On the Verge – Marching into Spring

On the verge

MARcHING INTO SPRING

As I write, a few of us have been out and about looking for evidence of emerging wild flowers. The mild weather has encouraged the foliage to appear very early, and by the time you read this, many more should be in full bloom!

Many thanks to our new Renaturing Champions. These volunteers have been out checking their local green spaces and blossoming nature corridors. My highlight was the discovery of Blatchington Trees – a lovely spot of woodland alive with blackbirds, squirrels, great tits, blue tits and a wren near Seaford Primary School. In the undergrowth insects were buzzing round the Winter Heliotrope. The woodland floor was a carpet of green.

We are currently investigating how we can work with residents in this lovely ancient lane to fully appreciate and monitor the existing biodiversity and potential for improvement. For example, looking at gaps in the hedgerows, watching out for invasive species, documenting the magnificent trees in this lane, and sharing our sightings. Do get in touch if you live nearby and would like to get involved. One of the delightful ‘hidden’ green spaces we are monitoring is the green between Sandore Road and Millfield Close. Melene noticed sweet violets appearing, and up to 100 starlings high in the tree tops, and another observer that some branches had been lopped off, and sawn into a pile (perhaps for wildlife?). In mid January in the Sea meadows (Martello fields) there were lots of flowers starting to come up, and already in flower were some surprisingly big daisies, buttercups, dandelions, chickweed and groundsel. The humble dandelion (often maligned as a weed) can be a vital source of nectar for early bumble bees, such as in this vibrant verge last year in Nursery close.

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In late January, the group checking out the new growth in the field dips near College Road (known as the Covers) spotted a hoverfly, and even a fox! Thanks so much for our keen volunteers in these spaces, who have also been helping to pick up litter and address other issues.

We are particularly looking for ‘renaturing champions’ to monitor the plants and wildlife of the meadow areas of the Salts, and the verges in nearby Edinburgh Road. Please do get in touch if you are interested in helping – enthusiasm is more important than experience! Spring is nearly here (astronomical Spring is on 20th March) and if you need a bit of encouragement to get planting (or are keen to help others do so) do come along to the SEA hub 10am to 1pm on Saturday 19th March for the Get Ready for Gardening workshop, where we can share, recycle and repurpose tools, materials seeds and plants, to help Seaford’s nature-filled gardens spring into life! As always there is always far more going on with OTV, so check out our blog for more news. https://www.seafuture.org/verges-blog/

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