Mawnan BioBlitz

Mawnan Parish Council is delighted to announce that Mawnan BioBlitz will take place on Saturday 29 August, from 10am to 4pm, at Mawnan Park and Mawnan Bowling Club.

Join Budding Nature and local volunteers to find and record as many plants, insects, birds and other wildlife as possible during this fun community nature survey.

The event is free to attend and everyone is welcome. No experience is needed and there is no need to book.

Alongside Budding Nature, we will be joined by several local conservation organisations, including Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Butterfly Conservation, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS), Porthleven Harbour Hedgie Rescue, Helford Marine Conservation and One Bag Beach Clean.

As well as hunting for wildlife and plants to record, there will be an art table led by local artists and a nature-themed raffle.

Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy in the park. Light refreshments will be available from Mawnan Bowling Club throughout the day.

Limited Blue Badge parking will be available at Mawnan Bowling Club, Carwinion Road, Mawnan Smith TR11 5JD. For those parking elsewhere in the village, we kindly ask that you park safely and considerately, with respect for local residents.

Mawnan BioBlitz is organised by Mawnan Parish Council and made possible through funding from Cornwall Council’s Community Chest, the Cornwall Climate and Nature Fund, and Crowdfunder supporters.

We are also very grateful to Mawnan Bowling Club for their support with the BioBlitz and the wider Mawnan Park project.

Our vision for Mawnan BioBlitz

Our ambition is for Mawnan BioBlitz to become an annual event that brings the community together to celebrate and learn about local wildlife. The records collected this year will provide a snapshot of the species currently living in and around Mawnan Park, creating a baseline against which future surveys can be compared.

Earlier this year, volunteers planted more than 200 trees at Mawnan Park, most of them native hedging species, alongside several fruit trees and a foraging hedge under the guidance of Simon from the Forest Garden Falmouth. This work was supported by Cornwall Council via a Forest for Cornwall grant.

With the help of some wonderful volunteers, and funding from Cornwall Council’s Cornwall Climate and Nature Fund and our Crowdfunder supporters, we also added new plants to the existing sensory garden. Before planting, we removed a large amount of bramble. Brambles are an important habitat and food source for wildlife, so we are continuing to encourage them within the park’s hedgerows.

We have also fenced off a new nature garden area and are currently seeking the necessary permissions from Cornwall Council before deciding which new habitats can be created later this year.

This year’s BioBlitz will help us record the plants and animals already present across the playing field and within the existing hedgerows. As new habitats are introduced over the coming years, we hope to see the variety of species at Mawnan Park increase.