Wildlife areas.

Purpose: to create wildlife friendly feeding and breeding opportunities for a range of animals and birds, to protect trees, to create a wildlife corridor by allowing natural cover to grow along the backsides and in two large areas of mown grass. We are a group of three people who, having lived in the village for over 30 years are keen not only to keep the wildlife we have seen in Hunton over the decades, but to recreate wild areas and so increase habitats for a range of species of birds, amphibians, insects, pollinators and mammals, and to protect trees from strimming damage. We started two projects just before Covid restrictions, with phase 1, an area by Captain’s Bridge, scalped, turf-banked, planted with homegrown primrose plugs and sown with an annual mix, including yellow rattle. The purpose was to reclaim a little-used piece of close mown grass for wildlife and, with the help of some children in the village; we sowed indigenous annual and perennial wildflower seed. The first year was stunning, but we have had difficulty maintaining this ‘display’ due to adverse weather, and reluctance to constantly disturb and disrupt the habitat, which would also be very labour intensive. During this time we were given ten bird boxes, made by a resident, Nicky. We put these up in trees on the village amenity areas, near the beck and wildlife areas and some were in use within weeks. Our biggest expense in the first year was to create a border of grey edging ‘bricks’ made from recycled car tyres around the orchard, a group of six very damaged apple trees, some of which had lost 80% of their bark from strimming. We replaced one apple tree that had died. The challenge in this orchard is poor, very thin dry soil, on top of stone and concrete spoil left by the building development of Greenacres. We have sown with lower growing wildflower seed, and added cottage garden plants, but also top dressed with manure to help the fruit trees. These have been heavily pruned to let in air and light and we do remove some apples to give better fruit for scrumping. Phase 2, on the south east side of the village amenity area, was originally planned for more annual wildflowers and we scalped, banked and sowed a range of annuals. However, the deep shade from a very large sycamore tree, as well as a small oak tree, which was taken into this area to avoid strimmer damage, meant we have adapted planting with shade loving perennials and spring and autumn bulbs, English bluebells under the trees, plus cowslips and primroses. We have also planted excess campion, daisy and yellow flag iris along and in the beck margins to create cover, and added what we hope will become a bank of cowslips, primroses and Farndale species daffodils, along the north east approach to the ford. We have, through trial and error, come to the conclusion that displays of annual wildflowers can only be maintained by ‘restarting’ the areas annually; as our ethos is to create largely undisturbed feeding and breeding habitats for wildlife, we embrace the challenge of creating floral interest for the human population, whilst creating a rich and diverse natural wildlife haven in the village centre. Since creating these areas, a duck has nested below Phase 2, and we’ve seen frogs and toads in both wild areas. Bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinators are commonly seen on the plants and blackbirds, thrushes, dunnocks and wrens find live food in dry times particularly. In the autumn, the seed heads attract sparrows, tits, and finches. The extra cover also brings Little Egrets, and the occasional heron. Jan Wylie, Wendy Knight, Steve Knight.