As there are a few events coming up in the next few weeks, I thought I should bring you up to date with recent developments.

A Management Group has been set up as a sub-committee of the Darley Abbey Society. It has cross representation with the Friends of Darley Open Spaces (FoDOS) and is working closely with Derby City Council and the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

The Management Plan from 2003 has been updated and is being submitted to Natural England requesting designation as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

Temporary signs have been placed at the 2 entrances to the site from the road to the canoe club, welcoming those who wish to visit.

A preliminary visit by 2 members of the Derbyshire Mammal Group has generated a lot of interest. They agreed to undertake a small mammal trapping exercise this month, and searches for evidence of harvest mice, badgers and bats later in the autumn. The small mammal trapping was done overnight on 11/12th August. A total of 99 traps were set, and 28 mammals of 4 species were trapped. Each was identified, weighed, and sexed before release into the wild. Wood mice were the most common species, but there were also 3 bank voles, 2 field voles, and 2 common shrews, the smallest weighing only 8 grams. Evidence of badgers and foxes was also noted.

The uncommon and very pretty bee-orchid has again been found on-site this summer and has now been seen in at least 3 eparate locations on the site.

Derby WASP (Wild Derby Wildlife Area Support Project) has offered 2 days of work on-site by volunteers from the BTCV, to undertake controlled scrub clearance at the north end of the site, and grass cutting as a trial in a selected area. The former aims to encourage more space for nesting birds, and the grass-cut should encourage seed setting and to maintain species diversity.

Future plans for the reserve include developing links with the Barn project, encouraging student volunteers to undertake projects on site and control of invasive species such as Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam. We also need to find out more about the animals and plants that live on the reserve.

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