13 minute read
Community News
Light at the end of the tunnel…
As I write this lockdown 3 has just been announced and some may find it harder this time around not being able to enjoy the warm temperatures that we were fortunate to have during last spring’s lockdown. With shorter and darker days, light and colour seem to be the tonic to boost our sense of wellbeing with many choosing to leave Christmas lights on. Nature can also provide us with light and colour. I know just being outdoors on a crisp, sunny day watching wildlife makes me feel good. Whilst checking our reptile monitoring mats at Burrator late September, I found a glow-worm larva under one mat. I haven’t seen a glow-worm for years, so was very excited to discover that they are present at Burrator. Did you know that glow-worms aren’t actually worms but beetles! The larvae can live for 1-2 years paralysing small snails with a toxic bite and then sucking them out. However, once they reach adulthood they don’t survive very long (just to breed) as they can’t feed. During June and July, the adult females emit a bright glow to attract males, so this summer I’ll be out at night searching for nature’s light beacons. For me, colour during the darker winter months can be uplifting too. I’m never one for plain white walls - I have to have colour around me. Animals also use colour as warning, attracting a mate, or as camouflage. Even the smallest of creatures can be colourful. Whilst walking an area of cleared conifer at Burrator in early October, a brightly coloured beetle clinging to a thistle flower head caught my eye; the black and orange stripes were quite striking - it was a Common Sexton beetle. It inspired me to find out more about this species – often described as the ‘undertaker’ of the animal kingdom. Male and female are attracted by the smell of a decaying animal, pairing up at a carcass (usually a mouse or small bird) to bury the dead body and then the female will lay her eggs on or beside the buried body enabling their larvae to feed off the corpse. Fascinating! Spring is just around the corner, when willow and blackthorn will begin to blossom attracting pollinators looking for an early nectar source, and primroses and violets will emerge bringing colour back to our landscape. Stay positive and look for opportunities in nature to uplift and inspire.
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Deborah Deveney Burrator Biodiversity Officer, South West Lakes Trust
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Natural Flood Management
Helen Dobby, area director at the Environment Agency, is really keen to share with readers some of the opportunities and environmental challenges that we find ourselves contemplating as we start 2021.
I am hugely proud of the work of the Environment Agency and its partners, and this new year more than any other has reminded us of the huge responsibility we have to look after our environment. We have seen many reminders of the climate and biodiversity emergencies we find ourselves facing, and we also experienced the health and wellbeing benefits of the nature on our doorstep in 2020. We know that if we don’t stop damaging our stunning, unique and giving world we will see the impacts more frequently and more seriously each year. The Dartmoor Headwaters Natural Flood Management Pilot is a project we are running in partnership with Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon County Council, Natural England, Highways England, Westcountry Rivers Trust and the Woodland Trust. The intention of the pilot is to trial more natural techniques to reduce flood risk than we are used to. We want to learn how to apply these techniques to many more locations and projects in the future to help protect properties and save lives. The pilot is due to conclude in March this year, having initially secured funding in 2018. In that time we have
Peter Tavy flooding
used our £834,000 budget to identify areas that would provide the greatest learning: we have conducted surveys of land, habitat archaeology and soil condition, carried out detailed engagement with landowners and community flood groups and installed the trial solutions in a variety of locations across the moor, aiming to reduce flood risk to Buckfastleigh, Peter Tavy, Walkhampton, and Ivybridge. We have also funded a PhD at Plymouth University to help further our understanding of the hydrology of woodlands on Dartmoor. The techniques we are trialling are more appropriate to use in a landscape such as Dartmoor than the traditional flood walls and storage reservoirs we are used to working with, they can also provide much wider benefits, helping enhance biodiversity, restore habitats, capture and store carbon dioxide and improve water quality. By the end of the pilot, we are aiming to have planted 3,000 trees, installed 500 leaky dams, and aerated soils across two river catchments. We have also been working closely with the South West Peatland Partnership team to fund an additional 75 hectares of peatland restoration. These techniques differ greatly from the flood walls and storage reservoirs we are used to building, they are often smaller scale, with many of them each storing a small amount of flood water. They are spread across the upper river
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Peter Tavy - Colley Brook catchment
catchment to try and tackle the flooding issues at their source rather than when they start to cause damage, and potentially fatalities in communities. The pilot has proven that we can use these techniques in areas which may not traditionally have been able to access government funding for more expensive engineered defences. They can also be used in areas where engineered defences already exist, enabling them to provide a higher level of flood resilience for longer and take account of climate change increasing river flows over time.
It’s fair to say that Covid-19 has impacted work significantly. It’s been harder to carry out the works in the collaborative manner we had originally intended during the delivery phase, and it has meant we had to stop work altogether for a short period during the first lockdown. However, the learning we have generated has been very useful in helping secure a further allocation of funding to extend the partnership into a new phase of works working on the entire moor, not just the trial catchment, to do more natural flood management work between 2021 and 2027.
Our area team are keen to hear what you think of the schemes that are already happening in your locality, or to hear your ideas for environmental schemes for the future. The most lasting environmental changes come when we join forces
Walkhampton Common
Buckfastleigh flooding
to work together. Our local stories inspire new action and lasting change. To get in touch please email DCISEnquiries@ environment-agency.gov.uk
Here’s to a 2021 where we work together to care, share and prepare for a greener future.
Helen Dobby Environment Agency Area Director
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Please continue to support Tavistock
Despite missing out on the annual Dickensian Evening, Christmas 2020 saw good footfall in the town and provided businesses with much needed custom in those important trading weeks. Our ‘Keep Christmas Local’ campaign was well received, and we are very thankful to you all for supporting the high street whenever and wherever possible. The launch of the Tavistock Gift Card exceeded expectations in the weeks leading up to Christmas and will make a big difference to the businesses of the town during this period of uncertainty and beyond. The Gift Card is not just for Christmas though, with over 50 participating business, it makes a great gift for any occasion. You can purchase a card at tavistockgiftcard. co.uk or from Lawsons, Tavistock. As we are thrown into another national lockdown, we remind people that you can still continue to support local businesses. Essential businesses remain open; many others have a presence online and offer local delivery. You can find a list of how you can continue to #shoplocal at visit-tavistock.co.uk/ open-for-business-categories
In the weeks ahead, we are planning to once again adorn the windows of the town in our annual ‘Paint the Town’ event beginning on 20th March. This year, with many people facing extended periods of isolation, we recognise the increased need to involve the wider community as well as schools in this lovely event. With the help of West Devon Art Workshops, we will also be incorporating light into the displays - we hope - to signify the easing of coronavirus restrictions. It should be a sight to behold and bring the town alive for spring. Over the Easter holidays you can expect another egg-citing town hunt! The hunt will run from Saturday 3rd to Saturday 17th April. See Visit Tavistock on Facebook for more details. As well as all this, Tavistock BID is working hard to continue supporting businesses and looking ahead to the coming months when the town is able to re-open fully. Please continue to support the businesses of Tavistock!
20 MARCH - PAINT THE TOWN WITH LIGHT Local businesses, in conjunction with local primary schools and community groups, will create bright and wonderful window displays to bring Tavistock alive for spring. Activities will be taking place on Bedford Square. 28 MARCH – 11 APRIL, TAVISTOCK EASTER EGG HUNT Another egg-citing and free trail brought to you by Tavistock BID. Collect your sheets from Kaleidoscope, The Visitor Information Centre and the Toy Cupboard, and find all the eggs to earn yourself a goody bag. visit-tavistock.co.uk
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Yelvercare goes the extra mile
In the period leading up to Christmas, YelverCare organised two special Christmas functions. Covid-19 guidelines meant that it was impossible to hold the monthly Lunch Club’s Christmas event, so volunteers took the meals to guests instead. Fifteen YelverCare volunteers delivered traditional Christmas meals to 60 local residents, many of whom live alone. The meals were prepared by three local pubs, Buckland Monachorum’s Drake Manor Inn, The Rock Inn at Yelverton and The Walkhampton Inn. The following day, Rev. Andy Bowden kindly organised a socially distanced carol service at St Andrew’s Church, Buckland Monachorum, specially for YelverCare and The Charleston Club. YelverCare volunteers drove 38 participants to the service. Both events were masterminded by YelverCare’s Ann Davis and were hugely appreciated by those who took part. YelverCare also distributed £4,000, that was kindly donated by the Maristow Trust, to residents in the area. It was distributed in the form of 80 Co-op gift cards to people who Yelvercare thought might particularly benefit from support in this difficult year. (The photo shows Mandy Hall delivering a Christmas meal to Beryl Cole.)
Buckland Monachorum Parish Precept
Each year, parish councils receive a ‘precept’. This is a sum of money, paid by residents of the parish which is collected through the council tax. For the Parish of Buckland Monachorum (Yelverton, Crapstone, Milton Combe and Clearbrook) the precept for 2021 will be £34.18 for a band D property. It is the job of the parish council to use this money for the benefit of the residents of the parish and the pie chart shows where the money was spent this year. The only paid member of staff is the clerk who arranges parish council meetings, keeps the accounts and administers the contracts for ground maintenance, which is where the majority of the budget is spent. The 12 parish councillors are elected to represent the residents, whether this entails responding to planning applications (we look at every single one), ensuring footpaths are properly maintained and play parks are safe, or caring for the cemetery. Where we can’t fund things ourselves, we apply for funding from other bodies who might be able to, and while the parish council is not responsible for roads, we do liaise closely with the borough and county councils to report issues and raise concerns.
So, we’re ‘out and about’ looking for ways to improve the parish for those who live here. We are open to ideas - so get in touch if there’s something you would like see done to improve things for everyone. If you’d like to get involved, why not consider becoming a parish councillor? We’ve currently got a vacancy so if you’re interested contact the clerk on clerk@bmpc.info.
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