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.

Thanks very much to fantastic Panshanger Park volunteer Michelle Galloway for contributing this month’s article focusing on the recent ‘Nature of Panshanger Park’ event.

We had a great turnout with around 90 people attending, from those who have been involved with Panshanger since it opened in 2014, to others who had just visited for the first time.

The talks opened with Jo Whitaker’s recap of what has happened over the past year, including conservation efforts by the volunteers, events from guided walks to the launch of the Dragonfly Hotspot, and educational activities with local young people.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: A sign welcoming visitors to the Dragonfly Trail at Panshanger Park in Hertfordshire. A sign welcoming visitors to the Dragonfly Trail at Panshanger Park in Hertfordshire. (Image: Tarmac)

This was followed by a series of talks by experts about their work in the Park.

Ellie Smith from Herts Environmental Records Centre (HERC) revealed that Panshanger is the most recorded site in Hertfordshire, with nearly 3,000 known species, and 464 with protected status.

She explained how these records help inform the management of the Park, and how we can all get involved.

If you’d like to take part, the Hertfordshire Natural History Society (HNHS) website is a good place to get started. 

Next up Rob Mungovan from the Wild Trout Trust talked about his work on the River Mimram and how protecting the trout also benefits the rest of the river’s eco-system, including our resident water voles.

In particular, we heard about the important role fallen trees have to play in creating diverse habitat for all residents, so don’t worry if you see some appearing in the river this year. 

Steve Brooks from the British Dragonfly Society took us on a whistle-stop tour of the life cycle of both damsels and dragons, and what different species to look out for during the year.

They take to the air between April and November, and early morning is the best time to spot them out and about on our new Dragonfly Trail.

There are information boards to help us identify any you see.  

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From dragonflies to beetles, and Adrian Dutton spoke about his work recording the population of Saproxylic beetles in the Park – that is to say, beetles that need dead and decaying wood to survive.

Some of these species can’t fly very far, so can only live in substantial areas of woodland that have been around for centuries.

Panshanger, with its veteran trees, is very important for the conservation of these beetles.  

Finally, Michael Charlton, Tarmac estate manager, ran through plans for Panshanger in 2024.

To make the woodland more varied, new trees will be planted whilst other areas will be thinned out to create scrubland.

Work will continue on hedge laying, caring for the veteran trees, and diversifying river habitats. 

The Panshanger Park People and Wildlife Officer works for Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and the role is funded by Tarmac.