Rare newt found at nursery

A SPECIES of endangered newt has been found in Henley for the first time.

Great crested newts were discovered in a log pile in the garden of Badgemore Pre-School by a pupil in November.

Teacher Claire Morgan took a photograph which was sent off for official identification.

This confirmed it was a great crested newt, the largest and rarest of the UK’s three newt species, which is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Since then, two more have been seen at the pre-school in Hop Gardens. The discovery has been officially recorded by the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre.

Ms Morgan, 30, said it was “amazing” to be named on the record.

“When I first found it, I had no idea what it was,” she said.

Angela Schofield, manager of the pre-school, said that more common smooth newts had been found in the garden previously.

She said: “We didn’t expect to find them. We thought the logs would make a great place for insects but we never thought that there would be newts.” Lily Jones, 22, the forest school leader at the pre-school, said the children were very excited about the discovery of the rare newt.

“We let them know it was there but not to touch it,” she said. “Teaching the children about respecting the wildlife is a big thing.

“Since the discovery it has developed our outside learning even more and shown me how much the children can learn from the smallest things. You don’t need lots of extravagant stuff — nature is amazing.

“The children see our enthusiasm and they’ve been so enthusiastic themselves.”

The newt has been added to the list of creatures found in the garden which is on a wall in the classroom at the pre-school.

The staff are now restoring a pond at the entrance to Badgemore Primary School, where they believe the newts are breeding.

They are working with experts to introduce native trees and improve the habitat for the amphibians.

Ms Jones said: “We need to monitor where they are coming from. They normally breed by ponds so we think they came from there.

“We don’t know how many there are and how long they may have been there.

“We’re looking to restore the pond but we have to be very careful.”