Students from St Oscar Romero School in Goring-by-Sea, along with their teachers, were recently treated to a fascinating overnight moth-trapping experience, thanks to the expertise of Dr Tim Freed – a leading entomologist and member of the Ferring Conservation Group.

This event is part of a growing partnership between Ferring Conservation Group and the school’s Fingerprint Ambassadors – a dedicated group of students passionate about environmental issues. For the past two years, this collaboration, overseen by Phil Dean, the school’s Careers, Enrichment and Outdoor Learning Leader, has helped foster greater awareness of local biodiversity and conservation efforts within the community.

On the evening of 16th July, Tim set up two Robinson moth traps within the school grounds. At 6pm, students and staff gathered in a classroom to hear an engaging introductory talk from Tim, who explained the vital role moths play in the ecosystem. He introduced the group to a variety of species, their habits, life cycles, and the importance of biodiversity.

Following the talk, the group enjoyed a barbecue—cooked to perfection by Phil Dean on the school grounds—as they made final preparations for their overnight camp, securing tents and discussing the evening’s activities.

As dusk fell, Tim led the students and teachers to the first moth trap, positioned among some rough grassland near one of the classroom buildings. The group was delighted to find a healthy variety of moths had already been attracted to the trap’s bright light. The second trap, located in a darker corner of the school playing field, near a row of poplar trees and away from light pollution, proved equally successful.

With high hopes for a rich haul in the morning, the students and teachers retired to their tents, eager for an early start.

After a night under canvas, the group rose early to join Tim who had returned at first light to check the traps and make a quick assessment of the catch. Together with the students he reviewed the final contents of the traps. His expert commentary brought each species to life, making for an unforgettable learning experience that combined hands-on science with real-world ecology.

In total, over 135 species were recorded across the traps. Star attractions were several Poplar and Elephant Hawk-moths and a solitary Pine Hawk-moth. A number of migratory species were present including the rare Golden Twin-spot, and well-over 1000 Willow Ermine were noted. Interestingly, 98 species were recorded at both the Classroom site and the Poplars site, reflecting the ecological richness of each location. Both traps produced a number of interesting finds, including moths typically associated with riverbank habitats—an indication of the influence of the nearby Ferring Rife corridor, which intersects the broader Chatsmore Farm landscape.

The Classroom site, with its rough grassland, scrub, and proximity to gardens, proved to be a surprisingly valuable area with numerous grassland species present as well as a good variety of butterflies seen there during the day. At the Poplars site, which features railway-side vegetation and mature woodland, several uncommon and local species were recorded including the Olive, Cnephasia longana, Gypsonoma minutana, Sitochroa palealis and Synaphe punctalis. Several species were common to both traps.

(Pictured – female Poplar Hawk-moth)

Woodlice and Dead Wood                                                       September 2025

By Kerry Williams: Communications Officer – Conservation, Sussex Wildlife Trust

A minibeast staple of childhood bug hunts, and comprising of 30 UK species, woodlice can be found in gardens all year round.

Not lice at all, but terrestrial crustaceans, meaning they have hard exoskeletons, woodlice are related to crabs and shrimp. Favouring damp habitats to avoid drying out, these helpful critters can be found under rocks, logs and in compost heaps, doing what they do best; recycling. Nothing is off the menu, as woodlice will consume dead plant and animal matter, fungi, lichen, and with full zero-waste commitment, even their own faeces.

Woodlice have an extraordinary series of common and nicknames, with a survey once collecting 250 regional variations; chuckypig, slater, pillbug, monkeypea and woodpig, to name a few. It’s not known why woodlice have so many alternative names, but a lovely theory is that it’s due to their accessibility to children playing in gardens, who come up with imaginative names which stick over time.

A critical habitat for woodlice is dead wood, whether fallen or dead trees, rotting stumps, logs or stick piles. A sometimes-overlooked environment, dead wood is often a microcosm bursting with life.

Fungi are a hugely important partner in the dead wood cycle, by both contributing to the decay process and feeding on the dead wood itself. Many insects rely on this habitat, including Saproxylic Beetles, which burrow into the softer surfaces to avoid predators, their grubs feeding on the decaying wood. Insectivorous birds, such as woodpeckers, then benefit from this. Bats utilise holes in standing dead wood to roost, and feed on flying insects attracted to the damp environment it can create. And the decaying wood itself recycles nutrients back into the soil.

With such an impressive ecosystem to support, it is important to leave dead wood and resist any temptation to clear it away. On a large scale, it can contribute to a diversity of woodland understory, creating different angles and textures as you peer through the forest, increasing not only the ecological value, but the mystical aesthetic of our ancient Ebernoe reserve, for example. On a smaller garden scale, it can provide a bug-hotel-style feature and a vital home for the important wildlife we don’t always notice; a chuckypig paradise.

Our Elusive Water Voles                                                           August 2025

By Kerry Williams: Communications Officer – Conservation

If you’re on a reedbed ramble and hear a ‘plop’, you might have just missed one. Although active during the day, Water Voles are extremely shy and quiet. Given their rarity and secrecy, it’s a wonder how anyone even knows they are there. So, here’s a few tips.

Voles vs. Rats

As a semi-aquatic rodent, Water Voles are often referred to as ‘water rats’. You could mistake one for a Brown Rat, but they are quite different. Water Voles have a blunt nose, a furry tail and small ears. Rats have pointier faces, long hairless tails, and rounded ears. And although I have nothing against Rats, Water Voles are super cute.

Food caches

A cache of riverside nibbled grass stems can be a give-away. These often lie outside a discrete riverbank burrow. Continuing the ratty-confusion-theme, Brown Rats exhibit similar nibbly behaviours. However, Water Voles munch grasses at a neat 45-degree angle, whereas Rat teeth marks are a bit more erratic.

Latrines

Collections of rounded, tic-tac shaped droppings, known as latrines, are what to look for along the water’s edge. These tidy deposits are a calling card for territory marking. Although the droppings are scentless, the Voles rub their hind legs on their scent glands and stamp on the droppings to leave a scent. A glamorous task.

But it’s not all idyllic grass-nibbling and poop-stamping; our Water Voles are at risk. Threatened by pollution, climate change, habitat loss, and predation by invasive non-native American Mink, our Water Voles are up against it. Once found in nearly every waterway in England, this protected species has declined by a staggering 90% since the early 1970s and are now listed as Endangered on the Great Britain and England Red List.

It sounds bleak, but there is good news ahead. Conservation organisations are protecting the species by monitoring and managing the population of American Mink. And there’s things you can do. By keeping pets out of waterways, you can prevent pollution of our precious rivers by pet flea treatments. By taking your litter home, you can prevent bins over-flowing into vital Water Vole habitat. To help monitor the population, you can record sightings on iRecord, via the website or app, which are shared with the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre.

By taking action to support healthy rivers, balanced ecosystems, and robust monitoring we can contribute to bringing our Water Voles back from the brink of extinction to their rightful place in our flourishing waterways.

Of Owls, Larks and Hedgehogs

By Kerry Williams,  Communications Officer – Conservation, Sussex Wildlife Trust

I’ve always been a night owl. I’m writing this as my creativity kicks in; unhelpfully that’s usually around 9pm. I spent my childhood howling in resistance at those who dared tell me it was bedtime. I would read until 3am and be virtually dragged from my bed for school in the morning.

Despite what my mother says, it’s a real thing. We are genetically predisposed to different chronotypes associated with our circadian rhythm. There are owls (those who wake and sleep later), larks (those who wake and sleep earlier) and ambivalent (those who are more adaptable to sleep pattern changes). I used to long to wake up earlier and make the best of the day. Especially as a keen birder it would be advantageous. If I ever do it’s glorious. The air is different in early morning. There’s so much light, so much time. But there are perks to the night too. It’s quiet; everyone else is asleep. It’s peaceful and less distracting. And the best bit, of course, is watching nocturnal animals.

I live with another owl. Together, we slink about the local nature reserve at dusk. Hushed tones to fit in. Eyes adjusting to the perceived blackness. There is rarely anyone else around. The damp smell of the reedbeds seems stronger than in the day. The gravel and parched grass crunch louder underfoot. The world feels bigger somehow, yet more tranquil. We detect dancing bats who whizz past our faces, saving us from nibbling evening midges. We walk directly past Rabbits on meadow buffets, who barely look up to note us. We take in pre-roosting bird calls; Reed Warbler, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, and skyward silhouettes of those returning for the night; gulls, corvids, a Peregrine. A Fox on patrol stops to watch us with an air of disdain; ‘It’s my turn now’.

Once we’re out of the reserve we stop at the usual spot, at the usual time, and wait. Then we see it. Squat legs, busy snout and about 5,000 spines scuttle across the car park and along the kerbside dandelions. The Hedgehog crosses the road; it’s not busy but it’s still a risky game, and I once flagged down a startled mini-bus driver to allow for safe hog passage. The Hedgehog continues along a footpath, and through a fence hole cut by kind urban wildlife heroes.

These sightings feel like treats to which few of us are party. I’ve not only accepted my night-time owl form; I completely embrace it. Just don’t ask me to make plans before midday.

Please see the below update from our Chairman, Pete Coe:

SWARD WARDENS: the incredible role of dung beetles                                June 2025

By Kerry Williams: Communications Officer – Conservation

There’s a subject we’re not great at talking about in the UK; poo. However, there’s a group of creatures that are far more celebratory of the topic, with their diet testament to their appreciation. Aptly named, dung beetles eat poo. And they are amazing.

You are likely to conjure the image of Heliocopris, giant dung beetle species which reside in Africa and Asia, manoeuvring huge droppings kindly deposited by some of the Earths spectacular megafauna. Although these beetles don’t match the size of the one that rolled a football into the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony, they are hefty for a beetle, reaching lengths of up to 7cm.

Our dung beetles are more diminutive, but no less vital. The UK is home to around 60 species, which are split into three groups: Aphodiines, or the ‘dwellers’, sized 3-13mm who live directly in dung, Onthophagus, at 4-11mm; ‘tunnellers’ who tunnel up to a metre below the dung, pulling down small amounts to lay their eggs in, and the largest ‘tunnellers’ at 8-26mm, the Geotrupes.

Mostly, they consume dung of herbivores and omnivores. The ultimate recyclers, dung beetles are ecosystem engineers, meaning they modify their environment to provide services to other species with whom they share the ecosystem. In the case of dung beetles, this is a poop removal service.

Not only do they improve grazing pasture by clearing grasslands of waste, but they also recycle vital nutrients, keeping soil healthy. Tunnelling aerates the soil and prevents compaction, which in turn mitigates against flooding. Whilst this waste processing keeps down the population of flies, the beetles also remove parasites living in the dung. The beetles are, in turn, prey to others, such as birds, bats and Hedgehogs. It’s all rather harmonious and, as nature does best, it’s a perfectly symbiotic relationship.

Yet, like most of our native wildlife, dung beetles are in trouble. Largely this is due to modifications in agricultural practices; changes in land-use and an increase of pesticides, whether this be directly onto fields or via livestock ingested worming medicines. These chemicals disrupt the brilliantly balanced natural process, especially when used large scale and preventatively. Landowners can support dung beetle populations by reducing pesticides; more dung beetles mean fewer parasites, so by protecting these species a free service is being retained.

We owe a lot to our dung beetles and must protect them. They’re a critical part of our ecosystem, yet many of us don’t know they exist here or appreciate their unglamorous and thankless work. To be frank, without them we would be up to our knees in poo. Metaphorically and literally.