Spring cleaning, planning and an exciting find at The Deneway

Katie Bell

Youth Action Officer

We had a great session with the Youth Rangers at The Deneway. It was lovely to spot first signs of spring.

We prepared areas for our wildflower meadows, IDed some creatures and did some path clearance and planning for the reserve and future sessions. The final hour is always dedicated to planning, because the reserve is youth-led.

We also checked out our boxes on site, to see if anyone was making use of them. And someone is! 

One of the boxes had something that looked like a nest. Sally, who runs Benfield Hill LNR, and who is Dormouse licensed, said it could be be a Dormouse home. The Youth Rangers suggested it could be interesting to put out some footprint tunnels for the summer and monitor the site for potential Dormouse and other small mammals. You do not need a Dormouse licence for footprint tunnels, as it does not count as disturbance. 

One of our Youth Rangers is working towards getting their Dormouse licence this year, and they are happy to help check the boxes in future. As there is potential proof of Dormice, it would require a licenced person to check the boxes.