Urban wildlife garden opens for special event

An Exeter-based charity is opening its beautiful urban wildlife garden for a special summer event.

As the weather gets warmer and the evenings longer, many of us will be out in the garden enjoying the sun. Wildlife in the garden provides the gentle background buzz and tweets that are the sound of summer.

Devon Wildlife Trust is encouraging everyone to help their garden friends this summer and will be showing visitors around its very own urban wildlife garden on Saturday 12 July from 10am until 1pm. The event is part of a series of Our Garden Wildlife events being held across the UK over this weekend, it is free and everyone is welcome to drop in.

Cricklepit Mill’s wildlife garden is a volunteer-led project that has taken the garden from a derelict disused area into a space for people to relax, enjoy and learn from.

Jasmine Atkinson, Devon Wildlife Trust’s Communications Assistant has watched the wildlife garden spring to life this year, “the volunteer team has worked hard to create a garden that is a place the public can enjoy and take inspiration from. The wildflower area has bloomed into a rainbow of colours and the bee and butterfly border is buzzing! The Cricklepit garden is a tiny nature reserve in the heart of the city – an oasis for wildlife and people”

Jasmine continued, “Cricklepit is usually open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm so this Saturday open morning is the chance for visitors who may not be able to come in the week to discover the garden.”

Tours of the garden will be running throughout the morning and volunteers will be there to share ideas for wildlife friendly features that are easily achievable in all types of gardens.

The Cricklepit garden is a great place to get away from the shops and have a moment of peace. The mill leat (stream) that runs through the garden also provides some surprises. Grey wagtails, dippers, little egrets and if you’re lucky, kingfishers, are seen searching for food in the stream. This water wildlife can be added to the long list of butterflies, birds and bugs that inhabit the garden.

Activities for families on Saturday include garden trails, bug hunting and garden craft activities.

For more information about Cricklepit Mill, visit www.devonwildlifetrust.org.

For people who cannot make this date, the mill’s visitor area and gardens are open 9am-5pm weekdays throughout the year. Regular milling days where the mill grinds wheat for flour are held on the second Friday of every month.