COUNTRY LIFE
Countryside news
with Tony Ridd
Five years of LEADER
What to look out for...
All recipients of LEADER funding were invited to a presentation
evening, celebrating the success of the programme that after five
years has recently finished. The focus of the programme was to
support the Island’s rural economy and rural services.
LEADER funding w as available to farmers, growers and other
rural businesses and organisations. As a result of the LEADER
programme over £4.5 million has been invested in the Island’s
rural economy during the last five years. Judi Griffin, Retiring
Chairman of the Isle of Wight LEADER Local Action Group said: “I
am extremely proud of what has been achieved. LEADER reflects
everything that is good about the Island. Everyone has come
together to maximise the impact of these funds and LEADER has
made such a difference to so many people on the Island.”
www.naturalenterprise.co.uk
Guelder rose
This is not really a rose at all,
but a viburnum. The leaves are
similar to maple leaves, but
this time of year you can really
spot them by their fantastic
cauliflower-like flowers. These
will get pollinated by insects.
The outer flowers are sterile but
the inner flowers will produce a
mass of bright red berries, loved
by birds.
Stoat and son
Having mated in mid-August
last year, the female stoat gave
birth to her kits in spring, due to
delayed implantation. They are
weaned at five weeks old, a week
later the black tip appeared. After
the young have left the den,
the family stays alongside each
other for some time, hunting and
playing together. The mother will
defend her family fiercely.
56
www.visitilife.com
Wasps' nest
Nests are made of chewed wood
mixed with saliva. It is started
by the queen and then extended
by the workers. In the spherical
papery case hang cells for eggs,
larvae and pupa. It is constantly
being extended and may grow
larger than a football. Look in
hedges, inside roofs or between
piles of wood.
Great Mullein
Found on dry sunny banks,
waste land, roadside verges and
even woodland margins. It is
a typical biennial, developing a
cabbage-like rosette in its first
summer followed a year later
with a great flowery spike. It will
usually die in the autumn having
produced thousands of tiny
seeds. They can grow up to two
metres tall.