HIGH SUMMER ON DARTMOOR

The exquisite setting for our series of summer camps for children and families is Moor Barton woods, near Moretonhampstead, a rewilding jewel in Devon’s crown of reserves.

Pausing for a moment to take in my surroundings I close my eyes and listen…all around me, the air is thick with the hum and buzz of a myriad of invertebrates, the serenade of summer. Opening my eyes and softening my gaze, I see the air is alive with the dynamic motion of flying minibeasts. A super highway of tiny traffic travelling at varying velocity in all directions, like one of those urban sci-fi movies that depict skies chock full of commuters in whizzing space-craft.

 

When we refer to ‘biodiversity’, we are really talking about insects. Just to give you some perspective on this, a comparison between the British mammal species which number less than 50, and British beetles which reach a staggering 4800 species illustrates that life on earth is mostly of an invertebrate kind. Our bird populations here peak at 550 species but the number of different bees and wasps tops 6500! 

In total we have nearly 24 000 distinct species of insect in the UK and the summertime yields the highest biodiversity of all.

 

WildWise has been running events in Moor Barton woods for 20 years. This 100 acres of emergent wood pasture is now under the wise stewardship of Robin and Annie and is already a wildlife haven. 

Beavers arrived a couple of years ago and are transforming a tiny stream into a wetland mosaic of pools and ponds. Like eco-system engineers they are doing exactly what beavers do with dramatic and rapid effect. The first kingfisher was seen this year, to name but one of many species benefitting from their industry. Thanks to some intelligent management, the site is yielding more and more surprises every year. 

 

Why not join one of our acclaimed outdoor events here to get to know it better? These include our summer camps for kids, teenagers and families – dates for our residency there are July 27th to August 10th .  

Typically we kick off with our very popular Forest Rangers camp for kids (8-12 years) but soon to follow are our Annual Family camp and our Dangerous Weekend 

We have started planning for next year, more to follow soon…

 

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