Hitchin Wildlife

  Hitchin Cemetery April-May 2026 The cemetery has some lovely spring-time flowers which are on the showy side, but also some understated ones too, here are two, one rather small and one rather hidden amongst the leaves...      On the left is Early Dog-violet with the scientific name of Viola reichenbachiana, Sherlock Holmes' fans might recognise the reference to the Swiss waterfall in the name. These flowers are found under trees and are an early source of nectar for early-flying bees. It is one of several plants which have a symbiotic relationship to Ants: small appendages on their seeds are desirable food so they take the seeds to their nests so helping with seed dispersal (aka Myrmecochory). On the right are the flowers of one of the magnificent cemetery Copper Beeches, and again these are a good source of food for early insects such as bees and hoverflies, but often these flowers are difficult for us humans to see. As well as the contrast between little and...

  Hitchin Cemetery Jan-Mar 2026 Friends of Hitchin Cemetery 10th Anniversary In March the Friends Group celebrated 10 years of their existence with a special gathering. It was attended by the Cemetery Manager, a local councillor, the Town Centre Manager, and representatives of the Countryside Management Service, the NHC Greenspace Team, Hitchin Historical Society, the Herts at War project, Hitchin Forum and John O'Conner plus of course the members of the Friends Group, sporting their brand new fleeces kindly provided by the council. A few speeches were made, a short tour of the Victorian part of the cemetery took place, where the Friends group concentrates their efforts, and refreshments taken. Many thanks to all involved for attending and making the event happen. The Friends of Hitchin Cemetery group (FOHC) had its origins in a group of volunteers working for the Countryside Management Service (CMS). They were given the opportunity to attend a topiary course at the cemetery which ...

  Hitchin Cemetery  October - December 2025 The cemetery's primary purpose is obviously as a quiet place of remembrance and contemplation but in addition to this the cemetery is notable for its wildlife and in particular its "Unimproved Grassland". The UK has lost most of its old meadows because of high-intensity farming methods, and patches of high quality unimproved grassland which are left, such as the cemetery, hold significant levels of biodiversity. The photos below show just some of the fungi which were fruiting during the last months of the year, all of them indicative of healthy undisturbed grassland.                              Suede Bolete                                                             ...

  Hitchin Cemetery August-September 2025 As usual August saw the cemetery visited by numerous butterflies, some of which were getting towards the end of the their flight period. Here are a Common Blue and the last Gatekeeper of the year.   Other insects making an appearance included a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly and a Red-legged Shieldbug   A rather non-descript flower popped up, but an interesting one: Musk Stork's-bill. Joseph Little, the first head of Hitchin Boy's School is buried in the cemetery and was a keen plant collector and collected a specimen of this plant from Great Wymondley in 1928. He described it as a "Wool alien" meaning that he thought it had been introduced to the area as part of the fertilizer made from the waste product of the wool industry. Joseph's original pressed specimen (below right) is now held by the South London Botanical Institute and can be viewed on-line.   As usual the regular Friday volunteers continue to meet to work on the older ...