We can all do our bit for wildlife, be it ever so small, from making a log-pile, allowing a section of our lawns to grow long grass, or putting out water for a bird bath. “Every little helps” as they say, and this was the message put across by our April speaker, James Baker, from the Greenways Conservation Project in Ipswich.

“Greenways” exists to encourage and promote conservation groups and activists in the Ipswich area. It is an organisation which relies heavily on voluntary help to conserve, improve and protect areas of different habitats both for the creatures which live there as well as for the public to enjoy.

Through their work locally, places like Kiln Meadow, south of Ipswich, (at one time destined for mass housing) and Spring Wood near Belstead have become sanctuaries for many different species whose populations might otherwise have died out. These various conservation areas don’t just work in isolation from each other. Creatures need to commute between them, and that is where garden owners come in. No matter how small a plot you have at the rear of your house, by introducing a wildlife-friendly element into it you will have provided a stepping stone or even a bridge which will help a small creature to move between sites and interact with others of its kind.

At the moment the big worry is the decline in our hedgehog population, and we can help here too. Simply by making it possible for a hedgehog to access our gardens by creating gaps in our boundary fences or digging a small hole which passes underneath, we are opening a new hedgehog food store where there are slugs and worms a-plenty on offer! (Please don’t use slug pellets, by the way – they are poisonous to hedgehogs!) Siting a hedgehog house in a corner of the garden may well attract a needy hedgehog in the autumn, or as an overnight guest! And not only hedgehogs – the house can also shelter other small creatures such as spiders or bees. James’s talk certainly inspired us all to try and do more for our wildlife! For more information about Greenways please visit their website:   www.greenlivingcentre.org.uk/greenways

War Memorial Fund

The planned war memorial in Capel will cost around £12,000 at least, so the War Memorial Group are always delighted to receive donations towards this. Capel Ladies have given £100.00 for this worthy cause, and Bill Diamond and Griff John came to our meeting in April to receive the cheque officially from our Treasurer Liz Gulliver and Chairlady Linda Evans. There is still a long way to go, of course, but at least the plans are in place.