Come along to our Christmas events
 This December, Wild East Devon have events to get all the family excited for the festive period at our Seaton Wetlands nature reserve:
Wreath Making Kits: Saturday 12th - 10am to 4pm, Tuesday 15th - 10am to 4pm
Prepare your home for Christmas and get that festive feeling with the Wild East Devon rangers at Seaton Wetlands. Make a beautiful Christmas wreath for your front door using beautiful natural materials including holly, ivy and dried orange.
Christmas Trail: runs from 19 December to 4 January.
How many wooden reindeer can your family find hiding around Seaton Wetlands nature reserve? Come and explore Seaton Wetlands and see how many wooden snowmen you can find hiding around the nature reserve.
Christmas Decorations Willow Weaving Workshop: Saturday 19th - 10am to 4pm
Get festive and learn how to weave willow with Richard from Windrush Willow
Make traditional willow Christmas Decorations and take them home with you in a day! We'll be following all social-distancing rules and have lowered the capacity from 8 to 4 to ensure we can adhere to government guidelines.
Share your views on new public green space in East Devon
 Have your say on a masterplan for the Clyst Valley Regional Park - new public green space to connect local people with nature for their health and wellbeing. The Clyst Valley Regional Park masterplan sets out ideas on how it can be improved in years to come. Tell us what is important to you.
Folklore and traditions of Holly Ivy and Mistletoe
 Many of us put a holly wreath on the door, hang up mistletoe or bring evergreen sprigs into our homes at Christmas but have you ever wondered about the folklore behind the tradition?
Holly, ivy and mistletoe have been used in Europe since pre-christian times to celebrate the winter solstice (December 21st). Because they remain green throughout the winter these plants symbolised eternal life.
Devon Whitebeams Planted at Delderfield
 Graham Hutchinson, Sidmouth Arboretum Manager, worked with our Ranger Jon to plant Whitebeams at our Delderfield nature reserve just before lockdown. He writes:
"Wednesday 4 November started cool and clear and soon became gloriously sunny – so perfect weather for getting up to Delderfield and doing some conservation work.
"One of the main tasks was clearing some brambles (seems like they grow back!) ready for planting three Devon Whitebeams (Sorbus devoniensis) trees. These were planted as part of an initiative by Sidmouth Arboretum, using a grant from the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, who have obtained thirty trees which will be planted in about ten locations around the Sid valley."
Dormice and other small mammals
 The smaller inhabitants of the wetlands can often go unnoticed, tucked away deep in the undergrowth. As we go by on our journeys, these creatures will be busy building nests and foraging for food in hedgerows and grassy swathes. Often you may only get a glimpse as they dart through the vegetation, or hear a rustle or sharp squeak. The smaller mammals of the UK are often overlooked, but play important roles in the ecosystem, feeding many predators and consuming many pests!
Exmouth: my patch for nature
 Wild Exmouth’s "My Patch for Nature" campaign is growing! There are now over 350 patches being nurtured for wildlife. You can be part of the community’s big nature reserve, so if you live in Exmouth and would like to sign up for this wild idea then follow the link below. You could pledge a corner of lawn, a tree or perhaps a wildflower window box. Any space can be valuable for nature. By signing up you will receive a free pack wildflower seeds. Get sowing and soon you will hear the buzzing of insects visiting your flowers next year.
If you choose you can also be added to the google map that shows how this nature network is expanding across the town.
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