Back to Spring | An Interview with Brigit Strawbridge Howard - Guest post by Chloe Eathorne

 

Chloe (left) and Brigit exploring the cemetery

As a presenter of The Wildflower Hour, a local community show for Source FM, I'm  passionate about exploring all things art, poetry, nature and mental health. In the midst of winter, with the trees bare to the winter sky and only the hardiest of wildflowers in bloom, I cast my mind back to brighter days, of the spring of 2023. In May I had the pleasure of interviewing bee advocate, wildlife gardener and naturalist Brigit Strawbridge Howard, alongside filmmaker and wildlife advocate Kevin Thomas, of Castle Beach Films, in Falmouth's Victorian Cemetery.

 

Fat-headed Mining Bee

Cornwall is full of vibrant natural spaces, and this interview delves into life in late spring in the Cornish cemetery blooming with wildflowers, as we discussed all things nature, mental health and headed on a search for the Fat-headed Bee and its Cuckoo bee. I was excited to explore the local wildlife, after reading Brigit’s book ‘Dancing with Bees: A Journey Back to Nature’ which opened my eyes to the wonderful world of bees, when beforehand I had very little knowledge of, and in fact only thought there was one type! How wrong I was! From the Nomad Bee, to the Common Carder Bumblebee to the Mining Bee and Cuckoo Bees, we discussed the many different species in the UK, which call this beautiful area home.

Cuckcoo bees lay their eggs in other bee's nests

The conversation began as we explored a beautiful large fallen Pine tree left to be reclaimed by nature. We explored the benefits of leaving dead wood, which provides valuable sources of food and shelter for insects and wildlife, as the conversation meandered into childhood memories of etching. We discussed the value of connecting with nature for our mental health and well-being, and the benefits of eco therapy.

Bridgit spoke about her journey of rediscovering her connection to nature and the ways in which we can all reconnect with nature, bringing more of it into our daily lives, from getting outside each day, and spending time observing the world around, being present. There are many ways in which we can support and protect our local wildlife and bee species from our own gardens, from allowing native wildflowers, like primrose, buddleia, and marigolds to bloom, and leaving a section of the garden untended – as some bees love long grass or making nests in compost heaps or under hedgerows.

Brigit is a patron of Caring for God's Acre, a conservation charity for Burial Grounds across the UK, with the mission of protecting and rejuvenating beautiful havens of heritage and wildlife. We spoke about the ‘Love Your Burial Ground Week’ which occurs each June, a celebratory week which has been running for many years, encouraging all to celebrate these fantastic places in any way you choose. From local history talks, volunteering work parties and even teddy bear picnics!

 

Spring in Falmouth's Victorian cemetery

Brigit, also an ambassador for Kernow Conservation, talked about the work of the community-led conservation organisation, which developed from a student group at the Penryn campus of the University of Exeter. The team are passionate about protecting, enhancing, and connecting habitats, reintroducing lost species, and monitoring Cornwall’s biodiversity. They are currently working on the reintroduction of water voles, an important ecosystem engineer, across the county.

During our exploration of the cemetery, we came across a pair of researchers checking on the recently installed jackdaw nest boxes as part of the Cornish Jackdaw project. I spoke with Lois, a researcher from the University of Exeter, who discussed the Great Tits currently inhabiting the nest boxes and was given a demonstration on how the boxes are checked.

Jackdaw Nest Box

Throughout the day, Brigit checked in on the Merlin Bird ID app, whose features allow users to record snippets of bird song and aid in identifying species matches. It was enlightening to discover the vast multitude of species of birds we heard during our exploration, including Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Jackdaw, Nuthatch, Blackbird and Blue Tit, which further highlighted the importance of these habitats for our local wildlife.

There are a multitude of benefits to leaving spaces like these which not only serve as a place for reflection, but also serve as haven for insects, plants, birds and wildlife, and provide an opportunity for the community to connect with nature. It’s spaces and conversations like these that remind us of the importance of practising the art of noticing, which is so often overlooked in today’s faced-paced society. The next time you’re out and about, take a moment to really notice and appreciate the vibrant world of nature and that is all around us.

 

The interview is available to listen here: https://www.mixcloud.com/THEWILDFLOWERHOUR/brigit-strawbridge-howard-interview/

Exploring Falmouth's Victorian cemetery with Brigit Strawbridge-Howard and Chloe Eathorne - Part Three

 

As explained earlier, the camera crew followed Brigit and Chloe as they chatted and explored the cemetery. We started recording when we came upon an interesting location or a subject came up in the conversation that we wanted to share with the viewer. Filming a single take without rehearsal allows for spontaneity and I would argue more authentic film.

After about a hour in the cemetery we reached the spot where I hoped we would find two of the cemetery’s rarer bee species, the Big Headed Mining Bee and its cuckoo bee, the Long Horned Nomad Bee. With no sign of these bees, the conversation moved to how much bird song we were hearing and we started recording.

Chloe has a deep interest in the beneficial effects connecting with the natural world can have for our physical and mental wellbeing. A poet and journalism student at Falmouth University she presents and producers the Wildflower Hour on our community radio channel, Source FM. An hour long show with an eclectic mix of feel good indie tunes alongside discussing all things art, poetry and mental health. See link below to listen to past episodes.

She is part of a circle of talented artists that are inspired by the Cornish landscape and the natural world. I used the word artist in its widest sense to encompass all the arts and that use traditionally and new methods creatively. Examples of the new work being produced in Cornwall can be found at the Keskorra website, see link below.

Brigit is one of those people who radiate their passion and curiosity for the natural world through her talks, writings and social media. As you probably imagine spending time with Brigit in a wonderful location for wildlife such as our cemetery was an absolute joy.

The morning past quickly as we explored and chatted and the time came to say our goodbyes. I asked Brigit to step in front of the camera for one last time and give her thoughts on her visit.

Our series of videos have focused on how the maintenance of the cemetery benefits wildlife and the benefits this can have for visitors. Feedback on social media for this approach is overwhelmingly supportive. The cemetery is also a place for remembrance and the maintenance team are now cutting paths to graves they can identify as being regularly visited. Over time the cutting and walking on these pathways will make them more easily identifiable.

 

Links

To buy a signed copy of Dancing with Bees from Brigit visit:

 http://beestrawbridge.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/B_Strawbridge

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brigitstrawbridge1/

 

To listen to episodes of The wildflower Hour visit:  https://www.mixcloud.com/THEWILDFLOWERHOUR/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Thewildflowerhr

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thewildflowerhour/

Keskorra means ‘to assemble’ in the Cornish language, to discover more visit:  https://keskorra.co.uk/

Exploring Falmouth's Victorian cemetery with Brigit Strawbridge-Howard and Chloe Eathorne - Part Two

 

The woodpile to end all woodpiles

Quite a bit of organising had occurred beforehand to arrange for everyone to be at the same place at the same time with the gear checked and batteries fully charged. However the plan for what was to follow was deliberately less detailed to allow for more spontaneity between Brigit and Chloe and allow the conversation to take its own path. Nothing was rehearsed, there were no second takes.

I guided the group around the cemetery and as we walked we all chatted together, only when we started filming did Jon recording the sound and myself with the camera fall silent – well largely so, I did add a snippet of information in the next video.

Simon Penna, the Grounds and Facilities Manager for Falmouth Town Council has an understanding of the ecological value of deadwood. In our Kimberley Park he left a dead Ash tree standing for years that became home to a variety of insects and a nest site for Blue Tits until its state of decay made it unsafe. There are still two tree trunks that have been left in the park.

This approach is still uncommon, so as I led Brigit towards a Pine tree that had fallen in a storm, I expected them to be surprised, as they approached it I switched the camera on and pressed record.   

What delights me about this video is that it revealed to me a different way of experiencing the cemetery. In fact I have to say when visiting the cemetery I usually focus on its parts and slip into cameraman/photographer mode or concentrate on its insects and wildflowers. When I do sit down for a break my mind tends to work through the changes I have seen and sort them into positives and negatives. How much is the ever expanding area being taken over by three cornered leeks becoming a problem, being one example. 

So to listen to the conversation flow from exploring the holes bored into the trunk, to childhood memories and then onto the benefits being in nature can bring to our wellbeing was for me, quite magical.

As we continued our walk we bumped into two researchers from the University of Exeter's campus at nearby Penryn checking nest boxes that had been recently been installed by the Cornish Jackdaw project. For more information see the link below.

Lois, one of the researchers, agreed to give Chloe an overview of why they were in the cemetery and to demonstrate how they checked the nest boxes without using a ladder.

Links

To buy a signed copy of Dancing with Bees from Brigit visit: http://beestrawbridge.blogspot.com/

The wildflower Hour: https://www.mixcloud.com/THEWILDFLOWERHOUR/

The Cornish Jackdaw Project: https://www.wildcognitionresearch.com/cornish-jackdaw-project

Exploring Falmouth's Victorian cemetery with Brigit Strawbridge-Howard and Chloe Eathorne - Part One

Falmouth's Victorian cemetery in Spring.

It was a search to see an Ivy Bee that first led me to the older parts of Falmouth cemetery and I was not disappointed, I found both ivy and bees. This was back in 2014 and since then it has become a special place and a passion project for me.

During 2015 I began recording some of the insects in the cemetery with a focus on the solitary bee, bumblebee and solitary wasp species to be found there. The highlight was the discovery of the nationally rare cuckoo bee, Nomada hirtipes that has few records in Cornwall. Although it was the number and variety of species to be found there that equally signifies its value for wildlife.

By 2016 responsibility for the maintenance had passed to Falmouth Town Council. This prompted me to write a booklet (Nature in a sacred place: Falmouth cemetery) detailing its value with a list of species I had recorded there and my thoughts on its maintenance.

The council responded positively and this has led to an ongoing conversation with Simon Penna, the Grounds and Facilities Manager. For me this has been both an education and a pleasure to see how he and his teams have both adapted some of my ideas and innovated  their own. The result of their work can be seen in the cemetery today.

It may surprise you but all of this is not the result of a lifetime interest in bees and the natural world. For most of my life it was photography that was my passion and this led me into a career in television.

Like many people who up to attending one of Brigit’s talks or reading her book, Dancing with Bees, I only knew of honeybees and bumblebees. Filming an interview after a talk she gave at Garden Organic in 2013 opened the door on a much bigger world that is all around us yet mostly overlooked. For the first time I heard of solitary bees and that we have more than one type of bumblebee.

While I walked away from the talk more knowledgeable about bees, even more amazing things were to follow. Visiting my veg patch in my garden bees were appearing all over it and a variety of types too. Admittedly I later discovered quite a few were hoverflies, learning to tell the difference is something all beginners have to go through. Even so I was still seeing quite a few bees with three bumblebee species visiting a patch of chives in flower alone. To cap it all that summer I found four bumblebee nests. I still find watching workers returning to and leaving their nest fascinating and it gives me a real David Attenborough moment.

That autumn I moved down to Falmouth and after settling in, the following year I went out to discover Ivy Bees, found the cemetery and started a new chapter in my life. 

So ten years later when Brigit raised the possibility of visiting the cemetery this spring on Instagram I not only jumped at it, I rather cheekily asked if she would be happy to do some filming. After a phone chat we decided on filming interviews and I started to search for an interviewer. 

Chloe Eathorne as well as being a Cornish poet is also a journalism student who presents and produces The Wildflower Hour, a weekly radio show on Source FM. Having listened to her interview with sound Artist Justin Wiggan which I highly recommend (link at bottom of page) she seemed the ideal choice. Meeting with Chloe for a tea and chat we discussed ideas for the filming and the possibility of also using the audio to produce an episode of her radio programme. We settled on the idea of a relaxed walk around the cemetery with a mix of interviews and conversations between Brigit and Chloe.

On the day of filming we all met by the chapel and once everyone had been introduced, Chloe and Bridget were fitted with radio microphones. After this technicality we began our walk around the cemetery giving time to the ladies to chat and get to know each while exploring the cemetery.  Even so it cannot have been easy to relax with a cameraman (me) and sound recordist (Jon GD Brown) ever present.

Brigit is an ambassador for Caring for God’s Acre, a non-religious charity that supports groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy churchyards and burial grounds. So for the first video interview we asked her about the charity and its work. 

 

 

Links

To buy a signed copy of Dancing with Bees from Brigit visit, http://beestrawbridge.blogspot.com/

The wildflower Hour: https://www.mixcloud.com/THEWILDFLOWERHOUR/

Caring for God’s Acre: https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/

Reflections on 2018

A selection of photos from 2018 - click to enlarge

There are, I am sure, good lessons to be learned from the six months of silence since the last post. While I reflect on what they might be and announce that I will try harder to post more regularly in 2019, let’s take a look at the highlights of 2018.

I will start with the wonderful news that Falmouth Town Council is partnering with the charity, Buglife in the Urban Buzz project. This will see areas of the town planted with wildflowers to help pollinator insects in the town. I am so looking forward to seeing these areas flowering for the first time this year.

Three participants in the 2018 Bug Hunt

As part of the Urban Buzz project last August there was a bug hunt organised by Buglife and the town council in the old parts of Falmouth cemetery. The event attracted families who were given sweep nets and were soon capturing a variety of interesting insects and invertebrates. There were also pooters available to try, these are a bottle with two tubes – one to suck on and the other to collect an insect and place it in the bottle. The hunt was so successful that plans are being made for another one this year.

 The two display boards placed in both parts of Falmouth's old cemetery to raise awareness  of its importance to wildlife and the local community.

A major factor in the success of conservation efforts depends upon raising awareness in the local community. In August the Town Council placed two display boards in both parts of Falmouth’s old cemetery. They inform visitors of its importance to wildlife and the fact that it contains several rare species of solitary bees. They also display information on conservation efforts both in the cemetery and the town.

Apart from being excited over the Urban Buzz project there were two personal recording highlights this year. The first was discovering a new species of bee in Falmouth, Anthophora furcata. Not only was this a new record for this part of Cornwall but it is an interesting bee in that it is one of the few species to make its nest by burrowing into dead wood.

    A male Anthophora furcata, captured and released in a
    garden near Kimberley Park.

My second find was seeing my first European Hornet in Falmouth, only saw one and only once. This is our native species and is impressively large and unlike the Asian Hornet not a threat to beekeepers and their hives. Despite its size it is usually a docile creature that often hunts at night.

 Our native hornet, a new record for Falmouth, will we see
 more of them in 2019?

Another fantastic find was shown to me by Simon Penna, Head of Maintenance for Falmouth Town Council. A number of solitary wasps were making their nests in a dead Ash tree in Kimberley Park. Now although solitary, that is the female usually makes an individual nest some species will share the entrance that then leads to their own nest. This was the case with this species, Ectemnius cephalotes and there were steady streams of female wasps bring back captured flies to the entrance. It was fascinating watching them carry the fly beneath them and manoeuvring it into the hole. Each egg that the wasp lays is provision with several paralysed flies for the larvae to feed on when it hatches. Paralysing the fly keeps it fresh for the larvae, an interesting alternative to refrigeration but please don’t try this at home.

A female Ectemnius cephalotes solitary wasp returns to her

nest with a paralysed fly for her larvae to feed on. As an

adult wasp they will feed on nectar.

Most people only encounter and would recognise social wasps, who like honey bees live in a nest with female workers and a queen. In Falmouth the two species usually seen are the Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the European wasp (Vespula germanica). In October Storm Callum damaged one of the conifers in the lower part of Falmouth cemetery. One of its lower branches was almost completely torn from the tree. This caused a common wasp nest to fall from its original position to be caught lower down. Thanks to the skilful work of the cemetery manager, Matthew Brotherton and the maintenance crew not only was the branch safely removed but the still active nest also survived. This gave a rare chance to see the intricate design of the nest and watch the activity of the common wasps for several weeks until the colony came to the end of its lifecycle.

The Common Wasp nest revealed after the damage caused
to a tree by Storm Callum.

The biggest impact made by the weather this year was made by the beast from the east, an influx of cold air that saw snow falling and settling in Falmouth. The effects of this unusually cold spell in March were immediately seen on tender plants such as Alexander that were hit hard. Many queen bumblebees delayed establishing a nest and new colonies by up to four weeks and many butterfly species appeared later than normal.

  Solitary bee (Andrena fulva) on Alexander flowers. Being

  introduced by the Romans from the Mediterranean, 
  Alexander was hit hard by the unusually harsh weather.

Generally I saw a fall in the abundance of insects this spring and to a lesser extent in the summer. My hope is that it was a result of this cold spell and it is not repeated in 2019 to allow populations to recover. Certainly with local conservation efforts the prospects look very promising for this year. It is though a reminder that climate change is something we all should be concerned about. 

The Scarlet Pimpernel, Wolfgang von Goethe and one of the smallest living organism

It was an accidental discovery while I was looking for early flowering wildflowers at the beginning of January. I spotted a few Scarlet Pimpernels flowing in my garden and picked one to photograph. Only when I looked through the camera's viewfinder did I notice something unusual. Where the stamens and pistil should have been, small leaves were to be seen.

Normal Scarlet Pimpernel Flower

My not so normal Scarlet Pimpernel Flower

This phenomena was observed in roses by the German writer and polymath, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and he named it, Metamorphosis. Today it is usually known as Phyllody (leaf like) and it is generally caused by infections although adverse environmental conditions may also cause an imbalance in a plant's hormones producing the same effect.

With this plant flowering so early environmental stresses could be a possible cause. However Scarlet Pimpernel is also a known host for aster yellows phytoplasma. This disease can infect over 300 species in 38 families of herbaceous plants, symptoms are variable and include phyllody.

Phytoplasma are one of the smallest living organisms and cannot be seen through an optical microscope nor can they be cultured like many other types of bacteria. Little wonder that they were not discovered until 1967 by Japanese Scientists.

If the phyllody in the flower was caused by a disease it was mostly likely infected by a sap sucking insect such as a leafhopper. Interestingly the phytoplasma in the sap once ingested by a female leafhopper can extend the insect's lifespan and increase the number of eggs it lays. While this benefits the insect it also increases the opportunities for the bacteria to infect other plants. 

An unusual start to year to be sure, I had not seen anything like it before or heard of Phyllody. I will keep my eye on this patch of pimpernels during the spring to see if I can see any recurrences.

November Wild flowers

November can seem like a rehearsal for winter as the days shorten, temperatures fall and deciduous trees make their final preparations for shedding their leaves. It is not though a month entirely of gloom with Nature snuggling down to sleep through the long nights. A few wild flowers can still be found adding colour to the landscape in the milder parts of Britain.

The plants I discovered on a walk at the beginning of the month can be divided into four groups. The first would be the last remnants of species that mainly flower in September and October such as Ivy and bramble flowers. The second group are those species that take advantage of Falmouth’s mild coastal climate to flower for much of the year, examples of these would be Red Campion and Ivy-leaved Toadflax. A few individual plants of spring flowering species can be enticed into flowering in autumn by mild weather, the primroses and wood sorrel flowers I saw for example. Finally there are the winter flowering species that tend to be garden escapees for example Winter Heliotrope.

In all I spotted twelve species flowering, a reasonable count for early November.

Spring arrives

A carpet of Lesser Celandines heralds Spring

While the Met Office starts Spring on the first day of March that usually seems premature to me. Yes, there can be days that feel spring-like but others still require winter clothing. The vernal equinox and the changing of the clocks seem about the right time to start raising expectations that Winter is coming to an end.

My two favourite early spring flowers are Lesser Celandine for their bright splash of colour and the more bland Alexander for the reason that it attracts a variety of newly emerged insects to its flowers.

Male Tawny Mining Bee on Alexander flower

Mid-March is also when Queen bumblebees will awaken from their hibernation feeling in need of a good meal or several after their long sleep. One of the first to appear is the aptly named, Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) but other species were also quick off the mark.

Top: Queen Early Bumblebee
Middle: Queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Bottom: Queen Tree Bumblebee 

I spotted my first solitary bee species on the 17th March, with more appearing as we moved into April. The first Cuckoo bee to appear was Nomada fabriciana, a striking bee with a red abdomen and black stripes.

From Top: Hairy footed flower bee
Yellow legged Mining Bee
Cliff Mining Bee
Cuckoo Bee Nomada fabriciana

We start this spring with a heightened concern over our butterflies that are showing a decline nationally and in urban areas in particular. There were also indications last year that bumblebee numbers were down and in Falmouth there seemed to be less red-tailed bumblebees about in particular. Fingers crossed that we have better weather this year to help numbers to recover. It is also essential that there will be a continuing source of pollen available to them throughout the spring, summer and autumn. To end on an optimistic note the number of Queen Common Wasps seem to have increased this spring.

Top: The first Holly Blue Butterfly spotted on 01/04/17
Middle: Queen red-tailed bumblebee
Bottom: Queen Common Wasp

Bumblebee count No.2

My timetable and dismal weather during my free time this week prevented me returning to the bumblebee nest until a week after my last count. Not that the weather was inviting as I began walking to the site, the dark clouds suggested rain and the strong wind was cold. Not surprisingly I saw no honeybees, hoverflies or solitary bees about. Bumblebees generally shrug off bad weather, they are tough determined little beasts.

The only other bee seen was this queen Bombus
terrestris (Buff-tailed bumblebee) feeding on
heather near to the nest.

As I approached the nest the first question in my mind was, would it still be active? No one knows with certainty how long these winter colonies last. Within a couple of minutes a bee arrived and entered the nest so I began setting up my tripod and camera to film the nest.

Filming the bees entering or leaving the nest offers a number of advantages. From the perspective of personal comfort it is preferable to watch a video in the warm than stand outside conducting the count. If my comfort is of no concern, it also offers greater accuracy as the video can be replayed and examined frame by frame. Having video also offers the possibility of recounts and the availability of other people to view it.

It had rained earlier in the morning and bumblebees have a tendency not to collect wet pollen. Out of the forty bees that returned to the nest only one carried pollen. It was debatable whether the bee had collected the pollen, it was spread on its hind legs rather than rolled into a ball as usual. It returned in the last few minutes of filming and may indicated that the flower's pollen was drying out and some stuck to the hairs on the bee's leg.

The other notable observation was that one worker exited the nest but rather than flying away, turned round and re-entered the nest - see video.

Compared to last week, there were less bees seen in a similar time span. This may be due to several possible reasons. The colony size may have decreased or possibly the bee's foraging activity may have been less due to the adverse weather, wet pollen or the difference in the time of day between the two observations.

The only certainty gained by comparing both day's counting is that more data is needed. It seems I have a new task for next week's to do list.

Bombus terrestris nest - Falmouth 3rd March 2017 11.14hrs+
P/N? = unable to distinguish whether bee had pollen due to hind legs obscured 

DUR MINS	BEES IN	BEES OUT	POLLEN	NECTAR	P/N ?	TOTAL
10	6	6	0	6	0	12
13	8	7	0	8	0	15
10	5	5	0	5	0	10
11	6	5	0	6	0	11
14	5	6	0	5	0	11
11	7	6	0	7	0	13
7	3	4	1	2	0	7
76	40	39	1	39	0	79