Belfairs Nature Discovery Centre - EWT

Belfairs Nature Discovery Centre - EWT Essex Wildlife Trust's Belfairs Nature Discovery Centre is the gateway to the Daws Heath Woodland.
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The centre provides a space for schools, groups and families to learn about south Essex’s fantastic ancient woodlands in an interactive way. The Belfairs Woodland Centre is a partnership between Essex Wildlife Trust and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Interreg, Maxigreen project. The centre itself will be a focal point for a range of events and activ

ities for the whole community and provide volunteering opportunities, refreshments and an education hall.

07/09/2026

Speak to us in the Centre all this week (and the next, and the next!)

Sightings Sunday!The warm summer weather means we are still seeing some amazing butterflies.All of these have been seen ...
06/09/2026

Sightings Sunday!
The warm summer weather means we are still seeing some amazing butterflies.
All of these have been seen locally, and there are many more to watch out for!
The links to our partners at Butterfly Conservation will give some more information about each species.
001/002 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) male. A great shot of the beautiful “eyes” on the underwing, common to this family.
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/common-blue
003 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/meadow-brown
004 Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/green-veined-white
005 Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/small-heath
006 Small White (Pieris rapae)
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/small-white
007 Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) It has been a great year for Small Coppers!
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/small-copper
008 Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/clouded-yellow
009 Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta)
https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/red-admiral

📷Many thanks to Richard for these great photos.
If you have any pictures, please send them – we would love to see!

EWT Local group Chair Graham Cook once again welcomed back Dr George Stovin's grandchildren for a guided walk/talk aroun...
05/09/2026

EWT Local group Chair Graham Cook once again welcomed back Dr George Stovin's grandchildren for a guided walk/talk around the Belfairs nature reserve that their grandfather George saved from development in the 1930s. The grandchildren had travelled from far and wide (Nth Wales, Newcastle and Brighton) and were pleased to see the reserve that their grandfather had created.
Many memories were recalled, photos passed around and stories exchanged on the day and all said it was very enjoyable and worth the time and distance travelled.

📷 Graham

Hemiptera (from Ancient Greek hemipterus 'half-winged') is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising mo...
01/09/2026

Hemiptera (from Ancient Greek hemipterus 'half-winged') is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species worldwide within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts.
We have some beautiful examples here in the UK and you can find a number of them locally.
Our intrepid watcher, Richard, has seen a few interesting ones this week
Incidentally, a nymph (from Ancient Greek meaning "bride") is the juvenile form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes gradual metamorphosis before reaching its adult stage. A nymph's overall form already resembles that of the adult, but it cannot breed. In addition, while a nymph moults, it never enters a pupal stage. Instead, the final moult results in an adult insect.
Nymphs undergo multiple stages of development called instars.

01 Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) nymph.
02 Firebug adult. Common locally and very easy to spot due to their colour. Over the last few year, it has been sighted more regularly and appears to be moving North.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55610-Pyrrhocoris-apterus
03 Vernal Shield bug (Peribalus strictus). Another species that is becoming more common. The antennae are orange yellow, but the final two segments are black. In spring and summer, the coloration is usually lighter than in autumn!
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/491461-Peribalus-strictus
04 Brassica shield bug (Eurydema oleracea) Also commonly known as the crucifer shield bug or cabbage bug Its specific name oleracea means "related to vegetables/herbs" in Latin!
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/70192-Eurydema-oleracea
05 Hairy shield bug (Dolycoris baccarum) nymph.
06 Hairy shield bug adult. Also known as Sloe Bugs, these shield bugs mainly inhabit hedgerows and woodland edges, fields, forests, parks and gardens.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51666-Dolycoris-baccarum

📷 Thanks Richard.

From Graham, Chair of The Southend and Rochford Local Group.What a night that was!!The moth trapping was our biggest eve...
24/08/2026

From Graham, Chair of The Southend and Rochford Local Group.

What a night that was!!
The moth trapping was our biggest event to date and with a record number in attendance proved to be a resounding success. A heavy down pour early evening raised concern as to whether the event would proceed outside or revert indoors to plan B ( a talk on moths). Thankfully the skies cleared as we welcomed the first attendees arriving!
With 2 moth traps set up outside we waited til dark when small groups were led out by our Wilder Community Ranger John Attiwell to inspect them and any specimens found were brought inside in sample tubes for the others to view id and photograph before release. Bluebell remained inside passing on her knowledge and answering questions as the captured moths were passed around. It was lovely to see so many happy children in attendance and fully engaging in the event.28 different species (18 macros and 10 micros) were captured, identified and released
A big thanks to John Attiwell for leading this event and being such a good supporter of our local group, his knowledge, enthusiasm and passion is clear for all to see. He really is our own little "Nature Wizard"!! . A very big thank you to Bluebell who is very much part of our group, for her time, knowledge and provision of materials on the night. By no means last a big thank you to Greg (Centre Manager) who was in attendance until the event finished at 11pm providing support to myself and opening the cafe/shop for the evening.
It was a very memorable evening with so much engagement and connection to nature from those attending as we continue to build our community based local group.
Many thanks for your kind donations which will go 100% into our local reserves. We look forward to seeing you all at a future event. And yes we do hope to repeat this moth trapping event next year!
https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/light-emerald
https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/brimstone-moth

📷 Thanks Graham

It's Monday again!Don't despair - there are a few spaces still left on our last Pilates session of the year!Join Charlie...
24/08/2026

It's Monday again!
Don't despair - there are a few spaces still left on our last Pilates session of the year!
Join Charlie for Pilates in the Woods on Saturday 5th September!
Full details here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1214596864081327/

Address

Eastwood Road North
Leigh-on-Sea
SS94LR

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441702477467

Website

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