The photo shows the peaceful scene as the upper reaches of the River Cary cross a farm track alongside the Babcary Reserve. A second photo shows the information board for the reserve which as noted below you can only see after finding your way down the lane to the ford. The entrance to the reserve is just before the river.
Three members have sent me comments partly in response to the questionaire on reserves , the subject of an earlier post, which I think are probably representative of the experience of members.
The first reflects the situation for many people who are not used to spending time in woods these days espcially if they live in an urban area. The Trust magazine by coincidence has a feature on urban wildlife!
I think the general public like being nannied, they like carparks,
information boards with map of the site ,defined paths and boundaries. They
are afraid of going off paths in case its not allowed or they might damage
something. I'm aware that we as a family don't get out enough and am intending
dragging the kids to some of the trusts reserves in the coming months. I
think organised events like the fungi hunt at Aller do encourage people to
return on their own. We were intending to get to the fungi hunt but
something else took priority, maybe get there next year.
The second I suggest links the need for people to become aware of the connection between the survival of wildlife and damage to the woods and fields,caused by human activity e.g. pollution.
On climate change, an important message to get over is the individual responsibility of us all. What can I do or change? Rather than/as well as ideas and policies. In answer to that today , I am helping to explore a Greenfest in June 07 in Taunton. In the light of Gordon Browns speech, find out what SCC is doing to adress the need to monitor/regulate energy use in our schools.
I've added some photos of Orchids in Great Breach Wood taken last year and an information board for two small reserves conected to it i.e. all on the same site.
As I have posted before I use The Great Breach Wood a lot as a place to walk and enjoy at all seasons of the year. Access to this, if you dont know how to get there, presents some problems. Particularly for access by car which unless you cycle is the only practical access.
The reserve its self is some way from a road 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk in the middle of a larger wooded area.
The reserve is signposted when you get into the part of the larger woodland where the reserve is located, but from the initial access points there are no indications where the reserve is.
Pathways are mown in the reserve in the autumn and judging purely from the degree that these become muddy and apparently used quite a lot, people find the reserve. Though it must be said that one doesnt often meet up with other visitors.
The other reserves that are near to me, Green Down and Babcary Meadows have similar access issues. Unless you are aware of their existance, finding them is not easy as there is no signposting for the reserve untill you are on the boarders. In the case of both these reserves, while the signposts for the pathways that you need to travel over are in place (South Somerset District Council are to be commended). There is no linkage between these and the Trust's reserves.
