Wildlife in Ascot | ascot.wildlife@gmail.com
During this last year with the periods of lock-down people have become much more conscious of wildlife and nature. The healing properties of nature have been expressed on television and in literature as well as experienced by many. As people have escaped the confines of their homes for exercise outside, they have been able to begin to embrace and become curious about the world they find outside in their area.
For local wildlife charities such as Wildlife in Ascot, this time has been a strange one as we usually hold events for people to have some social time together as we learn more about our natural world. Clearly, with the Covid pandemic, that has not been possible. The need to support wildlife is as important as ever and we are keen to support this resurgence of interest so we have taken the opportunity to push forward on a couple of projects.
One of our Trustees ran a fundraising event for Wildlife in Ascot in 2019 and found that many local residents were not sure they knew which birds and mammals live around them here and so the idea of writing a booklet, specifically aimed at describing creatures found in our immediate area, was born. The booklet, “Wildlife in Ascot - Who shares your garden?” has 40 pages of information with local colour photographs and original drawings. It is designed to start people off on a journey of discovery. We hope the information given is useful to identify animals and also as a guide on how to help our local wildlife. We hope that it will be a fun read and easily understood by everyone aged 8 to 80.
These booklets are available to see and purchase for £4 from Chapmans in Sunninghill.
That’s not the only thing that has been going on in the last year. Since the inception of Wildlife in Ascot in 2012, other ‘wild’ groups have formed across the Maidenhead and Windsor area. We all joined forces in 2019 to encourage RBWM to recognise and support the role of all aspects of the natural environment in their Environment and Climate Strategy which was approved by the council last summer. We are now working with RBWM on a borough wide plan to improve the state of play for nature across the whole area with actions to increase biodiversity. This political will to improve things for our planet into the future is to be welcomed and encouraged so we can leave things in a better state for our children and grandchildren. Support for nature from local residents is very important in ensuring that nature is not diminished and pushed out by commercial interests.
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Click on Wildlife in Ascot for more information about green wildlife corridors in Ascot & the Sunnings.
Wildlife in Ascot | ascot.wildlife@gmail.com Click on Wildlife in Ascot for more information