May 2019

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16 Buckden Roundabout
May 2019 Pre-school
Huntingdonshire Fauna and Flora Society
Welcome to the world of wildlife in Huntingdonshire!
Are you interested in finding out more about the wildlife around
Huntingdon and Peterborough? Perhaps you are already sending
records to one or more of the online sites such as iRecord or
posting plant and animal photographs via a Facebook account or
Twitter page. If so, why not join the Huntingdonshire Fauna &
Flora Society?
Founded in 1948 the objective of the Society is to promote the
study, conservation and recording of wildlife throughout Hun-
tingdonshire and Peterbor-
ough.
Membership is open to all
with an interest in the wildlife
living in our local area. In the
summer months specialists in
groups of species, which in-
clude flowering plants, mam-
mals, fungi, insects and all
kinds of other invertebrates,
visit specific sites. They are
joined by enthusiastic ama-
teurs, some with extensive knowledge and others just starting. In
2019 we intend to visit sites as far apart as Portholme Meadow
(Brampton) and Therfield Heath (near Royston). Although we set
out to record wildlife the meetings are informal and give an op-
portunity to learn and contribute to our better understanding of
the value of our countryside. Ultimately this contributes to the
conservation of our environment.
In the winter months we meet in the Hinchingbrooke Country-
side Centre where illustrated talks on natural history provide
additional information.
These are open meetings.
Subjects in 2018/19 range
from European butterflies,
Paxton Pits Nature Reserve
and Phenology, the study
of seasonal rhythms in
plant and animal life cy-
cles. There is a small
charge for non-members.
Publication of the results
of research and survey
form an important part of our contribution to the conservation
of species and sites. Books describing the distribution of plants
throughout our area and the wildlife of Brampton Wood are
amongst the more recent. Huntingdonshire Grasslands were the
subject of a volume to commemorate the Society’s 60th birthday.
Just published is a book about the orchids of Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough. A book on butterflies is in prepara-
tion. Annual reports provide shorter descriptions of other interesting features of wildlife interest.
We have a Web Site - http://www.hffs.org.uk/ which includes details of walks and talks for 2019.
and a Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/288750741769891/
Membership forms are on the web site. Alternatively Contact:
Stuart Irons, Hon. Treasurer & Membership Secretary, 4 Appleyard, Stanground, Peterborough, PE2 8JH. phone: 01733
760441, email: nebria@ntlworld.com .
The children had a lovely end to the spring term, meeting
Pebbles, Betsy and Bluebell the lambs (thank you to Polly
O’Driscoll for bringing them for a visit), and they went home
clutching the beans they had been growing at Preschool. We
hope they’ve continued to thrive at home!
Our Easter Egg Design competition was a great success. Con-
gratulations to the 0-2 category winner Jaiden Asplin, 3-4
winner Thomas Pearce and 5-6 winner, Bethany Knibbs, who
impressed the judges with their colourful and beautiful de-
signs. Our Easter Rock Hunt is in progress as I write: the East-
er Bunny helped us hide special Easter-themed painted
rocks around Buckden, each with a unique code, for children
to find over the holidays. Entrants will write down the codes
on entry forms (kindly held for us by Nisa and Days – thanks
once again to them for all they do to support us). Five finds
means an entry in the prize draw! We will have details of
winners next month, but thank you to everyone who took
part in both fundraisers.
Also, a big thank you to those who donate change to our
collection box at Nisa (which contained nearly £20 last time
we emptied it!) or chose us as recipients of their blue Tesco
tokens. The Tesco donation has been used to buy new furni-
ture. We’ve also been chosen as a local cause by the Co-op
stores in Brampton and Little Paxton. This is a year-long sup-
port initiative that’s already raised £115 for us—you can
help by getting a Co-op membership card and swiping it eve-
ry time you shop.
During the first half of our summer term, we will be looking
at People Who Help Us, our leavers will be practising getting
changed for PE and the other skills they will need in school,
and our committee will be looking out for new members as
some move on to support their child’s primary school.
Please consider joining!
Please note our new phone number
To enrol your child or arrange a visit, contact our Manager,
Samantha Sinclair, on 01480 810600.
For committee enquiries, please contact our Chairperson,
Becky Milne, at buckdenpreschoolchairperson@gmail.com.
For more information, visit www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk
or see our Facebook updates at
https://www.facebook.com/
www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk/.
Grizzled Skipper - a butterfly of an-
cient meadows
Flowering rush - a plant of river and
lakesides