Environment

Amphibian Hibernaculum

Town Keepers Ali and Mick have built an Amphibian Hibernaculum in the back garden of Old School House, where they are busy creating a bit of a wildlife refuge!   We already have a good frog population that uses the garden and wanted to create a safe space for them. It was VERY simple to build.

Step 1: Dig a hole roughly 100cm wide x 50cm deep

Step 2: Fill it with old bricks, logs and rubble, making sure to leave plenty of gaps.

Step 3: Add a couple of access pipes, ensuring they are fairly level and that the entrance ways remain clear and do not become covered by debris

Step 4: Pile the soil back over the top!

Step 5: Seed it with a wildflower mix or just let the grass grow over it!

Job done!

Swift Boxes

Town Keeper Ali has installed our swift boxes and swift ‘sound system’ on the back of Old School House. So we have now created new nesting opportunities, right in the centre of Brandon!  The sound system will play swift calls for a few hours a day, when the swifts return to the UK in April/May.  Swifts will return to the same nest site each year. They start arriving in April and leave in August, for the long migration back to Africa where they spend the winter. We will be trying to attract last years young, who are yet to find a nest site. Fingers crossed they will love our boxes and move in!