A Note from the Chairman

It is not often than an editor is overwhelmed by material; it is often a bit of a struggle to fill these pages. This time, however, three articles have been held over; the second part of David Allen’s account of the Blackdown Hills, a progress report from the Axe Valley Ringing Group, and an article on the Seaton Visitor Centre. Postponement of the last may be no bad thing; it is just possible that by the time I come to compile the next Newsletter, we might know which supermarket (if any) will be coming to Seaton, and also whether the funding for the Centre is on a sounder footing.

On a brighter note, this issue of the Newsletter includes a range of articles. Colyton Community Woodland lies on the outskirts of the village. As with so many projects of this kind, an initial burst of enthusiasm was followed by a period of neglect; it is very good to see a resurgence of interest and the participation of AVDCS in the working parties. Events held with other groups are an important part of the full programme that we offer; There is an account of the first ‘Wet and Wild Weekend’ organised by the Countryside Service of East Devon District Council – we look forward to the second! The Woodland Education Centre at Offwell is another of the organisations with which we collaborate, and there is an account of the centre and its activities. There is also a follow-up to the ‘Looking Out for Bats’ article in the last newsletter, showing that the help we were able to give has led to excellent results.

Colin Dawes, well known to many of you for his geological work around Lyme Regis, shows another of his interests with a description of Musbury Castle, one of the many hillforts along the lower Axe Valley, and David Cox, whose butterfly excursions are so popular in the summer, recounts a walk down the Lim Valley to the sea. There are two newcomers to our pages: Douglas Smith describes the Rotary Club’s Blue Plaque scheme for Seaton, and Martin Drake tells us something new about those cluster flies that seem so determined to get into our houses in the autumn to spend a comfortable centrally-heated winter there.
There were some comments about the previous issue being rather full of birdy articles, and the balance has been largely redressed in this issue, but we have included Ian Waite’s note about the Ospreys that were such a feature of the Axe Estuary in the autumn of 2008.

The exciting developments on the Axe Estuary are probably familiar to many of you. For those of you who still need to know more, there are regular events organised by the EDDC Countryside Service. The Black Hole Marsh development, in particular, is using very innovative technology to control the flooding of the Marsh from the river and is being held up by the Environment Agency as a most valuable and pioneering site. In the Undercliffs, clearance of alien plants, particularly Holm Oak and Pampas Grass continues to take priority, together with maintenance of those areas, particularly chalk grassland, that have been won back from scrub and brambles. Take one of the guided walks in the programme to see what has been achieved!

The Society has built up substantial reserves. There are likely to be difficult times ahead in the financing of projects to benefit our countryside and wildlife. Local authorities will have to spend a good deal to make good the damage done by a savagely cold and extremely wet winter, as well as losing much of interest on deposits that they had no doubt budgeted for. The latter will affect us too – the £600 or so that we received in interest in 2007-2008 will fall to almost nothing in the coming year. None the less, we look forward to playing a full part in the exciting developments proposed for 2009-2010.