Eastern Daily Press, Wednesday, June 22, 2011
www.EDP24.co.uk/news
NEWS 25
DEREHAM
REGION
Making sure dads do not miss story time
Fears raised over cuts to wildlife-friendly farm cash
Dads in Dereham have recorded bedtime stories for their children so they can hear them even when they are not around. The project was organised by fathers group Men Behaving Dadly and took place at the county council’s children’s centre in Dereham. Six fathers, who are not always able to end the day with their youngsters, took part in the session as part of Fathers’ Story Week. The tales were recorded and burned on to a CD which, along with a copy of the book they read, will be presented to the dads so their children can continue to receive the benefits. Martin Laneuville, from Men Behaving Dadly, said the project would benefit children who did not always have their fathers around in the evenings – either because of work commitments or because he no longer lived with them. “Having a recording of their dad reading a story especially for them during his absence can have an enor mous impact on their relationship with that parent as well as their own personal emotional development,” he said. Alison Thomas, county council member for children’s services, praised the scheme and said parenting support was too-often aimed only at mothers. N Men Behaving Dadly hold a drop-in and support service at the London Road centre in Dereham on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. For more information call 01362 654053 .
Picture: ADRIAN JUDD
ANTHONY CARROLL Fears have been raised that East Anglia wildlife could be put at risk if European funding for environmentally-friendly farming is slashed next week. The RSPB says it is concerned that European subsidies for wildlifefriendly farming may be ditched from the EU’s proposed budget for 2014 to 2020 next Wednesday. The EU currently pays some farmers in the region to protect and manage land for vulnerable habitats and species through what is known as pillar 2 funding. The RSPB says if East Anglian farmers are not encouraged to look after birds and other wildlife then some species, such as turtle doves and stone curlews, could be badly affected. The organisation also fears hedgerows, stone walls and water quality will also feel the impact of any possible loss in the EU’s £200m annual funding. Those concerns have been echoed by farmer Chris Skinner, of High Ash Farm at Caistor St Edmund, near Norwich. Under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) pillar 2 funding Mr Skinner has received £1.1m in payments to boost wildlife by planting nearly 4,000 trees and 27,800 hedgerow
FARMER: Chris Skinner, of Caistor St Edmund, has concerns over EU wildlife- friendly farming funding being cut. plants, creating a pond, setting up pollen nectar and seed mixers and opening up his land to walkers. Without the EU funding Mr Skinner would have to turn his wildlife havens in to arable farmland resulting in the loss of thousands of linnets, turtle doves and lapwings. He would also be forced to plough over Anglo-Saxon and Romano-Celtic cemeteries on his
land. Mr Skinner said: “I am all for farmers to be left as farmers, but at the same time the public wants us to farm in an environmentally friendly way, but that costs money. “Without the EU finding I cannot afford to farm in an environmentally friendly way, the costs are astronomical.” Mr Skinner said that if the funding
was cut, “the effects on the wildlife here would be incredibly negative.” Simon Tonkin, the RSPB senior farmlands conservation manager for east England, said: “The funding has huge public benefits. Without it we would see a radical change to the wildlife of this region if the funding goes.” Martin Har per, the RSPB’s c o n s e r vat i o n d i re c t o r, s a i d : “Rewarding farmers for protecting wildlife has provided a lifeline to many sensitive species, which otherwise would have ebbed away. “Slashing funding for farmers who take action for wildlife would be a devastating blow to the environment and the long ter m future of farming.” A spokesman for NFU East Anglia said: “Our priority is competitive and productive farming. We want a progressive CAP that helps farmers respond to the challenge of growing more food while impacting less on the environment. “The focus should be on maintaining productive capacity, protecting against the threat posed by volatile markets, supporting efforts by farmers to become more competitive and providing incentives to improve environmental performance.” N anthony.carroll@archant.co.uk
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