Practice

Kate Langdon, the DWT reserve warden for Marsland will guide us around the area known as hard hills to see the Fritillaries. If the weather is good and the timing right, we may see all three species (Pearl Bordered, Small Pearl Bordered and Marsh). She will tell us about the reserve and the DWT management plans on the way.

The walk around hard hills should take about 1.5 hours allowing plenty of stopping time for photos etc. We can then walk back to the cars, and walk the rest of the reserve around the public footpaths at our leisure if we want to.

Important information: 

• please wear wellies for a couple of river crossings to hard hills. The terrain is fairly flat but the ground is uneven around hard hills and we will have to cross shallow water with rocky terrain. 
• the valley is notoriously bad for ticks and other biting insects so appropriate clothing should be worn and insect repellent applied. 
• wear suitable clothing for the weather and bring hats and sun cream if necessary on the day. 
• please note that there are no toilet facilities on site.

Parking – parking is limited allowing for 5 cars at Gooseham Mill by the old office building What3Words location – ///neater.recliner.polite 

Numbers fluctuated each week as you can see from the graph. I could do a graph for each species but it would get complicated!

Rosie Irwin of Butterfly Conservation says habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change are all impacting the population numbers. This year’s fall in numbers has been exacerbated by the wet spring and late arrival of summer temperatures.

We believe that by recording butterfly numbers over a long period of time we can provide useful information to help guide how best to conserve our environment.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 23-25 Jan 2026

All Info Here ->> Big Garden Birdwatch

Submit Results to << Big Garden Birdwatch

And to birds@hartlandnaturesociety.org.uk – We are compiling local results to guide local nature practices

BOOSTING local BIODIVERSITY

Saturday 7th February 2026 10am-1.30pm – Hartland Parish Hall

We hope this meeting will showcase ways of encouraging and increasing biodiversity by looking more closely at current uses of chemicals, what we can do to lessen their impact and what is being done already on a local scale.

Guy Singh-Watson (Riverford Organics), will be our keynote speaker. Other speakers include Tiffany Tsui from the Exeter University Department of Ecotoxicology, local landowners, Devon Wildlife Trust and other local organisations.

The meeting will include presentations and interactive discussion sessions and is open to everyone.

BOOSTING local BIODIVERSITY

Saturday 7th February 2026 10am-1.30pm – Hartland Parish Hall

We hope this meeting will showcase ways of encouraging and increasing biodiversity by looking more closely at current uses of chemicals, what we can do to lessen their impact and what is being done already on a local scale.

Guy Singh-Watson (Riverford Organics), will be our keynote speaker. Other speakers include Tiffany Tsui from the Exeter University Department of Ecotoxicology, local landowners, Devon Wildlife Trust and other local organisations.

The meeting will include presentations and interactive discussion sessions and is open to everyone.