Perkins Long Service Club – Wildlife Conservation Group

The Conservation Group, in 2018, after 7 years of volunteering at Rutland Water, has now established a working relationship with two more local conservation sites.

The Deeping Lakes, owned by The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, are 160 acres of wetlands south east of Deeping St. James, including part of the Deeping Gravel Pits SSSI and the Welland Bank Pits. Both were the site of sand and gravel extraction, the main lake in the 1800’s, and the two areas of smaller lakes and pits in the 1990’s. They have been developed and conserved as an environment for mainly aquatic birds, but are home to a wide variety of other wildlife, including otters.

The Langdyke Trust has several sites in the Helpston / Maxey area, with a variety of habitats. Our work so far has been at Swaddywell Pit, near Helpston, which was initially a Roman stone quarry, was mentioned in John Clare’s poetry, and was one of England’s first nature reserves. Since then it reverted to a stone quarry, became a bomb dump, then a landfill site, and finally a VW owners’ race track, before being purchased by the Trust in 2003. The site now comprises three distinct habitats – limestone grassland, the disused quarry, and a wetland area. These areas are home to Great Crested Newts, 14 different species of Dragonfly, and a wide variety of Orchids.

During the course of our volunteering we have not only enjoyed the contact with our former work colleagues, but have learnt many skills, including flora and fauna identification, coppicing, building and maintaining various types of fencing (live, dead, and deer-proof), lighting and maintaining a good bonfire, laying hedges, and dry stone walling. We have also built hides and Tern Rafts.

The group is getting smaller, due to age and various ailments, so we would welcome new members. It is a good opportunity to enjoy the fresh air, play in the mud and water, learn about wildlife and habitats, and do something worthwhile for the local community, by conserving our countryside. We operate on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of each month, from September until April.

The 2022/23 activity dates are planned as follows:

Deeping Lakes Langdyke Trust

2022 dates

8th September 22nd September (See sub-page for September report)

6th October 20th October (this may change - clash with Abba Chique)

3rd November 17th November

1st December 15th December

2023 dates

5th January 19th January

2nd February 16th February

2nd March 16th March

6th April 20th April (TBC)