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Why you should be composting

Whether your interest lies in food growing, wildlife gardening or creating picture-perfect flower beds, composting could be your missing link.

Categorised as green or organic waste, our food scraps and garden cuttings are anything but rubbish! When allowed to recycle naturally, these become a great source of nutrients which will fertilize your garden and provide food and habitat for visiting wildlife.

Read on to find out why composting is not only good for the environment, but for our own mental and physical well-being too!

We have also enclosed a quick easy guide on how to get started with your composting bin.

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How to Listen to Bats

As bats’ echolocation calls are above a human’s normal range of hearing (20Hz to 20kHz), we use a bat detector to listen to them. These devices convert the ultrasonic sounds to a frequency which we can hear.

Different species use specific frequency ranges in their echolocation, which can help us to identify the species around us.

Here, Debs demonstrates the use of a Batscanner which displays the frequency of the call as well as playing an audible rendition of the bat’s hunting sounds. Using this, we were able to determine that there were both common Common and Soprano pipistrelles and the amazing Greater horseshoe bat foraging over this field in Buckfastleigh.

SpeciesFrequency
Soprano PipistrelleThe peak frequency is above 50 kHz (typically 52-55)
Common PipistrelleThe peak frequency is below 50 kHz (typically 43-46)
Greater Horseshoe Bat Peak frequency is just above 80 kHz

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Watery Habitats

We have learnt a lot this week about the local habitat types you might find near where you live so let’s explore some more! Our water ways have countless different habiats for us to look at, from small streams and rivers to huge lakes or oceans! What are you waiting for? Dive right in!

Image by: Francesco Ungaro
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Funding News: Lord Barnby’s

What difference would one to five thousand pounds make to your project?

Lord Barnby’s Foundation offers grants to charitable organisations in England and Wales for general charitable purposes, the advancement of health or saving of lives, disability, the prevention or relief of poverty, environment, conservation and heritage.

Grants are between £1,000 – £5,000, but no maximum amount is specified. Applications should be made in writing and include a brief description of the organisation and project plus a copy of the organisation’s most recent accounts.

Deadline: Continuous rolling programme. The Trustees meet in February, June and November.

For more information and how to apply please contact:

The Lord Barnby Foundation
Po Box 442
Market Drayton
TF9 9EQ

lordbarnbyfoundation@gmail.com

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Little Lives UK

Children whispering

Little Lives UK’s Children’s Community Support Programme awards grants of up to £1,500 to local charities, services, schools, projects and councils to put on events, classes or workshops that will directly benefit the lives of children. Activities could include play groups or sports classes however applications from other projects are welcome, as long as their primary objective focuses on providing services to children.

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How to Make a Bug Hotel!

Produce the perfect stack of habitats in your own garden to attract useful and interesting invertebrates. And perhaps a hedgehog!

Chocolate mining bee (Andrena scotica ) – male

In the UK, an average garden is home to more than 2,000 species of insect. Many of these insects are useful to the hobbyist gardener, controlling those pesky bugs that can cause damage to our cherished plant life.

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