Towards the end of November, walking the footpath northwest towards Weaveland Farm, I noticed a bright red poppy in bloom in the stubbles of the adjacent field. Scanning the area, I realised that there were hundreds of them blooming throughout the field.

Climate change is affecting the number of plants that we can expect to see in the winter months. In some cases, a mild autumn will allow plants to flower later into the early winter than is normal; in others, a lack of frost or extended cold spells can encourage spring species to flower early.

In 2012, the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI) started promoting an annual hunt for plants in flower during a four-day period over New Year – the New Year Plant Hunt. This has become increasingly popular and, in recent years, over 2500 participants recorded lists of flowering plants from over 1,700 locations across Britain and Ireland. Initially, it was set up as a bit of fun for botanists at a quiet time of the year. Now, a decade on, it is helping to build up a picture of how our flora is responding to changing weather patterns.

Between 30th December and 2nd January, participants are asked to count all native and non-native plants in flower seen on a walk of no more than three hours, excluding species obviously planted in gardens. Many of the species most frequently seen are common, well-known ones, such as Daisy, Dandelion, Dead Nettle, Groundsel and Gorse. The BSBI provides Spotter Sheets with pictures of the Top 10 and Top 20 most frequently seen flowers to help identification. You could also take photos and then try to identify the flowers when you get home. Hunters are then asked to enter records of their sightings on the BSBI website where they can also see other records coming in (www.bsbi.org/new-year-plant-hunt).

This month, we are collating the results of the plant hunt by our members into a group response and are offering a prize for the best pictures taken from those under 10 and between 10 and 21 years of age. Keep an eye on our online media for an update on this!

Naturally, sheltered locations in the south tend to yield more species than exposed ones in the north, but amazingly some hunters have found more than 70 species. Urban areas can provide a “heat island” effect, so it might be easier to find flowers in the walls and alongside paths in the village. Taking part in the hunt is a good excuse to get out for a walk after the festivities, and the results will contribute to the wider nationwide study; it will also be interesting to see the effects of the recent weather.

Andrew Graham

Photo (c) Wiltshirewildlife.org
We are very proud of our committee member Debbie Carter, who was recently awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award (jointly with Andrew, her husband) at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s volunteer celebration event on the 1st of December 2023.

The Committee and Oysters Coppice volunteer group are extremely grateful to Debbie (and Andrew!), for their dedication to nature conservation, protecting our local natural sites and helping others learn about our local wildlife through all these years.
You can read more about the awards on Wiltshire's Wildlife Trust website:
https://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/news/volunteer-awards-2023.

And you can also listen to an interview with Debbie which was broadcasted on BBC Radio Wiltshire's Sue Davis programme. This can be listened as a podcast of the 08 Dec 2023, minute 2:40 (available for 29 days on BBC Sounds):   https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gsw1tf

Inés López-Dóriga

John Akeroyd, who described himself as a botanist and field taxonomist, has a lifetime's experience of working with plants and a focus for the last 20 years on dry grasslands in Romania. The latter is an example of species-rich temperate grasslands which are extremely important for their diversity, although they are becoming rarer. Thankfully, given a chance, nature will return and flourish and it is the mixed agricultural landscapes which have proven to be the most diverse.

With numerous illustrations and amusing asides, John described how important the plants around us are to our economy, our health and how their flowers and foliage have been absorbed into our cultures. While many of our staple food plants such as wheat, barley, flax, and olive oil derive from plants which spread out from the fertile crescent, others which have gone on to dominate world food trade such as maize, haricot beans, potatoes and squash originate in the Americas. Success or otherwise of crops, and the spread of crop disease has had an impact on history as has the exploitation of crops and people for trade.

Plants or their flowers and foliage are often potent symbols of nations or culture for example the Scottish thistle, the English rose, the Irish Shamrock and the Welsh daffodil and leek.

At a time when sustainability is key, plants that can be used then recycled such as cork, hessian, or paper are important contributors. Since early times plants have had a vital role in medicines first as herbal remedies or even contraceptives and more recently as sources of compounds providing the inspiration of synthetic drugs.

John showed us that while it is easy to take all the plants around us for granted, they play multiple essential roles in our world.

Andrew Graham

We shall be starting earlier than usual at 6:45pm at the Victoria Hall, Tisbury High Street for mulled wine, mince pies and nibbles before hearing from the world-renowned botanist Dr John Akeroyd.

John always loved plants, even before he was taught at school by the famous botanist Oleg Polunin. He graduated from the Universities of St. Andrews and Cambridge, and held fellowships at the Universities of Trinity College, Dublin and Reading, researching European flora. Lecturer, tour guide, writer and editor, he co-founded Plant Talk, the first global magazine for plant conservation.

He has written or edited seventeen books, including the best-selling Collins Wildguide:Flowers and The Encyclopedia of Wildflowers and many articles on plants, people and places.
​

The Peoples’ Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) collates and analyses any records sent in from many counties and sites which are part of the National Dormouse Monitoring Project (NDMP). The registered sites record any nests found in the boxes and the abundance, sex, weight and breeding condition of any dormice found in them, or the lack of them. The sites in the project are checked by people who hold a licence to do so, mainly volunteers. The licence is a requirement from Natural England, as dormice are classified as ‘Vulnerable’. 

I started a dormouse monitoring site about 15 years ago in Oysters Coppice and Gutch Common, with new boxes being added progressively. We check the 173 boxes once a month from April to November and the records are sent to PTES. We had none in Oysters Coppice but a few in Gutch Common wood this year.

On 11th November, I attended the 2023 Dormouse conference in Reading. Here are some of the notes I took.

Ian White, from PTES, gave an up-to-date report about the state of Britain’s dormice (you can read the full report here). They have declined by 70% in monitoring sites since 2000 and are on the verge of being reclassified as ‘endangered’. However, they are known to live along roads and railways, in dense scrub and in conifer forests, so there may be more than are known.

In the last century, there were dormice in all but two counties in England and Wales. In this century, they have become extinct in twenty counties. Some captive bred dormice have been reintroduced successfully in some of these. Reasons for the decline in dormice:

• Loss of habitat (e.g. managed woodlands and hedges; wildlife corridors between patches of woodland and hedges).
• Climate change. For instance in warm winters dormice will awake from hibernation when there is no food or they could get flooded out from incessant rain during hibernation in leaf litter, under trees, etc.
• Disturbance from people or dogs.
• Predation from badgers, stoats, etc.

I also found very interesting a presentation given by Leo Gubert on hibernation. Leo tried, unsuccessfully, to train dogs to sniff out dormant dormice for the purpose of surveying. Adults may hibernate between December and March, although juveniles born in August/September may not hibernate until late in the winter in order to gain weight before hibernation. Only about 30% survive hibernation. Dormice weave their hibernation nests from materials found within 4 Km of boxes and use materials found close by from leaf litter, honeysuckle bark, grass, fern and bracken. Some use tree holes or squirrels’ dreys.

How to survey for dormice? Survey methods frequently used:

• Tubes hung at checking height (more successful high up) in hazel bushes or other trees, scrub and hedges to check for nests or mice. Boxes fixed to trees with holes at back to look for nests or dormice.
• Footprint tunnels with ink pads on each side of white paper. Dormice footprints are unique and can be distinguished from woodmice.
• Radio collars…. This is expensive!

What can we do for dormice? Here is a list of some conservation efforts:

• Survey in unusual habitats like dense scrub, hedges, sea cliffs, conifer forests, roadsides and high-up in tree canopies (ladders needed).
• Improve connectivity between woodlands and hedges.
• Extend woodlands by planting more trees and connecting them by planting hedges with native plants full of berries, nuts, flowers (all of which are food sources for dormice).
• Reduce disturbance by people and dogs.

Most of these facts come from the Dormouse conference but some opinions are mine (Debbie Carter 2023). Ed.: Our society has two dormouse survey licence holders and are willing to assist any local prospective surveyors in starting out a new surveying or monitoring project.

​

Many of us will soon be putting up our Christmas trees for the festive season. Decorated trees are a tradition imported from Germany by the royal family in the 19th Century. For me, the traditional species is Norway Spruce, but that has gradually been replaced by the Nordman Fir, which loses its needles less quickly. They are generally around 10 years old when cut and, with 6-8 million trees sold in Britain each year, most of which are grown here, their plantations cover a considerable land area.

Conifer plantations have had a bad press. There was a drive to create a national reserve of timber, after woodland cover reached an all-time low after the First World War. This resulted in large-scale afforestation of areas where soils were poor, often in ugly rectilinear blocks of single species. While young plantations had a short-lived boost in biodiversity, as the canopy closed, these woodlands often became lifeless. As conifers produce an economic yield up to 6 times faster than deciduous trees, and as the softwood they produce is in high demand for a huge number of uses, we do need these trees. However, management is very different today, large monocultural blocks are a thing of the past. More diverse mixes of species, planting which takes more account of drainage and landform, and the retention or creation of open habitat areas within the forest have become the norm. A number of conifer stands in an existing deciduous wood may increase diversity, while improving commercial viability. Many ancient woods have survived on this basis which might otherwise have been lost as woodland habitat.

More forests are now being managed on a continuous cover approach. This seeks to avoid extensive clear felling – taking out all the trees in an area at once – but to create more structurally diverse forests with a greater range of species under a continuous canopy. This avoids sudden changes in habitat conditions, to which wildlife finds it difficult to adapt, reduces erosion and could make the forest more resilient to risks from disease and changes in climate.

Obviously, this approach cannot be applied to the Christmas Tree plantations. However, as the trees are spaced to let the light get in, to create the conical trees we love, they can still provide a home for wildlife, especially if pesticides are avoided.

It is estimated that artificial trees generate 7 - 20x more carbon than a natural tree. So, if you do have one, it is essential to reuse it as many times as possible. But those of us sticking with natural trees can reduce the carbon footprint by sourcing it locally to keep down the tree miles and by disposing of it thoughtfully. A tree bought from a superstore may have been brought all the way from Scotland (and might have been felled weeks ago and so be ready to drop its needles as soon as you decorate it). The worst option for disposal is to send it to landfill; chipping, burning, or composting all result in lower carbon emissions. Wiltshire County Council will collect old trees from residents with green bins and compost them, or there are charities which collect them for recycling in return for a small donation.

​Andrew Graham