Field Notes: Inspiring young conservationists at Glenlude

Major Donors Fundraiser Liv Adams shares highlights from a hands-on day at Glenlude, where pupils from St Mary's School explored native woodland, discovered wildlife habitats and learned practical conservation skills.

I joined Conservation Officer Ellie at Glenlude last week, welcoming a group 11-12-year-olds from St Mary's School in Melrose for a day of conservation work and hands-on learning.

We started the day with a guided walk to the planted woodland at the site, where we discussed the difference between plantation and native broadleaved woodland. We then took some time to look at vegetation types, bird sounds, lichens, and signs of animals to point out differences in habitat types and discuss what natural regeneration means.

Ellie and I then took some time to share which animals we have at Glenlude, taking the group through the deer, owls, red squirrel, green hairstreak and brown northern argus we have at the site.

We talked about the use of brash hedges in deterring deer and discussed the different invertebrates we have down in the ponds, which include newts, frogs, toads and mating ducks/waterfowl.

Ellie talked about some of the different volunteer groups we have on site and how they've helped us restore a mosaic of native woodland at Glenlude. We explained that this was done by planting native broadleaves and managing the land through bracken bashing and tree maintenance to protect the planted trees from grazing animals like deer and sheep.

The group then split in half, with the first group staying in one of the woodlands to create a 'site and sound map'. I taught the children how to use the Merlin ID app to identify nearby bird song, using lichen and leaf ID guides to identify the species present. We got really excited when we saw a common lizard scuttle out from underneath the bracken.

The second group joined Ellie and learned how to set up a trail camera to capture footage of red squirrels, badger, pine marten and owls. They also learned about the need to disinfect the squirrel boxes in order to protect red squirrels from possible diseases carried by invasive grey squirrels. 

Some of the group were able to identify owl pellets having seen one in the morning with Ellie. They were excited to find small bones and even a jawbone in the pellets.

After joining together for lunch in the volunteer hut, we carried out some practical conservation tasks on higher ground. The students loved removing conifer saplings, competing to see who could pull the most. We then spent some time looking at ladybirds and lizards crawling across the deadwood.