Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve
Chilton Moor, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne & Wear, DH4 6PU. Tel: 0191 584 3112
The Meadows Coffee Shop
Angela Watson and Team. Tel: 0191 512 8940
Low Barns Nature Reserve
Witton-le-Wear, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 0AG. Tel: 01388 488 728
Low Barns Coffee Shop
Angela Watson and Team. Tel: 01388 488 729
Charity number: 501038
Paper: FSC accredited, 100% recycled uncoated Design: Edmundson Design www.edmundsondesign.com
@durhamwildlife
t the time of writing, so far the summer has been cool but, thankfully, drier than the spring. Some heat would be nice, but a dry spell is what we are keeping our fingers crossed for. The reason for that is the wetland habitat creation works that are scheduled to be delivered as the final phase of Discover Brightwater, the Trust’s largest project to date.
It seems a little strange that dry weather is required to deliver wetlands, but machinery is needed to create the scrapes and channels, so firm ground is a must. These features will create better conditions for overwintering, and potentially breeding, waders by making more open water and wetter ground available for longer during the year. This work, and the other achievements of Brightwater, feature in this edition.
By the time this magazine arrives on your doorstep, we’ll also have a new Government. We can only hope that the natural environment is as high on their agenda as it needs to be. Whatever policies are put in place, Durham Wildlife Trust will continue to put nature first and will be working on the next Brightwater to bring nature back across our region.
Enjoy your summer.
Jim Cokill Director
CustomerKNECT
The Trust is very pleased to share the news that the Links with Nature project is now underway, as a result of the generous funding award of £915,266 from National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players, and £986,502 from Sunderland City Council.
Over the next two years, this £2.1m project will deliver an ambitious programme restoring habitats to help wildlife thrive across 13 greenspaces in Sunderland’s Coalfield area. Contractors and volunteers will be digging ponds, planting trees, clearing scrub, managing grasslands, repairing footpaths, removing Himalayan Balsam, and improving access.
Project Manager, Anne Gladwin, says: “The Links with Nature team are planning activities to encourage people across the Coalfield to enjoy the greenspaces near to where they live. From walks and citizen science projects, to volunteering - all designed to get people out in nature, meeting new people, and feeling better in body and mind.”
Links with Nature is a partnership between Durham Wildlife Trust, Sunderland City Council, and Wear Rivers Trust. In addition to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Sunderland City Council, the North East Community Forest is funding £190, 576 of new hedge and tree planting, and Northumbrian Water’s Bluespaces Programme is making a £20,000 contribution.
Get involved in Links with Nature as a volunteer or look out for walks and events in your area, either as an individual or part of a group. For more details, contact:
Links with Nature Project Manager, Anne Gladwin, on agladwin@durhamwt.co.uk or 0191 584 3112
www.durhamwt.com/links-nature
By Anne Gladwin Link Together Project Manager
The Trust has received the sad news that Dr Edward Hinton-Clifton died in late May. Ted, as he was always known during his long involvement with Durham Wildlife Trust, played a significant role during the early days of the charity, guiding the transition from an entirely voluntary organisation to one that employed staff and managed an increasing number of sites.
Ted’s involvement as a Trustee at Durham Wildlife Trust and Director of the Trust’s consultancy arm, Durham Wildlife Services, continued until 2016. Over five decades, Ted’s knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for the natural world helped the charity to grow and become the leading organisation working for nature’s recovery across our region.
The Trust’s sincere thanks go to Ted for his decades of service and many achievements on our behalf, and our condolences to his family and friends.
The Trust has expanded its weekend event and volunteering offering, to give supporters even more opportunities to get involved in its work. From guided wildflower walks in Hawthorn Dene to balsam bashing at Low Barns, since April, people have been able to sign up to attend something every Saturday. Head of Development and Communications, Emily Routledge, says: “Traditionally, our volunteering opportunities have operated during the day, mid-week. We are keen to see more local people get involved in our work, and to do that we realise we need to be more flexible with the days on which we invite people to join in. We hope that the extra Saturday sessions are a welcome addition to our programme of events.”
Get involved: www.durhamwt.com/volunteer
In March, the Trust said a fond farewell to long-term finance team member, Sue Stephenson, who retired after 11 years with the Trust. We are pleased to welcome Ashleigh Shaw as a new member of the finance team.
We were also sad to lose our Grants lead, Charlotte Gardener, who left the Trust to pursue new opportunities, but we are pleased to welcome Harriet-Anne Palin who has now joined the team to take on Charlotte’s role.
The Trust is also very pleased to share the news that Reserves Officer, Andrew Wadds, has been promoted to the position of Reserves Manager, taking on responsibility for managing conservation work across the land that the Trust owns and manages.
Our full team list can be found online: www.durhamwt.com/staff
Following a distressing incident in April, in which a swan at Low Barns was killed by dogs, the Trust would like to remind people who visit our nature reserves with dogs to always keep them on a short lead and under close control.
Trust Director, Jim Cokill, said: “The senseless death of the male mute swan was extremely upsetting for our staff, volunteers and visitors. All dogs should be under close control in wild spaces, whether nature reserves or not. During bird breeding season it’s even more important that dogs are under control, to prevent disturbance at a crucial time of year.”
Find more details online: www.durhamwt.com/paws-thought
urham Wildlife Trust celebrated the first day of 30 Days Wild by holding an open garden fundraiser at St Cuthbert and St Bede’s Church Garden in Chester-Le-Street.
DThe event, which took place on Saturday 1st June, included an afternoon of plant sales and wildlife talks, alongside teas, coffees, cakes and cream teas.
Durham Wildlife Trust’s Head of Communications and Development, Emily Routledge, gave an informative talk on the history of Durham Wildlife Trust and upcoming plans.
The Trust was also pleased to welcome local horticultural expert, John Grundy, for a fascinating talk on wildlife gardening, and the many native species we can protect by taking a more natural approach to gardening.
We would like to thank all those who attended and donated to Durham Wildlife Trust.
Visit www.durhamwt.com/events for details of what else we have coming up.
There will be an exhibition of photographs by its resident photography group at Low Barns Visitor Centre from Saturday, 24 August to Wednesday, 28 August 2024.
Email mail@durhamwt.co.uk for further information
From wildlife groups for tots to teens, to nature walks and species talks – we run regular events for everyone.
Since this article was written our appeal has reached the £54,000 target. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us. Our fundraising continues as we have ambitious plans for the land. With your support we will be able to implement those more quickly. Our appeal is still open and all funds raised above and beyond the land purchase target will be used for habitat restoration, helping us to protect wildlife and deliver nature’s recovery.
Not all visitors to Rainton Meadows are aware that the fields at the main entrance to the site, bordering the access road, are not part of the nature reserve. That area was retained by UK Coal, the company responsible for the Rye Hill open cast coal scheme in the 1990s, which led to the creation of the Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve. UK Coal, and the associated company the land was transferred to, had plans to develop the land for housing, with the latest attempt in 2018.
By Emily Routledge Head of Development and Communications
Currently, the fields are a combination of rough pasture and hedgerows, with some wetland bordering Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve. Although not currently managed for wildlife, the area holds significant wildlife interest and is home to breeding willow tit and overwintering curlew. Both are Red List species on the list of UK Birds of Conservation Concern. Willow tit, in particular, is a very significant species at Rainton Meadows, one of the last remaining strongholds for willow tit in the entire region.
Thankfully, the last planning application was unsuccessful, as development on that land would have obviously destroyed its existing wildlife interest, and also had a serious detrimental impact on the wildlife of Rainton Meadows. The nature reserve has taken decades to develop, and it is thanks to the hard work of the Trust’s supporters, volunteers and staff, that Rainton Meadows is now a haven for wildlife. The only way to ensure that Rainton Meadows continues to be a wildlife haven enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors every year is to ensure that the neighbouring land is not developed.
More recently, the Trust discovered that the land had been sold on, and, earlier this year, we were able to contact the current owners. We discovered that they would be willing to change their plans for the area and sell the land to the Trust, and we were able to agree a sale price.
£54,000
We are now in a race to secure the funds needed to buy the land so that we can safeguard the future of Rainton Meadows. Acquiring these fields will allow the Trust to expand the nature reserve to create an even more valuable place for nature. We will also be able to create wetland habitats on the new land that will reduce the risk of flooding to the access road at Rainton Meadows, which is an increasing problem that prevents visitors enjoying the nature reserve year-round.
We need to raise £540,000 to secure the land and expand the nature reserve, and we have a plan in place to try and make that happen - but we need your support. The Trust needs to raise 10% of that total - £54,000 - as match funding. That will give us the opportunity to unlock the £540,000 needed from the Landfill Communities Fund scheme via a bid to Biffa Award.
At the time of going to press we are five days into the appeal and there is a chance the target may be reached before this magazine reaches you. If this is the case, funds raised above and beyond that needed for the land purchase will be used for the habitat restoration work we have planned.
To support our Rainton Meadows Appeal please visit www.durhamwt.com/rainton-meadows-appeal or scan this QR code with your phone.
You can also donate to the appeal by telephone, on 0191 584 3112, or you can post a cheque payable to Durham Wildlife Trust, including your name, address and contact information to Rainton Meadows Land Appeal, Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve, Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 6PU.
Please note: your donation to Durham Wildlife Trust is part of a third party contribution to be paid to a Landfill Operator in order to release Landfill Communities Fund monies for the purchase of land at Rainton Meadows. This contribution is not eligible for Gift Aid.
This summer, assuming we avoid yet another rainy season, if you find yourself travelling along the A1M in South Durham, take a look out of the window. Just to the east of Bishop Middleham and north of Hardwick Park, you might catch a glimpse of some large Caterpillars munching their way across the fields. Or, if you’re on the East Coast mainline, just to the east of Newton Aycliffe, where the railway greets the A1M, you could spot a flock of JCBs digging around in the boggy fields by the River Skerne.
These giant earth-moving beasts will be busy creating the final elements of the Trust’s largest project to date. The multi-million pound Discover Brightwater Landscape Partnership, led by Durham Wildlife Trust, is currently developing these two new sites. Between them they will cover more than 100 acres and feature restored wetlands that will be home to lapwing, golden plover and a host of other birds and wildlife. They represent the culmination of more than seven years of development and delivery work by the Trust, in close partnership with local authorities, government agencies, local access and heritage experts, together with other environmental charities and private sector partners to help us Discover Brightwater, or as our strapline says, to ‘restore, reveal and celebrate life around the River Skerne’.
By Paul Black Head of Strategy and Programme Manager for Discover Brightwater
It started back in 2017, when, working with the North East Nature Partnership, the Trust applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for money to help develop a major ‘landscape scale’ programme around the River Skerne to address four main themes: River and Wetland Habitat Improvements; Improved Access; Archaeology and Heritage; and Community Engagement. Thanks to the support of members’ subscriptions, the Trust was able to employ staff to work on a proposal for this major project. Further thanks then go to all those good people who play the National Lottery, as the National Lottery Heritage Fund approved the Trust’s bid to develop and then deliver a programme of more than 50 projects.
The name Brightwater is our take on the old Viking word ‘skirr’, meaning bright and shining, from which we think the Skerne took its name. A similar word also means rubbish, and anyone who knows the Skerne will tell you that both can apply. At Hurworth Burn Reservoir, on a clear day with the hundreds of birds including herons, geese, ducks, swans and lapwing all swooping and swirling, the water is indeed bright and shining. But go downstream through the Skerne’s long, slow, meandering 26-mile length and you’ll find plenty of sections demonstrating the impacts from agriculture, industry and people.
Money spent locally to boost our local economy
Originally costed at £3.2 million, the programme has grown in scale and we have been able to access a further £2 million. Trust supporters’ donations of more than £20,000 to act as match funding were an important part of helping to make the additional funding happen. Other funders have included partners in the scheme –Environment Agency, Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Northumbrian Water, and National Highways. Brightwater has also had essential support from the Veolia Environmental Trust, Swire Charitable Trust, and LNER. Around 80% of this money has been spent locally, supporting local businesses and employing local people.
Trust members should be rightly proud of what Discover Brightwater has achieved. You can get a fuller picture by visiting our website www.discoverbrightwater.com, but here are some of the many highlights:
We’ve worked with our volunteers to improve public access between Fishburn and Bishop Middleham; we’ve helped Tees Rivers’ Trust and others to improve more than 15km of river and riparian habitats; we’ve helped Durham County Council to improve Hurworth Burn, Ferryhill Carrs, and Hardwick Park.
Daf Jones, our natural environment and access projects officer, worked with many of the Trust’s volunteers to create and publish 15 new walks and cycle routes around the Skerne. We’re still putting the finishing touches to the bridleway between Fishburn and Bishop’s Fen and access paths at Bishop Middleham.
Our work hasn’t all been about access, wildlife and habitat improvements. We’ve also commissioned archaeological digs at Sedgefield and Bishop Middleham, and created a series of art installations leading visitors from the Locomotion Museum at Shildon to the town centre, celebrating the ‘Hidden Gems’ among our area’s unsung heroines.
We worked with 300 schoolchildren in the Skerne catchment, along with Liz Millions - Darlington’s children’s author and illustrator – to create Billy and the Bull. This engaging contemporary take on the famous Durham Ox celebrating the importance our region played as the birthplace of the global history of cattle-breeding.
We’ve taught creative writing classes in Darlington, Aycliffe Village, and Sedgefield, led by internationally acclaimed poet, Harry Mann. Following the courses, we held a writing competition in partnership with the Northern Echo, and the winning entries, together with a selection of writings by popular local journalists Peter Barron and Chris Lloyd, can be found in the Brightwater Anthology.
Song of the Skerne was a piece of music commissioned by Brightwater and performed by local schoolchildren working with the Opera North Orchestra, Darlington Hippodrome, and Orchestras Live, with funding provided by the Arts Council in addition to funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
I know many of our readers have been aware of the community engagement and celebration work Brightwater has delivered. Quite a few folk have come over to our exhibition trailer and introduced themselves to the Brightwater team at events.
More than 500 families worked with our team of Kickstart trainees and their supervisor, Tony Taylor, from Groundwork, to create their own bird boxes from scratch at some of our events. For a number of parents, this was the first time they had done any woodwork or crafting with their children, and, as one parent commented while watching her children hammering nails into their boxes: “This is the longest time I’ve seen them off their mobile phones all year!”. Incidentally, all of our eight Kickstart trainees have gone on to employment, further education, or training, following their experience with Brightwater.
Discover Brightwater is a programme aimed at both improving and raising awareness of some of the habitats and places in this previously little-celebrated patch of County Durham. The legacy ambitions were to ensure that any good work achieved is not lost. There are two major elements to our legacy programme: The Eco-Museum and The Great North Fen.
An eco-museum is a French idea for a museum without walls. The thought is that you can try and curate a place or an experience. The Brightwater Eco-Museum is an online resource, initially developed by Dig-Ventures, an archaeology practice based in Barnard Castle, as a way to ‘curate’ the places around the River Skerne. The Eco-Museum includes eight community-created ‘Village Atlases’, together with a range of reports, surveys and other materials available to the general public and scholars to help ‘restore, reveal and celebrate life around the River Skerne’. It will be accessible via the Durham Wildlife Trust website.
From the earliest days of Brightwater, we have developed a vision of a patchwork of restored wetlands, fens, carrs and ponds in the Skerne catchment, between the Trimdons and Darlington in the south of County Durham. The works at Ricknall Carrs and Bishop’s Fen represent the first of these. The Trust has also been able to secure substantial funding from Natural England to acquire and develop further areas of land around the Skerne that will contribute towards delivering the Great North Fen. These areas can also be used to deliver nature’s recovery and generate additional income by delivering Biodiversity Net Gain. Long-term plans are being developed for the whole of the Skerne, and the Trust is working with a range of local landowners, farmers and other partners to continue to improve the environment and the rural economy of the Skerne catchment.
We hope you’ll agree that Brightwater has been a worthwhile venture for the Trust. It has helped us in a number of ways. Learning how to successfully manage a complex programme involving many partners, projects and stakeholders has built our confidence to develop and deliver more, larger landscape-scale projects. The networks and relationships built by Brightwater are already bearing fruit with our approach to other aspects of the Trust’s work.
Not everything has been smooth going. Managing the largest project the Trust has ever undertaken, with multiple partners, contractors and funders, made for very interesting times. Particularly when also faced with a pandemic and soaring costs. Our experience has led to a number of improvements in the way the Trust manages projects, making the charity better able to plan and deliver large scale projects.
Without our supporters, the Trust would not have the resources required to develop Brightwater and secure the funding needed to deliver it. With your continued support, we’ll be ready to develop and deliver whatever comes next.
The Annual General Meeting will be held at 6pm on Monday, 21st October, 2024. The AGM will be held online to provide all members with the opportunity to participate.
Full details of how to register for the AGM are available at www.durhamwt.com/agm or alternatively, please call the Trust on 0191 5843112, or write to Durham Wildlife Trust at Rainton Meadows, Chilton Moor, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, DH4 6PU.
Introduction by Sarah Lister, Trust Chair
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the 2023 AGM
3. Adoption of Annual Report and Consolidated Accounts
4. Chair’s remarks
5. Election of members to the Board
6. Confirmation of auditors
Close of the formal meeting to be followed by presentations on the Trust’s work.
Papers for the AGM, including details of members seeking election to the Board, will be made available at www.durhamwt.com/agm and will be sent to everyone registering to attend. The annual report and accounts are available to all members on the Trust’s website or by contacting the Trust.
The formal business of the AGM will be followed by presentations on the Trust’s work. This year we will be celebrating the Trust’s work to deliver nature recovery on a large scale using new sources of funding available for Nutrient Neutrality and Biodiversity Net Gain.
The AGM and presentations are expected to end at 7.15 pm. Members wishing to vote by proxy at the AGM should contact the Trust (on 0191 5843112, or write to Durham Wildlife Trust at Rainton Meadows, Chilton Moor, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, DH4 6PU) to request a proxy voting form. Forms must be returned to the Trust by 6pm on Saturday 19th October 2024. Please note: forms being returned by post should be addressed to the Rainton Meadows address above.
Two current members of Council (Paul Davidson and Tony Pensom) have served four years and must seek re-election or stand down. Three members of Council (Michael Coates, Chris Gorman, Peter Bell) have served two consecutive four-year terms and must stand down. Members who would like further information on becoming a Trustee by seeking election to the Board should contact the Trust Director at jcokill@durhamwt.co.uk or call 0191 5843112.
Please note: nomination forms for those seeking election to the Board must be received not less than 28 calendar days before the date set for the AGM.
By Stephen Thompson
Walking by becks, burns, and rivers can be a delight at any time of year, but in the summer months, what’s better than the tree-dappled shade by the banks of a stream?
The North East’s waterways are an integral part of the landscape in a region dominated by three rivers – the Tees, Tyne, and Wear. None of us are ever too far from the becks, burns, streams and ditches which feed these iconic rivers and their tributaries. Despite some looking significantly more natural than others, all our water environments play host to, and provide vital connective corridors for, a range of wildlife and plants.
The Trust is lucky enough to steward a wide variety of waterside sites, with public access to fantastic views and wildlife. Routes range from more challenging paths overlooking gorges carved through the magnesian limestone at Hawthorn and Hesleden Denes on the Durham Coast, to more gentle riverside walking along the River Team at Ousbrough Woods in Gateshead. Or why not visit the Wear at Low Barns, where a coffee at the visitor centre can top off any outing.
My pick for a seasonal summer walk is along the Smallhope Burn and River Browney, with a stop-off at Durham Wildlife Trust’s Malton Nature Reserve, to enjoy the meadows and ponds at their prime.
Starting in Lanchester Village, our route is focused around the Lanchester Valley Railway path. From Station Road/ B6296 we head south east along the shaded former railway embankment. Our first glimpse of the water is crossing the Smallhope Burn as it leaves Lanchester. The Smallhope is one of the major tributaries of the Browney, rising high up the valley towards Consett before descending towards Lanchester. Bearing right, we leave the railway path and enter Dora’s Wood, a broadleaf woodland designed and created by the local community in 2001, and named after Dora Greenwell, a local 19th century poet. It is now managed by the Woodland Trust. The level paths through the woodland take us right alongside the Smallhope Burn, providing ample opportunity to take a moment under the alder to look for minnows or, if lucky, catch the flash of blue as a kingfisher flies by.
Following the route through Dora’s Wood along the burn for 300m, we rejoin the railway path and continue for 600m before taking another offshoot on our right, towards ‘Waters Meeting’. This is where the Smallhope Burn joins the main River Browney, heading downstream to Durham and the Wear. Although a popular spot for walkers, on a quieter day you may see trout rising, or get a view of grey wagtail and dipper.
To reach our final point of interest, head south over Browney Bridge, past Officials Terrace, and follow the track east to the entrance of Malton Nature Reserve. Managed by Durham Wildlife Trust, the reserve has a wide variety of habitats including oak woodland, mature hedgerows, ponds and meadows. Species you might spot include: the Southern hawker dragonfly, devil’s-bit scabious and tormentil flowers, dingy skipper, common blue and small copper butterflies, and the Trust’s Exmoor ponies in summer months.
Leaving Malton we return along the ruler-straight railway path back to Lanchester.
The importance of our rivers for wildlife cannot be understated, but these vital habitats face multiple threats. The most recent ‘State of our Rivers’ report says: ‘No single stretch of river in England is in good overall health ’. Durham Wildlife Trust is busy working in partnership with environmental organisations, the water company, farmers, businesses, and the public, to reverse the damage to the health of our rivers.
Along with looking after our own nature reserves, we host the Bluespaces scheme in the North East on behalf of Northumbrian Water. This scheme supports a wide array of partner-led projects, enhancing spaces around water and improving the water environment for people and wildlife. We are also working with our partners in the Rivers Trust movement to drive sustainable long-term investment into farming practices and catchment-wide projects that improve water quality and river health.
Get out and about and explore your local Bluespace!
It is more important than ever to raise awareness of these issues and push for solutions. We can all be eyes and ears on the ground supporting the organisations working to improve our rivers.
Unfortunately, some less desirable plants have a habit of utilising our waterways to spread and infest new areas. Giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam, and Japanese knotweed are often found competing with native flora along river and stream banks, creating monocultures and degrading the condition of riparian and wetland habitats. When out and about, you can report sightings of invasive non-native species (INNS) via smartphone apps such as INNS Mapper and iRecord which are then collated by our regional records centre and used to coordinate efforts to manage these problem species.
https://innsmapper.org/home https://irecord.org.uk
When exploring rivers or coasts you may spot something that does not look right, for example a pipe discharging to a watercourse in dry weather, or potential pollution.
If the issue appears to be related to a pipe or outfall, these should be reported immediately to the Northumbrian Water Operations Line on 0345 7171100.
Any issues which do not appear to be related to a pipe or outfall but are considered of immediate concern should be reported directly to the Environment Agency’s Incident Hotline on 0800 807060.
We can all do something to stop the sewer blockages that can lead to river pollution by binning the wipe – take a look at Bin the Wipe (nwl.co.uk) to find out more.
Durham Wildlife Trust volunteers assist with a range of tasks, including those that help to revitalise our waterways. Check out our volunteer opportunities: www.durhamwt.com/volunteer
Pyramidal orchid on a brownfield site being cleared for development
Anew era beckons as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) –a requirement on developers to ensure wildlife habitat is left in a better state than it was before the building project began – has become mandatory for all major and minor developments in England. The Wildlife Trusts have actively contributed to the evolution of this legislation for many years, recognising that development is often necessary, but does not have to be achieved in a way that harms nature. This legislation has the potential to transform our planning systems whereby developers deliver more for naturecontributing to its recovery - rather than accelerating its decline. This is vital if we are to meet our international obligations to restore 30 per cent of land and sea for nature by 2030.
Biodiversity Net Gain could not only make a positive contribution towards nature’s recovery but also help address the climate emergency in the process. However, The Wildlife Trusts are concerned that Biodiversity Net Gain is not currently on track to address the severity of the continuing nature crisis. We believe that UK Government needs to set more ambitious targets.
Rachel Hackett, planning and development manager at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “It’s extremely disappointing to see that some of the rules and guidelines for Biodiversity Net Gain fall short of their intended ambition. Given the uncertainties surrounding habitat creation, a gain of 10% will at best hold the tide against nature loss to development and provide a contingency to ensure no overall loss of biodiversity. But if we want to secure real recovery for nature, we need to see at least 20% gain.”
We will continue to call for regulations and guidance to be more effective and strive for a gold standard for Biodiversity Net Gain. Afterall, there is a nature crisis in the UK – one in six species are at risk of extinction and the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. We propose developers and local authorities go beyond the minimum requirements and aim for at least a 20% gain for nature.
We’d like to see the UK Government changing policy and guidance so the sale of excess biodiversity units is prevented. We’d like no further broadening of permitted development rules and Government to provide policy guidance to ensure Biodiversity Net Gain for
permitted development is made a matter for local consideration rather than a blanket exemption.
Local Planning Authorities also need to be resourced with the right level of skills and capacity across departments to oversee the Biodiversity Net Gain process to ensure it is properly implemented, monitored and enforced. Finally, Biodiversity Net Gain must be ‘additional’ to existing mechanisms for nature conservation and enhancement.
When it comes to protecting, restoring and managing the natural environment, The Wildlife Trusts up and down the country have unmatched experience, knowledge and expertise. Nature conservation is our primary charitable objective. So, for decades we have delivered high-quality Biodiversity Net Gain habitat and offered specialist advice and consultancy to developers, local planning authorities, partners and communities. All our funding is invested with the purpose of delivering gains for nature.
Last year The Wildlife Trusts launched The Great Big Nature Survey, calling on the UK public to share their views on some of the most important issues affecting people and wildlife. We asked questions like: How often do you get out into nature? Should people try to control nature to better protect it? How important are green spaces to you? And what roles should people, business, and government have in looking after nature?
The Great Big Nature Survey helps to identify what people in the UK and islands really think about wildlife and how we, as a society, should protect it. The results also support The Wildlife Trusts when holding the UK governments to account over their environmental policies and priorities, in this election year and beyond.
Whatever your views on nature, however important (or not) it is to you, join more than 21,000 people that have already taken part and make your voice heard by taking The Great Big Nature survey today. If you’ve taken the survey before, thank you! Do please take it again, so that we can track how people’s views on these important issues have changed over time.
Have your say at wildlifetrusts.org/ great-big-nature-survey
The Wildlife Trusts have joined forces with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to publish a new Wild About Gardens guide, Making Friends with Molluscs. The guide reveals the fascinating world of slugs and snails and challenges common myths about these creatures. For example, did you know that the majority of the 150 slug and snail species in the UK can actually positively contribute to your garden ecosystem?
One of their most significant roles is as nature’s clean-up crew; molluscs feed on rotting plants, fungi, dung and even
carrion, helping to recycle nitrogen and other nutrients and minerals back into the soil. They can also clean algae off the glass of greenhouses, leaving behind their trademark trails.
Many of our much-loved garden visitors, including frogs, song thrushes, and ground beetles, rely on slugs and snails as a key food source. By supporting these molluscs, gardeners indirectly support a diverse array of wildlife too.
For more information visit wildaboutgardens.org.uk
We’d love to get your feedback on your membership magazine. Can you help us by taking part in a short survey to share your views?
You’ll find it at wildlifetrusts.org/magazine-survey
Discover how The Wildlife Trusts are helping wildlife across the UK
The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants is a step closer to securing ownership of the uniquely special Strawberry Hill, thanks to generous funding from Biffa Award. Securing the future of a Bedfordshire farm that has been left to rewild for 25 years represents one of the most exciting land transactions in the Wildlife Trust’s history. wtru.st/BCN-Strawberry-Hill
Prompted by the near-extinction of a member of the heron family, a long term conservation project by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and conservation partners has doubled the area of bittern-suitable reedbed habitat. With a breakthrough this year, the first male bittern in recent history was recorded ‘booming,’ making its mating call on Amwell Nature Reserve. wtru.st/Herts-bittern
Alderney Wildlife Trust has recorded its seabird life in more detail than any other island, all thanks to Sula, the wildlife survey boat. Now, Sula needs sponsorship to support her important role in advancing conservation. Her next voyage is to help monitor the island’s grey seals, protect guillemot colonies and map Alderney’s tidal flow and marine habitats.
wtru.st/Sula-Sponsorship
The glisten of the sea, blue skies and the cry of distant gulls may bring a calm contentment on a summer day at the beach. But if you have a taste for adventure, the salty breeze and the constant rush of waves across the rocks may draw you down the beach as the tide goes out.
Waterproof shoes or wellies make hopping and stepping across slanted slabs, barnacle clad rocks and large, loose stones more fun. And a few hours before low tide is the best time to explore your curiosity for what lies beneath. The most exciting creatures and richest diversity of marine life will be found where the rocks are exposed for the shortest time at low tide.
As the water slips, soaks and gurgles away, natural aquariums are left behind on the seashore. The habitat revealed is home to dozens of plants and animals that usually live way beneath the sea. Enjoy peering beneath the surface of shiny pools and celebrating rare finds. Observe delicate sea creatures without touching and replace rocks where you found them.
But keep an eye on the tide whilst there. It’s best to finish rockpooling within the first hour of the tide turning, if not before. Take only photos and leave only footprints behind. Here are six of our best beaches for exploring the watery wonders of rockpools.
See the spectacle for yourself
1 Killiedraught Bay, Scottish Wildlife Trust
St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve is one of the finest rockpooling sites in Scotland. At low tide you’ll find seaweeds such as bladderwrack and kelp, as well as animals such as the breadcrumb sponge, bootlace worm and butterfish.
Where: Eyemouth, TD14 5AX
2 Glenarm, Ulster Wildlife
Visit the oldest village in Ulster, Glenarm. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is great for rockpooling at the north end of the beach. View a wide range of creatures from anemones to cuvie and sea-squirts to starfish. Well worth a visit.
Where: Glenarm, BT44 0AB
3 Flamborough Headland, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
At Flamborough Cliffs nature reserve with its striking chalk cliffs look for pools of bright starfish, crabs, tiny fish and a rich carpet of seaweeds. Guided rockpool rambles are offered at the Living Seas Centre, including a night-time safari.
Where: Flamborough Cliffs, YO15 1BJ
4 Blackpool Sea Wall, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside
The Blackpool Glitterball on New South Promenade will guide you to the sea wall. Here weird and wonderful wildlife live inside artificial rockpools. Creatures, such as crabs, anemones, shrimps, mussels and honeycomb worms can be found.
Where: Blackpool, FY4 1RW
5 Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset Wildlife Trust
Kimmeridge, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, is famous for its rockpools. Small and shallow, with inhabitants equally small and delicate. Come and discover Connemara clingfish, Montagu’s blennies and peacock’s tail seaweed.
Where: Wareham, BH20 5PF
6 Wembury Beach, Devon Wildlife Trust
One of the UK’s best rockpooling destinations, where creatures hang out in hundreds of crevices and pools. You may find cushion stars, beadlet anemones and the rare St Piran’s crab. Wembury Marine Centre runs summer rockpool safaris.
Where: Wembury, PL9 0HP
Did you explore any rockpools?
We’d love to know how your search went. Please tweet us your best photos! @wildlifetrusts
According to The Wildlife Trusts Great Big Nature Survey, 93 per cent believe nature loss “is a serious threat to humanity.” Discover why Kaye Brennan, head of campaigning for The Wildlife Trusts, wants to make sure election candidates know they must prioritise nature, if they want to be your MP!
Britain is truly a nation of nature lovers. It’s the reason why Sir David Attenborough was once named as the UK’s ‘dream Prime Minister’ and it’s also why millions of Britons belong to nature organisations such as The Wildlife Trusts. In fact, our movement’s numbers dwarf the membership of all the country’s main political parties!
Even with this innate connection many of us feel that for nature, our planet’s warning lights are flashing red. The most recent ‘State of Nature’ report revealed one in six species is in danger of going extinct in Great Britain. 2023 was reported as the hottest year in UK records, smashing previous highs.
And so, the upcoming General Election could be the most important for a generation when it comes to the future viability of life in the UK – and beyond.
But does anyone really care about nature, enough to make it an Election issue?
As registered charities, Wildlife Trusts have no interest in party politics and are entirely non-partisan. Charity law permits us to campaign to achieve our aims and unfortunately, nature loss and climate action are political issues. While polling shows that a huge majority of the UK population – over 80% – are already speaking up for and caring for nature, just as you are, this must be accompanied with effective action led by business and industry, and by land managers and landowners like farmers. Typically, this comes in response to government policies and legislation, with the necessary resources delivered through public funds – currently lacking in many areas for the natural world.
In addition, whichever Party wins they will be responsible for meeting national and global targets to halt nature’s decline while protecting at least 30% of land and sea before 2030. We need all political parties to set out a vision for a brighter, wilder future and to commit to bringing back some of the UK’s most iconic lost species, ensuring everyone can enjoy the natural world on their doorstep and making our rivers safe again for people and for wildlife.
Politicians will be judged by the electorate, and by history, on whether they meet the scale of this challenge. We need voters
to ensure this year’s election candidates know that they must prioritise nature, if they want to be be elected as an MP.
We work with all kinds of decisionmakers on nature’s behalf but in an election year, it is what voters say and do that gets attention. At this critical time, we hope to see at least half a million voices speaking up for nature and urging candidates to step up their environmental ambitions where necessary.
In this issue of The Wildlife Trusts magazine, you’ll find a poster to put up in your window to help all candidates understand just how much a healthy natural world matters to you. You can also tell us how you feel about nature’s place in candidate’s priorities.
Sarah Ward, Marine Conservation Officer for Sussex Wildlife Trust, introduces you to the watery world of blue, mauve or translucent jellyfish around UK shores. Beware this story has a sting in its tail!
Jellyfish have existed on our planet in various guises for millions of years – they were drifting around before even the dinosaurs existed! In spite of their name, they are not fish at all, but are categorised in the group ‘cnidaria’ (which comes from the Greek word for ‘nettle’) and comprises various marine animals with stinging cells, including anemones and corals.
Jellyfish come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes – and an assortment of beautiful colours (although my personal favourite is the almost colourless moon jellyfish!). The smallest known jellies are around two centimetres wide, and the biggest can be up to two metres. A huge barrel jellyfish was spotted in Cornish waters in 2019, which was estimated to have been one and a half metres wide! Last summer here on the Sussex coast, we had a huge influx of jellyfish. I was lucky enough to witness the phenomenon during one of our Shoresearch surveys, where we recorded hundreds of them – there were at least three different species! It was amazing to see so many of them gently floating in tidal pools in the warm sunshine, having drifted to the coastline on the tide and left temporarily stranded as it retreated.
The influx had been witnessed by many local coast-goers, with Wildlife Trust social media accounts and inboxes being flooded with photos and questions like ‘why are there so many?’, ‘where have they come from?’ and ‘are they dangerous?’.
An increase in jellyfish numbers is not unusual during the summer, particularly if there’s been a spell of warm, settled weather. UK jellyfish
principally eat plankton – they will follow their source of food but as drifters they are not able to swim directionally. They drift in on currents and can sometimes be found in large numbers when they’ve all drifted together. Jellyfish reproduction also generally occurs in the height of summer, when males release their sperm into the sea, with hopes that a nearby female will suck it up into their stomach, where fertilisation occurs.
There are six species of jellyfish that can be seen on UK coasts: the mauve stinger, blue, barrel, lion’s mane, moon and compass jellyfish. There are also two jelly-like relatives, the Portuguese man-o-war and the by-the-wind sailor. All these are able to sting so it is best to be cautious. If you do get stung, the best thing to do is remove any stingers still attached (a credit card is good to use to scrape them off –avoid using your fingers as you’ll end up with stung fingers as well!) and rinse with water. For most people the pain is relatively mild and should subside within a few hours; over-the-counter painkillers or antihistamines can help. Medical advice should be sought if you have a severe reaction.
Remember that jellyfish can still sting when they’re dead, so it’s best not to touch if you see one washed up on the beach.
Have you seen a jellyfish in the UK sea? We have a great identification guide on our website. You can also report your sightings to your local Wildlife Trust.
Dr Rob Stoneman, director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts, shares his vision of a Wildler Isles
Memories of childhood – those long summer days messing around by the river. My little patch of childhood heaven lay underneath an old bridge made of the local limestone speckled with fossils from long ago. We floated out on tractor inner tubes or caught the tiddlers – mottled brown bullheads, minnows and sticklebacks – and hunted for crayfish. The river danced with mayfly – food for grey wagtails, swallows and martens. Banished to memory only, for later, the dredgers moved in, deepening the river and removing the riverside plants. The floodplain field’s old pasture was stripped and re-seeded to grow landscaping turf. Bullheads are now a red data book endangered species and native crayfish not far from extinct.
It’s a story that can be told across Britain – the last few decades have been calamitous for wildlife. Almost every measure you use shows that same picture. Kent Wildlife Trust’s splatometer is a good example. This measures the number of insects that (sadly) get splattered on your number plate. Comparisons between 2005 and 2020 shows a 50% decline. That insect apocalypse plays out as far few pollinators, essential for our real food security, and is already reducing the UK £100m apple crop. The song of the dodo will now never be known but its message is clear – the fragmentation of wildlife habitat drives species extinctions but equally the opposite is true.
For this does not need to be a tale of doom.
The source of many a British river is high on the blanket bogs of our uplands. These peaty waters run the colour of tea, especially after storms as the peat washes out. Yet on a rain-lashed day, I sit on the banks of the River Feshie looking at trout in crystal clear water, for Glen Feshie has been ‘rewilded’. Likewise, as those increasingly intense summer droughts take hold, the tributaries of the River Otter in Devon remain as green oases, for the River Otter has another charismatic mammal in its reach – beavers.
During Storm Desmond, which caused havoc in Cumbria as floodwaters burst out of the rivers and into the homes and livelihoods of the people of Carlisle or Cockermouth, one river stayed in its banks. The River Liza had been restored to its natural function, braiding and meandering, accumulating logs and stones so that when the storm hit, the Liza’s natural obstructions held the water back, filtering it and releasing it more slowly. Imagine, the cost saving if all the streams of the Lake District National Park were allowed to run natural and free.
In all these cases, people have intervened to restore the natural processes that bring nature back to balance and back to abundance. From peatland rewetting to leaving dead wood on a tree, to reconnecting a river to its floodplain, reintroducing natural grazing or bringing back top predators such as lynx and wolves, they are all interventions that bring natural function back to our landscapes and to our lives.
The results are spectacular. Dorset and Hampshire & the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts have acquired farms and taken them out of arable
farming to ease the pollution pressure on coastal ecosystems. Rooting by pigs (we are not allowed to reintroduce wild boar yet), extensive semi-natural grazing by hardy cattle (a proxy for the long-extinct auroch that once roamed Britain) and re-naturalising streams work alongside the natural recolonisation by wildlife. Fields, once almost devoid of wildlife, are now full of finches, buzzing with insects and multicoloured once more with flowers and scrub.
On a tributary of the River Otter, a shallow flooded field oozes with beauty and splendour of wildlife returning in profusion. Herons, egrets and waders poke the wet soil for food whilst damsel and dragonflies stalk the sweeps of purple and yellow flowers. This return of wildlife abundance cost nothing, required no permissions and was not planned. Rather it resulted from a pair of beavers deciding this place would make a wonderful place to call home.
I return to my childhood memories once more –this time cowboy movies with buffalo on the Great Plains of North America. Magnificent beasts racing across the open grasslands. Only later did I learn that there were over 60 million of these mighty beasts just a few centuries ago and only 547 left by 1880 – an incredible decline and testament to rapid agri-industrialisation of the Plains following European emigration. And much later, I learned that Europe had buffalo too – European bison – whose decline had preceded their American cousins much earlier leaving less than 50 animals by the 1920s.
Yet, as in North America, captive breeding and eventual wild release has re-established European bison, albeit still at fairly low numbers. Imagine then, the excitement of seeing wild bison once again in Europe. This time in the high Carpathian Mountains of Romania – a brief heart-pumping encounter deep in the beech woods. Imagine, excitement doubled at the prospect of bison in
Britain, yet this is exactly what Kent Wildlife Trust has achieved at Blean Woods.
Restoring natural processes – whether bison in woodlands or Sphagnum once more flourishing on an upland moor or an old oak being given the grace to gently rot from its core over many hundreds of years – is changing the way we think about how to restore nature. What is so exciting about this way of thinking - rewilding, is that it gives us an approach, a way of working where we can have a realistic chance of turning the nature and climate crisis around.
This is a message of hope that lights the path through. It starts with a rewilding of our imagination, it continues with deliberate interventions to restore natural processes, it culminates in a rapid rushing back of wildlife. If we give wildlife space, it will return.
Join this rewilding revolution. Rewild your garden. Adding dead wood, a pond and putting in some structure – a bit of shrubbery for example –has been shown to vastly increase garden wildlife diversity and abundance. Encourage your local school to let the grounds go a bit wilder; ask the Council to plant street trees and leave the grass long in the local park; ask your MP to ban burning on upland moors and allow Sphagnum to recover and while you’re at it, ask them to get on with licensing beaver reintroductions. Rewilding is a journey – a continuum of increasing wildness from window box to National Parks that go way beyond looking pretty and have their wildlife restored. This is a journey of hope and recovery. A journey towards our much wilder isles.
Read more about the work of The Wildlife Trusts to bring wildlife back at a landscape-scale. wildlifetrusts.org/rewilding
Dr Rob Stoneman is director of landscape recovery at The Wildlife Trusts
Selecting plants is one of the most exciting parts of gardening, but compost choice can determine a great deal of success in the garden.
When selecting a compost, the most important thing is to look for a peat-free label. Taking peat out of the ground destroys important habitats and releases large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere, so gardening peat-free is an easy way to take positive action for wildlife and climate. If you can’t find peat-free stated on the bag, then the chances are the product contains peat. Something marked as organic or environmentally-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean it’s peat-free.
Peat-free mixes contain more microbes, many of which are beneficial for your plants but can change how the compost performs the longer they are left in the bag. To get the best from your compost, we recommend using it in the growing season you bought it or within a year of the manufacture date. If you are using smaller amounts of specialist mixes,
such as ericaceous compost for acid-loving plants, you could share with a friend or local gardening group to save on cost.
Not every peat-free mix will be a perfect fit for every gardener, so try a couple of different types to find one that suits your plants and growing environment. Peat-free compost has come a long way, with a wide range for every need and plant type available. All peat-free mixes are different, so you might also need to adjust watering and feeding a little. As a general rule, peat-free may need to be watered little and often compared to peat.
Getting to know what you need from your compost and which products give healthy, longlasting plants can unlock a whole new world of gardening success for anyone, even if you don’t have the greenest fingers!
is the peat-free campaign manager for the RHS, and is passionate about helping people garden sustainably.
Meadows
A wildflower patch full of native annuals like ox-eye daisy won’t need any compost at all, as these plants prefer low nutrient soils, so you can sow directly into bare ground.
Veg
Soil improvers and manures, which contain lots of organic matter, can add nutrients without the need for lots of fertiliser.
Seeds
Seed and cutting compost is specially mixed to suit these young plants, being much finer and containing less slow-release feed than multipurpose compost. The fine texture is especially important for small seeds like foxglove.
Trees and hedges
As well as being brilliant for wildlife, trees and hedge plants often come bare root (not in a pot), so you can plant in the ground, just adding some mulch. Home compost or leaf mould are easy mulches to make yourself.
Peat-free compost is prone to a dry top so check with your finger to see if there is moisture lower down in the container and aim to keep compost just moist, stopping watering before it runs out the bottom.
Specialist plants
Look for products labelled as working for plant groups that need specific soil conditions (e.g. carnivorous sundews or ericaceous cranberries), as multipurpose compost won’t provide the conditions they need to grow well.
Pond plants
Use special aquatic mixes to fill pond basket planters, these are formulated to ensure nutrient release is slower, stopping leaching into the pond which can cause algal growth.
Houseplants
As well as in compost, peat can be found in bedding plants and potted house plants. Help us raise awareness of ‘hidden peat’ by becoming a peat inspector: wildlifetrusts.org/ban-sale-peat
One of the biggest killers of houseplants is overwatering. Mixing houseplant-specific compost with grit or fine bark will help stop root rot by improving drainage.
@JuliaBradbury
Vitamin N (for Nature) is good for you physically, mentally and physiologically, and walking is one of the most accessible activities and the easiest way to immerse yourself in it. You don’t need much expertise or equipment, or even an epic landscape; you just put one foot in front of the other. All my life, but even more so through my cancer diagnosis, and other challenging episodes, nature has been there for me. It’s brought me strength and mental clarity. And, as well as the obvious health benefits it brings, the outdoors is a treasure trove of inspiration and really gives me the space to think things through.
Yet, we know that one in two children spend less than a single hour outside every day. One of the barriers I’ve seen through my work with The Outdoor Guide and our Waterproofs and Wellies project is that, in many cases, children simply don’t have the appropriate clothing to spend time outdoors at school. Kids grow out of clothes so quickly, and with the difficult economic times we live in, it’s no surprise that many families struggle to keep up with constantly buying new items. We’re trying to remove this barrier by supplying schools with waterproofs and wellies to aid outdoor learning, enabling children to gain access to nature. Properly equipped, I hope that by spending more time outdoors, children will develop a meaningful connection with the natural world, as well as bringing those enriching experiences that I’ve found have been hugely beneficial in later life.
Nature may be the answer to the climate crisis, but it can also help us to deal with things in our personal lives. The benefits of being out in nature are tangible. When we’re out walking, we have the power to change
our pace and our mood. We can find union with nature, camaraderie with friends, and a form of inner peace with ourselves. Walking balances the soul and acts as a confidante and therapist and has been proven to soothe anxiety and stress. A mountain or a tree, a bird or a beetle, can keep you company in times of grief, celebration and solitude. Building nature into your everyday life creates many positive feedback loops, encouraging exercise, which in turn improves your diet, and enables you to sleep better and have better, more meaningful interactions with the world and the people around you. If you can’t escape for an hour, try five or 10 minutes in your lunch break. I call them Nature Snacks – just a few minutes every day is enough to revive and restore (although the longer the better in my opinion).
I worry that there is a real feeling of disconnection from nature in the current generation of children and young adults. So it’s important to try do our bit to remove barriers. There are many communities doing amazing work supported by The Wildlife Trusts Nextdoor Nature programmes. Schools, individuals and community groups are taking action for nature all across the UK, creating more and more small green spaces, which are especially important in urban areas. That little bit of treasured green space to grow food on and play in gently encourages children to see nature and nurture the spirit of working together.
Find out more about how Wildlife Trusts are helping to support community groups, thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. wildlifetrusts.org/nextdoor-nature
To help you get into the habit of spending a little bit of time in nature everyday, register to take part in The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild challenge this June – and receive daily inspiration direct to your inbox.
Sign up at wildlifetrusts.org/ 30DaysWild
Julia Bradbury
Sunday Times
Best Selling author of Walk Yourself
Happy shares her passion for walking towards happiness with nature by her side. The Outdoor Guide Foundation has a simple aim; to make the outdoors more accessible for all – particularly children. Find out more theoutdoorguide.co.uk
As a member, you have supported the Trust in achieving some great things over the past year. Here are just some of the highlights:
The Trust began delivery against its new strategy, aligning with other members of the Wildlife Trust federation to bring about nature’s recovery on a national scale.
It was another great year for Durham Wildlife Trust, with the charity securing more than £5 million to support its work.
A further 254 acres (102 hectares) of land was secured for nature.
Discover Brightwater, Naturally Native, and SeaScapes continued to be delivered throughout the year. The National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported ‘Links with Nature’ project completed a successful development phase.
Durham Wildlife Trust utilised Nutrient Neutrality funding to secure additional land, and began development of Biodiversity Net Gain schemes to generate further income.
The Trust welcomed 596 new members in the last financial year.
Read more about our work for wildlife online: www.durhamwt.com