Friends of Havoc Meadows

11/07/2026

How many species can you recognise? Damp grassland, deciduous woodland, estuary and wet cliff habitats on the visit to Havoc recently. Put your answers in the comments below! Additional photo credits Kirsty Menzies Andy Wilson

05/07/2026

Can you feel nature thriving? Wildflowers, invertebrates and birds were at every turn as we worked this week, at Havoc and on Dumbarton's east shore removing balsam and litter. A visit from gave us a huge boost - see what they found in our next post!

04/07/2026

Thank you to Rhonda Armstrong Therapies for joining us in the meadows recently - thanks to Rhonda, visitor Belén from Spain and all the volunteers, we are on course to complete our bashing programme for 2026! 💚🎉🐝

03/07/2026

28/06/2026

What a week in the meadows! A possible new rare plant (Cut-leaved heal-all/self-heal Prunella laciniata) to be confirmed...Twayblade in flower, Lords and Ladies, Greater Butterfly orchid, Speckled wood, Hawthorn shield bug, Potato capsid bug, loads of butterflies...it's all popping off here! Thanks to all on the group balsam bashes and nature walk for making a wonderful week 💚 Made possible with the support of Climate Action Hub 🙏🎉

23/06/2026

The Meadows today!
📷Joe Timmins

21/06/2026

Only four places left to see all these and much, much more stunning wildlife next Sunday (28th June) at 1pm, Havoc, Dumbarton! Book now at "Discover Havoc Meadows" on Eventbrite, it's free! 😀🦋🌼 With the support of the West Dunbartonshire Climate Action Hub https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/manage/events/1985094758861/details

15/06/2026

Can you name these amazing pollinators all found at Havoc? Come and join us Sat 20th meeting 11am at Dumbarton Castle for a balsam bash with Friends of Dumbarton Foreshore ! Thanks to all for many hours of conservation work in June!

25/05/2026

When is a nettle not a bad thing? When it feeds larvae of butterflies like this red admiral seen at Havoc today! The peacock caterpillar is another of at least five of our Havoc butterfly species that will eat nettle. Volunteers were out twice more removing balsam to protect them, while ten lovely local folk enjoyed a Clydesiders nature walk. Thank you to Kayleigh, Su and Iain for their help with the walk! Thank you also to the Climate Action Hub for their support.

17/05/2026

Another new species for the site list! Discovered on May 14 by Jackie Burt, "King Alfred's Cakes" (Daldinia concentrica), a striking-looking fungus which gets its common name from the myth that King Alfred, while hiding from Vikings in a peasant woman's home, forgot his promise to take her cakes out of the oven when cooked. This fungus does not harm trees - it is yet another Havoc species needing deadwood to survive. Thank you to Sally, Pat, Su and Connor as well as Jackie for their extra work this week removing hundreds of rusty nails from a bonfire remains at Havoc, balsam bashing, and showing Havoc at its best at events! Clydesiders