nwt roebuck 136 july - november 2015

The Wildlife Trust Magazine for Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland

The Foyle FoundationCash boostfor Hauxley

The Lynx EffectReintroduction debate continues

Red SquirrelsThe Red Army

marches on

Fantastic PhotosNorth East wildlife competition winners

Our WildlifeJoin our wildlife celebration

Hauxley UpdateNew caravan, vehicle and building underway

plus news from around the UK

RoebuckIssue 136 July - November 2015

Patrons: Conrad Dickinson, Bill Oddie, Chris Packham &James JoiceyPresident: Chris MullinVice Presidents: Charles Baker-Cresswell, Angus LunnVice President & Founder: Tony TynanChairman: Caroline StewartVice Chairman: Ian ArmstrongHonorary Secretary: Nigel PorterHonorary Treasurer: Sue Loney

Chief Executive: Mike PrattHead of Marketing & Fundraising: Sheila SharpHead of Conservation: Steve LoweHead of Land Management: Duncan HuttHead of Business Management: Jane SpeakEcoNorth: Vicki Sixsmith, Managing DirectorRed Squirrels Northern England: Nick Mason, Project Manager

Find us on:

/northumberlandwt

@NorthWildlife

6-7Competition Winners

14Fifty Shades of Gabions

16-17Sea Protectors

34-37Hidden Treasure

Local News

Conservation

UK News

Contents

NiFCa protectors of the sea

THE LyNx EFFECT the debate continues

THE PoWER oF PoNdS students survey

BiRd RiNgiNg with the BTO

16-1718-19

2021

ECo-MaPS launched in Bristol

uk NEWS RouNd-uP national news

oRCHaRd RESToRaTioN benefits everybody

doggER BaNk is it safe?

LoCaL WiLdLiFE SiTE hidden treasures

REPTiLES gaLoRE where are they?

26-2728-2930-3132-3334-3738-39

CorporatesNESTLé FuN family fun with chocolatiers

dENNiS CoMMoN helps out Hauxley

1213

Reserves & VolunteersLady oF THE NoRTH looking for assistants

RouNd-uP updates around the region

1415

FundingST oSWaLdS uLTRa get running for wildlife

SHiNiNg LEgaCy make a bid

1011

12A Secure Donation

gEoFFRy WiLLEy a fond farewell

doBBiES welcome to our latest partner

FaNTaSTiC PHoToS winners round-up

NEW aPP find new places

ouR WiLdLiFE join our wildlife celebration

45

6-789

SAMueL HOOD

ALex LIST er

NIFCA

AGMSTRaTEgiC REPoRT details activity

FiNaNCiaL aCTiViTiES at 31 March 2015

22-2324-25

AGM

Northumberland Wildlife Trust LtdGarden HouseSt Nicholas ParkGosforthNewcastle upon TyneNe3 3xTTel: (0191) 284 6884Fax: (0191) 284 6794Web: www.nwt.org.uk

registered Charity No. 221819registered Company No. 717813registered in england & WalesVAT No. 556 103264Roebuck Editor: Fiona DrydenRoebuck designer: richard ClarkThank you to all contributors.LaRgE TExT VERSioN aVaiLaBLE

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is a member of the largest voluntary organisiation in the uK concerned with all aspects of wildlife protection - The Wildlife Trusts. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Trust or the editor. Whilst every effort is taken to check accuracy of the information contained herein, no responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions. The contents are Copyright.

Front cover photo: Hare Portrait © Kevin Murray

All other photos © NWT unless otherwise stated

Find us on:

/northumberlandwt

@NorthWildlife

Change on the agenda Only weeks after the general election we are finding out how the environment and wildlife may be affected as the new government picks up its pace.

Like all political parties, the Conservatives

expressed interest in, and a degree of commitment towards, the idea of connecting nature with health and wellbeing. Moves are being made to recognise this in the legislative framework, but it is looking doubtful if we will see any new protection of our wild places.

There is already undermining of the Nature Directives established through the european union to care for our best species and habitats, all those Special Areas of Conservation and other designated sites we are lucky to have, and some of which are in our areas of Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside. Conservationists have genuine worries about the continued prioritisation of these areas in the future and, more especially, if we leave the european union.

I write this, not to be overtly political, but to remind us that we cannot, even now in the enlightened years of the 21st Century, take for granted that wildlife is well looked after and that we need to create green spaces and conserve wild land.

At a local level, we are embattled and continue to stand up for nature whenever new development proposals rear their heads. The aggressive land take in North Tyneside for housing seen in North Tyneside Council’s core strategy, and the proposal to open-cast mine at Highthorn on Druridge Bay are examples of where we really do have to stand up for nature.

Conservation is rarely ‘black and white’ and in these instances we are being pragmatic, as well as protective, recognising that if these go ahead we need to secure a large net gain for wildlife in the form of new habitat areas and connectivity of wildlife corridors. This pragmatism means this Trust sometimes taking ‘flack’ from both sides of the argument, but it is our job to get the best deal for wildlife whatever happens. Whilst we may accept that land in our urban fringe may be developed, it is a ‘double whammy’ if it goes ahead

and protection of the very best land in the uplands and other areas is not maintained... who would be a conservationist!

ultimately getting people behind us as members and supporters is where we will win through. Our appeal to secure more members on the back of our Last red Squirrel in the North east campaign and other recruitment initiatives are starting to pay off, but still we need more members to fight the fights.

In an ideal world, if we could double our membership, we could double our local action for wildlife. Seeing red squirrels returning, rarer bird species like the osprey and marsh harrier spreading further afield and better protection of the marine environment, will all demonstrate that we can stand up for wildlife if we are tenacious enough and stand together.

Don’t forget, on Sunday 27 September, we will be hosting ‘our Wildlife 2015’ at Kirkley Hall in Ponteland. This day will bring together our staff, members, volunteers, supporters and the general public to celebrate our fantastic Northumbrian wildlife, the ongoing work we are doing together to conserve it and the legacy we are leaving for future generations.

Iolo Williams (BBC Springwatch, Countryfile and Iolo’s Special reserves) will be helping us to launch the day and there will be an opportunity to meet him and put your wildlife questions in a question and answer session. But we won’t just be talking about wildlife, you’ll be meeting it too as you will have the chance to get up close and personal with many types of wildlife via a variety of activities including small mammal trapping and release, bird netting and release, and invertebrate sampling - both on land and in the water.

Log onto www.nwt.org.uk/whats-on to book your ticket before they sell out! I hope you can join us, and if you do, come and say hello to me.

Mike PrattChief ExecutiveNorthumberland Wildlife Trust

14Fifty Shades of Gabions

11Legacy Coins

Chief Executive’s Comments

roebuck is printed on regency Satin Carbon Balanced paper.

NeAL TrAFANKOWSKI

ALex LISTerNCJ M

eDIA

Trust wildlife champion and photographer bows outTributes were paid in April to fearless photographer, and the Trust’s oldest member, Geoffrey Willey, who died in Ponteland just months short of his 104th birthday.

Geoffrey Willey was one of the original members of the Trust when it was set up in 1971. He became a life member, and launched, and judged, our annual wildlife photography competition, to which he donated a trophy.

When the Trust joined forces with the Natural History Society of Northumbria and the other two Wildlife Trusts in the region to launch the joint regional wildlife photography competition, Geoffrey was not forgotten. He was invited to choose a winner for his cup, and at the age of 102 he turned up at the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle for the event.

He was a truly wonderful man with a lifetime of wildlife expertise and great photographic experience and had seen many different types of camera arrive onto the market - box brownies, Polaroids, digitals and iPhone cameras, and at the age of 102 he picked his competition winner using a laptop.

Born in 1911 in Honley, a village two miles from Holmfirth in Yorkshire, he was given his first camera, a Kodak No 2 Box Brownie at the age of 13, which started him on the road to a career as a professional photographer.

When the Second World War began, he worked in Newcastle for the Ministry of Information Films Division. The unit made black and white films designed to keep up wartime spirits and which were shown by Geoffrey and his projector in cinemas and village halls around the Region, as well as to workers at

Consett Iron Works and the Swan Hunter and Hawthorn Leslie shipyards on the Tyne.

He later worked as a photographer at the Spadeadam rocket establishment near Gilsland in Cumbria, documenting Blue Streak, which began as a missile and was later used for space launches.

It was in 1962, as senior photographer at Newcastle University, that Geoffrey met Trust founder Tony Tynan and forged a friendship that would last 53 years.

The welfare of the wildlifeThe spring months are a great time to be out and about with your camera, but it’s also a

time of year when our regular subjects are very vulnerable. As they set about producing the next generation, disturbance can derail that process

and for some species that can have a dramatic impact at a local level. Recently there was an incident that involved photographers standing directly in the

flight line to and from a Barn Owl nest on the Northumberland coast. The digital age has brought many benefits to wildlife photography, but ‘photographers’ who care more

about the image than the wildlife are sadly too common, and the stupidity of anyone who thinks that sort of behaviour is acceptable is beyond my understanding. There are jaw-dropping wildlife images waiting to be captured, just by sitting still and blending in, shooting from

one of the many excellent wildlife hides that are open to us or even using your vehicle as a hide - which is how I captured this image of a Black Grouse, well away from a lekking site.

There are a lot of factors that cause mortality in wildlife; predation, weather, disease are just a few…but disturbance by wildlife photographers should not have a place on that list.

Martin KitchingSenior GuideNorthumberland Experience Wildlife Tourswww.newtltd.co.uk

Geoffrey was a gentleman, a genius and a wonderful character. He used his photographic

skills to promote nature conservation and you couldn’t put him off anything.

Tony Tynan, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Founder and former curator of the Hancock Museum

Mike Pratt, NWT Chief Executive with Geoffrey Willey

Sue BISHOpM

arTIN KITcHINg

Local News

4 ROEBUCK 136 July - November 2015

Squirrelling awayFour years into the Red Squirrels Northern England Project, the surprises and exciting challenges keep coming thick and fast. A record 123 volunteers have helped us complete the 2015 squirrel range survey across 300 sites, in seven counties, for the fourth consecutive year. Overcoming unseasonal cold, equipment failure and livestock misbehaviour, committed and highly skilled community members, such as Margaret, Ken and alison of the Slaley red Squirrel group, have continued to make this survey one of the largest and most rigorous single species monitoring programmes in europe. Our team is analysing the thousands of digital images and squirrel hairs gathered and will share the results with you in the next issue. We hope, and expect, the pattern of stability of red squirrel populations to continue; this amazing volunteer team ensures we always know exactly how red squirrels are

doing! Huge thanks to them and to the garfield Weston Foundation for its support this year.

Another welcome surprise has been the success of our Last Red Squirrel in the North-East campaign. A huge welcome to the 160 (and counting) new Trust members and the 40 individual donors who have supported this campaign. Our conservation work is stronger thanks to you.

We look forward to welcoming all interested in red squirrels at the Our Wildlife event featuring Iolo Williams, on Sunday 27 September (see page 9). Iolo is a passionate red squirrel conservation supporter and will be sharing some of his views and experiences of squirrels on the day.

Dobbies names new charity partnerThe Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) has been voted Dobbies’ 150th anniversary national charity partner, having fended off strong competition from two other finalists.

Dobbies’ uK fundraising target of £50,000 will help to bring wildlife into school grounds up and down the country, including those in our Region, by creating habitat for wildlife and places where children can explore, play and get close to nature as well as providing advice and activities.

Wildlife gardening activity booklets, titled ‘My Wild garden’ have been created to help families make wildlife part of their gardens, no matter how big or small their outdoor space.

The booklet, which is available in this Region, from Dobbies, Ponteland for a suggested donation of £1, offers tips and tricks to make our gardens into wildlife havens, including species to look out for and monthly activities to undertake - from setting up nectar cafés to planting night-scented plants and more.

Alison Williams and Margaret and Ken Bates

KaTY cOOK

July - November 2015 ROEBUCK 136 5

Talented snappers never fail to impressFollowing the success of the previous two North East Wildlife Photography Competitions, Northumberland, Durham and Tees Valley Wildlife Trusts again joined forces with the Natural History Society of Northumbria and the Great North Museum: Hancock to host the 2015 competition.

The competition attracted a total of 1,661 entries and left our panel of judges, which this year included Tony Henderson The Journal

Environment Editor and Janet Blair, Editor of Living North magazine, highly impressed by the quality of submissions, and the final awards ceremony hosted by George McGavin, TV wildlife presenter and resident ‘bug man’ on BBc 1’s The One Show, proved to be a real winner.

This year, there were six competition categories to enter: mobile nature, nature up close, young person’s, wildlife portraits: photos that capture the character, essence or traits of

a species, wildlife in action: photos that capture interesting, funny or amazing behaviour and wildlife in the landscape, with each category winner and runner-up receiving a great prize and an overall winner being selected from one of the categories for the main prize of £250 which was provided by Nestlé Fawdon.

Special thanks to Alan Hewitt Photography for creating the new website and managing the judging process.

Wildlife in the Landscape - 1st & Overall WinnerCock Pheasant in Dawn Light, Jonathan Gaunt

Wildlife in Action - 1stShakin’ Grebe, Samuel Hood

Wildlife Portrait - 1stWaxwing with Berry, Tim Cossins

Wildlife in the Landscape - 2ndBarn Owl Sunset, Alan Wennington

Wildlife in Action - 2ndBoxing Hares, Renton Charman

Wildlife Portrait - 2ndWren, Christopher Wren

Wildlife in the Landscape - 3rdGuillemots at Sunset, Irene Dunton

Wildlife in Action - 3rdKestrel Vs Barn Owl, Chris Castling

Wildlife Portrait - 3rdHare Portrait, Kevin Murray


Centre

Westcountry

www.wcwpc.co.uk

W ldl fePhotography

FARNE ISLANDS BOAT TOURS

NaturalHistory

NorthumbriaSociety of

HANCOCK

Good Food, Good Life

NORTHuMBERLAND,DuRHAM &

TEES VALLEy

Organisers & Supporters: Prizes donated by:

Nature up Close - 1stSpider to the Fly, Patrick Bibby

Mobile Nature - 1stCamoufish, Jenny Shutt

young Person’s - 1stSnow Grouse, Max Eve (age 10)

Nature up Close - 2ndMainly Blue, Patrick Bibby

Mobile Nature - 2ndPollen Gatherer, Tracey Laing

young Person’s - 2ndCaterpillar Curl, Max Eve (age 10)

Nature up Close - 3rdHoverfly Syrphus Ribesi, Joseph Finlay

Mobile Nature - 3rdCowslips, Simon Kirk

young Person’s - 3rdThe Puffin, Tabitha Burnett (age 15)


Go wild and find nature with new Android appFinding new places to experience encounters with wildlife is now a lot easier with a new free app offering a guide to more than 2,000 nature reserves and thousands of Wildlife Trust events and activities up and down the uK.

Explore secret city spots and wild quarries, sit by quiet streams and rivers, admire ancient trees and wander through wildflower meadows with ‘Nature Finder’, The Wildlife Trusts’ free Android app, which is also available to iPhone users, enables people to carry a comprehensive guide to local wild places on their phone.

‘Nature Finder’ is a simple location-based app which enables the user to find Wildlife Trust nature reserves and events wherever they are. There is also a directory of Wildlife Trusts around the uK, with links to online information.

Created by volunteer, Rhisiart ap Gwilym, who developed it based on the original iphone version, launched in 2013, it uses gpS technology to automatically find the user’s location and display maps and listings of nature reserves and events.

Suitable for all iphone models and android devices, ‘Nature Finder’ is available from the app and google play Stores - just search for ‘Nature Finder’. www.wildlifetrusts.org/app

Amble family funThe Trust’s People & Wildlife Team has been hosting a number of family events for visitors to Amble Caravan Park throughout the spring and early summer.

From kite making and puffin themed arts and crafts to rockpooling and treasure hunts, the events have proved so popular, Park Leisure has invited the Team back in October to run a series of spooky Halloween events.

Encou

rage

your garden’s wildlife

First in the queue He’s a year early, but this visitor has proved he is both polite and literate!

In the photo, taken by Trust member Mike Jeffries, Teaching Fellow at the University of Northumbria’s Department of Geography, an eider duck is waiting outside our Hauxley reserve, having seen the sign on the gate that it’s closed, but is prepared to wait patiently for it to re-open.

Don’t forget the entire reserve is closed until summer 2016, during the building of our new Wildlife Discovery Centre, however our other five reserves along Druridge Bay: east Chevington, Druridge Pools, Cresswell Pond, Cresswell Foreshore and Linton Lane, are open as usual.

Why not try some of our delicious shearling lamb? They will be available from April, 2015.

For more information contact Stephen Comber at [email protected] call 07590 426 243. Keep in touch: www.flexigraze.org.uk

F lexigraze High Quality Shearling Lamb from Conservation Grazing

Each half lamb has:2 leg joints, 2 shoulder joints3 chump chops, 12 loin chops

and 1lb of mince

Lamb joints available soon

laureN OgIlvIeM

IKe jeFFrIeS

Local News


Be a wildlife tracker

Improve your photography

Get up close to wildlife

Photo: Tom Marshall

Help protect wildlife

Come and celebrate

with Northumberland Wildlife Trust

Booking essential, go to: www.nwt.org.uk/whats-on

Protecting wildlife in Newcastle,

Northumberland & North Tyneside

Sunday 27th September 2015, 10am - 4pm

VenueKirkley HallPontelandNewcastle upon TyneNE20 0AQ

Tickets• £12 per adult • £8 per child, under 5s free• Includes BBQ lunch•Half price Zoo entry and zip wire•Members’ AGM at 12 noon

Encou

rage

your garden’s wildlife

Mee

t Sprin

gwatch’s Iolo Williams

Our Wildlife 2015

An extravaganza of hands on workshops, activities, demonstrations and talksHandlelocalwildlife•Haveagoattaxidermy•Learntodrawwildlife

Getyourfacepainted•Meetourlivinglawnmowers•Enjoywatchingwildlife

Photo: Jon Hawkins

Photo: Amy Lewis

Photo: Simon Fraser

Supported by players of

Don’t forgetremember a

Charity WeekMonday 7 - Sunday 13

September

Cash boost from the foyle foundationThe Trust has received a hugely generous grant of £25,000 from The Foyle Foundation to be spent on the ‘fit-out’ of our new Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, as part of the larger Heritage Lottery Fund funded Dynamic Druridge Project.

The Foyle Foundation was formed to implement the terms of the will of the late Christina Foyle, the daughter of William Foyle

who, with his brother, founded the family owned bookshop Foyles in Charing Cross Road, London.

Since it became operational in November 2001, the Foundation, an independent grant making trust, has disbursed £63.2m in grants (up to 30th June 2014).

get running and raise funds for wildlifeThe Trust is the official charity of the second St Oswald Ultra Run Series which takes place in September, with scores of enthusiastic runners already registered from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and Japan, to make the 100 mile journey across Northumberland.

With a dawn start on Holy Island on Saturday 26 September, the challenging 100 mile race route passes through places associated with St Oswald, the King of Northumbria in the early 7th century. Runners will race down the stunning Northumberland coast before heading inland across beautiful countryside to Hadrian’s Wall, and then finally descending to finish in Chollerford on Sunday 27 September.

If you feel 100 miles might be too much of a

challenge, there is also a 50km which finishes at Craster and 100km race which finishes at Rothbury - both wonderful villages, or you could run the relay race with up to 12 friends.

Everybody entering the race is asked to make a donation to the Trust when they register for a place and race organisers are actively encouraging all participants, their friends and family to fundraise and donate to help support our work around the region.

So, if you want to run or know of somebody who does, or wish to sponsor a runner, log on at www.stoswaldsultra.com. You can browse images of the 2014 run for a flavour of the event on the website… you never know, you may be inspired to take part.

BIOLOGY SOCIETYWe are working to support Northumberland Wildlife Trust which shares our values of protecting and enjoying

our wide-open natural spaces.Phil Smith

St Oswald Ultra Run Series Organiser

Having a ballNewcastle University Biology Society (BIOSOC) which adopted the Trust as its ‘Charity of the Year’ for 2014/15 has raised almost £300 through a raffle at its annual Spring Ball.

£150 has been raised for NWT by Level 3 Animal Management students at Kirkley Hall College by doing a car wash, collecting change, having a swear jar and doing a sponsored silence.

KALeeLZIBe.COM


funding

Where there’s a will...Don’t leave a financial nightmare for your loved ones! Make sure you have an up-to-date will as it’s all too easy to put it off. It’s well worth tackling as soon as possible - both for your beneficiaries and for your own peace of mind.

Shining legacyThe Trust has received a legacy of 52 beautiful silver coins.

They form the Conservation Coin Collection with each featuring an endangered animal from a country and a notable person from that country - usually the head of state.

They are 38.61mm in diameter, have a fineness of .925, weigh 28.28gms and are silver. There is also a wooden storage box which will hold some of them, but not all.

They were issued by Spink and the Royal Mint on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources with one being sold each month to form a collection.

They were available from the mid 70’s onwards and we have records of purchase for many of them plus six books on the different coins and countries.

We are inviting financial offers for the collection as they would appeal to wildlife lovers. To place an offer or arrange a viewing of them,

email Sheila Sharp, Head of Marketing and Fundraising at [email protected].

The coins were left to us by Trust member Zoe Jenkins, who lived in Corbridge, and who was Head of Religious education at Newcastle College of education (later to become Northumbria University) and was for 10 years,

Senior Tutor for Reader Education in the Diocese of Newcastle. A knowledgeable gardener, horsewoman and steadfast conservationist, it was the express wish of Miss Jenkins that the coins should be sold to help our conservation work.

flying high thanks to charity lottery playersOsprey Watch is back for a sixth year, and, due to its success, the project team has recently purchased a fabulous new tripod and telescope, and erected a very public nesting platform at Bakethin Nature Reserve, all of which have been supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Last year, 2014 was the first year three pairs of ospreys bred successfully at Kielder.


The Trust is delighted to have been named as a beneficiary in two recent legacies.

Joyce Reay from Whitley Bay had been a Trust member for 34 years. Following her death towards the end of 2013, she bequeathed a £55,000 legacy to us.

eric Whittle who, most latterly, resided in Southend-on-Sea, was also a Trust member for 34 years. He bequeathed a £70,000 legacy following his death, again, towards the end of 2013.

The selfless generosity of both members is hugely appreciated and these sums are significant amounts of money which will be used carefully to continue our valuable conservation work.

If you are inspired by the wildlife and landscapes in our Region, please consider leaving us a legacy to safeguard them for future generations.

Visit our website www.nwt.org.uk/legacies for more information.

NCJ MeDIA

KeLLY HOLLINgS


Corporates

Donation keeps site secureRiverside Leisure (Hexham) Ltd has very generously donated a large caravan to our Hauxley Build Project, which is being used as a base by our round-the-clock site security team on our Hauxley reserve.

Based in Tyne Green, Hexham, the family owned holiday park has been a very valuable silver category member of the Trust for the past 19 years.

Family fun at Nestlé, FawdonAs part of our ongoing relationship with Nestlé, Fawdon, the Trust held a Family Wildlife Day for employees and their families, which was attended by over 100 people.

With the emphasis very much on connecting people with where food comes from, a team from the Trust held a number of hands-on sessions including the ‘above and below’ vegetable quiz, planting sunflowers in individual pots as part of a tallest sunflower competition this summer, a session on bees and butterflies and their importance in the ecosystem and a butterfly spotting trip around the Fawdon site’s butterfly meadow.

Quids inMany thanks to national retailer Poundworld for inviting our staff and volunteers to fundraise at the opening of its new multi-price Bargain Buys store in Cramlington.

A total of £75.00 was collected.

A quick trim courtesy of GusthartsMany thanks to Gustharts, bronze category members for the past 12 years, for its donation of a set of STIHL HSA 25 cordless shrub shears, designed for trimming shrubs, but which will be used to give the Hauxley Build Project straw bales a haircut before the walls are plastered.

Good Food, Good Life

ALex LISTeR

NeSTLé


Esh Groupwww.esh.uk.com

Lafarge Tarmacwww.lafargetarmac.co.uk

Mears Ltdwww.mearsgroup.co.uk

Nestlé Confectionery Ltdwww.nestle.co.uk

Northumbrian Water Ltdwww.nwl.co.uk

The Banks Groupwww.hjbanks.com

Thermofisher Scientificwww.thermofisher.com

Elanders Ltdwww.elanders.com

Harlow Printing Ltdwww.harlowprinting.co.uk

Karpet Millswww.karpetmills.co.uk

Mountgate Caravans Ltdwww.silvercarrscaravanpark.co.uk

North East Chamber of Commerce

www.ne-cc.com

Port of Tynewww.portoftyne.co.uk

Potts Printers Ltdwww.potts.co.uk

Riverside Leisurewww.riverside-leisure.co.uk

A-one +www.aone.uk.com

Albion Outdoorswww.albionoutdoors.co.uk

Bell Ingramwww.bellingram.co.uk

Berwick Holiday Parkwww.haven.com/parks/northumberland/berwick

Blyth Harbour Commissionwww.portofblyth.co.uk

Colton Excavationswww.coltonplanthire.co.uk

Croft Veterinary Hospitalwww.croftvets.co.uk

Geoffrey Lurie Solicitorswww.geoffreylurie.com

Gusthartswww.gusthart.com

Hexham Steeplechase Co Ltdwww.hexham-racecourse.co.uk

Howick Hall Gardenswww.howickhallgardens.org

NCFEwww.ncfe.org.uk

Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

www.northernexperiencewildlifetours.co.uk

Northumberland County Councilwww.northumberland.gov.uk

Ord House Country Parkwww.ordhouse.co.uk

Percy Wood Leisure Ltdwww.percywood.co.uk

Poltross Enterpriseswww.poltross.com

Sykes Cottageswww.sykescottages.co.uk

Wardell Armstrongwww.wardell-armstrong.com

Whitley Bay Golf Clubwww.whitleybaygolfclub.co.uk

GOLDSILVER

Northumberland Wildlife Trust offers three levels of corporate membership which are designed to enhance your Corporate Social Responsibility commitments, provide year-round benefits to your business and support your staff development, PR and marketing strategies. You choose the level that you feel reflects your company’s commitment to the local environment.To find out more about becoming a corporate member contact our Marketing Office on 0191 284 6884 or via email to [email protected]

BRONZE

Generous donation from motor dealer

The Trust has taken possession of a brand new Isuzu D-Max pickup as part of our Dynamic Druridge project which is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Always keen to use local companies, the vehicle was supplied by Dennis Common, the Longframlington based Four Wheel Drive specialist, which made a very generous £5,000 donation towards the total cost of the vehicle.

The vehicle will initially be used on our Hauxley reserve during the construction of our new Wildlife Discovery Centre, before being driven along the whole of Druridge Bay

patrolling reserves and transporting volunteers.The Isuzu D-Max was chosen as it is one of

the few makes and models with a 3.5T towing capability, and, as the vehicle is already being used to tow tractors, mechanical diggers and move the straw bales around the Hauxley reserve, power and reliability were key factors in the choice.

ALex LISTeR

FiOna dryden


Help the ‘Lady of the North’The Trust is hoping to recruit a number of Volunteer Visitor Centre Assistants to work at Northumberlandia, the unique piece of public art set in a 46 acre community park near Cramlington. The centrepiece is a reclining lady, the world’s largest human landform sculpture.

Volunteers can choose to work in either the

Visitor Centre (Wednesday - Sunday, 9.00am - 5.00pm) or the Café (Wednesday - Sunday, 10.30am - 4.00pm).

For further information on these roles and others currently on offer, log on at: www.nwt.org.uk/volunteers

Making the most of itWhilst members of the public may be disappointed that our Hauxley reserve is closed until next summer, the resident wildlife is thriving, thanks to the peace and quiet.

Since the 1980s, a team of volunteers has recorded the number of birds visiting Hauxley reserve every weekday, and last year, a total of 165 different species of bird visited the reserve which is great news.

However, volunteers have already noticed an increase in the number of birds venturing into to the public areas of the reserve, not to mention a willow

warbler nesting 3ft away from the path, a wren nesting in one of the bird hides and moorhens nesting on the edge of the car park. Red squirrels are now frequent visitors and otters can often be seen out of the water, and all since the reserve closed after Easter

A tawny owl recently caused a flutter of excitement as it flew up one of the reserve’s main paths towards bird recording volunteer Jimmy Alexander, for, in the 15 years since he started his recording, he hasn’t spotted one single tawny owl on the site.

Fifty shades of gabionThe groundworks and foundations for our new Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre, which is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, were completed at the end of May by Amble based contractor G.L. Groundworks and project architects and main contractor, North Shields based Brightblue Studio.

The month of June saw our volunteers construct, and fill, over 150 gabion baskets. More commonly spotted stabilising riverbanks, the baskets measuring 1 metre x 0.5 metre and which have been filled with stones from Howick Quarry in Littlehoughton, will form part of the building’s foundations and act as plinths for the walls, which will be built using straw bales.

ALEx LiSTERTiM

MASoN

THE LAND TRuST

Willow warbler at Hauxley

Reserves & Volunteers


Volfest returns for a second yearFollowing the success of last year’s first ‘Volfest’ which celebrated the service of our volunteers, the Trust held its second festival at the end of April.

Sponsored by the Trust’s Save Our Magnificent Meadows (SoMM) Project which is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, it was fitting that the event was held in the Bardon Mill & Henshaw Village Hall, which is not only an amazing eco-build structure, but is in the vicinity of our Beltingham River Gravels reserve - a species rich calaminarian grassland area and one of the sites involved the SoMM Project.

As per last year, a volunteer awards ceremony was held with the ‘Jack of all Trades’ Award going to Cathy Bell for the second year running, an Outstanding Service Award for the most recorded hours of service going to Mo Dewer and the Special Recognition Award being presented to Joanna Dailey for her service to the ospreywatch project over the past 6 years.

Take a seatA team of volunteers has been carrying out essential repairs at our Holywell Pond reserve, thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

They headed out to the reserve, lying to the north of Holywell Village, to dig out and re-level the path between the site’s south and east meadows, which in the winter months have seen

vehicles and volunteers get stuck in the mud.

Spurred on by the wonderful sunshine, the Team then went on to replace an old seat near Holywell Dene which has been on the ‘to do’ list for months and is a very popular resting place for dog walkers and visitors en-route to Holywell Dene.


BARROWBuRn WOOd:Fallen tree protectors were recently repaired, a considerable number of self-seeded trees were found growing within and outside them. Cuckoo were heard and pied flycatcher and redstart seen on the reserve.

FenCeRHill WOOd:The amount of Himalayan Balsam on the reserve continues to decline annually, thanks to the efforts of the volunteers. Grange First School has begun to use the reserve for educational visits. We hope to continue creating further links between schools and our reserves.

HOlyWell POnd:Vandals recently daubed the public hide in spray paint inside and out. A fantastic effort by the volunteers has seen the graffiti removed and the hide repainted. on a lighter note, despite staff shortages, our strong links with Holywell First School have continued to develop thanks to volunteer wardens leading a series of sessions on the reserve. Poor weather last summer prevented hay production, however the additional sheep introduced to graze the reserve over the winter has resulted in the continued improvement in the quality of the meadow.

WeST FleeTHAm:The huge effort by volunteers to remove water soldiers from Farm Pond last year has resulted in limited cover of the plant this year; we will continue to remove the plant as it appears, in the hope of eradicating it. on a similar note, the annual removal of Himalayan Balsam from Long Nanny Wood has seen a continued reduction of this invasive species.

GRASSleeS BuRn WOOd:Volunteers removed old tree guards and litter from the reserve and were treated to the sight of redstart and pied flycatcher.

RESERVES ROUND-UP

JoE CHRiSTiE

SuSAN WiLSoN

Back row: (l-R) mustapha Kabah, mo dewar and Cathy BellFront row: (l-R) Ken Simpson, Paul Smith and derek Statton


conservation roUnD-UPWatery Work:We have received confirmation of two awards from the Environment Agency’s Catchment Partnership Action Fund (CPAF) totalling £62,000 and £10,000 from Northumbrian Water Ltd.’s ‘Branch Out Fund’ to extend the floating islands on the Ouseburn.

otter Project:All sites have been identified for survey in 2015 and a Memorandum of Understanding established with the Waterford Institute, Eire, regarding the analysis of DNA from the River Tyne catchment.

Water voles:MSc student, Rachael Omans, has been recruited to develop a population model for donor water vole populations in the North Pennines.

We are now developing the water vole volunteer groups in the North Pennines, and elsewhere in the project area.

mcz’s:Aurelie Bohan, Living Seas Officer, has been developing communication materials for the Marine Conservation Zones consultation which saw a national campaign aimed at getting the general public to respond, in order to demonstrate a continued support of marine protection.

living seas:Living Seas will be running a summer school for 11 to 14 year olds, in partnership with Newcastle University’s Dove Marine Laboratory in Cullercoats, over the school summer holiday. Planning is going well to develop a varied programme, which is both enjoyable and educational.

nifca:Steve Lowe, Head of Conservation at the Trust has been appointed to the NIFCA as a MMO appointee for a term of four years.

As a maritime nation, Britain has a long heritage of sea based activities. The sea is not an easy place to look after and for centuries we have used the sea without due consideration for the long term impacts. Indeed in the early 20th century it was still considered that the sea was inexhaustible.

A new approach was needed and we are now at an exciting time with a fundamental shift in our cultural approach to marine management. We are beginning to understand the inter-related nature of all the seas resources and it is broadly recognised that all the various marine

stakeholders from dog-walkers to lobster potters need to pull together to achieve the long term goal and vision of healthy seas providing “ecosystem services” for the future.

The Wildlife Trusts lobbied for a Marine Bill and once this became law, it established Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) as a new type of regulator to work with stakeholder groups to achieve this common aim in English inshore waters. IFCAs replaced the Sea Fisheries Committees and have extended responsibilities not only to achieve sustainable inshore fisheries, but also to help

achieve conservation objectives, working in strong partnership with Government and other regulators with the aim of securing the future of the seas and the benefits we all get from them.

Locally we now have the Northumberland IFCA, which has jurisdiction over an area between the midpoint of theTyne and the Scottish/English Border from the National Tidal Limit (“NTL”) then out to 6 nautical miles from the baseline. This includes all rivers and estuaries with the NIFCA district up to their NTL.

The NIFCA is funded by 2 constituent authorities: Northumberland County Council

the Watchers on the shore

NIFC

A

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PeoPle and Wildlife:June saw our People and Wildlife Team engaging with 427 school children via visits to Howick and Barrasford Quarries, bird activities around the launch of the Northumbria Bird Atlas, trips to Weetslade Country Park and water vole activities courtesy of the Tyne Rivers Trust.

Undersea artist:Aurelie has been liaising with the national Living Seas team to organise filming opportunities for the Northumberland coast. Chris Rose, an artist based in the Scottish Borders, recently won the RSWT/Society of Wildlife Artists’ (SWA) Undersea Artists Award.

Chris will dive within the Coquet to St Mary’s potential MCZ, and will produce a painting inspired by his underwater experience, which will be included in the SWA’s annual autumn exhibition in London.

save oUr magnificent meadoWs (somm):Volunteers, led by Trust Conservation Officer Naomi Waite, have been carrying out practical work on sites, including the removal of Himalayan balsam on our Williamston reserve and the planting out of maiden pink plug plants.

Naomi and her volunteers have been carrying out monitoring surveys of each of the project sites, with interesting results already. Early pioneer, annual species are beginning to establish in the areas of cleared soil and all, but one, of the maiden pink planted out at Gunnerton Nick are surviving.

Art students from Newcastle College have been painting the calaminarian grasslands and will be putting their finished pieces together for an exhibition at Haltwhistle Library throughout August.

(NCC) and North Tyneside Borough Council (NTBC) with 6 members and 1 member on the Authority respectively. In addition there are 11 Marine Management Organisation (MMO) appointed members and 1 representative from each of the government agencies Environment Agency (EA), Natural England (NE) and MMO (staff member). One recent appointee is NWT’s Head of Conservation, Steve Lowe.

These are exciting and challenging times for the Northumberland IFCA team. Amongst many areas of work, they are prioritising the revised approach to fisheries management

in the European Marine Sites and Marine Conservation Zones in the next year. This has involved gathering large amounts of new data on the local inshore environment such as monitoring lobster populations and mussel beds, grab sampling and fish surveys.

NIFCA has also just taken delivery of its new patrol vessel, the St. Aidan, which will ensure the NIFCA can adequately respond to the growing demands of its role. This includes surveying for whales and dolphins with groups such as the NE Cetacean Project, an excellent example of partnership working. Indeed,

although the NIFCA is new it has established itself as flexible, pragmatic and above all accessible.

For more information see, www.nifca.gov.uk

steve loweHead of conservation northumberland wildlife trustmmo appointee to nifca

the aims of niFca are:• To ensure that the exploitation of sea

fisheries resources is carried out in a sustainable way

• To balance the social and economic benefits of exploiting the sea fisheries resources of the district with the need to protect the marine environment from, or promote its recovery from, the effects of such exploitation

• Take any other steps which in the Authority’s opinion are necessary, or expedient for the purpose of making a contribution to the achievement of sustainable development

• To balance the different needs of persons engaged in the exploitation of sea fisheries resources in the district

• To ensure all objectives of any Marine Conservation Zone in the district are furthered

the aims will be achieved by:• Monitoring fisheries other than migratory

fisheries within the Authority limits• Making byelaws when appropriate in the

interests of fisheries and the environment• Enforcement of byelaws• Enforcement of other legislation (both

European and national)

NIFCANIFCA

NIFCA


species reintroductions: when is it a sensible option?With the arrival of Jurassic World on the big screen, it seems timely to discuss the latest news in bringing extinct species back to British shores. But we’re not talking about recreating dinosaurs, we’re talking about reintroducing species that were once native to Britain and can still be found in other countries.

“WE ARE going to release a lynx near you” came the announcements earlier this year indicating plans were afoot to reintroduce this once native species back to Britain. Such a bold statement of intent mistakenly assumes everyone agrees with this idea and will allow it to happen without even being asked. Is this a novel approach to UK reintroductions or slight naivety?

Putting a species back into the wild where it once lived is always guaranteed to spark lively debate. ‘Shouldn’t we concentrate on what we have left?’ or following the classic line from the original Jurassic Park film “Dinosaurs had their shot and nature selected them for extinction”. It is a thorny subject and one with supporters on both sides. I personally believe each case should be assessed individually as I can see both the merits and follies of such exercises having been involved in one or two reintroduction efforts over the years.

Problems arise from the start with many people simply not understanding the terminology. I get tired of hearing my angling friends (who are otherwise intelligent human beings) and the angling media blaming ‘reintroduced’ otters for everything but biblical plagues. Some may say it’s pedantic, but if a whole species’ reputation is being tarnished through ignorance, then a little explanation should follow. For the record, again, historical records show quite clearly locations and numbers of otters in Britain, indicating that very few otters were ever deliberately reintroduced. Probably around 99% of the modern population came from free living ancestors that naturally recolonised the available water space from existing wild populations.

So what should we do about reintroductions? There is talk of reintroducing wolf or lynx into the British countryside. The Nature Conservancy Committee looked long and hard at the feasibility of wolf reintroductions on the Isle of Rhum many years ago but decided against it. The arguments for reintroduction include: they used to live here and they should be back where they belong, they will control our growing deer population naturally and they will increase tourism. Now I must say these are largely not my own opinions but rather those gathered from many sources, as I personally would love to live in a country

with free ranging wolf packs in the woods; however, I am a realist and the UK is not the place these days for such things regardless how some may paint the picture.

Stop for a moment and think logically about this. Would these animals be truly wild? In real terms, they are not wild and would have to be managed, which in turn raises challenges associated with species control, which are the realities associated with this type of reintroduction in an overcrowded country like the UK. There are many examples of successful reintroductions all around the globe, but in Britain with its burgeoning towns and cities, and increasingly few, and certainly much smaller, wild spaces, do we have the space when compared with the vast American state of Michigan, the Swedish districts of Varmland, or the German/Czech border regions of uninterrupted forest and wilderness?

So what about changing views and the tourism argument? We already have zoos and safari parks where these creatures can be seen easily by thousands of people every day. I spent six months in Sweden tracking wolves in the wild and I saw a grand total of one animal at a distance of 1.5 miles, in a region as large as Scotland, with more wolves than people and vistas as far as the eye can see. I have visited Bavaria and the Czech Republic and spoken to lynx conservationists who have spent over 10 years reintroducing lynx and in all that time they had observed lynx directly for about 20 seconds. Have they made any difference to deer populations? Not in the slightest as there are still as many deer shot by hunters now as there were before lynx were brought back; if anything, there are more deer as they respond to increased predation with more twin births. The point I am hoping to make is that tourists want to see things, but they won’t see wolves and certainly not lynx, so what would be the point? These are not arguments to reintroduce a species; they are arguments to placate a misplaced and often romantic notion that we can turn back time and make space in our crowded nation for a lost wilderness.

Personally I believe lynx would survive and prosper in the UK, but wonder whether it would be ethically sound to reintroduce wolves. Wolves are pack animals and need vast uninterrupted ranges to wander and they exploit the easiest and freely available food sources , which would be domestic livestock. Lynx are solitary hunters that also need large areas but there are always fewer of them, they are rarely encountered, and have little impact outside of their own small space. Wolves don’t attack humans

(this is largely a myth) but they do make a lot of unearthly noises and scare the living daylights out of most folk. Meanwhile the lynx just vanishes and is virtually unnoticeable where it lives. There are many, more subtle nuances to these arguments that could go on forever, but the reality is quite simple... concentrate on what we

conservation


already have because we are losing it too quickly, bring back only if we must and only those that will actually benefit the overall landscape.

So finally I will leave you with two strong possibilities and suitable candidates for reintroduction: the beaver (“what a surprise” those who know me will say) and of course the water vole. A harmless vegetarian, it took over 10 years of research and lobbying to get the beaver back

into the Scottish countryside, even then only on a trial basis. Now, although it still has its detractors it’s firmly established in several locations now and other wildlife is flourishing around it. However, just to bring further hope that some reintroductions, can help conservation, we can look no further than the humble water vole. If reintroduced back into an environment free from his nemesis, the mink, this charming little emblematic species can

re-establish itself quite readily and successfully. So there you have it, time to make your own mind up.

kevin o’HaraConservation Officernorthumberland Wildlife trust

LyNx

: M

PIET

W

OLF

: VF

HAR

RIS


Druridge Bay and the power of pondsThe Trust’s Dynamic Druridge Project conjures up the Bay’s ever changing moods and landscape; the long rolling waves, towering skyscapes and wildlife changing with the seasons.

There are also less familiar, invisible but powerful forces at work all along the Bay that have only just begun to yield surprising insights into what nature does for us.

Researchers from the Department of Geography at Northumbria University have been working in partnership with the Trust to test the role of ponds in capturing or releasing carbon to the atmosphere.

It is easy to take ponds for granted because they are small and familiar, but their sheer number may make them important players in the cycling of carbon. Ponds are shallow and productive, their plants taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as they grow and trapping the carbon in the pond’s sediments when the plants die down.

However ponds can also release carbon back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or the even more potent greenhouse gas methane.

Two postgraduates, Pete Gilbert and Scott Taylor, have been measuring the levels of carbon in cores taken form ponds along the Bay. They also record the gases being absorbed or released from ponds as sites dry or wet, and through the changing hours of the day; capturing the ‘aquatic breath’, as Pete puts it.

Results so far show that the ponds along the Bay have very carbon rich sediments, much richer in carbon than the soils from the terrestrial grasslands around about, because the ponds are waterlogged the lack of oxygen down in the sediment stops the normal processes of decay that could release the carbon back to the atmosphere.

The trouble is that as sites dry out, as many do in summer, the base of the ponds is exposed to the air and can start to release much more carbon. Overall it looks like small ponds could be an important but missing part of the carbon budget and that carefully designed ponds could be potent carbon traps.

Watch out next time you are up at the Bay searching for summer avocets or winter geese. Those people out in the ponds taking cores or launching floating chambers to catch gases will be Pete and Scott in search of the invisible dynamic Druridge. Find out more about our work on our blog pondstimeandplace.blogspot.co.uk.

dr michael jeffriesdepartment of geographynorthumbria University

(l-r): dave cooke (co-supervisor), Pete gilbert and scott taylor taking sediment cores at Hauxley reserve

Pete Gilbert launching a floating chamber to measure gases coming off the pond at Warkworth lane ponds

dave cooke and Pete gilbert

taking a core at Warkworth lane ponds

MIKE JEFFRIES

MIKE JEFFRIES

MIKE JEFFRIES

conservation


conservationconservation

Bto constant effort study at Hauxley

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Constant Effort Study (CES) commenced in 1983 and was set up to monitor nationwide breeding passerine (perching birds, including all songbirds) population changes in a variety of habitats. Of particular interest was the long term study of adult and juvenile survival and the annual variation in productivity.

The methodology involves annual catching and ringing of breeding birds by qualified ringers in mist nets supplied by the BTO during the period 1 May until 31 August. The same length nets are erected in the same locations for the same length of time on twelve evenly spaced visits.

The Hauxley Reserve study commenced in 2002 and focuses on the willow carr and thorn scrub area on the south side of the reserve. Eight mist net locations were selected and a total of three hundred and fifty feet of netting is employed over a period of six hours.

Fifty three species have been handled at Hauxley since the project started and twenty eight are considered to be breeding. The number of individuals caught each year has varied between 243 and 384. The year by year variations in the numbers of adults and juveniles are correlated, the number of adults is an indication of the breeding population and the ratio of the numbers of juveniles to adults provides an indication of the variation in productivity.

The Willow Warbler, a trans Saharan migrant, is the most numerous species with caught one hundred and ninety seven adults and five hundred and seventy nine juveniles caught over the length of the study. Willow Warbler have declined quite dramatically in some southern counties in the last ten years but conversely the numbers have increased in northern Britain, especially in Scotland. The numbers of adults have declined at Hauxley, especially since 2005, but one adult survivor, ringed as a male in July 2002, returned to breed in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Two examples of the routes taken on their autumn migration to Africa are that of a juvenile ringed on 16th July 2007 and re-trapped in Kent on 9 September 2007 and another ringed on 18 July 2008 and re-trapped at Icklesham in Sussex on 8 August 2008.

Over the thirteen years of study there has been an increase in the numbers of Blackcaps, Reed Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Wrens and Tree

Sparrows with a decline in Sedge and Willow Warblers and Reed Buntings. The numbers of Blackbirds, Robins, and Dunnocks have remained fairly constant. The most productive years for all species were 2006, 2009 and 2014 the least productive years were 2002, 2004 and 2005.

The reasons for changes are not clearly understood but can be influenced by such factors as climate variation, habitat change, availability of food and nest sites, adult and juvenile survival, predation, disease etc. As the study continues the BTO, who correlate data from some 130 other sites in the UK, will acquire a better understanding of the population dynamics of our most common breeding species.

Thanks to the efforts of the staff and volunteers at Hauxley the net rides and access paths are kept open allowing the ringers easy access to the site.

All the data produced from Hauxley helps influence the long term management plans of the site.

Bryan gallowaynorthumbria ring group secretary

The ringing group will be joining the Trust at the next Hauxley Open Day on Sunday 9 August, so if you are lucky, you may get a chance to observe ringing in action.

BRyAN GALLOWAy

BRyAN GALLOWAy

Kingfisher caught for ringing at Hauxley Reserve

juvenile sedge Warbler caught for ringing at Hauxley reserve


Northumberland Wildlife Trust Ltd: Strategic Report2014/15 was a productive and successful year for the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. Significant progress was made with key projects and the achievement of a surplus outturn meant that a further step was taken towards ensuring the Trust’s long-term financial stability. For a small to medium sized charity with over 50 staff and 250 active volunteers, the organisation continues to deliver an impressive volume and quality of activity.

The Directors’ Annual Report for 2013/14 set out 5 key priorities for the Trust and these are listed in the table opposite, together with a summary of performance against each target. Financially, whilst sustaining membership income remains challenging, the Trust’s legacy strategy appears to be bearing fruit with significant legacy receipts and notifications in the year. The financial outturn for the year shows an unrestricted surplus of £166,831 and a restricted deficit of -£22,626, both of which represent a significant improvement against budget. The company’s balance sheet once again shows a stable position with a modest increase in cash compared with the prior year.

Project activity remained high with notable successes in the red squirrel project where monitoring is showing real impact on red populations, in development of the Dynamic Druridge project with a successful Stage 2 bid to HLF, and a positive start to a new, 3-year meadows project. In some other areas, notably development of new landscape-scale projects, progress has been slow due to time and capacity constraints but additional management time was allocated to this work and towards the end of the year this started to reap rewards. Overall there was a high level of achievement against Business Plan goals, including with EcoNorth which has again generated a profit, is expanding and has a healthy forward order book.

Notwithstanding this positive performance, the Trust remains exposed to risks. The build-up of restricted funds as a result of the year-end surplus, and particularly the need to spend accumulated funds in the 2015/16 year on the Hauxley building, means that the Trust is exposed to possible cash flow risk and this will require careful management. There remains a medium risk that the Trust will not be able to secure sufficient large-scale project funding to sustain the vital red squirrel work, with the results of two significant bids currently awaited. Securing new membership income, and sustaining current membership levels, remains a particular challenge; a new, events-based approach is being tried and a membership campaign in the last quarter has come close to meeting its target which is encouraging. Other potential risks include loss of key personnel or buildings and failure of IT infrastructure; these are recognised and actively managed by the Directors and staff.

The Trust’s financial position at March 2015 shows an overall improvement against the prior year. A summary of key achievements follows, and more detail about activity in the year is provided in Part Two of the Directors’ Report.

Election of Directors and Pen PortraitsNo Directors have resigned during the year. The following Directors retire by rotation: David Jones, Sandra King, Caroline Stewart. David Jones and Sandra King are eligible to stand again. Caroline Stewart has reached her maximum 9 year tenure and is standing down. The Board recommends the election of Ian Jackson, currently serving as a co-opted Trustee. No Directors were appointed by the Board during the year to fill casual vacancies. Pen portraits for the three candidates are shown below.

David JonesI have served as first a co-opted and then an elected Trustee for the Northumberland Wildlife Trust for the last 4 years. I have also been a director of EcoNorth, the Trust’s wholly-owned consulting subsidiary, since its inception. Before I retired I held senior positions in marketing and business development in high technology and service industries. As an NWT board member, I have taken a keen interest in marketing the Trust, helping to identify ways in which we can grow our membership and develop additional income streams, both of which are needed to secure our financial and social health. I believe that my commercial experience serves to complement the wildlife and environmental skills and knowledge possessed by my colleagues on the board.

Sandra KingI have been a trustee of Northumberland Wildlife Trust for 6 years. During this time I have been involved in several areas of the Trust’s work including, more recently, the exciting new straw bale building as part of the Hauxley Gateway Project. I started my career in the NHS, working mostly in public health. I then moved to the charitable sector, working at The Community Foundation for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, where my main role was business development. I was also policy lead for the Community Foundation’s environmental work, which included establishing a dedicated grant making fund for environmental projects – the LEAF Fund. Since 2008 I have worked freelance, on various local and national projects, mostly relating to improving public health, with a particular emphasis on the interface between the charitable sector and the NHS. I also undertake work with charities on business development, including delivering training for charity boards. I live in Acklington and have recently taken on responsibility for monitoring four barn owl boxes near the village, which is hugely rewarding. The owl boxes are my main claim to any practical conservation, other than trying to incorporate as many wildlife friendly features as possible into my organic vegetable garden! I spend a lot of my free time walking and cycling in Northumberland.

Ian JacksonI retired and returned to live in Northumberland in 2011. Prior to that I worked for the British Geological Survey, initially as a field geologist (including 10 years mapping in Northumberland) and ultimately as Chief of Operations. I am currently a co-opted trustee of NWT and also a trustee of the Northumberland National Park Foundation. I am actively involved in the development of The Sill project. I hope that my experience both as a geologist and director of a large public/private funded environmental science organisation will add value to the work of NWT scientifically and strategically.

AGM AGM


Summary of Key AchievementsDynamic Druridge

• Complete Rescued from the Sea post excavation report and engagement programme targets• Submit Stage 2 HLF application and supporting bids for Dynamic Druridge• Complete land purchase at Hauxley• Undertake initial site works for the replacement Hauxley building and new pathways

Achievements• Land for Hauxley extension purchased, fenced off and being grazed for habitat improvement• Path works at Hauxley completed and site facilities set up; delays in starting the building due to planning issues are expected to be

resolved early in the new financial year• Stage 2 HLF bid for Dynamic Druridge submitted and successful; a further £25,500 secured from other funders so far

Deliver ongoing projects• Complete third and final year of Biffa-funded RSNE work• Develop a LIFE partnership bid for RSNE• Deliver the Acorns to Oaks people engagement project and seek new funding to support this area of work• Recruit a Living Seas Project Officer and deliver year 1 targets for marine awareness programme• Deliver year 1 targets for the Save our Magnificent Meadows HLF project

Achievements• Biffa-funded squirrel project successfully completed; monitoring shows that populations of reds are stable• A bid has been submitted to the EU LIFE fund and the outcome is awaited• Acorns to Oaks nearing successful completion and demand for other education work remains buoyant, although securing new funding for

education activity has proved challenging• Year 1 of the Living Seas project has been successful with all 1st year targets met including a response to the MCZ consultation• Year 1 of the Meadows project has gone well with all targets met

Develop new projects• Research and plan a Health &Wellbeing project and submit outline bid• Secure funding to continue Local Sites work; review 30 sites per year• Take forward next stage 2 of Dynamic Druridge after current project• Scope the potential for a Living Landscape project at Kielder including development of the Kielderhead Wildwood

Achievements• Positive meetings with the Mental Health Trust and other potential partners in a Health & Wellbeing project have taken place and project

development is underway• Planning work for stage 2 of Dynamic Druridge has not yet started• Specially grown Scots Pine seedlings have been planted across a 2 hectare site at Kielderhead has been undertaken and an expression of

interest for a further funding bid has been submitted to HLF

Growing and nurturing resources• Grow and develop a training programme for staff, volunteers and trustees• Invest in a dedicated HR Officer post• Improve performance management through systematic monitoring against targets• Develop and embed Health & Safety practice improvements• Invest in staff support with IT network improvements and a new phone system• Investigate realistic opportunities for a new HQ• Seek ways of growing core functions such as reserve management, business support and planning• Improve monitoring, measuring and evaluating across the organization

Achievements• Business resourcing has been enhanced with dedicated roles created for HR, IT and Health & Safety, resulting in streamlining of systems,

additional support for staff and increased efficiency • Infrastructure improvements include a new phone system, IT hardware and a replacement decking around Green House Two follow-on

events to the 2013/14 business skills training programme have been held• Good progress has been made with adoption of a new Health & Safety system• Specific targets have been included in the Business Plan but there remains more work to be done to identify key performance targets and

to measure against them


Northumberland Wildlife Trust Limited Consolidated Balance Sheet

at 31 March 2015

2015 2014£ £ £ £

FIXED ASSETSTangible assets 841,328 727,246

CURRENT ASSETSStocksDebtors Cash at bank and in hand

500559,011570,281

425607,907445,503

1,129,792 1,053,835

CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year (234,071) (177,193)

NET CURRENT ASSETS 895,721 876,642

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 1,737,049 1,603,888

CREDITORS: Amounts falling due after more than one year - (11,044)

NET ASSETS 1,737,049 1,592,844

CHARITY FUNDSRestricted fundsUnrestricted funds

470,712 1,266,337

493,3381,099,506

1,737,049 1,592,844

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008).

Approved by the Board of Directors on 30 June 2015 and signed on their behalf by C Stewart and S Loney.

AGM AGM


Northumberland Wildlife Trust LimitedConsolidated Statement of Financial

Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2015

Restricted Funds 2015

Unrestricted Funds 2015

TotalFunds 2015

TotalFunds2014

£ £ £ £INCOMING RESOURCESIncoming resources from generated funds:

Voluntary incomeActivities for generating fundsInvestment income

Incoming resources from charitable activitiesOther incoming resources

1,229,5835,763

17158,1741,244

813,289308,597

1,61735,40015,476

2,042,872314,360

1,78893,57416,720

2,371,115259,628

241112,31417,655

TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 1,294,935 1,174,379 2,469,314 2,760,953

RESOURCES EXPENDEDCost of generating funds:

Costs of generating voluntary incomeFundraising expenses and other costs

Charitable activitiesGovernance costs

-853

1,343,738-

130,193273,245430,644146,436

130,193274,098

1,774,382146,436

112,121247,383

1,929,18179,159

TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 1,344,591 980,518 2,325,109 2,367,844

NET INCOME BEFORE TRANSFERS (49,656) 193,861 144,205 393,109Transfers between Funds 27,030 (27,030) - -

NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS FOR THE YEAR (22,626) 166,831 144,205 393,109Total funds at 1 April 2013 493,338 1,099,506 1,592,844 1,199,735

TOTAL FUNDS AT 31 MARCH 2014 470,712 1,266,337 1,737,049 1,592,844


Avon Wildlife Trust’s pioneering Bristol eco-map is a blueprint for bringing wildlife back to every city

Ready, steady... wildlife!We’re all aware that bringing wildlife back into our daily lives makes us healthier and happier, and that wildlife-rich places are more resilient in the face of climate change. The question is, what can individual people do to help create such places?

Avon Wildlife Trust has come up with the answer.

Its 20 My Wild City maps show Bristol as never before: a network of wildlife habitats and green spaces showing householders, businesses and local authorities the best thing they can do for wildlife in their local area.

“We want to turn Bristol into a giant nature reserve,” says Avon Wildlife Trust’s director of conservation programmes Dr Lucy Rogers. “The maps allow you to zoom right in to your own street and garden level. They identify the areas where it would help to improve woodland and grassland habitat, or to do other things such as put up bird boxes, dig a pond or simply plant up a tub.”

The Trust hopes that linking gardens, passageways and other green spaces will create corridors for wildlife to move easily around the city.

“It doesn’t matter the size of your garden, or if you live in a flat,” says Lucy. “There are still lots of small changes you can make that will benefit wildlife.”

■ Read more and download one of the maps at avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/mywildcity

■ Buildings and roads■ Water■ Areas with sealed surfaces, for example car parks■ Gardens with opportunity for tree, shrub and wildflower planting■ Gardens with opportunity for tree planting■ Gardens with opportunity for wildflower planting■ Gardens without green space, opportunity for bird boxes, planters etc■ Existing semi-natural habitat, for example woodland and hedges■ Green space with opportunity for further wildlife enhancement■ Other green space, for example sports pitches■ Agricultural land which can be enhanced for wildlife

Key

extreme detail The maps, which

draw on more than 200 datasets, give detail down to

individual houses and gardens to guide optimal

action for wildlife

Get talking The Trust hopes that

communities will talk about what they can do in their local

urban areas. Five demonstration sites will

kickstart the project

Bristol

Hengrove and Stockwood

UK News


Latest UK-wide news and issues:wildlifetrusts.org/news

Local Wildlife Sites. Local Wildlife Sites. Apparently when you hear things three times it sticks. And I’m resorting to repetition because, despite our

championing these hidden gems non-stop for decades, few people have ever heard of them. Yet in many places Local Wildlife Sites hold most of our remaining wildlife, covering up to ten times the area of their legally protected SSSI cousins.

It’s not that Local Wildlife Sites have been designated on a whim. Scientific experts have surveyed the land field by field. Using rigorous criteria they’ve mapped out 52,000 places across the UK – our most important reserves of wildlife and soil. So what’s the problem?

In our centralised culture the word ‘local’ can, wrongly, mean ‘not so important’. So these amazing places get overlooked. And, because they have a variety of names, and data on them is held locally, they are harder to integrate into centralised decisions.

But our economic prosperity and social fabric depends on our starting ecological restoration in earnest and Local Wildlife Sites are a massive part of that equation.

Thank you for supporting your Wildlife Trust. By doing so you are helping the biggest champion of your Local Wildlife Sites – whether in quiet locations away from the public eye or in the centre of cities.

Stephanie Hilborne OBeChief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts

Local Wildlife Sites

Together The Wildlife Trusts have more than 800,000 members. We are the largest voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving all the UK’s habitats and species. Contact us on [email protected] or 01636 677 711. To join your Wildlife Trust, visit wildlifetrusts.org/joinus.

Natural World, The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Road, Newark, Notts NG24 1WT. editor Rupert Paul Communications officer Emma Websdale. Layout editor Dan Hilliard

twitter @wildlifetrustsfacebook.com/wildlifetrusts

Ready, steady... wildlife!

PAUL HOBSO

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5 species that could benefit from local action

HedgehogCreate holes in fences to allow hedgehogs safe passage

Common frogA network of ponds helps colonies thrive

Lesser stag beetleLives as a grub in dead hardwood

ChaffinchOne of many birds to benefit from garden feeders

Honey beePlant nectar-rich plants to benefit bees and other pollinators

Avon Wildlife Trust is mapping habitats in urban

areas to raise awareness

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RUPERT PAUL

DAvID CHAPMAn

DAvID CHAPMAn

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HRH Prince Harry harboured a desire to see red squirrels in northumberland ever since trekking to the South Pole with explorer (and northumberland Wildlife Trust patron) Conrad Dickinson last year to raise money for injured servicemen. This year the Prince, who planted a Trust flag at the Pole, got his chance.

Prince Harry visits Northumberland’s reds

As an island nation, we haven’t taken care of our seas; despite our seas taking care of us. After centuries of putting our seas under pressure, the marine environment is degraded and we are losing species at an alarming rate. But all is not lost. We can help our seas recover by establising an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas (MPAs).

We are progressing towards that. In Scotland, 30 national sites were designated last year. northern Ireland has designated its first site and is working to designate more.

Giving back to our seasAchieving an ecologically coherent UK network of marine protected areas

He visited the Haydon Red Squirrel Group and Frankham Woods near Fourstones, where new conservation techniques are helping red squirrels return to the wood.

“It’s tremendous that the Prince found time to support what he sees as a very worthwhile cause. He loves red squirrels,” said Conrad.

All these MPAs only protect

static animals. There are none

yet for highly mobile sharks

and dolphins

Didyou know?

Wales is protecting inshore waters from scallop dredging and in England, 23 sites have been designated.

However there are still gaps in our network, both geographically, for example in the Irish Sea, and in terms of species (for example, to protect our whales and dolphins).

Better protected seas are good for us all. By creating areas safe from damaging activities, the habitats within them can recover – which benefits both wildlife and people.

The new designations will protect habitats such as this reef off Devon

A spiny seahorse in Studland Bay, Dorset which we hope will also be an MPA in the future

Harry tries out a thermal imaging scope used to

study the returning reds in Northumberland

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UK News


Support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery is giving hundreds more city-dwelling schoolchildren regular access to nature with The Wildlife Trusts’ Forest School activities. Trusts in Leicestershire & Rutland, Lancashire and Birmingham & the Black Country have begun giving children the chance to experience the natural world, develop confidence and build relationships with their environment.

With a slap of its flat tail and a fast paddle to freedom, this beaver was released into the wild this spring on the river Otter. It was an historic moment for the wild colony discovered living in a Devon river and finally given the green light to remain. now Devon Wildlife Trust will monitor the animals and study what impacts they have on the local area.

The beaver was hunted to extinction in the 16th century. Its disappearance from the UK meant the loss of the species’ function as a wetland engineer. Beaver activity can improve water quality, create new wetland habitat and even reduce the effects of flooding.

Other Wildlife Trusts are working hard to bring back this keystone species, including the Scottish Wildlife Trust who is expecting a decision on the beavers at Knapdale later this year.

■ More on wildlifetrusts.org/beavers

How do bats use the landscape to roost, forage and commute? Tees valley Wildlife Trust is beginning a two-year study in East Cleveland to find out. The area is heavily wooded, and important for at least eight of the UK’s 16 bat species.

But first the Trust needs volunteers to help survey for these fascinating and long-lived mammals. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t done this kind of work before; training is provided.

“We want to build up the pattern of bat distributions across the area to create a unique batscape and help with their conservation,” says Bat Officer Sarah Barry. Thanks to funding from HLF and the Branch Out Fund.

■ Interested? Contact Sarah on [email protected]

Volunteers needed for bat research

More forest schools

English beaver makes history

■ Leics & Rutland: wildforestschool.org.uk■ Birmingham & Black Country:

bbcwildlife.org.uk/ForestSchools■ Lancs WT: lancswt.org/forest-schools-manchester

The new Forest Schools

Brown long-eared and (top) pipstrelle bats are two of the species in the project area

The Devon beavers were either an escape or unsanctioned release. It now has Government approval

The first beaver is returned to the wild

nICK UPTOn / nATUREPL.CO

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PAUL HARRIS / 2020 v ISIOn


When people restore an old orchard, the benefits flow both ways. Emma Websdale went to Herefordshire to find out how

Orchards for people

It’s a beautiful spring morning at Davies Meadow in Herefordshire, and the pear blossom is out. Clare is sizing up one of the fruit trees, her pole saw leaning against the trunk. Like her fellow colleagues, she seems completely at peace with her surroundings.

Clare is a farmer by profession, but she’s not at work today. She’s here to relax, meet friends and get in contact with nature. “Farming can be really isolating – it’s so nice to enjoy the social life here, and to know that other people like apples!” she says.

It’s not just about this year’s cider crop. Clare is also recovering. “Being affected by mentall ill health can feel isolating. You feel away from the world, but here you’re connected. I like the whole cycle of these trees. I enjoy finding neglected trees and putting their fruits to good use.”

Clare is volunteering for Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s Orchard Origins, which aims to improve people’s wellbeing as well as manage some of the county’s most beautiful – and formerly neglected – orchards. Every Friday, the Trust brings together local people and clients from Herefordshire Mind to care for a space that is part fruit crop, part wildlife habitat.

“We try to create an environment for people to talk, to feel comfortable and relaxed,” explains Laurence, Orchard Origins manager. “About

half of our volunteers are recovering from or managing recognised mental health conditions, but all feel better for being involved.”

Volunteers undertake in every step of cider making, from pruning to bottling and labelling. The new skills, friendly atmosphere and green surroundings are a huge help. “The change in these people is absolutely massive,” says Laurence. “In the first week, people’s chins are down, and you can tell they’re thinking, ‘Why on Earth am I here?’ After a few weeks, the

After a few weeks, they walk through our gates with proud smiles.

That’s the magic.

FErg

uS C

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A few years ago this little orchard had fallen into neglect, but today it’s back in business selling juice and cider, thanks to a band of happy, motivated volunteers

UK News


tension in their shoulders has gone and they walk through our gates with shoulders back and proud smiles. That’s the whole magic of it.”

Pouring out tea for each of his hard-working volunteers, he smiles proudly. “I have the best job in the world. It’s all about making people happy. How can you not enjoy that?”

Herefordshire is one of many Wildlife Trusts to run a nature-based social enterprise to improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing. Wildlife Trusts in Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Lancashire, London, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Tees Valley, Warwickshire and Yorkshire run similar projects, many in partnership with local NHS Trusts. They are doing so because a huge body of research shows that access to nature has great benefits for people, among them reduced depression, obesity and diabetes. Mental ill health

costs the uK £105.2 billion in 2009-2010 (The Centre for Mental Health). One study

suggests green therapy could save the NHS £2.1bn a year.

This is one reason why The Wildlife Trusts and rSPB are campaigning

for a Nature and Wellbeing Act, to put nature at the heart of decisions

such as health, housing and education. It would also put wildlife habitats back into the landscape, and reconnect people with nature. Find out more at wildlifetrusts.org/naturewellbeingact

Nature ‘could save the NHS £2.1bn’We’d like to capture how intimate and important nature is to you.■ Share your story at mywildlife.org.uk■ Learn more about Orchard Origins at orchardorigins.org

Tell your story, find out more

Left: Clare finds the process of restoring old fruit trees hugely beneficial. Right: spring maintenance; removing crossed branches and checking for blossom damage. Below right: “I love keeping the old trees going.” Martin has been a volunteer since 2012. Below left: juice and cider sell locally.


Abundant wildlife has made the UK’s largest sandbank a Special Area of Conservation – but so far the protection isn’t happening, reports Eleanor Stone

F or most people, the shipping forecast’s lilting rhythm is their only connection with the Dogger Bank, conjuring up images

of brave fishermen, battling the elements somewhere far off in the North Sea.

The name comes from an old Dutch word for fishing boat, dogge, but there is more to the Dogger Bank than fishing. Formed during the last ice age, it was part of the large ‘Doggerland’ which connected Britain to mainland Europe. Around 8,000 years ago, rising sea levels gradually cut off this connection, leaving just a raised sandbank area in the middle of the North Sea, the Dogger Bank. It is the largest sandbank in UK waters and, despite being 609 miles from the English coast, is only 17 metres deep in places.

Sandbanks may not have the obvious splendour of a rocky reef or kelp forest, but look a little closer and they support a wealth of marine life. Within the sandy and gravelly seabed live many different worms, crustaceans, molluscs and anemones. Hermit crabs and starfish patrol the seafloor searching out food. Sandeels burrow into the sand for protection. In turn, this provides food for more charismatic animals such as porpoises, dolphins and whales. Seabirds, including fulmars, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and the spectacular plunge-diving gannets, also feed on the Dogger Bank.

In recognition of its ecological importance and its declining state of health, the UK government plan to designate the Dogger Bank as a Special Area of Conservation, with Germany and the

Netherlands doing the same for the parts of the sandbank in their waters. This should give the Dogger Bank strict protection against damaging human activities, but we have concerns that this is not yet happening.

The biggest impact comes from fishing. Boats from several European countries exploit the rich variety of commercial fish, including herring, sprat and gurnard, often using methods that damage the sensitive sandbank. Despite efforts to better control these fisheries, there are no management measures in place. Oil and gas extraction and aggregate dredging may also be licensed, and there are plans to build 1200 wind turbines here, making one of the world’s biggest offshore wind farms. As well as impacting the seabed, the construction of wind farms creates

hArboUr porpoiSES These small

cetaceans feed here in large

numbers

bEAm TrAwling

This destructive form of fishing

carries on regardless

Dogger Bank: safe yet?

UK NewsUK News


Abundant wildlife has made the UK’s largest sandbank a Special Area of Conservation – but so far the protection isn’t happening, reports Eleanor Stone

SAndEElS These swarming, sand-burrowing fish are food to

seabirds

ShoAling fiSh

Sprat and herring exploit plankton blooming in the

shallows

propoSEd wind fArm building 1200

turbines will create huge underwater

noise

CrUSTACEAnS Several crab

species recycle nutrients up the

food chain

STArfiSh They and

brittlestars are slow-speed

predators of the sea floor

Dogger Bank: safe yet?

huge amounts of underwater noise. This will disturb the thousands of harbour porpoise and other marine mammals for whom the Dogger Bank is so important.

We want to see better protection of the Dogger Bank. We are pushing for a reduction in human impacts and proper management of this important site, so that it can thrive once again.

■ If you want to support The Wildlife Trusts in pushing for greater protection for harbour porpoises in protected areas like the Dogger Bank, please sign our e-petition at wildlifetrusts.org/oceangiants

DAN hIllArD DESIGN


There are more than 52,000 Local Wildlife Sites in the UK. But they are often overlooked or neglected. Patrick Barkham visited Hoe Common in Norfolk to learn why they’re worth saving

Hidden treasure

Patrick Barkhamis a natural history writer for The Guardian, and author of The Coastlands and Badgerlands

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Hoe Common, Norfolk – one of more than 52,000 Local Wildlife Sites in the UK. This one is in safe hands but many are being lost or damaged

UK News


UK News

a woodpecker is drumming on an old oak, two green hairstreaks twizzle round an overgrown hawthorn and, somewhere in the bracken, adders are gathering in the growing heat of the day.

entering Hoe common, near dereham in norfolk, is like discovering a secret room in the countryside. not much bigger than a couple of football pitches, it is unsignposted, tucked away in the norfolk countryside. i grew up ten miles away but never knew of its existence.

like many other local wildlife sites, it is

unheralded and yet treasured by those who live next to it. There are 42,865 local wildlife sites in england, covering at least 5% of its land mass. There are 1,300 in norfolk alone, from large commons to an old tennis court boasting more than 200 orchid spikes.

a dome of bracken and heather-covered heath, Hoe common is a remnant of a much larger common which was parcelled up during the enclosures. This sandy patch was deemed agriculturally useless and so was left as a ‘fuel enclosure’ for poor people who would

collect gorse and firewood, overseen by local landowners who administered it as a charity.

a small group of villagers, led by eilean MacGibbon, and dick and sue Malt, took on its management in 1994. determined not to let it return to its overgrown past, they asked Helen Baczkowska of norfolk wildlife Trust for help.

Most wildlife Trusts employ someone like Helen, whose job is to work with landowners to better manage unprotected countryside. despite their designation, local wildlife sites are hugely vulnerable. a survey by the wildlife

Join our expert panel on

Twitter on Tuesday July 28, 11.00am-12.00.

Tweet your questions using

FiNd oUtmore aboUt LocaL WiLdLiFe SiteS

#SecretSpaces


Trusts revealed that out of 6,590 local wildlife Sites, 717 were lost or damaged in the five years to 2013.

Helen finds most farmers and landowners are proud of their local wildlife sites but mistakes do happen: planting ornamental trees on meadows, for instance. “People don’t always know how to manage them or realise how important they are,” she says. The most common problem, however, is neglect. Meadows and heaths quickly become overgrown and their unique plants and animals disappear.

Helen reassures landowners that she will not impose rules on them. “what i say is that the Local Wildlife Site notification opens doors. I can help find funding, graziers and, in some cases, volunteers. it’s about saying, ‘look what we’ve got, it’s fantastic’”.

The first thing Helen did was help the Hoe volunteers enter the Higher level stewardship scheme so they could obtain a modest income to manage the land. Then she did a botanical survey and devised a management plan to stop their precious heath scrubbing over.

Volunteers received scything lessons from the environmentalist simon fairlie because the fascinating presence of first world war training trenches prevents the use of big machinery. residents also conducted an adder survey while the wildlife Trust enlisted the Hawk and owl Trust to help clear bracken and give the common and bell heather a chance to flourish. Now the residents will use their stewardship funds to fence the cleared area for grazing with native ponies.

“The wildlife Trusts’ report, secret spaces, really sums up these places,” says Helen. “They are not well-known like nature reserves but you

can tell how important they are to local people.”i walk onto the common with local volunteer

danny danson and Helen. we check under the corrugated iron for adders and slow worms but it is still too cool. at our feet are heath speedwell and heath bedstraw. a buzzard soars on a thermal above several ancient apple trees planted by the poor for cider.

danny began volunteering after attending a local parish meeting. “I worked in an office for 40 years but i’m an outside person – rolling up my sleeves really appeals to me.” He’s derived great satisfaction from seeing Hoe common revived. “There’s a good community spirit engendered from this and you’re enhancing the natural habitat as well.”

i’m excited by the honeysuckle hanging from

so many of the trees: this looks good for white admiral butterflies. Like many Local Wildlife Sites, however, Hoe common is relatively under-recorded, though Hoe Bird walk has recorded 134 bird species. local residents held a moth night last year but are keen to find out what else is here – bats, insects and other wildlife. This – recording, and enjoying it – is the next, exciting step.

“These are the hidden gems where wildlife clings on and can move through the landscape,” says Helen.

■ download our local wildlife sites report on wildlifetrusts.org/secretspaces

The hidden gems where

wildlife clings on and can move through the landscape

Delights of Hoe Common: green hairstreak butterflies in May

Pink and orange fruits of the spindle tree in early summer

Light grazing to encourage species-rich grassland

And nest boxes to multiply the benefit of the old oaks

UK News


Percentages add up to more than 100 because the

cause is often due to mutiple factors

Quite simply, local wildlife sites are where most of our wildlife is. in some counties they contain more biodiversity than national nature reserves or sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), which are protected by law.

in nottinghamshire, for example, local wildlife Sites (LWS) cover ten per cent of the land area, while sssis make up just 1.5%. Greater london has 36 sssis, compared with 1,500 lws covering eight times the area. in wiltshire, lws contain three quarters of the county’s broadleaf woodland.

Because of their spread, lws act as refuges, stepping stones and corridors between other wildlife-rich places. They also provide buffer zones to protect nature reserves and sssis from damage. if areas for nature are to become bigger, better and more joined up in future, to recreate resilient ecosystems, then lws need better protection than they have today – and the right kind of care and management. we also need to identify new ones and get neighbouring landowners involved wherever possible.

More than 10% of surveyed local wildlife sites in england have been lost or damaged in the five years up to 2013. worryingly, the status of a further 35,000 sites is unknown. This is due to a lack of resources for regular surveys and advice on management.

Habitat damage by development at Dale Road LWS, Buxton

Why do Local Wildlife Sites matter?

1 JOINyour local Wildlife Trust, which fights to protect LWS

2 SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN IN ENGLANDfor a nature and wellbeing act, and the creation of local ecological networks: wildlifetrusts.org/actfornature

3 ASK FOR ADVICEif you own lws, or a piece of land that could be one, contact your wildlife Trust. we offer expert advice.

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Local Wildlife Sites are some of the last fragments of our natural heritage, and a last defence against a landscape devoid of nature. They should be protected as the seed bank that will restore our countryside and ecosystems. Instead, they are being neglected or destroyed at a terrifying rate.

What you can do

ReASoNS foR LoSS

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Asham Wood: a link in the landscapeasham wood east in somerset is a typically valuable local wildlife site. it provides a link between a maternity roost for greater horseshoe bats and another nearby protected ancient wood. The roost (which holds 12% of the UK population) is protected by European law. This connected chain of habitat helps the bats to find shelter, and to forage and breed safely.

local wildlife sites have different names across the UK, but their value, and the threats they face, are the same wherever you are.

■ site of importance for Nature Conservation (Wales)

■ local nature conservation Site (Scotland)

■ site of local natureconservation importance (Northern Ireland)

■ Manx wildlife site (Isle of Man)

Also known as...

Greater horseshoe bats need joined-up habitats. They hunt for large moths and beetles in woodland and old pasture

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A glimpse of one of Britain’s six reptile species adds a thrill to any walk. Here’s where to find these ancient, mysterious and long-lived animals

Places to see

1 Snelsmore CommonBerks, Bucks & Oxon WT

This 100ha mix of heather, wet bog and woodland is home to a host of nationally rare species. There is a good chance of spotting adder, grass snake, common lizard and slow worm in one visit. A pond also hosts breeding palmate newts.Where is it? 2 miles N of Newbury off the B4494, opposite Mary Hare School. Grid SU 468721.

2Rackenford and Knowstone Moor

Devon Wildlife TrustWith the adjacent Hares Down, this is the county’s largest remaining block of Culm grassland, and designated an SSSI and SAC. Walk slowly and carefully to see adders and slow worms basking on the tussocks.Where is it? 9 miles west of Tiverton on the A361. The reserve is either side of the road. Grid SS 851 211.

3 Gilfach ReserveRadnorshire WT

A hill farm of open moorland, flower-rich grasslands and oak woods. Follow the river upstream and out along the Monks Trod. This is the walk where you are most likely to spot up to 50 common lizards basking in the sun – an amazing sight.Where is it? Off the A470, 7 miles from Llangurig and 2 miles from Rhayader. Follow brown Nature Reserve signs.

4 Potteric CarrYorkshire Wildlife Trust

Level paths wind around the ponds and channels of this exceptional wetland. Newts, frogs and whirligig beetles are easy to find. But come early in the day and you’ll see grass snakes of all sizes in the ponds in Loversall field, or along Loversall delph.Where is it? Just south of Doncaster, post code DN4 8DB. By bus from city, get off at B&Q. Grid SE 589 007.

Reptiles

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5 Harbottle CragsNorthumberland WT

A beautiful open moorland where nearby rocks have been scratched and polished by the last glaciers. The eastern end has sphagnum mosses but adder, slow worm and common lizard are easiest to find in the heathland areas.Where is it? 0.6 miles SW of Harbottle. Use Forestry Commission car park. Grid NT 922 040.

6 Sandwich & Pegwell BayKent Wildlife Trust

The only ancient dune pasture in Kent, with inter-tidal mudflats, saltmarsh, shingle beach, sand dunes, chalk cliffs, wave cut platform and coastal scrubland. Look closely in the dunes. You may see the extremely rare sand lizards there.Where is it? Between Sandwich and Ramsgate. Post code CT12 5JB. Grid TR 341 632.

7 Stanford WarrenEssex Wildlife Trust

One of the largest reedbeds in Essex, created by gravel extraction in the 1920s, plus marsh and rough grassland.The grassland is where you’ll find common lizard, grass snake and adder. There are harvest mice nesting among the reeds too.Where is it? 1 mile S ofStanford-le-Hope, and just N of the new Thurrock Thameside reserve. Grid TQ 687 812.

8Upton TowansCornwall Wildlife Trust

Internationally important dune grasslands harbour glow worm, pyramidal orchid, skylark and adders. It also has wonderful views across St Ives Bay. A must visit if you’re holidaying in mid Cornwall this summer.Where is it? Between Hayle and Gwithian off A30. Grid SW 579 398 (extra parking at SW 581 407).

9 Higher Hyde HeathDorset Wildlife Trust

One of the best areas in England to see all six native reptiles: an internationally important mix of wet, dry and humid heaths, plus peaty pools, mire and wet woodland. Besides the reptiles there are many dragonflies and damselflies, nightjar, Dartford warbler, woodlark and tree pipit. Grayling and silver-studded blue butterflies can be found on the open heath.Where is it? 2 miles N of Wool on Puddletown Rd, between Bovington and Wareham. Grid SY856899.

10 Fulbourn FenWildlife Trust BCN

These old meadows have never been treated with pesticide or fertiliser, and swarm with plants and animals. Look for grass snake and common lizard in the wettest meadow, East Fen, where hundreds of orchids bloom in early summer.Where is it? 6 miles from Cambridge. Grid TL 526 557.

■ Access/transport details for each site: wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/reserves

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Where to find these places

See our full listing of places to see

reptiles and more species information at

wildlifetrusts.org/reptiles

Britain’s six native reptiles

SAnd lizARd20cm, very rare. Sandy heaths and dunes

SlOW WORm54cm, legless lizard. Grassland, woodland and heathland

COmmON lizaRD14cm, spider hunter. Heaths and woodland clearings

GRASS SnAKe75cm, frog hunter. Frequents lakes and ponds

Unlike us, reptiles need a warm day before they can be active. So it’s often easiest to see them early in the morning, when they are still soaking up the rays. Snakes in particular can feel the vibrations of your footsteps, so tread softly. Never chase a reptile or try to pick one up.

Reptile watchinga ONE-miNUTE gUiDE TO

Reptiles can be irresistible, but leave handling them to experts

SmOOTH SNaKE70cm, constrictor. Predator of other reptiles. Heaths

AddeR66cm, bears live young. Bogs, heaths, woodland clearings

THE WILDLIFE TRUSTS

OTHER PICS: STEWART CANHAM

BRUCE SHORTLANDDAvID CHAPM

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Northumberland Wildlife Trust and People’s Postcode Lottery

People’s Postcode Lottery manages multiple society lotteries promoted by different charities including Postcode Green Trust, a charity registered in Scotland (SC042544) and regulated by the Gambling Commission under licences 000-030268-R-311787-007 and 000-030268-N-311788-006 . For details on each week’s society lottery visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk/society. Ticket price £2, with 5 draws each month and minimum £10 payable in advance. For a full list of prizes available visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk/prizes Maximum ticket prize is 10% of draw proceeds up to £400,000. Players must be 16 years or over. Only available to play with postcodes in England, Scotland

and Wales. Not available in NI. Conditions apply. See www.postcodelottery.co.uk Postcode Lottery Ltd is regulated by the Gambling Commission under licences 000-000829-N-102511-010 and 000-000829-R-102513-009. Registered office: Postcode Lottery Ltd, Titchfield House, 69/85 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4RR. Company reg. no. 04862732. VAT reg. no. 848 3165 07.

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery continue to protect wildlife in your region, but why not find out for yourself!

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Over the past eight years, thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, £894,940 has been raised for Northumberland Wildlife Trust. By playing you support hundreds of good causes.

Find out more at www.postcodelottery.co.uk

Join Northumberland Wildlife Trust at its Our Wildlife 2015 event on Sunday 27 September at Kirkley Hall, Ponteland and meet Iolo Williams from BBC Springwatch and find out more about what’s living on your doorstep.

2_NWT_RoebuckAdA4_JUN2015.indd 1 30/06/2015 12:12

nwt roebuck 136 july - november 2015

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