New wildlife haven created in Horsham cemetery

Horsham District Council’s parks and countryside team were joined by a group from the Aldingbourne trust to create a hibernaculum – a structure providing winter shelter for amphibians and reptiles such as frogs, toads, newts, lizards and snakes – at Hills Cemetery.

Council chairman David Skipp, who also joined the group at the cemetery, said: “We are grateful to the green-fingered groups from the Aldingbourne Trust who maintain areas such as the rose garden at the cemetery and the train station displays, as well planting the beautiful town centre troughs and hanging baskets.

!I am delighted that this hibernaculum will provide a haven for the precious native wildlife here just in time for winter.”

Aldingbourne Trust visitor and enterprise operations manager Karen Tyrrell said: “We were thrilled to be invited to take part in this project, especially as none of us had ever built a hibernaculum before.

"The whole team, a mix of volunteers, people we support, and colleagues had great fun piling up the various bits of material, covering it in earth and laying a wild flower turf on top, and we are looking forward to seeing what takes up residence in their new home over the winter.”

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The Aldingbourne Trust provides support for people with learning disabilities and autism across all aspects of life from learning new skills, creating fulfilling work opportunities, enabling independent living and as well as offering vital support for carers and families.