Royal Wedding Watch

North Devon prepares to celebrate William and Kate's Big Day with a host of Street Parties around the Region. Clovelly are holding a street party to celebrate the occasion and you can watch the Royal Wedding on a widescreen TV at 11:30 am. The Royal Street Party starts at 2:30 p.m. with a complimentary glass of Bucks fizz or fruit cocktail to toast the happy couple. There follows a children's tea party with jelly and ice cream, BBQ burger or hotdog for adults, a scone with jam & cream, all for just £1 each. Children can have their faces painted, enter a fancy dress prize competition for the best Prince and Princess and enjoy a treasure hunt. There'll be a specially brewed real ale on sale, a prize draw in aid of the S.W. Children's Hospice and live music. The New Inn will also be hosting a cocktail party with disco and karaoke in the evening.

Royal Wedding Street Party Date: Friday, 29th April Location: New Inn, Clovelly Normal admission charges apply Visit Clovelly Web Site
NORTH Devon is getting ready to break out the bunting and celebrate the Royal Wedding in style......Visit the North Devon Gazette for more events around the region 

The wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton will be available to watch on the Royal Channel Live Stream, accompanied by a live multi-media blog put together by St. James's Palace......visit The Royal Wedding Official Site
BBC Royal Wedding Features, Wedding Route, Updates & Video

Devon residents invited to help the hog

A local wildlife charity has launched a new campaign to find out more about the current state of the hedgehog population in Devon. Devon Wildlife Trust is asking local people to send in records of hedgehog sightings in or near their garden over the last few years via its website. There is growing evidence which suggests that the hedgehog population is in decline throughout the UK and this much loved animal is becoming a rarer sight. Although the reason behind this decline is not yet clear, it is thought that the loss of green space in the urban environment one factor. Stephen Hussey DWT's Communications Coordinator said: "We decided to launch this campaign to involve local people in recording the wildlife on their doorstep. The hedgehog is a well known species and it's easy to recognise. People know them as a common visitors to Devon gardens and we want to find out if there really is a problem in our region." Its not all doom and gloom, there are a number of things that people can do in their own garden to help hedgehogs. Stephen added: "From making your garden more wildlife friendly, feeding your local hedgehog dog food and water (not bread and milk), to ensuring your pond is safe for these lovable creatures, there are plenty of things you can do to help. We have lots of useful tips and information on our website for people who want to know more." For more information helping the hog or to fill in a survey form visit http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/.

Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Challenges 2011 Fancy a challenge this year? Devon Wildlife Trust is running its first ever sponsored cycle challenges in May and July. Click on the link below to find out more! www.devonwildlifetrust.org/cycle-devon-coast-to-coast-2011/

Ponies used to help restore rare grassland habitat at Bridgelea

Four hardy moorland ponies have this month been brought in to graze a rare Culm grassland site in central Devon as part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Working Wetlands project. The 2.5 hectare site at Bridgelea near Sampford Courtenay had been in need of attention for several years. The Working Wetlands project awarded the landowners a grant to carry out scrub clearance and install stockproof fencing which has enabled the re-introduction of grazing. The four ponies are part of the Devon Wildlife Trust's Grazing Links scheme, an initiative which brings people with livestock together with landowners in need of grazing for their holdings. It is hoped that the ponies will help to open up the habitat and allow a broad range of wild flower species to become more widely established across the site. This increase in the range of wild flowers will benefit a host of insects, which in turn will support healthy populations of birds and small mammals. This initiative was only made possible by the generous funding of Devon Waste Management. Their support has enabled the Working Wetlands project to set up and administer a small grant award initiative which offers landowners financial support to carry out capital works on wildlife-rich sites in the Culm Measures. Devon Wildlife Trust's Mike Symes oversaw the introduction of grazing and said: "Bridgelea is a great site but its value for wildlife was being lost due to scrub encroachment and a lack of grazing. Now, as a result of the funding provided by Devon Waste Management, the important Culm grassland habitat will be restored through improved, sympathetic land management." Bob and Joy Tucker, the landowners at Bridgelea, added: "When we moved here we knew that the land was in need of some careful management, but we didn't know where to start. Devon Wildlife Trust has enabled us to embark on this exciting project and we are really looking forward to seeing the field transformed year by year, allowing  the more delicate and vulnerable species that could not compete with the rushes to  establish themselves."

Ponies at Bridgelea photo copyright Devon Wildlife Trust 

Working Wetlands is a seven year landscape scale project working across 65,000 hectares of the Culm Natural Area. It has been supported by South West Water, Tubney Charitable Trust, The Environment Agency, Devon County Council, Devon Waste Management, GrantScape and Natural England.