Friends of the Farnham Cemeteries
- Grave rubbing
Are you interested in helping to preserve the history and ecology of the local cemeteries for future generations? If so, why not become a member of the 'Friends of Farnham Cemeteries'.
Farnham Town Council would like to set up a 'Friends of the Farnham Cemeteries' Group.
The Friends of Farnham Cemeteries will be independent of the council and will be able to undertake projects such as:
- record the inscriptions on historic monuments
- help maintain the upkeep and appearance of the cemeteries
- general tidying, cleaning, pruning and weeding
- preserving and conserving wildlife
- cataloguing and managing tree population
- recommending cemetery improvements
A 'friend' wouldn't have to do all these projects, but only those that interested them.
To find out more information on how to become a 'Friend of the Farnham Cemeteries' or for more information on the above contact Adrienne Owen.
Moth Survey Friday 20th May
As part of the ongoing biodiversity interest in West Street Cemetery, we have invited Martin Angel from the Bourne Conservation Group to carry out a survey of the type of moths that we may find. His knowledge on how to attract moths and identification of them is invaluable and all his findings will be recorded and with the Surrey Wildlife Trust. Martin will be at West street Cemetery with ‘Friends of Farnham Cemeteries’ this Friday 20th May 8.30pm. Farnham Town Council would like to say thank you to Martin in helping us widen our knowledge of the biodiversity in our Farnham cemeteries.
Moths are attracted to light and he will be using this method to employ attraction. A cemetery is an ideal place to look for moths due to the contrast between the light source and the darkness within the cemetery. A moth trap basically attracts the moths to a light source whereby they fall through a funnel and into a box. The moths then wait until the end of the catch and identification can take place. Moths in our cemetery will initially be attracted by the scent of the nectar from flowers but they best enjoy mild evenings almost slightly muggy so lets hope for ideal conditions. Moths can be further enticed by a method called sugaring, basically concocting a sugary syrup solution painted onto a board or tree trunk, moths find this irresistable .
Anyone interested in having a look at what’s taking place, please feel free to wander along. The ‘Friends of Farnham Cemeteries’ will also be there to explain about their group and any further plans they have.
Counting Butterflies in West Street
We are interested in protecting our cemeteries by actively looking at and protecting our wildlife and historic monuments. On 13th April the Surrey Wildlife Trust were on hand to talk about the cemetery wildlife and The West Surrey Family History Society were present to help with any enquiries about family heritage.
The day was fun for the children too, including butterfly identification charts and colouring pages and a treasure trail.
Rare Butterfly Spotted in West Street Cemetery
The ‘Friends of Farnham Cemeteries’ have some exciting news regarding their weekly butterfly count over in West Street Cemetery. They have spotted a mating pair of Glanville Fritillary butterflies. This news is a great indicator that our cemeteries can provide the right sort of habitat for these delightful creatures.
The Glanville Fritillary butterflies are normally only seen on the Isle of Wight and a few sites on the mainland however they are starting to flourish in Farnham following their reintroduction to the area in 2001. This butterfly was found in south London in the 18th Century and was originally called the Dulwich Fritillary until the more romantic name of Glanville became the norm. So it is a butterfly which has returned to Surrey and to Farnham after a couple of hundred years.
Since the reintroduction, the colony has continued to flourish; the caterpillars feeding off a common weed, Ribwort Plantain. The adults visit flowers such as Thrift and various yellow flowers, including Bird’s Foot Trefoil. Longer grasses are beneficial to both the caterpillars and butterflies as the half grown larvae hibernates in tussocks of longer grass and the adult butterflies at roost on the grass heads. Anyone interested in attracting butterflies to their garden should be encouraged to designate a small area left to go wild.
For more information contact Farnham Town Council on 01252 712667 or email info(at)farnham.gov.uk
Scarce Tracer Libellula fulva spotted in Cemetery
There has been a wonderful wildlife finding of the Scarce Tracer Libellula fulva in West Street Cemetery in the long meadow grass section, a type of Dragonfly. It is not usually found in southern England although when it establishes itself it can become locally abundant. Typically it will be attracted to the River Wey and we suspect that it may also be found on the Bishops meadow. The Tracer enjoys water of a low current flow in areas but avoids heavily shaded areas especially uncontrolled tree growth. Keep an eye out for this beautiful insect.
Bird Boxes in West Street Cemetery
Our bird boxes are already being used by Blue Tits.
