Dormice On Your Doorstep

Common dormouseThis is a new three year project based in Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The aim is to involve people in local wildlife and natural heritage. The threatened common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius, pictured here, is the focal species.

Dormice are endangered and the south west of England is a stronghold for the remaining dormouse population in Britain, yet dormice records are patchy and incomplete.

Dormouse walkDormice On Your Doorstep has evolved out of the energy and findings of the successful Field Boundaries Project. A key theme from that project was the link between the dormouse, species-rich hedgerows and traditional ways of managing them. Visit the website to find out more about dormice.

Manor Road Update

Over 50 species of plant were recently identified in the newly planted flower meadow at Manor Road Community Woodland in Keynsham. Undeterred by the torrential rain, the Friends of Manor Road Community Woodland and Bath & North East Somerset Council's Countryside Management Officer carried out the survey of the meadow which was sown in 2005.

Meadow at Manor Rd LNR

Species found included musk mallow, common knapweed, ladies bedstraw, birds foot trefoil and bladder campion. For anyone wishing to visit, Manor Road Community Woodland is located between Saltford and Keynsham. There are several access points off Manor Road. For more information please contact Miriam Woolnough, Countryside Management Officer at Bath & North East Somerset Council: (01225) 477612.