Bug walk in four seasons in 1 day!

Thank you to Fallin primary school eco group who came out today for a bug walk on Fallin Bing as part of the first visit to the site through the All Our Stories project. The kids did an excellent job finding bugs- especially snails! The group also found wolf spiders, millipedes, slugs, beetles including a ladybird, rove beetle and carrion beetle and they also found several ant nests. Well done!!



The lower part of Fallin Bing on a bright sunny day.

A mound of material that the kids used to look for bugs!

I would also like to say thank you to volunteers Noelia Collado Salas and Helen Dickinson for helping me today!

The walk started out with fantastic weather with the sun shining and then it suddenly changed and there was a small hail storm. Thankfully, the hailstorm was followed by more sunshine!

Mini Beast hunt round Fallin Bing this Friday!

Fallin Bing is a derelict spoil heap from the coal mining industry that was the heart and soul of the village Fallin. Brownfield sites like Fallin Bing are important for a range of wildlife, particularly invertebrates, due to a lack of nutrients in the soil that prevent fast growing plant species becoming dominant and also because of the lack of management at these sites that often creates an open mosaic of habitats such as species rich grassland, bare ground and early successional communities. A mosaic of habitats provides a home for a wide range of species and allows many to complete their life cycles within the same site.



6 spot burnet moths of Vipers Bugloss (c) Andrew Whitehouse

Brownfield sites provide linkages or ‘stepping stones’ between more natural areas of habitat and facilitate the movement and mixing of species in a less favourable urban setting. It has long been recognised that brownfields may have as many associated Red Data Book (RDB) and Nationally Scarce invertebrate species as ancient woodlands. Many features identified at long abandoned industrial sites can no longer be found in the managed and over-farmed wider countryside or even in our over-tidied parks. Loss of natural habitat is causing many species, including bumblebees, beetles, butterflies and reptiles, to become increasingly dependent and reliant on brownfield sites.

Despite their potential to support biodiversity a strong negative public image has been attached to brownfields due to lack of management and a perceived untidiness and they are increasingly threatened by development and landscaping. Fallin Bing is widely used by members of the public for dog walking, cycling and for passing through.  

To highlight the importance of the bing for wildlife, Buglife are running a walk around the bing at Fallin this Friday (26^th April). We will be meeting at the entrance to the bing at the mining museum at 1:30pm and the walk will finish at about 3:30pm. If interested in coming along or for more information please contact Suzanne Bairner on 01786 447504 or at suzanne.bairner@buglife.org.uk

Fallin Library Story Board

Throughout this project at Fallin, Paul Gunn a TCV Natural Communities trainee is speaking to the local community about the project and how people can get involved. This week he has been out to the library at Fallin and has put up a storyboard about the project with information on the history of Fallin. Linda from the library has been really helpful with the creation of this storyboard by helping get us pictures of old Fallin when the coal mining was at its peak. We have also put up poems written by people about Fallin.

 

Paul Gunn at his storyboard at Fallin library

We are asking visitors to the library to share their stories and thoughts with us about Fallin and the now derelict coal bing. The story board will be up for short periods of time during the entire project. If interested in coming along for a look the library opening times can be found at: http://www.stirling.gov.uk/services/community-life-and-leisure/libraries-and-archives/libraries-general-information/list-of-libraries/fallin-library

Also remember our first visit to the bing is next week on the 26^th April and will involve a walk around the bing looking for the bugs that live there. You can find out more by contacting myself at suzanne.bairner@buglife.org.uk or at 01786 447504. Fingers crossed that this rain disappears by then and we have a warm dry day!

Fallin Bing- from Coalfield to Brownfield

Hello, and welcome to our blog about the new project at Fallin, near Stirling- ‘Fallin Bing- from Coalfield to Brownfield’. 

This project will explore, capture and share the story of Fallin Bing and the surrounding community in the village Fallin.  Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust and The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) are working together throughout this project that is funded by All Our Stories Heritage Lottery Fund.  

 

Fallin Bing over-looking the Wallace monument. Image

© Scott Shanks

Fallin Bing is integral to the social, industrial and natural heritage of the community in Fallin and the surrounding area, yet it has a story that is not widely recognised or told.  This All Our Stories project will discover the stories from those who live around Fallin and what the Bing means to them both in the past and present day.

There will be a series of outdoor group days that everyone is welcome to attend that will involve a variety of different habitat creation tasks. Come along and meet new people and learn new skills and about the history of Fallin!

 

·         Visit 1- 26^th April (from 1:30-3:30) a walk around the bing to learn about the amazing bugs that live there

·         Visit 2- 16^th May (from 10am- 3pm): Wildflower planting

·         Visit 3- 24^th June (from 10am- 3pm): Scrub removal

 

Through these visits we hope to establish a link between members of the community that rarely mix, the older generation with the younger generation, as well as creating a stronger link with the Bing itself.  These visits will also give people a chance to learn more about the wildlife found in Fallin and what they can do in their gardens to help bugs.

Fallin Bing over-looking Wester Moss. Image

© Scott Shanks

All the events are FREE to attend and if interested in coming along to the outdoor days or for more information on the events please contact Suzanne Bairner (Project Officer Scotland) on 01786 447504 or at suzanne.bairner@buglife.org.uk