Taking part
Volunteering opportunities
Neroche Conservation Volunteers - Mid-week Group
A regular Neroche Conservation Volunteers group has been established, offering regular monthly practical activities in the forest, on the second Wednesday of the month.
The tasks change throughout the year, and may involve tackling the spread of Himalayam Balsam growing at Castle Neroche, trail maintenance along the Staple Fitzpaine Herepath or coppicing at Witch Lodge.
Volunteering is a great way to become involved in the Neroche project, and help shape your local landscape. Come and meet like-minded people, and learn a new skill!
All tools are provided - no experience necessary. Hot drinks provided - please bring your own lunch. We regret we cannot accept children under 10 for these practical events.
Follow the link to the Events Page or contact us to hear of the next volunteering opportunity
| Contact: | Jilly Ould / Caroline Newcombe |
| Tel: | 01823 680846 |
| E-mail: | |
| Address: | Neroche Office, St Ivel House, Hemyock |
Butterfly Conservation Work Party
New volunteers are invited to join us with the management tasks that are making better habitats for threatened butterflies and moths of the area. We are working on a series of sites in the Blackdown Forest that support the Wood White, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Brown Hairstreak, Duke of Burgundy and Marsh Fritillary. The work involves controlling scrub, coppicing and managing grassland.
Tasks start at 10.00, hand tools and instruction provided as required - work at your own pace to keep fit or just warm-up!
For detaiils of the next work party, see our events page
| Contact: | Nigel Spring |
| Tel: | 07981 776767 / 01963 23559 |
| E-mail: | |
| Address: | www.butterfly-conservation.org |
Herepath Trailwatchers Scheme
Would you like to join the Neroche Herepath Trail Watchers Scheme and help us look after the newly developed trails?
The first Neroche Herepath Trail around Staple Fitzpaine was opened in May 2008. We already have a team of volunteers who have adopted sections of the new trail who help us look after it to ensure it remains open and easy to use for everyone to enjoy.
We always welcome new volunteers and and as further trails develop we will need more Trail Watchers!
What will Trail Watchers be expected to do?
All we will ask is that trail watchers regularly walk the section of the path they've adopted and report any problems they come across such as broken gates, missing signposts and way markers or blocked drains. We will also ask them to take out a pair of secateurs just in case there's any vegetation overhanging a gate or signpost that can easily be cut back.
Who can take part in the Scheme?
The scheme will be open to anyone over 18 years old. Don't worry if your under 18; you can still take part provided that when you go out, you're joined by your parent or guardian.
How do I apply to take part?
Please contact us to register your details. We will then contact you with further information.
| Contact: | Jilly / Caroline |
| Tel: | 01823 680846 |
| E-mail: | |
| Address: | Neroche Office, St Ivel House, Hemyock |
LiDAR - Ground truthing exercise
WHAT IS LIDAR?
LiDAR stands for (Airborne) Light Detection And Ranging.
LiDAR operates by using a pulsed laser beam (some 10,000 –20,000 pulses per second), which is scanned from side to side as the aircraft flies over the survey area. The LiDAR laser can measure the height of the ground surface and other features in large areas of the landscape with incredible accuracy, providing highly detailed and accurate models of the land surface.
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LiDAR can also read beneath the woodland canopy. This makes it a very useful archaeological tool in areas of woodland, particular if these areas have been wooded for a considerable period of time. It gives archaeologists the opportunity to quite literally see through the woodland cover and at last make sense of any earthworks, which may never have been previously recorded.
The Neroche Scheme has been able to fund a LiDAR survey of the project area thanks to additional funding raised by the current funding partners. The results of this survey will be used for a variety of purposes including ‘ground truthing’. Ground truthing is a voluntary field-based exercise involving teams/groups/individuals checking for the presence of any apparent archaeological features identified as a result of the survey.
We are currently looking for any volunteers who may be interested in assisting with a ground truthing exercise. Work will start in the autumn 2010. If you are interested please contact Tanya James, Neroche Community History Officer on 07881 850660.
On behalf of the Neroche Local history Group, Peter Crow from the Forestry Commission will be giving a talk about the Neroche Scheme LiDAR results at some point.
| Contact: | Tanya James |
| Tel: | 07881 850660 |
| E-mail: | |
| Address: | Neroche Office, St Ivel House, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3SL |
Wildflower Identification and Survey
Would you like to learn to identify the common species of wildflowers in our forests and meadows?
Wildflower ID and Surveying is an ongoing project in the Neroche area. We want to quantify the effects of low-intensity cattle grazing in the forest, improving habitats for many native wildflower species.
We have been training volunteers to identify key species, and then to record vegetation quadrats over a designated area. The survey can be completed in your own time, and helps us to build up a quantitave analysis of the changes in vegetation on the forest floor.
For more information, and to register your interest in the wildflower survey, see below:
| Contact: | Jilly / Caroline |
| Tel: | 01823 680846 |
| E-mail: | |
| Address: | Neroche Scheme, St Ivel House, Station Road, Hemyock, Devon, EX15 3SL |
