Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) is leading a Bioblitz at the stunning Knoll Gardens on the 7th August, between 10am- 4pm, to help visitors discover more about the wonderful wildlife the gardens have to offer.
A Bioblitz is designed to record all the wildlife within a specific area, allowing visitors to be wildlife scientists for the day, and also learn the skills to record wildlife in their own gardens. Knoll Gardens is well known for its stunning naturalistic style, and is considered to be one of Dorset’s hidden gems.
Knoll Gardens Foundation Administrator, Tracy Standish, said, “A Bioblitz is a fantastic way of discovering all the diverse creatures that inhabit the gardens; whether its moths, mammals, bugs or birds, you never know what you might find. Incredibly, in previous years we have seen up to 16 different species of butterfly. You don’t need to be an expert. Anyone can come along and immerse themselves in nature for a few hours. The gardens are an extremely wildlife-friendly environment and in recent years we have seen otters, green woodpeckers and tree bees.”
DWT Great Heath Community Conservation Officer, Katie Wilkinson, will be giving people the opportunity to get a closer look at small mammals with her monitoring programme: “I will have live small mammals to show visitors after opening the harmless traps that will be set the night before. The small mammals will be released in the morning so come early if you’d like to see these furry animals of the undergrowth up close!’’
This event is part of The Great Heath Living Landscape for people and wildlife. Visitors will also be able to find out more about the Dorset Wildlife Trust ‘Wildlife on your doorstep’ campaign – to encourage people to record wildlife in their local green spaces or gardens and help us create up to date records of wildlife numbers in Dorset.
There will also be an opportunity to discover more about the mysterious world of bats as Bat expert Jan Freeborn leads a guided tour during the evening (must be pre-booked). (Prices for the Bat walk are Adults £5, Children £2).
Admission cost to the gardens is £5.95 per adult and £4.25 per child. Proceeds will be equally shared between Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Knoll Gardens Foundation (www.knollgardensfoundation.org). For more information on the Bioblitz or to book the bat walk, please call Nicky Hoar on 01202 692033.
