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Newsletter Autumn 2005
Contents
We need you all
From the chairman, Graham Ault
The last few months have been a very important period for the group. You will remember in the last newsletter my predecessor as chairman wrote about the threats to the continuing viability of the conservation group as a result of the limited number of active volunteers and active members. The message was, I hope, very clear that unless we could find some further practical help and support from members and new volunteers there was a real risk of the group dying. We appealed to members for more help, but unfortunately this was not forthcoming.
Since then your committee have worked hard to try to raise further interest in the group. Jim Ayling and I appeared in the Chichester Observer back in May to try to raise awareness of this situation and to encourage new volunteers. This was perhaps a little more successful, although the response was not exactly overwhelming. It is still early to be clear about the overall effects but we have had some new interest, which is encouraging.
We are trying also to strengthen our links with the Chichester Natural History Society as a further means of reinforcing the group.
Perhaps our best result so far is the award of a grant from the Woodland Trust (see below), which will enable us to buy some new equipment, provide further training for volunteers and, most importantly, increase our expenditure on public awareness and membership recruitment. The position of the group remains very vulnerable and I must repeat our appeal to all members and other interested people to come forward and talk to us about what else you may be able to do, however small, so that we can continue our important work of maintaining, protecting and enhancing the natural history of Brandy Hole Copse. Please give me a call and talk about what you might be able to do. Please don’t leave it to someone else!
Grant from the Woodland Trust
We are delighted to confirm that we have been awarded a grant of £2,000 by the Woodland Trust to support our work as a conservation group in a key woodland environment. The money has to be spent by the end of this year (any unspent money has to be sent back to the Trust).
The main areas of expenditure will be:
1. Public awareness and membership – we have £1,000 to spend on raising awareness locally of the group and trying to increase our membership and number of volunteers. Some of this money may be spent on improving our educational links and in the creation of a discovery trail in the Copse aimed at families and school groups. We would be happy to receive any ideas from members about how we can most effectively spend this money.
2. Training courses – we have up to £600 to spend on training of volunteers, existing or new. How we spend the money is a matter for further discussion. For example we could buy one place on a chain-saw qualification course. This could be available to a new volunteer with an interest in return for some practical work in the Copse. Other ideas might include leadership and first aid.
3. New equipment – we can spend up to £400 on new tools and equipment, that may include a strimmer, saws and insect identification boxes. Again, ideas are welcome.
It makes a nice change to be able to ask for your help to spend some money on behalf of the group. However, if you have any ideas, suggestions, etc, to help the committee, don’t put this newsletter away without thinking seriously about what you personally can do to help. Whatever your abilities or limitations, there is likely to be some way you can help, so contact us and see what we can find. Even a few minutes a week could be invaluable.
Dragonflies in the Copse
This year has been a good one for butterflies and dragonflies in the Copse. In particular many of you may have noticed the numbers of dragonflies flying there, and I thought it might be interesting to say a little about these fascinating insects. Before that, however, there are two common misconceptions about dragonflies that need to be corrected.
Firstly, dragonflies do not sting! They may look ferocious and have long narrow abdomens, but they do not sting and are quite safe to humans. Secondly, dragonflies spend most of their adult lives away from water. It is true the larval stages live in water – perhaps in Willow Pond – but the final adult stage spends much of its aerial life away from water.
The full-grown larva climbs the stem of a plant at the edge of the pond. At the top of the stem, it dries and the adult insect emerges. This adult spends weeks flying along rides and woodland edges where it feeds on smaller insects.
When sexually mature it returns to the pond to mate. The mated female will lay her eggs in the water so starting the cycle again.
Two main types of dragonfly will be seen as you walk through the Copse. The larger are the hawkers. These “hawk” (that’s how they got their name) along woodland edges and rides searching for prey, and are fast, acrobatic fliers in the sunshine.
The two most common species in the Copse now are the southern hawker and the migrant hawker.
A medium-sized brown or red dragonfly will be a darter. These sit on suitable perches – being especially fond of the top of dead foxglove stems. From these perches they watch for insect prey, “darting” out (again the source of their name) to catch it before returning to their perch to eat it.
Most darter dragonflies in the Copse are common darters – the male is red and the female brown – although the ruddy darter may sometimes be seen over Willow Pond. Damselflies are much smaller insects which fly with shimmering wings over the water in Willow Pond. It has even been suggested that the shimmering of a damselfly’s wings in flight was the origin of the idea of fairies! Several species of damselfly frequent the Copse including the azure, common blue, blue-tailed and large red. The last-named will be the first damsel seen in the year – look for it over Willow Pond from mid-April onwards.
Of the 39 species of dragons and damsels resident in Britain, 11 have been seen in the Copse. In addition to the hawkers mentioned above, other large dragons include the emperor, broadbodied chaser and the hairy dragonfly. The hairy is the first large dragonfly to appear in the year – look for it from early May onwards. It has been noticeable this summer how much use the dragonflies are making in the Copse of the new areas of coppiced sweet chestnut and the rides cut by the Crumblies. Their conservation work is beginning to pay off!
Mike PerryGood came from the Great Storm
Does the sound of autumn leaves rustling and branches creaking bring nightmares every year? Where were you in the early hours of October 16 1987? If the answer to question one is yes, and to question two is in or around Chichester, you’ll have indelible memories.
Winds in excess of 100mph uprooted trees and smashed them down onto houses, cars, roads and anything else in their path. The storm tossed over pleasure boats, caravans and small planes as though they were playthings, flattened glasshouses and bathing huts, brought down power and phone lines, washed ashore a cross-Channel ferry. It filled the pages of the Chichester Observer with photographs of the damage, including one splendid shot of a huge fallen trunk across a track right beside a sign warning “cars parked at owner’s risk”.
The Great Storm has firmly gone down in history (enter Great Storm October 1987 into Google and within 25 seconds 1,820,000 references are traced). Its cause was a suddenly deepening depression – the reason for the drop in pressure is still unclear – originating as a small disturbance along a cold front in the Bay of Biscay. Originally, the depression had been predicted to track along the English Channel, but it unexpectedly changed course and the brunt of the extreme winds was borne by counties of Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent.
As one web account, from St Vincent College, notes: “Fortunately, the strongest winds occurred in the early hours of the morning when few people where about. Had it occurred during a normal working day it is likely that the death toll of 16 would have been substantially higher. As it was, an estimated 15 million trees were uprooted… roads and railways were blocked and most people found it impossible to travel to work the following day.”
The 25th anniversary was celebrated extensively, especially in an exhibition at West Sussex Record Office. But now, in October 2005, as the call goes out for more help to maintain Brandy Hole Copse (and the Royal Military Police leave Chichester), this is an appropriate moment to remember that without the community effort prompted by the storm, there wouldn’t be a delightful area of woodland and a unique local nature reserve open to all.
Brandy Hole Copse was badly hit by the storm, with mature oaks and other trees blown down and extensive damage caused to the entrenchment bank. One nearby resident recalls how the previous day he didn’t have a single tree in his garden. Twenty-four hours later he could hardly open his front door for horizontal trunks and branches… Impassable Brandy Hole Lane was one of the Observer photos – talk about the ultimate sylvan scene!
After removing most of the fallen trees, the district council called for public support to look after the woodland. In August 1989, a public meeting called by Sussex Wildlife Trust and the CDC resulted in the formation of the Brandy Hole Copse Conservation Group.
Work began on a small scale in 1990, clearing undergrowth, planting trees and bushes and reestablishing the roadside hedge. Then a post and rail fence was built along some 300 yards of road boundary, with soldiers from the RMP Barracks doing a great deal of the heavy work. And in the years since, much more volunteer involvement has made the Copse the special place it is today. So heed Graham’s plea, and don’t wait until another Great Storm comes along.
Liz SaguesA helpful and open approach
The “Crumblies” have worked in Brandy Hole Copse (previously known as East Broyle Copse) since 1997 when they began laying the hedge along Brandy Hole Lane. They have continued at various times since then, opening up glades and maintaining the hedge.
They are a voluntary group, undertaking hedge-laying and conservation work at various locations in the area. They have just completed their latest project in the Copse, which was to remove many of the chestnut trunks and so widen some of the original rides. These will be maintained as open areas to allow in more sunlight which will encourage grasses, flowers, butterflies and a variety of invertebrates to enter.
There has been a notable increase in the number of butterflies flying in the oak tree rides during the summer, especially the meadow browns, gatekeepers and speckled woods, with the latter being particularly suited to the dappled shade of the ride edges and the grass verges.
Peter Brown
The Crumblies’ contribution to the ecology the Local Nature Reserve will be appreciated by future generations
Last Updated 04 January 2006