Volunteer Day

As with every Tuesday this was a volunteer day, but in this case it was truly was our ‘Volunteer Day’. Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK – and it’s taking place from the 1-12 June 2016. During the week the NCVO will be sharing a range of guest blogs as part of the celebrations. You can visit the blogs at blogs.ncvo.org.uk for more Volunteers' Week content.

Here are just a snap shot of the volunteers that attended the reserve today doing jobs such as assisting with ringing and checking bird boxes, strimming paths, grass cutting and tidying up around the field centre.

To finish our Volunteer Day we had a shared lunch, and a massive thanks to all who contributed.

Volunteers come in all guises, and often the Reserve Managers get to know what species are around by the keen eyes of some. In this case Elizabeth snapped this excellent photo of a 4 Spotted Chaser, one of half a dozen on the Lake.

Also caught by Elizabeth is this Butterwort .

An insectivorous plant, the bright yellow-green leaves of Common Butterwort excrete a sticky fluid which attracts unsuspecting insects. Once an insect get trapped, the leaves slowly curl around their prey and digest it. The acidic bogs, fens and damp heaths where Common Butterwort lives, do not provide enough nutrients, so it has evolved this carnivorous way of life to supplement its diet. Common Butterwort has purple flowers that appear from May to July, giving the plant its other common names of 'Bog Violet' and 'Marsh Violet'.

Thank you to the many that contribute to the reserve, without you we could not run this oasis as well as we do.