Start here to meet and greet the wildlife at Young Wood
|
'Meet the Neighbours' was a year-long project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to find, identify and celebrate the myriad of wild species which surround us at Young Wood - from the fairly obvious to the very obscure! We ran a series of discovery events through the spring, summer and autumn of 2017, each focusing on a different group of plants or animals, and as a result we began to build up a picture of the real depth of wildlife in our woods.
In total so far we have identified 488 different species of plants, fungi, insects, spiders, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians living within the bounds of Young Wood. Follow the links below to find out more about what we have discovered to date - and if you think you've found something that isn't on our lists - please let us know! We know this only part of the story - the real total number of species at Young Wood is probably several times what we have found so far - but we have made a start, and we will add to our knowledge over the coming years, so everyone who comes to Young Wood has a chance to get to know more about the life with which we share our beautiful woodland. Below: one of the rarities from our explorations - the Jet Ant, Lasius fuliginosus, found in Cold Croft Coppice at Young Wood, demonstrating its ability to squirt acid on a bluebell flower, which behaves like litmus paper and turns red! Above right: A roe deer fawn found lying motionless in deep cover at Young Wood 
Click on any of the following headings to see the current list of plants and creatures at Young Wood.. |
|
Flowering plantsFungiInsectsMoths & ButterfliesSpidersBirdsMammals, Reptiles & Amphibians
Above: the Dark-edged Bee-Fly, Bombylius major, found near the Camp at Young Wood. Below: Cucumber Spider found on the rides. Below right: Wood Warbler, found in the valley above Keepers Field
Above right: the Tawny Funnel, Clitocybe geotropa, found in Cold Croft Coppice. Centre right: Dormouse, found in Cold Croft Coppice. Right: Large Skipper butterfly, seen on the rides
|
Above: Greater Butterfly Orchid found in Twelve Acre Copse at Young Wood
|
The Collection ShrineWorking with well-known local public artist Michael Fairfax, we built a unique open-air 'display cabinet', made out of green oak and larch harvested from the woods. Since it took up its place in spring 2017 it has amassed a bewildering array of evidence of some of wild creatures we share our woods with - chewed nuts, pellets, bones, feathers and more - and a few of our neighbours have moved in of their own accord - spiders, beetles and the odd woodpecker!
Below: A collection of Yellow and Brown-lipped Snail shells (Cepaea spp) gathered together in the Collection Shrine
|
