Stories and news from throughout the Trust on our work to protect wildlife and inspire a lifelong love of nature across Essex. Written by our staff, volunteers and members of our Local Groups.
Redshank photo: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION
Trust news
Abberton Nature Discovery Centre
Big wild Seed Sow
Bailey Tait Campaigns Officer We depend on insects more than we realise, yet they have suffered from rapid declines in recent decades. Fragrant and colourful, wildflowers provide insects with the food, shelter and habitat they need to thrive. As we discussed in the autumn issue of WILD magazine, creating more insect-friendly habitat is essential for the recovery of our all-important insects. This August we launched the first Big Wild Seed Sow. After months carefully selecting the perfect native wildflower mixes, we packed this irresistible mixture of buttercups, corn chamomiles, and other native annual and perennial wildflowers into 6g seed packets. We invited everyone to collect a free packet of wildflower seeds from our Nature Discovery Centres to create their own wildflower patch in Essex, then to map their new patch on our digital interactive map.
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WILD WINTER 2021
Over 2,000 wildflower seeds were handed out at our centres and over 150 patches have already been plotted on our map at www.essexwt.org.uk/big-wild-seed-sow. Better yet, our supporters have been incredibly generous and have donated over £1,700 to our Big Wild Seed Sow Appeal, with every penny going towards giving more people in the community the chance to plant a wildflower patch and create insect friendly habitat where they live. Thank you to CNH Industrial, one of Essex Wildlife Trust’s corporate Investors in Wildlife, for sponsoring the project.
