ACTIVITIES FOR ALL
There are plenty of fun ways to engage with our local environment! People from all ages and all walks of life can enjoy the abundance of natural and community heritage we have here in and around Freshford and Limpley Stoke. Whilst enjoying ourselves we can also learn ways to better understand, protect and enhance that heritage as well as contributing to our growing knowledge.
Walk on the Wild Side
Explore our habitats and keep an eye out for rare and endangered species! See our wildlife habitats and our wildlife species pages for useful information and ideas. Take a stroll through our ancient woodlands for example and keep an eye out for signs of dormice and look out for rare and threatened woodland plants. Alternatively you could go for a riverside walk along the Avon and keep an eye out for evidence of water voles! Remember however that these are our neighbours - please follow the Countryside Code at all times.
What did you see?!
By keeping a record of what you see (e.g. photographs and descriptions) whilst you are out and about you can contribute to national records of wildlife in the UK. By doing this you can help to identify species under threat, monitor their welfare and help raise the alarm if their abundance is decreasing. For example there has been a dramatic reduction in butterfly numbers in the past year and by recording what you see and where you can help monitor this issue. You might help the butterflies in other ways if you are interested in recording the sorts of plants they feed and lay their eggs upon. It doesn't matter what your interest is, anything you take an interest in and make record of might contribute to a bigger picture. Instructions on how to record are held on our Recording page.
Use your garden to enrich our environment
There are many things you can do to make your garden friendly to native species of plants and animals. It is illegal to take Bath Asparagus from the wild, but you can grow it in your garden through an authorised plant specialist. You can also make garden ponds friendly to amphibians, including the Great Crested Newt which is an endangered species. There's plenty more to learn and try, check out our individual species and habitat pages to find out about more!