Dragonflies to Diatoms

Our wildlife officer, Rebecca Porter will be joined by special guest Prof Genoveva Esteban, a microbial ecologist from Bournemouth University, for pond dipping with a difference. We are a Site of Nature Conservation Interest for our dragonflies due to the fact half the UK species are believed to breed here. The adult dragonflies are monitored every week during the summer but we have never looked for the larvae during the underwater part of their life cycle or indeed at the diversity of other smaller insect larvae they may feed on. With Genoveva’s help, we will have a unique opportunity to delve to the bottom of the food chain and explore the extraordinary diversity of the microbes (diatoms and more), impossible to see without a microscope.

Age suitability: strictly 14+