Wow! What a packed spring we have had – and as this newsletter goes out, we find ourselves already slipping into summer! Since the start of the year we’ve already run thirteen training sessions and events, sharing ideas and skills across the group.

Now, as we hit peak survey season, many Wildlife Wardens will be getting stuck into surveying across the district, supporting both the Devon Biodiversity Record Centre’s County Wildlife Site project and Teignbridge District Council as they work to manage their sites better for biodiversity. Looking forward to a busy summer season ahead!

And …..for the bug lovers amongst us! Throughout this newsletter spot some of the focus species for the new Buglife Moor Invertebrate project including the blue ground beetle, bog hoverfly, narrow headed ant and the lichen running spider. Thank you to David Turrell for the beautiful photos.

In this newsletter:

Training and events so far this year

A morning with the Barn Owl Trust

Lighting the way for bats – and beyond!

Progress towards giving pesticides the boot!

A note on leaflet delivery – keeping it safe!

Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy – what’s it all about?

Keeping the WW group going – funding and legacies

Book Recommendations

Calling for your Wildlife Warden stories

Dates for your diary

Round up of Wildlife Warden activity across Teignbridge

Training and events so far this year

It’s been a busy start to the year for Wildlife Wardens, with a variety of training and events. These all aim to build skills and confidence, strengthen connections between wardens, and spark ideas and inspiration to bring back to parishes.

Collaboration chats: At the start of the year we wrapped up our final two online chats, where wardens with experience in running open wildlife garden events, moth breakfasts and community bioblitzes shared their know-how with others, looking to do the same in their own parishes. These chats have clearly sparked some action – Exminster will be running an open wildlife garden event in June, whilst Chudleigh WWs and the Chudleigh Wild group have set up a wildlife gardening group with gardens visits planned for the summer. Across all four online events we clocked up 52 bookings and it was lovely to get together and feel connected with the group during hibernation time! A huge thank you to all those wardens who came along as our experts for these chats, we couldn’t have run them without you.

Hedgerow survey training Using the People’s Trust for Endangered Species survey, we ran a session looking at hedge structure and how it can be used to figure out where a hedge sits in its lifecycle and what management might be needed to keep it healthy. Understanding Devon’s fabulous hedgerows is invaluable for wardens, and these survey skills can be great to offer local landowners and farmers who want to manage their hedges better for wildlife and also for hedge health.

Early plant ID – In the cold of early spring, Audrey led a session on identifying plants without flowers – always the trickier challenge! Building these skills is rewarding for both beginners and experienced botanists, and means our survey season can start earlier and last longer.

Using plants for minor injuries and mishaps – We were treated to a fabulous morning with WW Kerry, who shared her wealth of knowledge on using plants for minor injuries. Kerry made the walk utterly engaging, and we were all fascinated to learn about the properties of so many common plants including cleavers, hedge woundwort, plantain, yarrow and daisies and the stories behind their use throughout history. Thank you, Kerry!

Devon Biodiversity Record Centre habitat training – This training was put on especially for Wildlife Wardens who have been carrying out County Wildlife Site surveys for DBRC over the past few years. We delved into the skill of reading habitats and landscape by looking at topography and plants found. We also learned more about priority habitats and brushed up on our grass, sedge and rush identification skills. A really great morning!

Nightjar survey training WW Vince is on a mission to find nightjars! The idea behind this project is to identify novel breeding sites for nightjar outside of the known strongholds in Teignbridge. Last week, Vince led a group of wardens to Bovey Heath, which is a good site for nightjar activity – and we weren’t disappointed! We saw several males likely tussling for territories, heard the characteristic churring of singing males and observed their distinctive flight pattern. The group will now complete BTO surveys twice over the next few months, and we hope to report back some new sites for these birds. Thanks Vince for all your time and for getting the group so excited about nightjars!

A morning with the Barn Owl Trust

Twenty wardens came along to a super day with the Barn Owl Trust near Ashburton. We began with a talk from Conservation Officer Kate, who gave us a brief overview of owls in Devon before focusing on barn owls. With a decline of around 66% in their numbers due to changes in farming practices, the Trust is working hard with landowners and farmers to improve habitats for them. An ideal habitat is rough grassland, which supports their small mammal prey – barn owls in Devon prefer field voles, along with common shrew and wood mouse. Field voles don’t live underground and need cover throughout the year, so maintaining rough field margins alongside hedgerows and leaving overgrown areas that machinery can’t reach is vital.

We learned that female owls lay their eggs asynchronously, meaning they have an extended period sitting to incubate them. The male feeds her throughout this time, but when she finally emerges she is often quite weak. A real risk at this point is drowning in nearby livestock water troughs, which she will often visit to wash herself in after sitting for so long. The Trust has come up with a nifty floating mesh to place over troughs to prevent this, and educating local landowners about this is something wardens could take on if they know where barn owls are nesting in their area.

The Trust’s work also includes helping to site new nest boxes, responding to national enquiries, monitoring populations, and giving advice around safe rodenticide use. A terrifying 94% of barn owls were found to have second-generation rodenticides in their livers on post-mortem examination, and the Trust promotes a list of alternatives, with rodenticides as a targeted last resort.

After a sociable picnic lunch, Harry, the Trust’s Reserve Officer, took us for a stroll around the adjoining nature reserve, where a great deal of work has been done to create a mosaic of habitats supporting not only owls but many other species too. We were all amazed by the Ritz of bug hotels – I thought even I might move in myself: fabulous views, abundant wildlife, and definitely in better condition than my own house!

Thank you to the Barn Owl Trust for such an excellent day – we all came away better informed and happy to have discovered such a beautiful spot.

Lighting the way for bats – and beyond

WWs and Chudleigh Wild members Tess, Sue, Charlotte and Emma led a group of wardens on a walk around the town, talking about the bats found in the area and the regular weekly monitoring they carry out through the season. This work provides vital information about how bats are moving around the landscape – and it has never been more important, as multiple developments continue to be built in Chudleigh. By keeping detailed records of bat movement, the team has been able to advise on appropriate street lighting and bat mitigation across the area.

Chudleigh is a particularly significant site for the greater horseshoe bat, a species whose populations have declined nationally by 90% over the past 100 years due to habitat loss, intensive farming, increased pesticide use and light pollution. Greater horseshoe bats are especially sensitive to light as they emerge later after dusk than many other species and actively avoid illuminated areas, meaning artificial lighting along hedgerows and commuting routes can cut them off from their feeding grounds entirely.

The group walked us around some of the local housing developments, pointing out the changes to street lighting that have been achieved. Tess has written an excellent summary which you can access here, and the team would be delighted to help any wardens wanting to find out more or explore how they might influence change in their own areas.

And remember of course, light pollution isn’t just a bat issue. It affects hedgehogs, birds, moths and many other insects, making it an incredibly important issue to tackle.

Thank you so much to the Chudleigh team for your time and expertise!

Progress towards giving pesticides the boot!

An update from WW Shira Rüb

Awareness of the damage caused to the natural world and to our own health through pesticide use is growing and the issue is now much more mainstream than in the past which is really good news.

In the last year Wildlife Wardens have been involved in the following ways:

Throughout the year – Audrey and Vicky have been meeting with the Green Spaces Team and contractors Idverde on managing public spaces for biodiversity and pesticide use. Good relationships have been forged and things are moving in a positive direction.

January 2025 – I gave my first Murder in the Garden talk, since speaking at Teignmouth Gardening Club and Chudleigh Wild, with two further talks in the pipeline. The materials have also proved useful at WW stands at various events. We’ve created a leaflet on safe disposal of unwanted pesticides at local recycling centres which can be shared at events and is useful for the many areas across Teignbridge where an organised local collection isn’t currently available.

March 2025 – A small group met with Andrew Rothery of Newton Abbot Green Futures, who spearheaded the Bradley “Check the Shed” campaign, discussing what might be possible across wider Teignbridge. Andrew has since run a second Newton Abbot collection gathering 155kg of pesticide material, and is now supporting WWs in Ilsington to explore a parish collection.

June 2025 – Several WWs attended the successful Pesticide Free Devon conference, an excellent motivator for county-wide action and the Pesticide Free Devon website has since launched. Research also published this month clearly showed the carcinogenic effects of glyphosate, adding impetus to our efforts (read more).

November 2025 – Bishopsteignton’s Wildlife Wardens and Climate Impact Action group successfully persuaded their parish council to vote for pesticide-free management. Well done!

January 2026 – Audrey, Vicky and I wrote to all parish councils and District Councillors in Teignbridge, making the case for going pesticide-free and asking what actions their councils have taken – building a useful picture of progress across TDC and generating some very positive responses.

With pet flea treatments also entering the mainstream media, we hope this year will see an acceleration towards giving pesticides the boot!

A note on leaflet delivery – keeping it safe!

Unfortunately, one of our lovely volunteers was recently bitten by a dog whilst leafletting for an event – a very shocking and painful reminder that this can be a real hazard.

If you are out delivering, please never put your fingers into a letter box on a door; instead, only post to boxes that are already open, or use a stick or tool to lift the flap. It’s also worth remembering that dogs can be loose in gardens, so if you notice any signs that a dog is present at a property – such as a warning sign or barking – please don’t enter and just move on to the next address. It’s just not worth the risk!

Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy – what’s it all about?

The Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy is a countywide plan to restore and protect wildlife and habitats, guiding investment and action to enhance biodiversity across Devon. It gives an overview of Devon’s wildlife and sets out priorities and actions to help nature recover and is a tool to help us all do our bit to create a wildlife-rich Devon, today and for generations to come.

Want to find out more? Devon Wildlife Trust and Community Action Groups (CAG) Devon are hosting a free webinar on Tuesday 2 June, from 7.00pm to 8.30pm. This webinar will run through all you need to know to begin using the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and its many resources, including a mapping tool. The talk will be led by the Local Nature Recovery Strategy team and is aimed at organisations and individuals working to take action for nature.Find out more and reserve your free spot.

Keeping the work going – funding and legacies

Throughout the year a group of ACT steering group members meet regularly to discuss ongoing funding for the Wildlife Warden scheme, which is a continuous task. Funding can often be easier to get for new initiatives, but becomes more challenging to secure for the continued support of a successful project. Funding is predominantly needed for the core costs of paying a part-time coordinator which ensures training opportunities for the group continue, new wardens are found and supported whilst networking across the group is facilitated.

We have been very lucky to have received funding last year from the National Lottery Awards for All, Dartmoor National Park Authority and Teign Energy Communities, along with a series of donations from individuals working closely with the scheme. However, we are still looking to match fund our Awards for All grant, so every little extra counts.

We are deeply grateful to share that we have also recently received a generous legacy donation from the estate of a warden’s late mother. The warden has asked to remain anonymous, but wished us to share this news in the hope it might inspire others to consider leaving a legacy to the group. If this is something you would like to explore, please do get in touch.

Book Recommendations

Thank you to Dawlish WW Jo who has recommended these two books for us:

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane As with all his books it is well researched, perfectly written and strikes a chord… essential reading for those who love and respect water. 

The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes is (as the Spectator describes) ‘ a devastating exposure of land inequality and also an absolute delight to read.’ 

Calling for your Wildlife Warden stories

If you find a spare moment – we’d love to hear from you! Thank you to everyone who has already sent something to me.

We’re continuing to update our website and would like to include more of your personal stories about being a Wildlife Warden. These stories really bring the WW scheme to life, helping others understand what it’s like to be involved and why everything we do matters.

We’re not looking for anything long or fancy – just 10 or 15 minutes of your time. A few bullet points, a short paragraph, or even a single sentence is perfect. Whatever you feel like sharing, we’d be very grateful.

Please take a look here for a few prompts if you need inspiration. Thank you!

Dates for your diary

Round up of Wildlife Warden activity across Teignbridge

Many WWs across the network are involved in ongoing citizen science surveys, including Westcountry Rivers Trust water quality surveys, riverfly surveys and RSPB Cirl Bunting surveys – a vital and much appreciated contribution to our understanding of local wildlife.

Collaborative Projects

Teign Valley Facilitation Fund – A huge thank you to WWs Shira, Lucy, Jo, Julia, Tess, Jane and Larissa, who have all helped install dormouse nest boxes into hedgerows this spring as part of this ongoing project supporting local landowners and farmers in the Teign Valley.

Black-Veined White Butterfly Reintroduction Project, led by Ambios Ltd – An exciting project for the Teign Valley this summer is the reintroduction of an extinct butterfly, the Black-Veined White and a group of WWs have got stuck in to help with this. Thank you to Julia, Scott, Shira, Andrea, Clemence, Jacqui, Peter and Sophie, who are all carrying out every-other-day checks to ensure caterpillars have sufficient food plant (hawthorn) and monitoring pupae. With the first butterflies having emerged this week, it’s a tremendously exciting phase for the project!

Devon Swift Champions – When Dawlish WW Jerry Horn, who runs the Devon Swift Project, called on WWs to help survey local churches where swift boxes have been installed, the response was fantastic – fifteen of you stepped up! A huge thank you to WWs Sarah B, Helen, Anna, Shira, Elliot, Jo, Edmund, Julia, Jeremy, Fran, Sarah C, Vince, Betina, John and Janet for becoming Swift Champions. Fingers crossed for plenty of nesting this season following all Jerry’s extraordinary work across the county.

Ashburton Welcome to new WW Audrey! WW Elaine gave a wildlife gardening talk in Ipplepen, organised by the local WWs, which was a great success with over fifty people attending.

Ashton WW Shira continues supporting work on reducing pesticide use in Teignbridge. See Shira’s recent update for more on progress over the past year.

Bishopsteignton WWs Kirstyn, Laura and Sarah continue their work with the Bishopsteignton Climate Impact Action Group, organising a series of community talks. Sarah is also organising a screening of the National Emergency Briefing film on 20th June, with a facilitated discussion afterwards. Check the map for other local showings, and if you’d like to organise something similar in your parish, Sarah is happy to share her experience – do get in touch.

Bovey Tracey Welcome to new WW Mo! Thanks to WWs Andrew and Janet for helping run a free tree giveaway in Bovey in March, where hundreds of whips grown through the Devon Treescapes project were given away to very happy recipients! Andrew was also involved in planting and maintaining 120 whips in Bullands Field, with habitat enhanced by leaving areas unmown. Janet has been instrumental in getting the Bovey Swift Project off the ground, supported by a Wild About Devon community fund – fingers crossed for nesting swifts this year! WW David continues as an expert guide for regular wildflower walks at the National Trust’s Parke site, and several Bovey WWs contribute regular wildlife updates to the local Cottage magazine alongside Ilsington WWs.

Bridford WWs have updated the verge management plan for Bridford Parish Council, addressing local concerns about wildflower verges looking untidy later in the season by ensuring a mown edge surrounds them. This very useful plan has been added to the WW shared folder – get in touch if you have any trouble accessing it. WW Lucy has been monitoring a local planning application to ensure bat-friendly lighting is used, with 14 recorded bat species in the area.

Buckland-in-the-Moor WWs here have been supporting Albert Knott and the Dartmoor Preservation Society with ongoing monitoring and work at Pudsham Meadows. There is an open day on Sunday 7th June – email Derek Collins to find out more and book a place.

Chudleigh WW Jayne has launched a new initiative offering her expertise to residents of new-build developments, helping them plan wildlife-friendly gardens. An initial launch stand, supported by WW Tess, generated strong interest, and Jayne will be offering garden visits and personalised plans – a brilliant idea for plots often left bare following major soil disturbance. We look forward to hearing more as the project develops. WWs Tess, Sue and Charlotte continue with regular bat monitoring in the town and also helped survey the Pudsham Meadow site. WW Val, alongside Audrey, has created a WW display stand for the Dawlish Turn the Tide festival. WW Barbara continues her dedicated work raising the profile of hedgehogs in the town.

Dawlish – Welcome to new WWs Rosie, Jacqui, Caroline, Alan and Antony – bringing this busy parish to 44 active WWs! Many are involved with the Waterways Around the Dawlish Environment (WADE) group, whose work includes litter picking, water quality monitoring and planting along the Dawlish Brook. WWs Sonia, Brian, Pete and Mariya helped run a WW stand at the Turn the Tide festival, an event spearheaded by WW Scott, who is also involved in planning a major new woodland creation project with several local schools. WW Sonia will soon be leading a group of lichenologists to survey a County Wildlife Site in the Teign Valley, adding to an already impressive species list.

Dawlish Water Community Orchard with WWs Jo, Ric, Tim, Mariya and Pete all involved. It’s been a hugely productive season! New additions include a compost toilet, pissoir, bug hotel (built using roof tiles salvaged 30 years ago from The Old Mill House), plenty of new seating made from storm flotsam, and a tea shed almost ready to open. The blossom was stunning despite the trees’ youth, donated daffodil bulbs put on a great show alongside Pete and Mariya’s snowdrops and bluebells, and hundreds of yellow rattle flowers are now appearing across areas seeded last autumn. A small birch wood has also been planted, with lovely silver birches donated by fellow WW Jo. The micro campsite is nearly complete, with a solar shower room joining the compost loo and kitchen area – all are welcome! We hope to get more people camping and spending time directly in nature. A big thank you to everyone who has pitched in – here’s to enjoying it all this summer!

Dunsford WWs ran a stand at the Dunsford Annual Parish Meeting. WW Julia has recorded ancient and veteran trees on the Ancient Tree Inventory and written an article for the Unity magazine on the benefits of planting for bird food rather than relying on feeding stations. WWs Pip, Glyn and Julia are hoping to take part in nightjar surveys through the summer.

Exminster WW Jeremy, along with the Exminster Greenspace team, has installed a living willow fence grown from cuttings to mark out the tree sapling nursery, run in partnership with the local allotment society. The saplings are doing well and there may be some available to share – please get in touch with Jeremy if you’d like any for local projects. Wildflower beds around the village have been refreshed for the season, although the one above needed little intervention having self-seeded beautifully from last year. The Community Garden is now in its second year, filling up with spring sowings and managed organically, with wildlife nestboxes throughout. To mark Dawn Chorus Day on 3 May the group held a small walk and made a short film using the InShot video editing app. Plans are also in place for a tour of wildlife-friendly gardens in the village on 13 June – a great chance to share ideas and find inspiration.

Ideford WWs Robin and Dom organised a well-received community talk by Kelvin Boot earlier in the year.

Ilsington Thanks to WWs Linda and Janet for helping run a free tree giveaway in Ilsington in March, alongside a woodland celebration event in the village. WWs Dawn and Debbie also led a guided walk to local woodlands as part of the event. Linda continues to manage the Shapley Green wildflower area, seeded by TDC this spring. Liverton Village Hall’s wildflower area is now in its fourth year, with a flora survey planned for this summer; Dawn manages the cutting regime and maintains a summer pathway through the area. Dawn also runs bi-monthly walks to special places in the parish. Several Ilsington WWs are taking part in DWT’s citizen science Woodland Mammal Survey, using tracking cameras to learn more about mammal presence in parish woodlands. WW Debbie has been building strong connections with Ilsington Parish Council and is exploring the possibility of a pesticide collection in the parish, supported by Andrew Rothery from Green Futures Newton Abbot and the Devon Pesticide Free network.

Ipplepen Welcome to new WW Alison! The group hosted WW Elaine from Ashburton for a wildlife gardening talk, with fifty people attending – a great success!

Kenton Welcome to new WWs Annette, Emma and Katie, who are part of the Kenton Nature and Green Spaces group! The group has been working hard to establish a wildflower field at Harmony Meadow and has been supporting the Parish Council with new tree planting.

Lustleigh and Moretonhampstead Welcome to new WWs Sarah and Emma! WW Rachel organised a spring get-together for local WWs to discuss past and future projects, with discussions underway about a swift-focused initiative for the area. Rachel and Bee continue regular checks of the Wray Valley Trail to manage overgrown vegetation and avoid the need for full trail cutting over summer.

Newton Abbot – WW Eloise has been monitoring the ongoing situation regarding development at Wolborough Fen and gave a valuable update to the group earlier this year.

North Bovey WW Susan has been helping with surveys at Pudsham Meadows alongside her regular volunteer work at Yarner Woods, and continues to support her local allotment group to increase biodiversity.

Ogwell WWs arranged a community talk by Kelvin Boot, with ongoing work continuing in the community orchard and on local verge management.

Starcross Welcome to new WW Vic!

Stokeinteignhead WW Sam, alongside Nicky from Ilsington, is exploring the creation of parish biodiversity audits in partnership with the Devon Biodiversity Record Centre – more to follow as this develops.

Trusham WW Helen has now recorded an extraordinary 722 invertebrate species including this stunning 2-3mm wasp, Chalcidoidea Pteromalinae, at Trusham churchyard – a staggering achievement!

Widecombe-in-the-Moor Welcome to new WWs Vince and Michael! WW Vince has hit the ground running, setting up a project to find novel nightjar sites during the 2026 survey season. Following a training session last week, WWs are now identifying suitable survey areas within their parishes, with the aim of filling some existing gaps over the coming months.

What an incredible group you are – thank you for everything you do for wildlife!

Wishing you a brilliant summer across Teignbridge and hope to see you at an event soon!

Vicky and Audrey