Exmouth Local Group

Throughout the year this group arranges a series of indoor and outdoor activities that are open to all and are advertised in Devon Wildlife Trust's events leaflet and on the events webpage. This group also produces a quarterly newsletter (copies available in left hand column).

Latest news

Birds and Reserves quiz
There are many ways to help raise funds and promote the work of DWT. Last year this group created a fun ‘Birds and Reserves’ quiz. More than 100 copies were sold, which made £80, and perhaps more importantly, spread the word far and wide about DWT.

The quiz did particularly well at the Exmouth Kite festival, and at other events during the summer. Many of the quiz sheets went to non-members who, the group hopes, will be encouraged to join DWT. To help entrants with the quiz answers the group gave each entrant a copy of the DWT Nature Reserves Guide, which in itself aroused quite a bit of interest.  Exmouth DWT Local Group is very grateful to Mike Tracey who devised the quiz, and was not afraid to do a bit of hard-selling to persuade people to buy it!  The overall quiz winner was Roger Pearson from Budleigh Salterton who received a £20 voucher.
Look out for the group’s 2012 offering - it is rumoured to be sensational!

Local group activities include:

- Monthly indoor meetings from October to March in the Bastin Hall, Elm Grove Exmouth. Admission £2.50. Illustrated talks are followed by questions and answers.

- An annual guided bird watching walk along the Exe estuary to watch birds.

- East Devon Heath Week in July
One of the highlights of this group’s summer is the annual East Devon Heath Week in July, organised jointly by DWT, RSPB, the East Devon AONB and the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust.  The week starts with a family fun day at Woodbury Castle and continues with a wide range of events throughout the week. Bystock reserve holds an open day in conjunction with its regular conservation day.

- Flag days in Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton

- Work parties are held fortnightly.
Bystock Pools Nature Reserve Work Parties. We hold regular work parties at our local Bystock Pools nature reserve led by a DWT Nature Reserves Officer. We welcome newcomers. Although our hours are from 10 am to 3 pm you can do as much or little as you like. Tasks include scrub clearance and bracken bashing. Tools and gloves are provided. Please wear suitable clothes and, if you wish to stay for the day, bring food and drink for 'tea break' and lunch. ###PLEASE NOTE: At the moment we have the maximum number of volunteers that the site can accommodate. If you wish to join another group please view the other opportunities.###

- Exmouth Wildlife Garden
Our wildlife demonstration garden began in 2001, with the financial (and physical) assistance of our local Quaker group, to whom we are most grateful. The garden was originally a badly overgrown allotment plot, but a band of intrepid volunteers cleared all the weeds, excavated a pond, installed a shed and began planting for wildlife. Our aim is to show members of DWT and the general public what can be achieved in a space about the size of an average garden.

We are proud of the fact that we now have a woodland, a butterfly/bee border, a fruit garden, a vegetable garden, a heather patch, and, of course a pond. We have recently added an 'insect hotel', built into a flower-covered bank rescued from nettles and bindweed. We have also our own two-bay compost area, constructed from old pallets. We hope to add a third bay in due course. Above and around the compost bin and the flower bank, we have areas of wild growth, with nettles, wood piles, trees and bushes, to provide homes for insects, reptiles and birds. Slow worms love compost heaps!

We have printed a leaflet about the garden, with brief details of its features and planting. If you would like to help our existing team of volunteers, or just visit us to see what we are doing, and perhaps pick up some ideas, we are open on the first and third Sundays of every month, from 10am until noon. There are also one or two open days per year, details of which will be publicised at the appropriate time. Access is via the Gorfin Hall car park in Claremont Lane, Exmouth (please park in the road and not in the car park, which is for hall users only)

For more details of activities please have a look at the Devon Wildlife Trust's events leaflet or visit the events webpage.