Latest news with #DevonWildlifeTrust
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Devon garden set up for social prescribing wins award
A community garden set up to support social prescribing has become Devon's 1,000th official wildlife garden. Friends of Downhorn Park in Plymstock, near Plymouth, started the wildlife garden with the aim of transforming a neglected green space while providing opportunities for community garden, which includes a bug hotel and flourishes without the use of pesticides, has now earned Devon Wildlife Trust's 1,000th Wildlife Garden Munn, chairman of the Friends of Downhorn Park, said: "Wildlife gardening is really important because the decline in habitat for wildlife is massive." Mr Munn said the garden was created in 2022 by a group concerned the green space was becoming degraded and with the hope of helping a local doctor."A local GP was interested in the idea of a community garden for their social prescribing," he prescribing connects patients with community activities and groups, rather than solely relying on medical treatments, according to the establishing Friends of Downhorn Park, the garden has become a haven for wildlife with areas to help pollinators, hundreds of trees and a bug hotel, said the group. It also has benches for visitors and raised beds containing a range of flowers, herbs, and Munn said: "Wildlife gardening is really important because the decline in habitat for wildlife is massive."In cities and suburban areas like this is, although there are a lot of gardens, it's really important that gardens have wildlife at their heart." Since its launch in 2021, the Wildlife Garden Award has been used to recognise the spread of nature-friendly garden practices, said the Devon Wildlife Lewis, from the trust, said they were thrilled to have reached 1,000 awards."It's a real testament to how much people across Devon care about nature," she said."In the three years since launching the scheme, we've seen people planting for pollinators, creating ponds, seed swapping with neighbours, and so much more."
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Trail camera shows baby mammals ‘after a century's absence' in UK. See them play
In the southwestern United Kingdom, a trio of baby mammals jumped on and chased each other through the woodlands. A nearby trail camera captured their playful behavior — a 'historic moment' for a species considered locally extinct for a century. Conservationists released 15 adult pine martens into the woods of Devon, England, last fall as part of a 'pioneering reintroduction project,' the Devon Wildlife Trust said in a July 10 news release. Pine martens are a small mammal species found across Europe. They live in woodland habitats, feed 'on small rodents, birds, eggs, insects and fruit' and are generally 'very hard to spot' because of their nocturnal habits, according to The Wildlife Trusts. In Devon, pine martens went locally extinct about 100 years ago due to habitat loss and 'human persecution,' the Devon Wildlife Trust said. Now, conservationists are in the process of changing that. Since the first group of pine martens were reintroduced last year, conservationists have 'spent hundreds of hours' tracking them, 'installing den boxes for them, and checking camera traps to learn more about their whereabouts and behaviour,' the organization said. 'When our volunteers discovered the footage of pine marten kits on one of our trail cameras we were ecstatic,' Tracey Hamston, the leader of the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, said in the release. Trail camera footage shared by the organization on YouTube shows the baby pine martens. The first video from June 19 shows three kits 'chasing each other through foliage and up a bank before disappearing from sight.' A second video from June 29 shows the 'same mother with two kits as they scamper along a fallen tree,' the Devon Wildlife Trust said. 'This is a historic moment for the return of a native animal,' Hamston said. 'To have breeding pine martens back after a century's absence signals a positive step in nature's recovery.' The presence of baby pine martens 'shows that these elusive animals are settling in, thriving, and beginning to weave themselves into the fabric of our native woodlands,' Loubna Tacey, a spokesperson for the National Trust, one of the organizations involved in the project, said in the release. Conservationists plan to continue monitoring the pine martens in Devon and are 'preparing for a further release of animals' this fall, the Devon Wildlife Trust said. Devon is a county in southwestern England and a roughly 200-mile drive west from London. Conservationists did not release the exact location of the sighting to protect the animals.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Devon pine marten kits born in 'historic moment' on Dartmoor
Pine martens have successfully bred in Devon for the first time in more than a century, conservationists have Wildlife Trust said 15 martens were reintroduced on Dartmoor in 2024 following a 100-year absence. It said camera trap footage, at a secret site, revealed the first glimpses of the kits and conservationists behind the project said they were "ecstatic" to see the animals had successfully bred."This is a historic moment for the return of a native animal and for the future of the South West's woodlands," said Tracey Hamston who leads the Two Moors pine marten project. "To have breeding pine martens back after a century's absence signals a positive step in nature's recovery," she martens were once common in the South West, but a loss of their woodland habitat and human persecution caused their extinction, conservationists films show the young pine martens, known as kits, exploring their new home, with one clip revealing three kits chasing each other through leaves and up a bank in the Dartmoor trust said female pine martens typically gave birth to two or three kits in spring and youngsters normally spent up to eight weeks hidden in dens before they emerged in early summer. The conservationists behind the project said the population across the region should gradually increase over the next few team is preparing for a further release of pine martens at secret locations in Exmoor this autumn.
South Wales Guardian
10-07-2025
- General
- South Wales Guardian
‘Historic moment' as reintroduced pine martens produce young on Dartmoor
Conservationists behind the project to return pine martens to the south west of England after a 100-year absence have said they were 'ecstatic' to see the reintroduced animals had successfully bred. The discovery comes after 15 pine martens – eight females and seven males – were released at undisclosed Dartmoor locations in autumn 2024, as part of efforts to restore the species to the area. Pine martens were once common in the South West, but were hit by the loss of their woodland habitat and by human persecution, conservationists said. The Two Moors Pine Marten Project partnership, a collaboration of groups which is behind the reintroduction, and its local volunteers, have spent hundreds of hours tracking the movements of the cat-sized animals, installing den boxes for them and checking camera traps to see what they are up to. Two films show young pine martens, known as kits, exploring their new Devon home, with one clip revealing three kits chasing each other through leaves and up a bank in a Dartmoor woodland, and other of the same family of a mother and two kits running along a fallen tree close to a stream. Experts said female pine martens usually give birth to two or three kits in spring, with youngsters spending their first seven to eight weeks hidden in dens before emerging in early summer, and sticking with their mothers until the following spring. The conservationists behind the project said the population in the South West should now grow gradually over coming years, and the team is preparing for a further release of pine martens at secret locations in Exmoor this autumn. Devon Wildlife Trust's Tracey Hamston, who leads the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, said: 'When our volunteers discovered the footage of pine marten kits on one of our trail cameras we were ecstatic. 'This is a historic moment for the return of a native animal and for the future of the South West's woodlands. 'To have breeding pine martens back after a century's absence signals a positive step in nature's recovery. 'It's also testament to the many hours work undertaken by the project partnership and dozens of local volunteers.' Jack Hunt, Woodland Trust assistant site manager for Devon, said staff and volunteers have been checking camera traps for several months, and over the past few weeks had been 'eagerly anticipating' spotting kits on the films. 'This sighting is wonderful news. 'The work over many years to restore and improve the condition of our woodlands, to support other landowners to do the same and work in partnership on this project has culminated in the return of the pine marten born in its natural environment in Dartmoor, the first of many and the beginning of the return of this missing species.' The partnership involves Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Exmoor National Park Authority, Forestry England, National Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by the Vincent Wildlife Trust.
Glasgow Times
10-07-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
‘Historic moment' as reintroduced pine martens produce young on Dartmoor
Conservationists behind the project to return pine martens to the south west of England after a 100-year absence have said they were 'ecstatic' to see the reintroduced animals had successfully bred. The discovery comes after 15 pine martens – eight females and seven males – were released at undisclosed Dartmoor locations in autumn 2024, as part of efforts to restore the species to the area. Pine martens were once common in the South West, but were hit by the loss of their woodland habitat and by human persecution, conservationists said. The Two Moors Pine Marten Project partnership, a collaboration of groups which is behind the reintroduction, and its local volunteers, have spent hundreds of hours tracking the movements of the cat-sized animals, installing den boxes for them and checking camera traps to see what they are up to. Pine martens have been hit by loss of habitat and human persecution (Alamy/PA) Two films show young pine martens, known as kits, exploring their new Devon home, with one clip revealing three kits chasing each other through leaves and up a bank in a Dartmoor woodland, and other of the same family of a mother and two kits running along a fallen tree close to a stream. Experts said female pine martens usually give birth to two or three kits in spring, with youngsters spending their first seven to eight weeks hidden in dens before emerging in early summer, and sticking with their mothers until the following spring. The conservationists behind the project said the population in the South West should now grow gradually over coming years, and the team is preparing for a further release of pine martens at secret locations in Exmoor this autumn. Devon Wildlife Trust's Tracey Hamston, who leads the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, said: 'When our volunteers discovered the footage of pine marten kits on one of our trail cameras we were ecstatic. 'This is a historic moment for the return of a native animal and for the future of the South West's woodlands. 'To have breeding pine martens back after a century's absence signals a positive step in nature's recovery. 'It's also testament to the many hours work undertaken by the project partnership and dozens of local volunteers.' Jack Hunt, Woodland Trust assistant site manager for Devon, said staff and volunteers have been checking camera traps for several months, and over the past few weeks had been 'eagerly anticipating' spotting kits on the films. 'This sighting is wonderful news. 'The work over many years to restore and improve the condition of our woodlands, to support other landowners to do the same and work in partnership on this project has culminated in the return of the pine marten born in its natural environment in Dartmoor, the first of many and the beginning of the return of this missing species.' The partnership involves Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Exmoor National Park Authority, Forestry England, National Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by the Vincent Wildlife Trust.
