 As we approach the end of the year it's time to reflect on what we have achieved as a group. Perhaps the most noticeable thing is the growth in size and vitality of our group. The first member joined the group on 09 November 2023 and by the start of 2024 we had nearly 40 members. During 2024 we the group has grown to 106 members from across the 4Bs – Buckland, Betchworth, Brockham and Box Hill. In setting up the group our hope was that members would generously share their observations, experiences, questions and that is eactly what has happened with thousands of contributions over the year. This post gives a flavour of what was shared. In January and February we shared observations and photos of our wild birds and by the time of the RSPB big garden birdwatch, we had spotted nearly 50 species. We also had an excellent Introduction to Bird Spotting talk given by Peter Almond.  We also tried to solve the conundrum of what animals were digging holes in our lawns – squirrels, rabbits, badgers and foxes all featured in this discussion and perhaps all are responsible. Sadly, no one saw the animal at work. In spring we shared our photos of snowdrops, wild garlic and bluebells. We also shared traditions from around the world that celebrated spring. For example, Sandeep shared a tradition in the country of his birth, he posted Kashmiris celebrate spring today by filling a plate with all that we depend on ( for sustenance) and what we seek in the year to come. The pen, coin and a symbol for God are the only things not directly connected with nature. The day is actually called Sonth Mubarak, which means ‘Celebration of Spring!’ Throughout the year hundreds of photographs have been shared of the wildlife we have encountered in our gardens or while on a walk – lots of birds, insects - especially butterflies and moths. bees and hornets, newts, deer, foxes, wildflowers, trees and fungi to name a few. I'm sure we all have our own favourites.  Simon Humphreys provided an opportunity to visit Fraser Down nature reserve, and Paul and Clare Ritchie invited members to visit their garden for wildlife. We also shared photos of the wild orchids we had found.  In May, the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative team launched a Gardening for Biodiversity project. Many members of the group came to one of the 4 talks given by Paul Ritchie on what gardening for biodiversity might mean using his own garden to illustrate. 46 members of the group pledged to create a new habitat for wildlife in the garden for example – small ponds, bird feeders and shelters, wormery, log piles and insect shelters, wildflower strips and patches. Many participants shared photos of what they had created encouraging others to have a go at creating their own wildlife habitat. In this way we inspired each other to do more for nature.  In July and early August members of the Nature Group participated in the nationwide Big Butterfly Count. In spite of the many butterfly photographs shared there, was a sense that there were not so many butterflies as in previous years. A total of 176 counts were made in the 4Bs and 2766 butterflies observed including 28 species.  In May and October we were treated to the rare but stunning site of the aurora. Rich and his Aurorawatch app let us know when to go outside and see them. For anyone interested, the northern lights are visible right now. We also witnessed an unusual number of moon bows supermoons and hunter moons. Members of the group also shared just causes that they cared about to find others who were willing to support. For example Lyndsey posted Hi! Can you help me support Indigenous Peoples fighting to protect the Amazon and the planet? More than 2,000 have been killed in recent years for standing up to ranchers, loggers and miners invading their land for profit! We want to get to 1 million [signatures] ahead of a key summit happening in just days! The Nature Group became a community as members supported each other by answering questions that were posed, or shared their knowledge and appreciation for nature and for the people who did things to help wildlife flourish. In our first Nature Magazing published in November, we celebrated some of the things we had accomplished. Nature unites us all and its annual cycles of renewal, splendour and slumber helps us locate ourselves in the annual passage of time. At the scale of a life natures continuity helps us understand our own presence on this Earth and come to terms with our own mortality, knowing that we are as much a part of this continuity as every other living thing. By helping nature flourish we are contributing to this continuity in the face of the devastating impacts we are causing as a species. By helping nature flourish we are helping to create a future that is more sustainable than the one we are currently heading for. In 2024, we learnt how to create a vibrant, caring and knowledgeable community for nature and we can look forward with optimism to building on this sound foundation in the year ahead. 
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Those of us who grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s are well aware of how cold the winters were and how much snow and ice there was, compared to today. Okay there wasn’t much central heating then, but we do remember snow being piled high for days on end. These impressions and anecdotes are now being substantiated by scientific studies that show the average UK winter has become around 1C warmer and 15% wetter over the past century. The Carbon Brief analysis covers more than 100 years of data on temperature, rainfall, wind speed and snow, to assess how UK winters have changed. The data show that extremely warm and wet winters are becoming more common. Six of the 10 warmest winters on record were in the 21st century, and four of these also rank in the top 10 wettest years on record. Extreme cold periods are also becoming less common. On average, the UK saw more than 12 snow days each winter in 1971-2000. This dropped to 9.5 snow days each winter by 1991-2020. There is a similar trend in the number of frost days. As the climate continues to warm, the UK can expect winters to continue getting warmer and wetter. Met Office projections suggest that, under an emissions pathway in line with current global policies, the average UK winter by 2080-99 will be 2C warmer and 11% wetter than they were in 1981-2000.  We think of cold and the scaricity of food as the most serious challenge for wildlife in winter, but wet weather brings more chances of flooding and the increasing number of warmer days in winter upsets the hibernation patterns of wildlife. The problem for wildlife is the speed with which these changes are happening leaves little time for adaptation and consequently humans will need to do more to assist wildlife as it struggles to cope with the changes we have caused .Furethermore, warmer winters have “particularly devastating impacts for trees”, as cold snaps are often not long enough to kill off harmful diseases and pests.
Source Carbon Brief Analysis: How UK winters are getting warmer and wetter 16 Febrouary 2024, https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-uk-winters-are-getting-warmer-and-wetter/  Winter is a harsh time for most insects in the UK, yet they've all evolved strategies to get them through a period when food is scarce and temperatures are too low for them to be active. Providing winter homes for insects is an easy way to get more butterflies and moths in our gardens in the summer months, and the good news is that it involves doing fewer jobs in the garden, so we have more time to enjoy it!
If we had a sixth sense that allowed us to see where these insects go in the winter, our gardens would look very different to us. In piles of leaves we would see hundreds of caterpillars and pupae tucked away from predators and the worst of the weather. Some, like the Elephant Hawk-moth, might have formed a silken cocoon and wrapped themselves in a kind of sleeping-bag made of leaves. Others are hunkered down as free caterpillars, waiting among the leaves until green growth comes back on the plants so they can resume feeding and go to the next stage in their life cycle. Some tiny moth species would even be living inside the leaves where they have tunnelled around, eating their way through and making beautiful patterns that we can easily see. Others won't have got that far - they could be eggs that were stuck onto twigs by the adult moths in the autumn and won't hatch until the buds burst in spring. Along tree trunks and twigs of shrubs we might see the pupae of butterflies like the Orange-tip. This butterfly flies in May and June and the caterpillars feed for just over a month before crawling off to find a hard surface above ground. There they tie themselves to it with a thin strand of silk and shed their skin to become a striking thorn-shaped pupa. This starts off bright green, but soon becomes pale brown, perfectly matching the woody plant material around it. Almost no predator would have a chance of detecting the nutritious meal inside, and it's not surprising that some gardeners aren't aware either. What looks like a lifeless twig or a pile of dead leaves could harbour the next generation of butterflies and moths that bring us such delight in the warmer months. So it feels like a tragedy to see piles of burning leaves and branches in gardens across the country, knowing that millions of insects are perishing this way and for no good reason other than the pursuit of a tidy garden. A tidy garden might be able to support insects in the summer if it has flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen to feed the adults that are looking for this food to keep them going. But that's where the relationship between a tidy gardener and insect ends. Severely cutting back hedges to neat shapes, removing all long grass and the dead stems of plants, and clearing leaves from every corner of the garden might provide aesthetic satisfaction, but these actions sweep away the winter homes of insects. Yes, as a gardener, I don't want complete chaos. The garden has to work for both gardeners and wildlife. So, I take a more relaxed approach. Go easy with hedge pruning Leave some parts unpruned for a year or two, and do this on a rotational basis so that you can still maintain it as a hedge without wiping out entire generations of insects. Birds will also prefer this, as deeper hedges make better nesting sites for birds like wrens and blackbirds. Leave the leaves By all means remove them from lawns to keep the grass in good condition, but pile them in quiet corners of the garden or on flower beds. They will supress the growth of weeds while also adding nutrients to your soil. Various caterpillars live amongst leaves, while birds and hedgehogs will also feel more at home in your garden if they have places to snuffle and root around in. Start habitat piles This might be a pile of twigs and branches and leaves where things can retreat to in the winter months. Having more of these in different parts of the garden will help the caterpillars that don't move very far from their food plants. Have some areas completely untouched These might be around the edges or under trees so that you can still have a neat garden that is balanced by these wilder spaces. Source: The Secret Gardener Butterfly Conservation Society https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/dig-it-the-secret-gardener-encourages-us-to-do-nothing-for-nature-this-winter  We have much to celebrate. We are privileged to live in a beautiful landscape full of wildlife and we live amongst people who appreciated, everyday, the beauty and diversity of wildlife. Last November, responding to a request from members of the Betchworth Forum, we set up our WhatsApp Nature group for people who live in and around Betchworth. Nearly 40 people joined the group in the first few weeks and it soon became a lively community for sharing photos, experiences and knowledge of nature with posts every few days. During the months that followed, a number of people living in Buckland, Brockham and Boxhill asked to join, and what is now the 4Bs Nature Group, has over 100 members. It’s fair to say that we are a thriving community with a shared love of nature, a keen interest in observing and learning about nature, and a concern for the health and vitality of our wildlife.
If you live in Buckland, Betchworth, Brockham or Box Hill, and you would like to join the WhatsApp Nature Group please text your number to 07810463403 Emerging from our shared love and concern for nature is a movement we are calling the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative. It’s founded on a desire to not just admire and appreciate nature, but a willingness to help nature in useful, practical ways. The good news is we know that we can do something to help nature as individuals and as communities. The initiative is aiming to help the 4Bs community learn more about nature and encourage residents create new habitats for wildlife in their gardens. Our Gardening for Biodiversity project enabled 46 people to create new habitats for wildlife and help nature flourish by increasing the abundance and diversity of wildlife in their gardens. Our 4Bs Nature Magazine helps us tell and record the stories of how we are helping nature and recognise and celebrate the efforts and commitment of people who are participating in the project. By sharing their stories, others may be inspired. A great big thank you to everyone who contributed to the magazine. To read or download a free copy of the magazine CLICK HERE |
BlogThis blog is maintained by the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative Team. Its purpose is to provide brief updates of activities and interactions as the project unfolds. We also welcome posts from members of the 4Bs WhatsApp Nature Group and wider community. PagesArchives
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