Laurie's reports for March
23rd Mar 2015 by jools
Laurie Forsyth's Orchid Glade and Fromus Valley reports can now be read within the Seasonal Diaries. Since his visit, the primroses have come out in abundance on the banks of the medieval earthwork. Violets and cowslips and false oxlip will soon join them – we hope you will too on April 11th at our next open day.
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New "Lidar" images of Kelsale Park
12th Mar 2015 by admin
Take at look at our Fromus Valley's medieval history page for stunning new images of the Reserve and the site of Kelsale Park.
These images are produced using "lidar" data supplied by the Environment Agency’s Geomatics Group. Lidar is a laser-based system for measuring ground heights using sophisticated airborne equipment. It measures actual ground levels, penetrating all but the densest vegetation to show the ground surface beneath. With suitable software, the Trust can process this data to produce a detailed 3D image of the landscape, with literally every square metre having its height mapped and displayed. Old river courses, long-lost building platforms and much more can be seen.
We are grateful to Geomatics for providing this data, which is free for private and non-commercial use, and for giving permission for displaying these images on our website.
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February Report
18th Feb 2015 by jools
In the Seasonal Diaries, Laurie Forsyth reports from our Simpson’s Fromus Valley Reserve as everything starts to comes to life. Work is also proceeding during February to tidy up the hedgerows and remove invasive blackthorn suckers, harden the entrance area for better cattle management, and our archaeology team are undertaking a geophysical survey, with bright orange markers.
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A water meadow?
12th Feb 2015 by jools
Laurie Forsyth has been along to Orchid Glade – you can read his report in the Seasonal Diaries.
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Update from the end of January
28th Jan 2015 by jools
Charles Cuthbert is tweeting about flora blooming already in Kelsale, but our Fromus reserve isn’t showing any lesser celandine, yet. The primroses are coming on and there is one lonely dandelion, but mostly the blue tits are enjoying the sunny weather in the trees, and water crowfoot is colonising a puddle that hasn’t dried up all winter. We’ll be reporting again in a couple of weeks – what will have changed?……
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Open Days 2015
16th Jan 2015 by jools
We look forward to seeing you again in 2015 at one of our open days showcasing the Spring flora in April, the orchids in June, the high summer meadow with butterflies and dragonflies in August and finally foraging in the hedgerow in September. Each visit to the reserves is a delightful new experience and we want to know what you find! Our archaeology expert, John Rainer, is also on hand to explain the fascinating medieval history of our Fromus reserve. Please visit our Open Days page for further information and directions.
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Orchid glade in January
10th Jan 2015 by jools
Laurie Forsyth has braved the weather to bring us our first report of 2015 from Orchid Glade. "Wet!" was the verdict. You can read his report in the Seasonal Diaries.
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Welcome to 2015
3rd Jan 2015 by jools
2015 has begun, and Laurie Forsyth has already been out in the field producing our first monthly report from the Fromus reserve. The reserve may be leafless, but it is full of life – lots of great tits were feeding voraciously in the trees and on the ground, four lapwings flew off from the end of Mere Meadow. The log pile (picture at the foot of the page) is showing us what a valuable biodiversity bounty it can be. You can read Laurie's report in the Seasonal Diaries.
We look forward to our journey through 2015 at our reserves – will we find new species? How many orchids will pop up this year at our Fromus Valley Reserve? Will the great-crested newts make another appearance at Orchid Glade? Keep following us and don’t forget to join us on an open day if you can – the first one is on April 11th at Fromus Valley for the Spring flora.
MISSING IMAGES: primrose-bud; first-flower-of-2015; through-the-earthwork-to-mere-meadow; Brachythecium-rutabulum; logpile-biodiversity