Butterfly Survey training at Magor Marsh
Magor Marsh,
Whitewall Road,
Magor,
Caldicot
, Magor , Monmouthshire, NP26 3DD
Event details
About the event
Join us at our Magor Marsh Nature Reserve to learn basic butterfly identification and how to participate in the national UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. By the end of the session, hopefully you will feel confident in registering to carry out your own Butterfly Survey, either on one of our reserves or in a local green space near you!
What to expect: We will meet the Derek Upton Center on our Magor Marsh Reserve (ST428866, w.3.w. hospitals.begun.slowness, NP26 3DD, there is parking on site but please park consideratly). After a short talk on identifying our 8 common bumblebee species and how to set up a survey transect in our classroom, we will head out onto the reserve to practice what we have learnt. We will aim to finish around 1pm. There are facilities onsite.
What to bring: Please wear sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing for the weather. A camera/mobile phone may be useful for photographing butterflies to ID.
More information:
Please note that this is weather dependant and will only go ahead in dry conditions.
More information on the UKBMS can be found here: Welcome to the UKBMS | UKBMS
This event is suitable for 16+
Please note we will be on our feet for approx 90 minutes on uneven ground
No dogs allowed
Booking
Price
FREE - Booking is essentialKnow before you go
Dogs
This event is funded by the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery who are supporting our work for ten vulnerable species in Gwent.
More information
About the event site
Magor Marsh is a spectacular 47-hectare Nature Reserve and one of the last remaining areas of natural fenland that once covered the Gwent Levels. The puzzle-board landscape of damp hay meadows, sedge fen, reedbed, scrub, wet woodland, as well as a large pond and a series of ancient reens and drainage ditches all piece together intricately to nurture a rich diversity of wildlife.
We manage water levels, clear the waterways-rich in aquatic life - and cut the haymeadows and reedbeds to keep this reserve thriving for the diverse wildlife it supports. With our brilliant volunteers, we maintain paths and bridges to welcome visitors all year round.
Wildlife highlights
The Water Vole, Britain's most threatened mammal which we reintroduced here in 2012, now flourishing across the region. Dragonfly, Otter, Kingfisher, Cetti's Warbler, Little Egret.
Magor Marsh photo gallery
About the event leader
Community Ecologist, Kath Beasley, has been passionate about nature and being outdoors for as long as she can remember. During her A-levels Kath volunteered with the GWT, surveying water voles and mink activity on the Gwent Levels. She then went to the University of Sheffield to study Ecology and Conservation Biology. During her degree, Kath took a year out to gain practical experience, securing a position with the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust as a Trainee Project Manager on their Ice Age Ponds Project. Following graduation in 2022, Kath has been working to gain more practical conservation experience.
Joining the Trust in June 2023, Kath’s role will see her working with local communities to increase volunteer participation on and around the Trusts reserves. Having grown up in the Eastern Valleys, she is particularly enthusiastic about improving the accessibility of involvement in nature conservation activities with the GWT.