Devon Local Nature Partnership

Friday Factfile: A butterfly with a blackthorn obsession 🦋

The Brown Hairstreak is one of Devon’s most distinctive butterflies — and it has a very particular favourite food.

Its caterpillars feed on blackthorn, making healthy, well-managed hedgerows especially important for this beautiful butterfly.

Adults can be found flying around the tops of hedges and trees, while the caterpillars rely on the shrubs below. 🌿

And there’s a lesson here: sometimes helping wildlife isn’t about creating something completely new.

It’s about looking after what’s already there.

A healthy, connected hedge can provide food, shelter and breeding habitat for an incredible variety of species — including this elusive butterfly.

🌱 Protecting and improving Devon’s hedge corridors is one of the priorities identified through the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Take a look at the LNRS website to find out more!

Do you know of a Devon based group or individual who deserve recognition for their community action for nature? 🌼🌳🦋

Wild About Devon Awards 2026 🏆are now open for nominations:

Wild About Devon Awards - Devon Local Nature Partnership
We are looking for projects, schemes or initiatives that in 2026 have…
• Taken steps to improve the wildlife value of an area, and;
• Engaged their community

There are 4 award categories;
1. Wildlife Community Group of the Year
2. Wildlife Parish & Town Council of the Year
3. Outstanding Individual Award
4. Young Person Award (25 and under)

The closing date for nominations is Sunday 25th October 2026.
Many thanks to NHBS for generously sponsoring the awards again this year!

Join The Lone Kayaker - Rupert Kirkwood sharing his breath taking stories and photos from over 35,000 miles he has paddled along the wild waters of Devon and Cornwall. 🚣‍♂️ 🚣‍♂️

From dolphins and basking sharks to otters and kingfishers, Rupert’s tales will bring the region’s coastal and river wildlife to life.
🐬 🐋 🪼 🦦 🌊 🌊

⏰ Friday 9th of October 19:30 - 21:30pm
📍Location: Fremington Parish Hall.

Wet woodlands might not be the first habitat that springs to mind when you think of Devon — but they’re incredibly valuable for wildlife.

These soggy, often overlooked woodlands are dominated by trees such as willow, alder and downy birch, which thrive in waterlogged soils.

They can provide a rich mixture of habitats for insects, birds, plants and fungi, while also helping with flood prevention, water quality and carbon storage. 🌿

Many wet woodlands have been lost through drainage and land clearance, leaving today's remaining patches particularly important.

So if you come across a muddy woodland with mossy banks, tangled vegetation and trees standing in damp ground…

You might have stumbled across one of Devon’s unsung nature heroes. 🐸🌳

🌱 The Devon LNRS aims to protect, restore and expand wildlife-rich wet woodland and improve its connections with surrounding habitats. Take a look at the LNRS website and find out more!

Meet Devon's ecosystem engineers 🦫

Beavers don’t just build dams. They can help reshape entire landscapes.

By slowing the flow of water and creating ponds, wetlands and wet woodland, beavers can create a whole collection of new habitats — giving insects, birds, amphibians, fish and plants more places to live. 🌿💧

In Devon, beavers are already part of the county’s natural landscape, Devon Wildlife Trusts River Otter Beaver Trial was England's first wild beaver re-introduction project, from 2015-2020!

Think of them as nature’s civil engineers — except their toolkit is mostly teeth, branches and mud. 🦫

🌱 Restoring wetlands and improving watercourses are key parts of nature recovery in Devon.

🐝 Keep an eye out for Asian hornets!🐝

Have you spotted a particularly dark, slightly smaller-than-our-native-hornet visitor buzzing around Devon this summer? 👀

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is an invasive non-native species and a highly effective predator of insects, including honey bees and other pollinators. It has been recorded in Great Britain since 2016, so keeping an eye out and reporting suspected sightings is an important part of protecting our native wildlife. 🌿🐝

🔎 What should you look for?
• A dark brown or black, velvety body
• A mostly dark abdomen with a distinctive yellow-orange band
• Characteristic yellow tips to the legs
• Smaller than our native European hornet

They can be spotted around flowering plants, beehives and fallen or fermenting fruit.

⚠️ Think you've seen one? Don't approach or disturb it, and never attempt to tackle a nest yourself. Take a photo from a safe distance and report the sighting as soon as possible through the Asian Hornet Watch app or the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat.

Early detection gives specialists the best chance of responding quickly and protecting Devon's pollinators. 💚

The Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) recognises the importance of protecting and restoring healthy, connected habitats for Devon's wildlife. Keeping invasive species at bay is another important part of helping nature recover. See the LNRS Website for more.

🐝 Spot it. Snap it. Report it.

🌱 Friday Fact File! 🌱

There could be more life beneath your feet than you realise… 👀

Healthy soil is a bustling ecosystem in its own right. In Devon, a single square metre of soil can be home to up to 1.5 kg of living organisms – from microscopic life to fungi, worms and countless tiny invertebrates. 🪱🍄

These underground communities help break down organic matter, cycle nutrients and keep our soils healthy, supporting everything from wildflower meadows and ancient woodlands to the food we grow.

Devon's varied geology and soils also help create the incredible variety of habitats found across the county – from the wet, acidic peat of Dartmoor to the shallow, calcareous soils of South Devon. 🌿

Protecting healthy soils is therefore an important part of nature recovery. The Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) recognises the importance of looking after the whole ecosystem – including the wildlife we might never see.

So next time you're out for a walk, remember: there's a whole world beneath your boots! 🌍

Find out more about Devon's habitats and how the LNRS is helping nature recover across the county at www.naturerecoverydevon.org.uk

🌿 Friday Fact File! 🌿

Ever heard the phrase "bigger, better and more connected"? It's one of the guiding principles of nature recovery—and for good reason!

Imagine trying to cross Devon if every road suddenly ended. That's the challenge many species face when habitats become isolated. 🌼➡️🌳

By creating wildlife-rich "stepping stones" and linking habitats together with features like hedgerows, wildflower verges and woodlands, we can help everything from dormice to butterflies move, feed, breed and adapt to a changing climate.

It's one of the key ideas behind the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), which identifies where habitat restoration and connectivity can have the greatest impact for wildlife across the county. Together, these connected habitats also bring wider benefits, including cleaner water, healthier soils, natural flood management and carbon storage. 🌍💚

🌱 Find out how the Devon LNRS is helping create a more connected landscape for people and wildlife alike.

🌿 Got an idea that could help wildlife in your community?

The Wild About Devon Community Wildlife Grants 2026 are now open! 🦔🐝🌼

Whether you're creating a wildflower meadow,🪻🌸 restoring a pond,🐸🐸 planting native hedgerows 🌿🌳 or bringing your community together to improve spaces for nature, this could be the helping hand your project needs.

This year, the grants of up to £500 (👀👀) are proudly supporting the ambitions of the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (DLNRS), helping communities take practical action to create bigger, better and more connected habitats across Devon.

💚 Every project, no matter how small, has the potential to make a lasting difference for wildlife—and inspire others to do the same.

Ready to turn your idea into action?

👉 Find out more and apply here: https://www.devoncommunities.org.uk/projects/wild-about-devon-community-wildlife-grant-scheme-2025-0

You don't want to 'moss' this one! 👀🌿

They may be small, but they're mighty and some of Earth's oldest land plants! 🌍⏳

Bryophytes help lock away carbon, retain moisture, provide homes for tiny wildlife, and are excellent indicators of healthy habitats.

Protecting these ancient plants is all part of creating a healthier, more resilient Devon. That's why the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is working to restore and connect habitats where species like these can continue to thrive. 💚

🍃 Find out more about how the strategy is helping nature recover across Devon by visiting LNRS website.