We had a successful bug hotel session!

We were delighted to welcome the Surrey Choices Growth Team (SCGT) on two occasions in this month. Their skills and heavy duty equipment enabled the clearing of the thicker growth at the back of the churchyard particularly along the bank edge. This work led to some uncovering of long buried graves hidden beneath dense vegetation, litter and scrub and brambles. SCGT provide volunteering opportunities to people with disabilities through conservation work to improve their independence and confidence. So it was a privilege to have their help and muscle power, rewarded afterwards by refreshments and cake provided by our WCG and church members!

An interesting talk by Francis Kelly from the British Dragonfly Society. Francis is a renowned expert not only for British dragonflies but also butterflies. For this talk he confined it to 46 out of 47 species of dragonflies resident in Britain he has managed to photograph on his numerous forays around the British Isles. The in-depth slide presentation highlighted the variation in location of the different dragonfly species and showed each of the species characteristics of both male and female in glorious jewel-like colours. Their lifecycle and influencing factors on their distribution was also explained. He fielded a number of questions from the audience who were interested to know how they could attract these colourful creatures to their own gardens. All no doubt went away much better informed and more able to identify dragonflies emerging during the summer months for themselves.

The Farnham Herald carried an article highlighting how the efforts of Wrecclesham Conservation Group in clearing overgrown areas in St Peter’s churchyard has led to the uncovering of graves that had been lost for generations allowing residents to reconnect with their ancestral heritage. Some specific family names have already been recognized by their descendants. For example a descendant of the surname of Hack, who had generations attending St Peter’s church over many years for marriages, christenings as well as funerals. WCG aims to build a record of the inscriptions on the graves as part of its heritage recording and ongoing project to improve the churchyard appearance not only for the community to enjoy but also for wildlife to use. There is much still to be done but already there are obvious signs of change.

A fascinating survey with Dr June Chatfield of the Alton Natural History Society. At this field event in St Peter’s churchyard WCG were able to identify 13 species in total including one species of liverwort. The latter was especially of interest as previously the liverwort species had not been recorded in Wrecclesham. Going by the name of Wall Scalewort (or Porella platyphylla) this is a mossy-looking liverwort species supposedly quite common in Britain. Mosses included springy turf-moss, grey cushioned grimmia, silky wall feather-moss amongst other branch, silky and blunt tipped types. In order to see and identify these participants had to cling on to the walls, hand lenses at the ready for spotting key features such as leaf margin, leaf points – blunt or sharp!

Held at St Peter’s church, Martin is a former chairman of the Wrecclesham Conservation Group and an expert in his field on moths. The church was fully packed for this celebration of his life’s work and Farnham town mayor George Murray was amongst the guests. Martin talked about his professional career in marine biology particularly with regards to plankton. Then ‘Migrating to Moths’, where he showed many illustrations out of the hundreds of beautiful moths and other insects that he has trapped not only in the Farnham area but overseas as well. Martin’s entire family were present to witness his achievements and on display were pictures to illustrate his life and work and even his early years! The hospitality team laid on a special tea which was well received by all those attending. A special bouquet was given to Martin at the end.

A detailed study of the insect and other invertebrate life abounding in Wrecclesham led Dr June Chatfield from the Alton Natural History Society and WCG’s own Dr Martin Angel. The aim was to uncover the diversity of insects living in our green spaces. Two areas were examined, St Peter’s churchyard and Brambleton Field. For the former pitfall traps were set up in the churchyard the day before to enable collection of insects for identification purposes and similarly moth trapping was done that evening. The specimens collected for both were then presented during the morning talk and a slideshow was given by Martin to enable identification of what had been found as well as some more general information about insects. One of the invertebrate species looked at closely was the woodlouse where 3 species were found, the most abundant of which was Armadillidium vulgare, the Pill woodlouse and more tolerant of dry places. The other 2 preferring moister habitats. In the afternoon a field study took place at Brambleton Field conducted by June at which members turned their attention to finding as many different species as possible during the time available.

Wrecclesham Conservation Group had a successful stand at this gaining many new members in the process. The stand was manned by volunteers from the Group and exhibited a number of invertebrates for example moths and creepy crawlies previously caught. These fascinated local residents and children were especially thrilled to be able to see and hold them – very carefully and gently before releasing them! Additionally for children there was a wildlife drawing competition just for fun. A quiz consisting of identifying various species of wildlife in photos taken by group members proved a significant challenge to the majority of viewers. A handmade swift box was also on show to raise awareness about swift conservation.

Footpaths were cleared between Rural Close and Cobbetts Way enabling easier and safer access to St Peter’s School for the schoolchildren attending there and the local community generally. A WCG working party convened to open up the footpaths where a large amount of vegetation was encroaching. The excess vegetation growth was successfully cleared away. Additionally litter and other discarded items were picked up and disposed of. Farnham Town council organized a film crew to come along to film some of the event which featured in its ‘Farnham in Bloom’ video.

A survey of gravestones in St Peter’s churchyard carried out by members of the Alton Natural History Society. The lichen survey element was led by Dr June Chatfield who recorded the many and varied species to be found on the gravestones themselves. These included Candellariella vitellina, Xanthoria and crust lichen. Prof Dan Bosence and Ian Chisholm surveyed the various rock materials and identified the different stone types of the gravestones (lithologies). Many photographs were taken of the gravestones recording not only the lichens and rock type but also name and date of the deceased. Stone types included grey medium grained sandstone (possibly Coal Measures sandstone or Millstone Grit), grey granite and oolitic shelly limestone. The purpose of the survey was to add to the extensive wildlife inventory for Wrecclesham and importantly record its heritage, particularly before all the stones erode and we lose them. Of the more than 20 people who came to the survey, many were from outside the Farnham area itself. All found it an insightful and surprising session.

A mollusc survey led by Dr. June Chatfield from Alton Natural History Society. Unfortunately this was a cold day with overnight frosts which limits mollusc activity so they tend to remain hidden and inactive. However a total of 15 species were recorded on the day, 10 of snails and 5 of slugs. The species found were typical of the churchyard’s urban habitat of long grass, some scrub and logs and stones which act as refuges for the molluscs. Juveniles as well as adults were found. Of interest, though the churchyard is on Gault clay giving a neutral pH soil i.e. neither very acidic or alkaline, some lime loving species indicated by Monacha cantiana, Cornu asperses and Trocholus striolatus were found. So we learnt not only about the species but also something of the geology and soil of the churchyard.

The bioblitz was an all day event that open to all held at St Peter’s churchyard. A bioblitz is a concentrated effort to survey the species occurring in an area. It provides a snapshot of what is living there as generated by undertaking an array of different observational methods. So members of WCG came together to do this for the churchyard. And a number of posters were put up around Wrecclesham to highlight the event and encourage participation. Observations carried out included moth trapping the night beforehand, examination of the compost heap, pit-fall traps etc, on-site sightings of flying insects such as butterflies, bees, hoverflies and plant surveying. All those taking part had a most surprising day discovering how even in the midst of this urban environment what a rich diversity of plant and wildlife was to be found. A biological inventory was made of all what was there to contribute to biodiversity understanding within the Farnham area.