Saving England's most threatened species from extinction
Archive:
3rd April 2020
Reintroduction of the Corn Buttercup at Hope Farm The Corn Buttercup, like the Cornflower, Corncockle, and other flowering arable plants, were once an abundant site in farmers’ fields. My grandparents remember these species being as common as wild oat 50 years ago, but when talking to my parents, who spend as much time working...
Read more16th March 2020
Martin’s Ramping Fumitory A couple of months back during a historical record search, one of my colleagues came across a record for a species called Martin’s Ramping Fumitory about 5 minutes away from my house. After speaking to the allotment where the record had been submitted in 2010, they invited me to come and have...
Read more5th March 2020
An update from the Wessex Stone-curlew team as we approach the start of the 2020 fieldwork season. (c) Nick Tomalin On the 19th February we had our first Stone-curlew report of the year.A single bird has been found by a farmer on Salisbury Plain after arriving back to the UK from its wintering grounds...
Read more17th February 2020
Spreading-hedge Parsley - Reintroductions in Somerset On Thursday 13th February, a group of 12 volunteers, the Colour in the Margins Field Officer, Alison Mitchell and I met up at a farm in Somerset to reintroduce Spreading-hedge Parsley, one of the priority species for Colour in the Margins. The seeds were collected in the first year...
Read more29th January 2020
Common Communities or Scarce Species? Scarlet Pimpernel has always been my favourite flower. Long before I developed a professional interest in scarce and declining arable plants (formerly known as weeds), I just adored the scarlet pop of colour that scrambled across the field edges and gateways where I grew up. It seemed to be everywhere....
Read more13th January 2020
Volunteer Focus – Devon and Cornwall – Lucy Lucy is based in Devon and has been a volunteer for Colour in the Margins since July 2018. She’s taken part in one or two surveys with Hannah, the Project Officer for Devon and Cornwall. This is her story… Lucy decided to volunteer with Back from...
Read moreVolunteer Focus – Devon and Cornwall – Ilene Sterns “I’ve always found fields of poppies incredible” (c) E.L. Cooke Ilene and her husband are based in Devon and have been involved with Colour in the Margins since the very beginning. They joined Back from the Brink after moving down to Devon from Bath and were...
Read moreVolunteer Focus – Wessex – Nick Adams Nick is based in the Wessex area and has been involved in the project since the beginning through hearing about the opportunity through the RSBP. He started off doing individual surveys which led to taking part in reintroductions. The main reason he got involved was because of the...
Read more2nd January 2020
The Gift Like the dear face of a much loved friend I know the boundaries of my land For in those boundaries secrets lie Hidden from the casual eye Revealed to those with time to stand And marvel at God’s plan. I know the deep and tangled woods Where deer paths lead me through Beneath...
Read more11th December 2019
Celebrating another year of Colour in the Margins South West We have had a great survey season in the South-west! The action all kicked off in spring when we reintroduced the endangered Small-flowered Catchfly (Silene gallica) to six sites using seed provided by the Millennium Seed Bank. Over 100,000 seeds were spread overall! We are...
Read more