Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Partnership

10/08/2025

📣Forest for Cornwall is very excited to host two special free performances of Squashbox Theatre's 'Tales from the Trees' in Newquay and Camborne

🎉These shows are part of our celebration for these two local communities that have got involved to plant trees in their streets and gardens that will provide benefits for many generations to come!🌳

Come along to:

🐝Newquay Library: (no booking required)
Monday 1st September, 11.00am-12.00pm, at the Killacourt, Newquay

🐞Camborne Library: (booking required through Eventbrite)
Saturday 27th September, 10.30am-11.30pm, Council Chamber, The Passmore Edwards Building, Camborne.

🐾Meet Craig, the friendly Forest Ranger who will be your guide to the tremendous world of trees! and resident tree expert. It’s his job to make sure the woods are a peaceful and happy place, but he’s having a tough time of it today! A cheeky squirrel has stolen his Chocolate Covered Nutty Snack Bar™, his niece ‘Little Red’ has wandered off the path on her way to Granny’s house, the mysterious old Wizard of the Woods is playing tricks again, and there are even rumours of a big bad Wolf in the forest!🐺

🦸‍♂️Will Craig save the day? Come and find out, and along the way learn how to identify different trees, discover the wonder of photosynthesis, meet some friendly forest creatures and encounter crazy characters from folklore and fairy tales!

‘Tales from theTrees’ is 50 minutes long and is suitable for children aged 4+.

We look forward to seeing you there!

💛 🌱

07/08/2025

Nature Recovery Species Spotlight 💚 the Heath Fritillary (Melitaea athalia)!

🦋🌿 Nicknamed the Woodman’s Follower, the Heath Fritillary is one of Britain’s most endangered butterflies - reintroduced in Cornwall in 2006, the Heath Fritillary is restricted in range to just four UK areas.

📉 Suffering a 90% decline in population, and 58% decline in range, its future depends on us!

🌱 The Heath Fritillary relies on early-successional plants like Common Cow-wheat and Ribwort Plantain, found in sunlit woodland glades.

🪵💓 Loves coppiced woods, open heathland and ride clearings.

💡 How can you help?
• Alternate brush cutting and autumn mowing
• Coppicing & scrub management
• Ground scraping to keep habitats dynamic

🦋 Take part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025 and spend 15 minutes counting the butterflies you see between now and Sunday 10th August.

✨ By joining in you are helping to assess the health of our environment. Check out the Nature Recovery Strategy for other actions you can take to help our local species and habitats!

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/naturerecoverystrategy

Photo © In Memoriam: Mark Kilner (Flickr - no changes made), "Heath Fritillary (Melitaea athalia)”, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Cornwall Council Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Conservation Cornwall

06/08/2025

Do you visit the River Tamar? The Plymouth Sound and Estuaries Water User Guide is now available! 🌊

The Guide is a handy companion to all users of the Marine Protected Area, including:
📍 A map of the estuaries
⛴ Safe navigation tips
🏄 Specific advice on common recreational activities
💚 Key organisation contacts for emergencies, safety and wildlife reporting
🐬 Information on local wildlife

Find the Guide, and lots of information and advice on their website!🔗 https://www.plymouth-mpa.uk/activities-guidance

🦭 To help nature at sea to recover, Cornwall Council are working to develop an evidence-based, voluntary Marine Nature Recovery Framework, find out more here https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/cornwall-and-the-isles-of-scilly-marine-nature-recovery-framework

Tamar Valley National Landscape

Home Activities Guidance Activities Guidance Plymouth Sound & Estuaries MPA, is a fantastic place to take part in lots of activities, from meeting friends for coffee, coastal walks, swimming and fishing to diving, snorkelling, sailing and paddlesports. Its beautiful landscapes and seascapes is the p...

05/08/2025

Nature Recovery Species Spotlight 💚

🦋 Meet the Sandhill Rustic Moth (Luperina nickerlii subsp. leechi)! Often overshadowed by butterflies, this rare beauty is a reminder that moths matter too 🦋✨

🌊 Exclusively found at Loe Bar, this intertidal species depends on Sand Couch grass to survive.

🌿Discovered in 1974 the Sandhill Rustic's stable but restricted population thrives only with regular coastal disturbance from waves, footfall, and shifting shingle preventing the build-up of dense vegetated sward.

🌱 What can help?
• Possible creation of new habitat by transplanting Sand Couch and shingle
• Maintain natural coastal dynamics to prevent overgrowth of dense vegetation
• Be mindful of rising sea levels and extreme weather—this intertidal home is under pressure!

🦋Take part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025 and spend 15 minutes counting the butterflies you see between now and Sunday 10th August.

✨By taking part in Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count you are helping to assess the health of our environment. Check out the Nature Recovery Strategy for other actions you can take to help our local species and habitats!

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/naturerecoverystrategy

04/08/2025

Great to see Cornwall championed in the national CIRIA Biodiversity Challenge Awards shortlists! 🏆

The ‘Urban Green Shoots’ Shared Prosperity Fund project has been shortlisted for: 'Placemaking for Nature Award: Mixed Land Use and Ownership' and 'Biodiversity Feature Award: Nature Recovery'.

And congratulations to Kelly Strange, Cormac Urban Ranger, who's up for 'Biodiversity Champion Award: Early Career Professional'!

Southwest Water Authority-led collaboration project 'Upstream Thinking’ was also shortlisted for 'Biodiversity Feature Award: Water Management'. Congratulations! Fingers crossed..

🔗 https://www.bigchallenge.info/2025-shortlist

Just some of the great work that's going on in the region to recover nature! To hear about more make sure to sign up to our newsletter here 🔗 https://us12.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=531753315a99cbc22deffa9ab&id=e12ebc6845

02/08/2025

Meet Europe’s Vulnerable Jewel, the Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia)! 🦋

📉 From Britain to the continent, this rare butterfly is in serious decline, suffering a 43% range reduction.

🌱 Marsh Fritillary caterpillars feed on Devil’s-bit Scabious and require tussocky damp grasslands and open coastal meadows to survive and thrive.

🐛 Larvae overwinter in scrub, so balance is key—some scrub helps, too much harms.

🦋💔 Size matters! - The Marsh Fritillary requires extensive habitat networks to survive.

💡 Help by:
• Protect and restore habitat networks across tens of hectares
• Keep scrub shelter, but prevent overgrowth
• Prioritise management in vulnerable regions

🦋 Take part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025 and spend 15 minutes counting the butterflies you see between now and Sunday 10th August.

✨ By joining in you are helping to assess the health of our environment. Check out the Nature Recovery Strategy for other actions you can take to help our local species and habitats!

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/naturerecoverystrategy

Photo © Anne Sorbes (Flickr - no changes made), "Euphydryas aurinia",
CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Butterfly Conservation Cornwall Council

31/07/2025

This National Marine Week, support research on why Atlantic bluefin tuna have been returning to UK waters! 🌊

Tuna are one of the 10 priorities of the upcoming Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Marine Nature Recovery Framework and they will soon be arriving in our waters for their annual visit. The 'Feeding the Comeback' project seeks to:

1) understand what tuna are eating and how much,
2) educate on tuna’s role in our ecosystem,
3) inform on how we best manage populations of tuna for the benefit of a healthy ecosystem.

Match-funded by the Cornwall Council Climate & Nature Fund and the Devon Environment Foundation, the Crowdfunder campaign is now onto its stretch target of £30,000! Head to their webpage to find out more and see if any donation rewards tempt you..

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/atlantic-bluefin-tuna-feeding-the-comeback

Devon Environment Foundation Exeter University Marine Management Organisation - MMO Blue Marine Foundation Collective Conservation The Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation Cornwall Wildlife Trust Cornwall Good Seafood Guide

Photos © ExeterMarine, Henley Spiers, Tom Horton (Marine Discovery Penzance)

30/07/2025

🚢 Falmouth Harbour Commissioners are committed to sustainability. They aim to lead industry change through collaborative initiatives focused on reducing emissions, enhancing biodiversity, and minimising waste and pollution. That's why they won Most Sustainable Medium Organisation as last year's awards 🏆

Could you be in with a chance to win this year? Applications are open until 31st October - check out https://cornwallsustainabilityawards.org for more info about this year's categories and how to apply ✨

Thanks to our sponsors Cornwall Chamber of Commerce Business Cornwall University of Exeter CIOS Good Growth Fund Cornwall College Truro and Penwith College Carbon Sense Foot Anstey

30/07/2025

🌊 Interested in finding out how you can help protect Cornwall's beautiful sand dunes?

Our Making Space for Sand team will be at a special marine day held at Perranporth beach on Thursday, July 31.

Organised by Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Perranporth Marine Conservation Group, the team will be joining a marine fair and lots of community groups, charities and conservation organisations all working to safeguard our marine environment.

29/07/2025

29/07/2025

Have you spotted a Silver-studded Blue (Plebeius argus) during your Big Butterfly Count? 👀

🦋🔹🦋 Cornwall’s Tiny Treasure! The smallest of Cornwall’s blues, this Vulnerable butterfly (absent from Scilly) is a flagship for healthy ecosystems, thriving in sand dunes, the coastal wildbelt, and heathland with short sward and scrub.

Key habitats and foodplants include:
🌿Sand dunes (Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Restharrow)
🌱Heaths (Cornish Heather, Bell Heather, Ling)

🐜🐛 This special butterfly shares a magical bond with Lasius ants—who chaperone caterpillars from egg to emergence— one of nature’s most enchanting partnerships.

📉 The Silver-studded Blue has suffered National declines, but Cornish colonies at Hayle and Perranporth remain strong.

💡 Help by:
🌸Scraping dunes to encourage flora succession
🐑Use controlled grazing to maintain open vegetation
✨Monitor key sites like Penhale Sands and The Lizard and celebrate the secrets of Cornwalls dunes.

🦋 Take part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025 and spend 15 minutes counting the butterflies you see between now and Sunday 10th August.

✨ By taking part in Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count you are helping to assess the health of our environment. Check out the Nature Recovery Strategy for other actions you can take to help our local species and habitats!

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/naturerecoverystrategy

Photo © Tom Lee (tsbl2000 - Flickr, no changes made), "Silver Studded Blue", CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Butterfly Conservation Cornwall Council

27/07/2025

Exciting plans are underway to restore 10 hectares of seagrass meadows in the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC)! 🏆

Seagrass meadows support high levels of marine biodiversity, provide a vital carbon store, protect coastlines and offer serene spaces for recreation and wellbeing 🐟🏊🌍

Alongside restoration and research, a key aim of the Project is to foster long-term stewardship of seagrass meadow by the local community, including community seagrass monitoring and citizen science initiatives.

Find out more 🔗 https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/falmouthseagrass

Have you heard it's National Marine Week? Come meet some of the team at their Trebah Garden beach pop-up on Monday 28th July (10am-4pm), or find their stall during Falmouth Week!

The project is a collaboration between Cornwall Council, Ocean Conservation Trust's Blue Meadows project, the University of Exeter - International, Falmouth Harbour and Falmouth Marine Conservation Group.