A new wing for Beetle Mansions

Despite the cold and rain, a valiant group of Stag Beetle lovers turned up over the weekend to add a huge extension to the beetles' home in the meadow.

Stag Beetles start life underground as a larvae, and munch their way through rotting logs for seven years or so before emerging as an adult beetle. So when you make a loggery, the first step is to dig a hole...

Then tip your logs in and fill in the gaps with soil...

Then stand back and feel smug and accomplished for a while...

Then go get a cup of tea.

Thanks again to Skanska and the London 2012 Biodiversity Team for the logs. And an extra-special thanks to Helen, Stuart, Gareth, Suzanna and Russell for the mammoth digging effort!

Our first flowers of the year!

This just in: our crocuses are flowering! These beautiful purple blooms opened up over the weekend, and there are new shoots coming up all over the meadow too. Watch this space for more pics soon...

Beetle habitat building - Saturday 19th February

Thanks to Richard Hirst and his team from Skanska (who've been working on the Olympic Park), we now have a fresh pile of logs on the meadow. So on Saturday 19th February, we'll be using them to add a new wing onto the Stag Beetle mansion we built last autumn.

If you'd like to give these rare beetles a bigger and better home, come to the meadow from 11am - 2.30pm and get digging! Tools and gloves will be provided, and it'd be a good idea to wear sturdy shoes.

In the meantime, here's a pic of industrious log-stackers Chloe and Danny who helped get the pile ready for the big event on the 19th.

Spring is springing!

It's been a long and cold winter this year. But while we were all rugged up inside, eating roasts and drinking hot toddies, the bulbs we planted in autumn were quietly getting ready for their first spring in Mabley Green.

And with the weather warming up, some of them have started sending up new shoots, and adding a little green to the meadow. Which is a welcome sight for our winter-weary eyes. Better still, pretty soon those green shoots will will turn into bright yellows, vivid purples and deep blues as our bulbs burst into flower. Bring on March!