Brighstone Primary School was our venue this week, helping them transform their grounds to help the children learn about plants and wildlife in various areas. The garden is laid out in three sections to represent the Coast, the Downs and Woodland. Our tasks in the area representing the Coast were to replant two small areas with shrubs and flowers, re-locate some Red Valerian, and dig out a giant tractor tyre which will be filled with sand. In the area representing Woodland, which was originally a very overgrown old pond, that has been cleared, we were building a footpath using small logs and woodchips. We found a very handsome slow worm in the log pile, which was carefully re-located to safer area. The school also have two hand-reared lambs which paid us a visit - see photograph.
Carrie’s Nature Lesson - this week’s find was a Comma butterfly (Latin name Polygonia c-album). Only 100 years ago, this ragged looking butterfly was almost extinct in Britain. The reason for this is still a mystery but from 1830 to 1920, sightings in the southern counties of England were reduced to just one or two. It wasn’t until around 1930 their numbers began to increase and today, it is a familiar sight in southern England and Wales. The Comma can be identified by the shape of its wings, the top of which are an orange brown colour, and the underside a dull brown colour with a small white ‘C’ shaped marking, giving the butterfly its name ( if you look closely you can just see this in the second picture). During winter they hibernate on the lower branches of trees and with their wings closed resemble a dead leaf, providing perfect camouflage throughout the winter”.
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