- We have obtained grant aid from both the Peak District National Park Authority and Derbyshire Dales District Council to help with the cost of swift boxes on 18 houses around Tideswell, Cressbrook, Windmill, Brushfield, and Bishop Pursglove Primary School. The first boxes were put up on 10 March, and the rest will follow later this month. We hope to see more swifts in our skies when they return in May, and that some might even settle with us!
- We have been approached by TDSA to see if the land around Bishop Pursglove School could be improved for nature. Several members of the group met the chair of TDSA at the end of January and have produced a short report, which might help them to increase wildlife and encourage people to visit the site to enjoy nature.
- We are visiting Tideswell cubs this spring to talk about our local wildlife, and we will be encouraging them to look out for returning swifts in May.
- Do send us your sightings of swifts, either by email or on our TDEG Facebook page. We are also planning a bird walk and swift watching event during the national Swift Awareness Week (27 June to 5 July) – details to follow.
- Our swift project is just the beginning. We’ll be looking for more sites for swift boxes, and for barn owl and kestrel boxes, later in the year, and working with others on ways to create more biodiverse, insect-friendly spaces to encourage all birds and animals.
- The Wildlife Group is also supporting the new TDEG working group with Tideswell Parish Council. We hope to develop a new wildflower project looking at areas of public space managed by the TPC that could also be improved for nature.
