“We cannot really make a start on protecting and promoting biodiversity in the valley until we know what we already have.”
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“The Sid Valley Biodiversity Group brings together people from several of the valley’s community groups to pool ideas and expertise about how to promote and enhance the wonderful natural wealth of the valley.”
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And one of the most important tasks is to see what natural wealth is out there, as the SVBG says:
We cannot really make a start on protecting and promoting biodiversity in the valley until we know what we already have.
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And so the SVBG has been surveying the wild flowers of the Sid Valley:
Surveys – Sid Valley Biodiversity Group
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This is from the report on the latest findings – with some charming detail and observations:
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SID VALLEY HERBACEOUS FLOWER SURVEY 2021, MARCH UPDATE
Sid Valley Biodiversity Group is continuing with the project to record the range of herbaceous plants in flower each month. When out walking, volunteers from the group note which flowers they see. Then the observations are logged into an international database called iNaturalist, either directly out on the walk through a phone app or back home on a computer or tablet.
Following February’s cold snap which set back some the plants that were found in January, spring has really got going in March and the team recorded nearly 300 observations on iNaturalist with 71 species in flower, 39 new to our list for the year.
SID-VALLEY-HERBACEOUS-SURVEY-March-2021.pdf
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The actual findings can be seen on the digital recording platform iNaturalist:
March Sidmouth Hedgerow Herbaceous · iNaturalist
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There are more survey results here on the SVBG website:
Surveys – Sid Valley Biodiversity Group
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And more things to look at on their Facebook pages:
Sid Valley Biodiversity | Facebook
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photo: Common Dog Violet: Ed Dolphin