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| Pupils carry out regular studies in the woods |
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Canford School was recently visited by the Dorset Wildlife Trust who monitor Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) across the county. Moortown Copse, which is part of the grounds of the school, has long been recognised by Dorset Wildlife Trust as being important for wildlife and is designated as a SNCI.
After their most recent survey Dorset Wildlife Trust congratulated the school on it’s care of the woodland and said that the management practices of the woodland had resulted in excellent conditions for wildlife. The site also has a number of Dorset ‘notable’ plant species present including Bluebell, Butcher’s-broom, Moschatel and Pignut. These are important as indicators of the age, community type and conservation importance of the habitat. A number of rare lichen species have also been recorded on one of the mature Pedunculate oak trees.
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| A rare find - the Tanner Beetle, Prionus coriarus, found in one of the wood piles. |
Head of Biology at Canford, Andrew Powell, said “All our students visit and study the wood and this gives them a real appreciation of the significance of these
wildlife areas. Some of our sixth form students have just started a detailed study of all the beetle and moth species in the woodland and have already found a nationally rare longhorn beetle, a Tanner Beetle Prionus coriarus, in one of the wood piles.”
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