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Biodiversity and Conservation at Poole Farm

Insects The diversity of habitats across Derriford Community Park host a wealth of wildlife, with records of protected species like otters, bats and slow-worms. All of our initiatives, including volunteering, Green Minds and Forder Valley Link Road mitigation, are about improving the site’s biodiversity and restoring habitats that were previously intensively farmed or not managed at all.

Our meadows are now managed by livestock grazing – we work with local farmers who bring their cattle and sheep to graze here throughout the year. With Green Minds underway, we are researching the potential to have our own grazing cattle herd with the aim of creating a mosaic of habitats across the site to encourage even more wildlife to thrive.

We run weekly volunteer days at Poole Farm which include biodiversity conservation and citizen science monitoring around the meadows, woodland and rivers, as well as improving habitat connectivity and restoring habitats in the surrounding Local Nature Reserves at Forder Valley and Bircham Valley.

The farmland is managed as pasture with a mix of historic and new hedgerows bordering many of the fields. Derriford Community Park is home to Plymouth’s largest orchard with 222 fruit trees among species-rich wildflower meadow. Green Minds funding will enable us to rewild Bircham and Seaton Valley with innovative interpretation to bring nature and rewilding projects to life whilst explaining the benefits to us and the community. We are also constructing a multi-functional, sustainably built beaver hide and a network of foot/cyclepaths to create an accessible natural greenspace to all whilst learning about nature.