Wildlife and Conservation

In the Wildlife and Conservation group we welcome all who are interested in wildlife, conservation, the natural environment, and issues such as biodiversity and endangered species.  It is hoped that as well as learning new things the group will be able to contribute to improving biodiversity in the locality. This will involve practical conservation tasks, biological recording and raising the issues of endangered species. We are a group of people interested in all aspects of wildlife and conservation. Some of us very knowledgeable, most of us less so, but all keen to learn new information.

Indoor Meetings are on the 3rd Monday of the month 2pm – 4pm in the main hall, at the Dorchester Community Church, Poundbury.

Outdoor activities will be advertised at the indoor meeting for the month following as these will be optional and varied. They may involve work in smaller groups on conservation tasks, recording of wildlife, biological surveys or visits to nature reserves.

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The group has a varied and interesting programme for 2024, but as we are new, we are open to ideas and contributions from members. Ideas at the moment are talks on

• Butterfly Conservation and creation of Wild Spaces
• Hedgehog Street - how to encourage local wildlife.
• “Moths Matter!” - (outside speaker)
• Rewilding - for and against
• The wonders of Fungi
• Beaver release in Dorset - a good idea?
• Identification of UK Butterflies course

People are welcome to dip their toe in, so to speak, if a topic interests them, or they can come every month. Every Dorchester and District u3a member is welcome to join us for a day trip but please check with Stephen to ensure spaces are still available. 
Outdoor meeting subjects will include:

• Boat Safari trip on Poole Harbour
• Practical conservation tasks on Poundbury and nature reserves in Dorset
• Visit to Wild Woodbury rewilding site (DWT)
• Visit to Wildflower meadows at Kingcombe (DWT)
• Butterfly monitoring on sites across Dorset
• Tour of RSPB Arne
• Visit to Dulston Head (National Trust)
• Great Big Dorset Hedge surveys
• Big River Watch

We are still planning our activities but expect to do a mixture of wildlife walks and helping out with conservation projects.

We are currently charging £1 per member per indoor meetings plus a separate donation of 50p or £1 to build up a fund from which we can pay visiting speakers.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the group leader, Stephen Brown, 
emails: [email protected]
​Telephone: 07748 730399

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