Launch Meeting for Knighton Wild, the new wildlife group in Knighton.

Knighton Wild is a new group in Knighton organising activities to encourage wildlife in this area of the city.

By organising local activities, the group hopes to interest more people in wildlife and help them to take pleasure in nature on their doorstep.  The first event is a meeting on Thursday 12^th February 2015, at which David Nicholls of NatureSpot will be talking about the work of NatureSpot and encouraging people to sign up and start recording the wildlife they see.  The meeting will take place at 7.30 pm in Knighton Parish Centre, Church Lane, Knighton, LE2 3WG.

Knighton Ward is on the edge of Leicester with Knighton Park on its southern boundary and many large gardens with mature trees.  It is an attractive area for wildlife, with badgers and muntjac deer; woodland birds like jays, owls and woodpeckers; frogs, toads and newts in brooks and ponds; and all manner of insects, spiders and other invertebrates living in gardens.

Knighton Wild wants to encourage people in Knighton to observe and record the wildlife they see.  The group works with the online wildlife recording site, NatureSpot, to record sightings of all kinds of wildlife that contribute to the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) database.   NatureSpot's online wildlife recording form makes it easy for the public to pass on their sightings and is a citizen science initiative.

The group will also promote practical action to encourage wildlife through wildlife-friendly gardening: reducing the use of harmful chemicals, planting native species and nectar-rich flowers and improving garden ponds for amphibians and other creatures such as dragonflies.

Knighton Wild works with and is supported by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, NatureSpot and Leicester City Council.

If you are interested, come along to the launch meeting or contact Simon Bennett at knightonwild@gmail.com.