What is Biodiversity?
Biological Diversity, commonly shortened to Biodiversity, refers to the variety within and between all species of plants, animals and micro-organisms and the multitude of different ecosystems within which they live and interact.
Why is it Important?
All species, including us, depend on other species and so maintaining biodiversity is fundamental to their survival.
We rely on the interaction between the different organisms that maintain the global ecosystem for fresh water, food, fertile soil and clean air, as well as natural resources such as wood, rubber and products derived from animals.
Biodiversity also helps regulate the growth cycles of plants, the mating seasons of animals, and even weather systems.
The Horndean Biodiversity Group
The Group was set up by local volunteers to observe and record our wildlife and to raise awareness of its diversity and importance.
It also encourages community involvement in the maintenance and development of wildlife habitats in
Horndean
Horndean is a rural English village and civil parish in Hampshire located half way between Petersfield and Portsmouth.
To achieve these aims we work closely with Horndean Parish Council and local people to
Identify and record the natural resources and history of our local area;
Survey and identify local habitats and species;
Encourage and support community involvement in habitat and species recording and monitoring;
Raise local awareness and involvement in biodiversity conservation;
Study historical documents and past surveys in order to detect changes in the local landscape, habitats for wildlife and species;
Produce reports of surveys and activities of the group and record species on a database.
We review and update the Group's plans and objectives regularly to ensure that we focus on the current most important issues.
If you belong to a local Group who would be interested in seeing a presentation about our activities please contact us at
this email address.
Biodiversity Action Plan
In 2014 the Group issued a
Biodiversity Action Plan
A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems.
The BAP explains what biodiversity is and why it is important to preserve it for the future of all living things.
It also contains details of the many different species of animal and plant life that can be found within the Parish and the habitats in which they can be found, including several sites designated for nature conservation.
Most importantly, the BAP sets out what we need to do to conserve, manage and improve our local wildlife habitats, including those in our own gardens, to support the many rare and important species that depend on them.
It also includes cross-references and links to further information and other publications.
The BAP can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF file by clicking on
Horndean BAP.
When viewing the pdf version on a desktop or laptop computer
Press the F8 key to bring up the menu bar near the bottom of the screen.
Hold down the Ctrl key and click the + or - keys to change the size of the document on the screen.
Right-click and select 'Show Navigation Pane Buttons' to show the Navigation Pane Buttons on the left of the screen.
Clicking on the second button titled 'Bookmarks' opens an index to the document, sections of which are expanded by clicking on the plus signs on the left of the main headings.
Clicking on any item in the index will take you to the relevant page.
To view a fully expanded index which is not connected to the document by hyperlinks click on
BAP Index
If you have any problems viewing or downloading the BAP or would like a printed copy please send us an email by clicking on
this link.
Details of ecological surveys on development sites that have become available since the BAP was published are listed in
the attached Report.
Recording Local Wildlife
As described above, one of the main purposes of the Group is to carry out surveys of our local wildlife and record what we see.
One online environmental recording system we use to do this is
Living Record
which is designed to make it quick and easy to record wildlife by providing users with their own records system and giving them access to a selection of distribution maps.
Details of the wildlife found in a particular area are entered in the section of the website covering that location.
These records are reviewed and passed on to local record centres and organisations working for conservation who use them to
understand species distribution and population trends, identify key sites and habitats, and develop conservation plans.
To use Living Record you need to register on the livingrecord.net website.
An alternative to Living Record which is used by the Parish Council Countryside Team for managing and sharing wildlife records is
iRecord
which enables survey results to be recorded on a computer tablet and loaded directly onto the website.
Wildlife Talk
We were delighted that so many residents of Horndean and the surrounding area came to our meeting looking at
Local Wildlife Caught on Camera
around Horndean in 2017 that was held in
St Wilfrids Church Upper Hall
Padnell Road is opposite the Co-op on London Road in Cowplain and the Church is about 200 metres along the road on the left.
There is a large car park at the end of the drive that runs down the left side of the Church building.
The Hall is upstairs and is reached through a door on the same side of the building as the car park.
Local naturalists, recorders and photographers showed pictures of amazing plants and animals seen locally, many at the Bioblitz on Catherington Down in July.
There was no charge for attending the meeting but donations of £2 from each person who came helped cover the cost of hiring of the Hall and the refreshments.
The provisional programme for the meeting was as follows:
| Time |
Activity |
Speakers |
| 7.00pm
| Set up room with projector, screen, display boards, seating and sign-in sheet
| All
|
| 7.30pm
| Welcome and Introduction
| John Vigay
|
| 7.40pm
| Creatures Caught on Camera at Catherington Down
| Stuart Ball
|
| 8.10pm
| The Bio-Blitz on Catherington Down on 7th-8th July
| Rangers / John Nundy
|
| 8.30pm
| Refreshments, Discuss and View Displays
|
|
| 8.50pm
| Recording Butterflies and Moths at the Bio-Blitz
| John Vigay / John Nundy / Andrew Watts
|
| 9.15pm
| Horndean Biodiversity Group plans for 2018
| Members
|
| 9.30pm
| Summary and Close
|
|
The Meeting organiser
John Vigay
will be delighted to hear from anyone who has their own photographs of local wildlife or who would like to get involved in the work of the Group.
BioBlitz
The 2017
BioBlitz
A BioBlitz is an intense biological survey over a continuous time period, usually 24 hours, by groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers to try and identify and record all the species living in a designated area.
Catherington Down
Catherington Down is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering 32 acres of chalk grassland with remnants of ancient semi-natural woodland.
It has a high concentration of rare wild flowers such as Round-Headed Rampion, Pyramidal Orchid and Wild Thyme.
The activites carried out over the course of the event included a butterfly walk, bird watching, a mini beast hunt, moth trapping and a wildflower meadow survey.
A review of the day and a list of the species that were identified are shown in the attached
Bioblitz Report.
The 2017 BioBlitz follows the previous year's event held on
Hazelton Common
Hazleton Common Local Nature Reserve is located between the A3(M) and Hazleton housing estate. It follows the motorway south from the Horndean junction to Waterlooville Golf Course and the boundary with Havant Borough.
Newsletters
The Newsletters issued by the
South Down Group
The South Down Group holds talks and issues a newsletter about environmental matters for members of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and others interested in local wildlife and the natural environment who live between Petersfield and Portsdown Hill. Further details about the Group's activities can be found by clicking on the button at the top of the page.
Horndean's Trees
The large number and variety of young and established trees that we have in Horndean contribute greatly to the landscape; however, trees provide us with a great deal more than just a pleasant environment.
Trees are the biggest plants on the planet and are vital to the wellbeing of numerous if not all species.
They produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and the carbon that they store in their wood helps slow the rate of global warming.
Young trees provide habitation and food for many communities of birds, insects, lichen and fungi while the trunks of ancient trees provide the hollow cover needed by species such as bats, wood boring-beetles, tawny owls and woodpeckers. One mature oak can be home to as many as 500 different species.
The canopies of trees trap dust and absorb pollutants and their roots help prevent flooding by absorbing thousands of litres of storm water as well as combating soil erosion.
Accordingly, every tree you plant or preserve can make a real contribution to our biodiversity as well as the landscape.
Information about the history of our trees and ancient woodlands can be found on
John Vigay's website.
Surveys
In July 2016 we carried out a pond survey on Hazelton Common with the Horndean Parish Council Countryside Team. Details of this event are described on the
attached page.
Lists of moths seen in Horndean during surveys carried out in the last two years can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF file by clicking on
Moth Species Survey.
Details of protected and notable species that have been found on Catherington Down, Catherington Lith and Parsonage Field are contained in the datasets maintained by
Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre
The Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre (‘HBIC’) is an initiative hosted by Hampshire County Council to bring together and collate and manage information about Hampshire’s wildlife and natural environment and disseminate it to those who need it.
Supporting Wildlife in Our Own Gardens
Some of the things we all can do to attract and support wildlife in our own gardens for our mutual benefit are set out on the
My Garden page.
Getting Involved
Horndean Biodiversity Group relies on volunteers to help with surveys, tree planting, moth trapping and our other activities, so we would be delighted to hear from you if you would be interested in joining us.
For more information about our current priorities and activities or to find out how you could get involved with them please email us or find us on
.
Please also let us know if you have any comments on this website or suggestions for information it could include.
