Significant species
The Quantock Hills Botanical Art Project ~ by Mary Taylor, South West Society of Botanical Artists We are a group of members of the South West Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA) from Somerset and Devon. For a long time, we …
A very good year for butterflies
Simon Davies gives an update on this year’s butterfly surveys on Over Stowey Customs Common ~ We have now completed our third full season of weekly butterfly surveys on a specified route across the Common. Four or five of us …
Elms and Hairstreaks
Celebrating a successful first year of the project As summer fades into memory, we’re celebrating an amazing first year of our Elm and White-letter Hairstreak butterfly conservation project. We recorded the first sightings in 18 years of this threatened species of …
Sandstones to roadstones
Geologist Garry Dawson delves into the deep-time and the human history of Bicknoller Quarry The rocks exposed in Bicknoller Quarry are Devonian age Hangman Sandstones – see Geology Map below. These were sands and muds deposited around 390 to 380 million years …
Slithering Under the Radar
Kevin Palmer, Lecturer in Conservation Biology at University of Chester, announces his plan to bring research investigating the unexpected impacts of human recreation on adders to the Quantock Hills next spring Picture the scene: a beautiful spring morning, the mid-morning …
The Green Blueprint
Paul Rutter reports on a summer of activity to create wildlife corridors between the Quantock Hills and Exmoor Over the summer I distributed the West Somerset Green Blueprint leaflets to as many landowners as possible who were within, or adjacent …
Nether Stowey Arts Evenings
Tom Poole Library is hosting a series of autumn evening talks that delve into the rich visual art and literary culture of the Quantocks. Details and ticket prices are below.
Caterpillars found!
Exciting news for the Elms & Hairstreaks project, with our first two confirmed White-letter Hairstreak (caterpillar) sightings and a significant donation received meaning that he project will continue, with more trees due to be planted in the winter It is …
Bertie and Betty
Ethelbert (known to all as Bertie) White was a talented artist in watercolours and learned the old craft of wood engraving to illustrate many books about the English Countryside and the natural world. He married Elizabeth (known as Betty) who …