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Wyke Farm, Chedington (west Dorset) Bioblitz weekend July 8th to 10th 2022

We are now taking bookings for our Chedington weekend in July – this is the fifth year of our association with Wyke Farm and we are hoping that after all the disruption by covid, we can get back to normal this time! The land area linked to Wyke Farm is now around 1000 acres and includes the wonderful Whitevine Farm which is just over the Somerset border and part of which is a SSSI hay meadow.

The area is hugely varied and includes coniferous and deciduous woodland, hazel coppice, a lake and reedbed, withybeds, extensively-grazed pastures and wildflower meadows. As  a result the biodiversity is fantastic: every year we add to the species lists.

You can either stay locally or camp in a tent or campervan in the field by the lake. Or join us on a daily basis if you live locally. We will eat together for breakfasts, snack lunches and teas. We will have a casserole or goulash or something similar for the Friday evening meal and on Saturday our hosts Rob and Alex Appleby will be laying on another of their famous barbecues.

For further information about this weekend and for a booking form please click on this link.

Background to EuCAN  EuCAN originated in 2007 as a scheme to take volunteers to different corners of Europe to carry out habitat management work alongside our European partners. These visits were generously funded by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme but the grants have come to an end. However, we are still keen to maintain our contacts in Europe and are able to arrange a number of study tours and placements each year (though sadly these are no longer free!). Since Brexit, it has obviously become considerably more difficult to find funding for projects with our European partners and friends and most of our work is based on contracts, surveying and volunteering in Dorset and Somerset.

Have a look at our Flickr site to get an idea of the range of activities we have been involved with!

Cerne Valley group lunch break with bacon butties November 2017

Through the year: habitat management contracts in Dorset and Somerset – we are looking for volunteers, trainees and sub-contractors. Summer is generally a quieter time for contracts but there are opportunities throughout the year to get involved in scrub cutting, haymaking, hedgelaying, dry-stone walling, Himalayan Balsam removal, ragwort pulling and cutting, and ongoing habitat management work for Butterfly Conservation, Natural England and other landowners. Click here for more info.

strimming Himalayan Balsam on the slopes of the Beaminster Tunnel

Our regular Volunteer groups are always on the look-out for new members - join in, it’s great fun, costs nothing and you will learn new skills, visit lovely places, get healthy exercise and fresh air – and at the same time contribute to the improvement of some of our best wildlife habitats.

The EuCAN Mid-week Volunteers meet every Wednesday for a variety of different tasks, mainly in south Dorset. Minibus transport is provided from Weymouth and Dorchester.Contact the group leader, Dave Searle, via this link to our website:  http://www.eucan.org.uk/uk/dorset/dorset-mid-week-group/

The EuCAN Somerset Volunteers generally meet every Tuesday .Based in south Somerset, the group carries out tasks on a great range of sites in Somerset and north and west Dorset. http://www.eucan.org.uk/uk/somerset/somerset-eucan-volunteers/ . In addition to practical work, we also have a programme of walks and visits planned for the summer.

The Milverton Conservation Volunteers meet monthly and are based in the west Somerset area. See  http://www.eucan.org.uk/uk/somerset/milverton-local-volunteers/

Cerne Valley Community Landscape Project  This project ran for 8 very successful years, but our work in the Cerne valley still continues.

Cerne Valley Community Landscape Project volunteers working at Yelcombe, Cerne Abbas.

We created a glade in the woods at Nether Cerne to improve the habitat for the Duke of Burgundy butterfly