Celebrities back The Buzz of Life

Dorset’s celebrations for the International Year of Biodiversity have been singled out for praise by environmental trailblazers, including Chris Packham and Dr Jane Goodall.

West Dorset’s Kingcombe Valley has been chosen for The Buzz of Life Weekend of events and activities to celebrate International Biodiversity Day on 22 May.  

To visit the meadows and lanes of this hidden hamlet is to step into the past, when every farm was alive with the buzz of insects, the song of birds and the meadows and field edges glowed with the colour of wild flowers.  This idyllic picture is a reality at Kingcombe, where wildlife co-exists in harmony with farming practices, which is why it has been selected as a national focal point for the International Year of Biodiversity.

Kingcombe neighbours, including Dorset Wildlife Trust, the Kingcombe Environmental Studies Centre, local farmers and residents, have joined together to invite people of all ages to discover the wildlife of the valley and how farming and the food we eat have made it what it is and continue to do so.

Chris Packham, who lives in Hampshire, juggles his enthusiastic support of the Wildlife Trusts with filming commitments, including  BBC TV’s Springwatch, which will be broadcast for 3 weeks from the end of May.  Chris said: “Kingcombe is a little piece of heaven on earth, a vestige of old England, a rich repository of a fantastic array of species and thus the perfect spot to celebrate and immerse your self in a riot of biodiversity . . . and have a great day out!”

The Buzz of Life is also being backed by Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, UN Messenger of Peace, who lives in Dorset.  Speaking from the Jane Goodall Institute-UK, Dr Goodall is fully behind the Kingcombe initiative: “There could be no better way of celebrating International Biodiversity Day than to visit The Buzz of Life.  One of the big tragedies of our era is the loss of so many bird and insect voices from the British countryside.  How wonderful, then, that there are places like Kingcombe where people can see how it used to be: farming and a celebration of the natural world existing side by side. Fields, unpoisoned by chemical fertilizers and pesticides, providing a safe haven for wildlife and huge benefits to our health, and in particular the health of our children.  A feast for the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste.”

The Buzz of Life weekend will include guided walks, food demonstrations and lots of activities.  It will be a chance for the whole family to learn about how the way we grow our food affects the beauty of our countryside, with talks from experts, including Pat Morris, one of the UK’s leading mammal experts and John Wright of River Cottage fame.  On the Saturday, there will also be guided walks at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s nearby Powerstock Common nature reserve.
 
The Buzz of Life weekend is 22 and 23 May, with activities from 10am-4pm daily at Lower Kingcombe, near Toller Porcorum.  Follow signs for event parking.  £5 per car, walkers/cyclists free.  Saturday evening additional events including bat walk.  For more information, please contact Dorset Wildlife Trust on 01305 264620 or The Kingcombe Centre on 01300 320684.