Your help needed with U3A biodiversity study of Horncastle

The town’s U3A (University of the Third Age) group has created a biodiversity group and will be comparing the number of moths, butterflies and birds at the Boston Road cemetery.

Spokesman for the group, Peter Irons, said: “This will be interesting from a biological point of view as most churches were orginially built on meadowland because of the lack of chemicals used on the ground, whatever was growing there 100 years ago could still be there.”

Peter said that the plan is to try and raise awareness of the changing biodiversity in Horncastle, as well as the winder picture.

He said: “When I was younger, I remember you couldn’t drive anywhere without hundreds of insects splatting all over your windscreen, and driving at night you’d often see so many moths it would be like a snowstorm.

"We were just saying the other day, someone couldn’t remember the last time they saw a swallow.

“These days, there are so few insects because of pesticides and at night, you’re lucky if you spot one moth.”

Over the next year, the U3A will also be comparing their findings to those found at the newly-created Bain Valley Park, which was an old Brownfields site which was opened to the public in 2010 by East Lindsey District Council after it was converted from a old rubbish tip.

"We feel that the best way of showing young people especially how much things can change, is to demonstrate how much things have already changed from only a few decades ago,” Peter said.

And this is where our readers come in.

The U3A are asking for our readers to share their memories of nature, specifically butterflies, moths and birds, to help the members to build a picture of how much biodiversity has changed over the past few decades.

"Some of our members are in their 80s and 90s and remember seeing many different butterflies when they were younger,” Peter said.

"We’re hoping some of the older people in the town will remember butterflies and moths and certain birds and share these with us.”

To share your memories with the Horncastle U3A, email Peter at [email protected] or call Peter on 07939 575611.