even if you are thinking about working in the countryside sector. We have a dedicated blog for the lookers, which is easily updated via email and free training for everyone.

So if you are interested in becoming a volunteer looker at Elvetham Heath, Fleet Pond or Hazeley Heath, or for any more information about the grazing, please call us on 01252623443 or email Grazing.Project@hart.gov.uk or countryside@hart.gov.uk.

Friday 6 May 2011

Odiham Common Springs into life

Hi everyone, now is a great time to get out and about and see Odiham Common at its best. There are lots of water avens out in the southern meadows near the canal and large numbers of flowers coming out throughout the meadows.

Some areas of srub were removed last winter to take the meadows back to their original extents and increase the native grassland habitat. The regrowth of scrub in these areas will be cut and treated over the next few weeks.

Once we have had some rain there should be an explosion of butterflys and flowers with the forester moth apearing any time from now on until the end of June. These day flying emerald green moths are well worth hunting out as they are so beutiful. Look for them on pink or purple flowers such as ragged robin and knap weed.

For more information on the Common see the Odiham Common web page at www.hart.gov.uk in the leisure section.