Getting further, faster - together…

Conservation is never top of the funding list and nature reserves such as Foxglove Covert are small compared to the landscape scale environmental action that we need for nature to thrive. While highly motivated, most local conservation groups have just a few active participants, making it difficult to have an large enough impact. This is why it is so important that we work togther wherever possible, amplifying our message which might otherwise be drowned out in an era of mass communication and multiple demands on our time. To succeed we need to be outward looking and collaborative - combining resources, knowledge and effort.

That's why we were delighted to host a Badger Trust event on Sunday 1st October, where Badger Groups from across the north of England came together for a training day. Participants, who were hugely impressed by our reserve, came to learn about wildlife crime in relation to badgers and also did some surveying around the site while they were here. 

Ironically, just as the attendees were settling down for their first presentation, I was out sorting out some damage to our footpath network.

It looks like the damage was caused by a badger!

At this time of year, young boars are often forced to leave their natal clan (just as they start to challenge the established order), so it's unsurprising that this has happened in an area of the reserve where we've not seen much evidence of badgers before. It will be interesting to see if this leads to a new sett, or whether it's just a passing phase.

We hope to see our friends from the various Badger Groups across the north again in the not too distant future.