North Cave’s Brilliant Bug Hunt
Look under leaves, search under stones and turn over twigs on the hunt for interesting insects.
A great looking event from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust!
Sign up at Eventbrite.
Big Butterfly Count 2024
Butterflies are an important indicator species for biodiversity health, and because their short lifespans is quick to respond to environmental changes such as global heating.
Butterfly Conservation is running its annual Big Butterfly Count again this year, a UK-wide survey aimed at helping assess the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) that can be seen. Please take some time out to take part in this vital annual count (and if you snap any good shots be sure to get them uploaded to iNaturalist too!).
MWN and friends visit Molescroft Primary School
MWN and Wolds Hedgehog Rescue Centre visited Molescroft Primary School by on the 5th June 2024, this generated a lovely write up in the Molescroft Primary School July newsletter, which you can download here.
Molescroft Grange Community Allotments visit
Molescroft Wildlife Network accepted a kind invitation from Molescroft Grange Community Allotments to visit their allotment site.
Molescroft Grange Community Allotments was set up on a four acre field on Molescroft Farm Estate that was too small for the large machinery used in modern arable farming. The allotments are managed by the not-for-profit arm of the main farm, Molesfarm Community Projects. This business also receives funding for transport to Open Farm School Days for disadvantaged children, and the initial startup funding came from the National Lottery’s “Awards for All” in 2012.
We discussed how the allotment community are working to improve biodiversity on the site, whilst keeping the allotments productive and showed an impressive wildflower meadow area, and a rapidly establishing pond ecosystem that was buzzing with inverterbrate activity. MWN members old and new had a fantastic walk around the allotments, and look forward to working with the Molescroft Grange Community Allotments in future.
This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing
After a visit to the Molescroft Grange Community Allotments this week by MWN, it was only fitting that the daughter of one of our founding members released a wonderful book “This Allotment” edited by Sarah Rigby.
This Allotment brings together thirteen brilliant contemporary writers in a glorious celebration of these entirely unique spaces: plots that mean so much more than the soil upon which they sit.
Make biodiversity an election priority
We know that not everyone wants to talk about politics, or the election, but one of the best ways to campaign for change that impacts biodiversity, and our local wildlife landscape, is to let those who are keen to secure your vote, what your expectations are for them.
The Yorkshire Rewilding Network has a great piece about how to engage over the election cycle!
YRN would like your help to tell every political candidate in Yorkshire:
- how important nature recovery is
- how rewilding can play a massive part in that recovery
- that you want government policies and action that enable nature to thrive
Read the full article here. And don’t forget your photo ID on polling day!
Transform eco-anxiety into eco-action
If environmental concerns feel overwhelming, engaging in personal eco-action can be a constructive approach. Springwatch and the Open University are interested in a piece of citizen science research with people their sharing experiences of eco-anxiety and eco-action. Volunteers are invited to explore, participate, and contribute to making a difference.
This initiative aims to foster a deeper connection with nature through various transformative actions. From hands-on activities to mindful moments in nature, discover practical ways to manage eco-anxiety while contributing to environmental protection and enhancement.
Check out the Springwatch page, or download the Mindful Moments booklet online.
Join us for a bioblitz of St Mary’s Graveyard!
Save the date: 13th June
Join MWN and the Hull Natural History Society as we participate in a bioblitz of St Mary’s Graveyard to support Caring for God’s Acre in their “Love your Burial Ground” week.
Please see more details about the event on the CFGA website.
Tophill Low open day: 9th June
Tophill Low Nature Reserve is having its annual open day on Sunday 9th June.
Admission to the reserve is FREE for this event. The day will start at 10am and finish at 4pm with a whole range of conservation organisations taking part. There are twenty five organisations that will be setting out their stalls and be able to tell visitors all about the work that they do in the area and further afield. Organisations such as Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, East Riding countryside service, In Focus optics and Experience Community highlight the range of information available.
For more information see the Tophill Low Nature Reserve website.