LWVP Forum 2019 - Roman settlements and little mammoths

We had a fantastic turn out for our annual forum event, which took place at Standlake Village Hall on 25^th November. 

We started by giving an overview of what’s been going on with the Lower Windrush Valley Project in 2019, giving updates on improved signage at the reserves and paths, wildlife surveys for water voles, reptiles, birds, events we've put on and attended, and what we’ve got planned for 2020. We also displayed the maps created by the Thames Valley Environmental Record Centre which show all of the habitats across our project area.

 

This year we had a local history theme to the forum – gravel extraction works have given researchers a unique opportunity to reveal some fascinating secrets of what used to happen in the project area.

Paul Smith, the recently retired director of Oxford Archaeology first talked about the settlements uncovered at Dix Pit. As well as Iron Age ring barrows, both early Roman and middle Roman features have been discovered, with a road running though the site. The settlement is thought to have had an unusual focus on raising cattle - this is suggested based on the layout of the road and buildings, with only a few domestic buildings present and the presences of artefacts such as the spoke of a wheel that cattle would likely have pulled. Various other small objects have also been found during the dig, including shrines, carved figures, gemstones and over a thousand coins.

Dr Kate Scott from the University of Oxford then spoke about the prehistoric mammals that used to roam across Oxfordshire. Excavations at Stanton Harcourt revealed that a previous course of the River Thames flowed through the area several thousand years ago. Over a thousand bones from mammals that were drawn to the river, including lions, bears, wolves and mammoth, have been found, as well as well preserved vegetation and molluscs. Mammoths made up the majority of the finds, with over 50 tusks excavated, many of which were complete – interestingly these are not the larger woolly mammoths that were adapted to cold environments, but instead are smaller steppe mammoths that were found on grassy plains.  

Many thanks to our speakers for such fascinating talks.

We are so grateful for the continued support from our volunteers, whether coming to our work parties, helping out at our events, surveying for wildlife or doing admin and research at our office. We hope 2020 will be an even bigger year for our project, and we look forward to seeing you all then!

Building a Bug B&B at Rushy Common

Families and volunteers gathered this week to help build a bug ‘B&B’ at Rushy Common. Habitats like this are important for overwintering insects such as woodlice, ladybirds, beetles and bees which hibernate in sheltered places. Tree holes, leaf litter, and under logs and rocks are common lodgings for overwintering adult insects.

Pallets were sourced free from a local garden centre, which acted as the frame and structure for the B&B. The pallets were stacked underneath the bird feeders next to the bird hide, and bricks were placed in between to give height to the gaps for materials. 

Building up the first few layers

Volunteers Denis and Chris put their conservation work party skills to good use by sawing up deadwood and trees blown over by recent winds to create logs and branches that were placed in the bug hotel by the children. Families also brought their own branches from their garden, and broken pottery bits to give some colour and solid shelter to the B&B’s gaps. Chris also brought along logs from his garden that already had some holes filled by nesting solitary bees.



Sawing up a fallen tree

Adding branches and logs with solitary bees

Filling the top layers

Moss was gathered from the gravel shore of the lake, to stuff gaps in the logs and branches. Bamboo canes were also cut up and placed between the pallets. As deadwood was collected from the surrounding scrub habitat, unsuspecting worms and woodlice were ‘moved in’ to the hotel as its first residents!

The B&B was finished off with a Lower Windrush Valley Project sign. Visit the Rushy Common bird hide to have a look at our new habitat feature

 Mini bee hotels were also created by the children to take home and put in their gardens. This is a great way of recycling plastic bottles, whilst creating homes for beetles and solitary bees. For more information on how to create a bug B&B, visit the RSPB’s website - https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/kids--schools/teaching-resources/make-a-bee-house.pdf

 

How can you help insects in your garden?

• Make a bug hotel using bamboo canes – these are easy to make using a plastic bottle, milk carton or pot
• Plant wildflowers, or spread wildflower seeds for our native pollinators
• Create a pond – even a small pond made from a washing up bowl can help insects, as a whole new ecosystem is created for them to forage in and drink from
• Stop using pesticides on your plants – these don’t just cause damage to garden pests, but insects that aren’t the targets such as bees are also affected
• Keep your garden ‘untidy’ – leaving grass to grow a little longer and allowing flowers such as daisies and dandelions to grow create small stepping stones that pollinators can forage on – and it’s a great excuse for not mowing the lawn