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October 2019
News By Sara Messenger of the Three Brooks Nature Conservation Group
W
e’ve had a very busy last couple of months but we have at last seen our Savages Wood paths project completed. The contractors that completed the work are called Greenfields and we think it all went well, although I’m not sure their lads would all agree. It wasn’t all plain sailing – a new ramp was added at the last minute, a lorry broke all our paving slabs and there was quite a bit of head scratching over how to install the new disabled access gate (a big thank you to the Disabled Ramblers group for all their help). I think Jack felt he’d dug more holes than an entire family of moles, as both gate posts were moved several times and then the main gate was vandalised, requiring them to return and replace the posts yet again. However, I think we are all in agreement that it’s been
A good turnout for the foraging walk with Bristol’s wildlife ambassador Steve England, which ended with a ‘cook out’
worth the effort as now not only can wheelchairs access the woods but also those with pushchairs and those not quite so steady on their feet, as well as our usual dog walkers, runners and cyclists both young and slightly older. Our new slowworm refugia have also proved to be an asset. Last year a few hundred of the reptiles were translocated
from a building site onto the reserve and we agreed to survey the population to see if it was successful. Refugia have been put in place around the reserve to monitor the slowworm population, we’re very pleased to see that it appears to be thriving and in areas that we weren’t previously aware we had slowworms. They are a
protected species, so if you find a refugia please don’t disturb it as slowworms can, when they feel threatened, shed their tails. A slowworm is a legless lizard not a snake, the most obvious difference is that they, unlike snakes, have eyelids and flat black tongues. They will be fully grown after 6 to 8 years although the females can breed from 4 to 5
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