Panshanger Park People and Wildlife Officer Jo Whitaker reflects on a momentous 2023 and looks ahead to 2024 at the Hertfordshire park situated between Welwyn Garden City and Hertford.
The start of a new year can be a time of reflection on the year just past as well as looking ahead for what’s to come.
Now seems a good time to look back at what happened at Panshanger Park in 2023.
If you’ve visited the park anytime over the last year then hopefully you’ve been able to enjoy some of these wildlife and event highlights.
Thinking back to this time last year, the park saw hundreds of hardy volunteers braving the frosts and frozen ground to help plant trees for our new woodland — Queen’s Wood.
Those 17,000 trees have now had a year to settle in and enjoyed the summer of rain and sunshine to get a solid first year’s growth.
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It was a busy summer for events and news. In June, Panshanger Park welcomed the Welwyn 10k for the first time, in partnership with organisers Garden City Runners.
Despite the very hot weather, almost 500 runners made their way around the route which took in many of the park’s habitats and features such as the Great Oak, the orangery, woodlands, wetlands, the lakes and the River Mimram.
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- How to spot dragonflies at Panshanger Park hotspot in Hertfordshire
- Panshanger Park named dragonfly hotspot by experts
July was a celebratory month for Panshanger Park as it saw the park being named a dragonfly hotspot by the British Dragonfly Society.
This was due to the park’s thriving dragonfly population.
A few celebratory events were held at the park with opportunities for visitors to enjoy the newly extended dragonfly trail as well as a programme of guided walks to help spot and identify these fascinating invertebrates.
In September, we shared the exciting news that the park had been identified as one of the most important sites in the UK for Saproxylic Coleoptera, beetles which rely on dead or decaying wood.
Two species were new records for the county, with one of these a rare beetle of ancient woodland found in only four other locations in the British Isles.
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Looking forward to this coming year then, there’ll hopefully be lots more great wildlife spots as well as events and opportunities.
To find out more about the wildlife of Panshanger Park do please could along to ‘The Nature of Panshanger Park’, a free evening of talks highlighting the wildlife and habitats at the park.
The event takes place on Thursday, January 25, at The Sele School, Welwyn Road, Hertford, SG14 2DG, between 6.30pm to 9.30pm.
If you are interested in attending please head to https://panshangerpark.tarmac.com/events/ to book your free place.
Panshanger Park is 1,000 acres of countryside situated between Welwyn Garden City and Hertford.
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is working with the park's owners, Tarmac to manage the park for both people and wildlife.
Jo Whitaker is the Panshanger Park People and Wildlife Officer.
She works for Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and her role is funded by Tarmac.
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