James' UEA Ecology Blog

Last week, we performed Phase 1 surveys on a variety of County Wildlife Sites (and potential ones) around the UEA campus. These sites are part of a network of locally designated areas for threatened wildlife, which, while having no legal standing, do offer some protection from development in the planning system, with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust playing a key role in their surveying and management.  Phase 1 surveys, developed by the JNCC, are a standardised method of classifying habitat types according predominantly to vegetation and other environmental conditions and human activity. The surveys typically also involve using GIS to research the landscape and its historical usage, as well as recording and identifying noteworthy species as target notes. Bluebell Fen There are 5 CWS at UEA, including Bluebell Fen, where the River Yare runs through an area of open land, with fields on the east border and woodland on the west. It forms crucial part of corridor of greenspace of both na...

One native tree present on the UEA campus is the elder ( Sambucus nigra ). They have pinnate leaves with 5-7 leaflets (left). But be careful examining the leaves - they have an unpleasant smell when bruised! The trunks (below) have grey-brown bark and often few branches. While I found this one in winter, later on in the year, they are characterised by cream flowers from late May, which develop into black berries after insect pollination by late summer and autumn. These flowers are, of course, elderflowers, and so are edible, often used in cordial. The elder berries are edible too! They are sometimes used in preserves, wines and baking. Be careful when foraging from elder though - the raw berries and other parts of the tree are poisonous. Not only humans enjoy to snack on elder, with the flowers and berries providing food for small mammals and birds, as well as nectar for pollinators. Furthermore they're also a foodplant for many caterpillars too! There is a lot of mythology surroun...