The Nature of Flight area of the Museum is a woodland area protected from development and nurtured to encourage certain species of wildlife. The project was originally created in collaboration with Natural England.
During 2018 the Museum decided that the time was right to re –enter into a working partnership with Natural England to set about working on the Nature of Flight woodland which lies to the North West of the Museum estate.
The woodland has been left un-touched for many years and we would like to re-engage the woodland with all our visitors – a place where families can come to relax and enjoy a picnic on one of the new benches and learn about nature conservation at the same time through our interpretation boards which are all linked to the woodlands theme – the Nature of Flight.
The idea is for visitors to learn about flying invertebrates and aviation, for example Gypsy moth and Gypsy butterfly.
It is rich in ecological history having been a part of Skipworth Common and was first surveyed back in 1853 by the then local Reverend William Morris who held a particular interest in Lepidoptera.
We are hoping now to continue our collaboration with Natural England and encourage an even high level of biodiversity which in turn should benefit the local area beyond the Museum estate.
Invasive species such as a Himalayan Balsam (particularly prevalent along water courses) , Rose Day Willow herb and the tree species Willow Goat have all been cut back, with the long term aim of increasing biodiversity and cultivate a grass meadow state which we hope, will in turn, encourage the Wild Orchids common to this area.
The aim is also to sprinkle a wild flower seed mix and install bird feed stations in the grass meadow area. This will attract an array of invertebrates and birds and make quite a spectacle to be hold as people stand and bird watch trying to identify the array of bird species before them.
You can follow the progress of the re-emergence of Nature of Flight here, so be sure to check back and see how we’re progressing.
