Volunteers help council achieve great things for countryside in East Devon

Despite 2017 having only just begun East Devon District Council's Countryside volunteers already have lots to celebrate. Over 300 hours have been dedicated during January, allowing the team to achieve great things in the countryside.

Volunteers at Seaton Wetlands have opened the Discovery Hut each weekend to welcome visitors and have dedicated an amazing 82 hours of service to the team, as well as talking to over 400 visitors.

The Tuesday Task Force at Seaton Wetlands has been very busy this winter, working over 125 hours planting trees to create a new hedgerow and creating bird box, bat box and dormouse box kits ready for the Wildlife Gardening taking place at Seaton Wetlands on Tuesday 14 February.

What’s that bird? sessions, which are run by volunteers, have helped 20 people to discover more about the birds found along the Axe Estuary.
 
The East Devon conservation volunteers have started work clearing invasive laurel at Knapp Copse Nature Reserve. The group has also made improvements to the Knapp in Sidmouth with scrub clearance and wild flower seed sowing. The scrub clearance will enable grazing to be introduced to the orchard.

Countryside team leader (People) Tim Dafforn said: ‘’The Countryside service is extremely grateful to the work of our volunteers who provide such a great range of skills and expertise to the service. Lots of exciting work has already taken place, and the rest of the year is set to be just as busy with species surveys and events being planned.’’

To find out more about the East Devon District Council’s Countryside service and volunteering opportunities visit wildeastdevon.co.uk, or contact the Countryside service directly via countryside@eastdevon.gov.uk.