What a brilliant month September has been here at the heath!
For the first time we took part in the Ringwood Carnival! It was the wettest carnival they’d ever had but that didn’t dampen our spirits. We pimped up our tractor with leaves, wooden lizards and our Avon Heath banner and took to the streets in the carnival procession. It was a brilliant atmosphere and great to see so many kids excited to see us! We can’t wait to attend again next year!
The carnival wasn’t our only first this month as we also proudly hosted the Muddy Dog Dash event in aid of Lewis Manning Hospice Care. We had the best day meeting all the excited dogs and their lovely owners. There was such a fun atmosphere with Hot Radio broadcasting from the event and loads of new visitors enjoying the site. The money raised from the event goes to Lewis Manning Hospice Care who provide incredibly important care for people and their families facing life-limiting illnesses. We were so happy to be able to support such a worthwhile cause and are delighted to announce that Lewis Manning are eager to hold the event at our site again next year! Watch this space!
The fun doesn’t end there though as our rangers have been busy conjuring up a packed schedule of autumn and Halloween events from fungi forays to astronomy evenings and creative workshops to half term fun. Keep an eye on our Facebook and website for more details.
As well as all the fun and games though, the rangers have been working hard out on the heath as we begin our winter conservation work. Now that the bird nesting season is over, the rangers have been clearing away some of the gorse and brambles that have started to encroach on the paths. This will help to open up the beautiful heathland views again which we know our visitors enjoy.
Out on the heath fantastic fungi are popping up all over the park. We’ve spotted shaggy ink caps, orange peel fungus, parasol mushrooms, bracket fungus and the iconic fly agarics. Ranger Sophie was particularly delighted to finally spot her first tiny birds nest fungus too!
The sand lizards in our enclosure are starting to go into their winter hibernation now. One of them is still awake and enjoying the last sunny days though. Visitors have also spotted adders, slow worms and grass snakes still out and about on the heath too. One juvenile grass snake was seen swimming in one of our ponds!
Autumn is such a lovely time at the heath so we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings.