Join us at our Spring events!
 Check our our series of Spring events - now live. From family crafts to walks in nature, there is an activity to suit everyone.
Rangers Jon and Ben will take you on a tour of Knapp Copse or Holyford Woods in the search of the iconic bluebell. Immerse yourself in nature and learn about the wildflowers that thrive on these nature reserves. Nothing says Spring more than a bluebell carpeted woodland! There are 2 walks to choose from on 25 and 28 April. The cost is £5 per person
Education ranger Penny has joined up with the Axe Vale & District Conservation Society for a family event at Trinity Hill on the 13 April. Enjoy nature themed activities surrounded by heathland. The cost is £5 for the whole family.
If you're quick, you can join us for Easter Crafts run by Penny at Seaton Wetlands on the 5 April - there's only a few spaces left so book to join us for a host of Spring crafts.
Booking is essential for all of the above events.
From 1-16 April, you will be able to take part in our Easter Trail. This year’s theme is baby animals. Find all the boards around the site and read the fact to find the clue. You can purchase your trail leaflet from the discovery hut between 10-4pm. Return with your completed trail leaflet to claim your prize. Trial leaflets cost £2.50
Congratulations on long service!
 Education Ranger Penny Evans celebrated her 10th year anniversary in the role earlier this year, while Countryside Ranger Dave Palmer reached his 20 year milestone at the end of 2022!
Originally joining in 2013 as maternity cover, Penny subsequently took on the position as a job share, with a multitude of interim contracts and project work keeping her busy on top of this. In 2022, her contract was made full time as Education Ranger, but her strong links with other teams here at EDDC and other partnership organisations means that her work across the District continues to be enjoyed by a wide audience of children and families.
Dave has been part of the East Devon countryside furniture since the earliest days of the Service. His role is primarily a practical one, tending to all of the East Devon stretch of the South West Coast Path not under National Trust stewardship. He also leads the hugely popular Tuesday volunteer groups at Seaton Wetlands and oversees maintenance and repairs across that key site.
Ben placed third in hedgelaying competition
 Congratulations to Assistant Ranger Ben for coming third in the Blackdown Hills Hedge Association ‘Skills of the Hills’ hedge laying competition. He competed against 11 other teams in the Novice Pairs category with his friend Marije Zwager from the Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust.
Competitors were required to lay a stretch of hedge in the Devon style to produce a stock-proof barrier along the top of a traditional Devon bank. The results are judged on the quality of the cutting, the best use of material, appropriate use of crooks to anchor the hedge and overall appearance. Ben competed in the solo Novice category last year and placed fifth, so he was very pleased with the third place prize this time around.
Hedge laying is a popular activity amongst the team and our volunteers, with several hedges laid across Wild East Devon's reserves in recent years. This traditional management technique ‘resets’ the hedge, extending it’s lifespan and encouraging bushy new growth which provides connectivity and habitat for birds, bats, small mammals, and butterflies.
Volunteers install benches and fencing on our nature reserves
 Our East Devon Conservation Volunteers have been keeping busy on a number of infrastructure projects across our nature reserves.
At Holyford Woods they installed two new benches in the woodland glade. In keeping with the natural beauty of this semi-natural woodland site “rustic” bench tops and legs were used with all the materials coming from the site itself. Ongoing works to remove a patch of Douglas Fir plantation within the woods provided timber that could be planked for bench tops and logged to provide legs, providing a double benefit: improving the woodland by removing non-native planted trees, and providing an excellent stopping point for a cup of tea and a biscuit!
At Knapp Copse the volunteers got stuck in digging in 50 meters of fence posts. With a post placed every three meters, and needing to be dug in to a depth of between 60cm and 75 cm, that means the group needed to dig over 10 meters in total down into the notoriously stony ground on the reserve to get them all in! Thankfully the team were up to the task and fuelled by the odd dark chocolate digestive, they managed to install all the posts in a day, making the task of stock fencing much easier for rangers Jon and Ben.
Our volunteers brave the weather week-in and week-out to assist us and we are very grateful for their help, so please spare them a thought when you’re out enjoying the reserves across the district and we hope that you share our gratitude for their hard work.
 Our Rangers recently hosted a practical volunteering session for students of Exeter Chiefs Community Team’s HITZ programme, which helps young people not in full time education to gain qualifications, experience and confidence, to aid their life chances.
The group spent the day removing and dragging gorse which was choking a species rich grassland hillside at Knapp Copse Local Nature Reserve, opening up this important habitat for the summer growing season. Gorse was dragged to the top of the hillside to use as natural protection for a newly planted hedgerow, and many trips were made by students and rangers through the course of the day to get the job done.
As the first time the HITZ group volunteered with us, we were struck by their positivity, energy and support for each other. The HITZ programme helps students experience job interview scenarios so we arranged arrange mock interviews for each of them at Seaton Wetlands, with feedback provided on how they fared.
It was very rewarding to hear that the group were very grateful for the opportunity and the group leader said they had been the most engaged and happiest since they started their course. They said they loved it although it was incredibly hard work. He thanked us, adding that the students were inspired and contemplating a whole new possibility of employment options as a result.
Where to start if you want to volunteer to help nature
If you want to take part in some volunteering activities to give nature a helping hand but don't know where to start, who to contact, or what activities are best to participate in, then this free webinar is perfect for you! Make sure 2023 is the year you finally get round to taking the time to give nature a chance to bounce back on your doorstep, whether that's once a week, once a month, or whenever you can.
In this informative and inspiring webinar you will hear from four different organisations (including our Amelia Davies) about the volunteering opportunities they have, where and when you can take part.
Circular walk at Musbury Castle
 Enjoy a 4.5 mile walk, starting from the small car park near Musbury Primary School and St Michael’s church.
Grid ref: SY275 946 Post code: EX13 8BD
What 3 Words: dreading.munch.draw
Turn left out of the car park to pass the school. Keeping the church on your left follow the footpath through farm buildings and over a cattle grid. Just after the track turns left, turn left over a stile and into a field. Cross the field to the gate in the middle of the hedge line above you.
Climb the hill on to Musbury Castle (an Iron Age hill fort). Where the path divides, with the East Devon way turning right through a gate, continue up the hill. At the top, turn left to reach the top of Musbury Castle (with views over the Axe valley to the sea).
Continue on the path past the Castle through two gates and into a field. Turn left into the field and head for a stile. Cross the stile and turn right to follow the field boundary and through a gate next to a bench. Cross the field to go through a second gate, down steps and onto a road. Turn right onto the road and follow it for about half a mile.
At Bulmoor cross turn right to follow the road which turns into a track after Bulmoor farm. Go straight on where the track bends to the left through a gate into a field (signed for the East Devon way). Cross a stream where the field levels out and follow it to your left.
At farm buildings turn left to cross the stream on a wooden bridge. Follow footpath signs to cross two fields and onto a road. Turn right onto the road to walk down the hill to Higher Bruckland farm. Turn right onto a footpath by the farm house and then left at the footpath junction after about 100m.
Climb the grassy track back up to Musbury Castle. From there follow the East Devon Way to re-join the path we first took out of Musbury and follow it back to the start.
Last but not least... coffee!
If you are visiting the Discovery Hut at Seaton Wetlands, you will be able to buy a cup of our delicious new coffee. We now have a Lavazza machine to give visitors a tasty caffeine boost. The new machine has a range of options from a frothy cappuccino to a black coffee, as well as hot chocolate or tea. We use mugs to eliminate waste and coffee can be enjoyed in our bird hide or on the picnic benches. Alternatively you can use your own travel mug and have your coffee to go.
While you're there, take a look around the Discovery Hut and watch the progress of our Kestrels on the camera who have just started displaying, It won’t be long until eggs are laid and chicks hatch! Have a chat to our knowledgeable volunteers who are happy to talk all things nature.
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