e don’t always associate winter with going out to see and experience wildlife. Plants largely take a back seat during the coldest months of the year, amphibians and reptiles retreat to winter quarters, and bats and hedgehogs follow suit. But winter is the time of year when some species come to the fore.
Winter frosts and snow can enhance every landscape, but even without that added element, winter walks are an excellent time to see deer, which often remain hidden by vegetation at other times of year. Snow and frosts can also reveal the tracks of mammals that would otherwise remain unseen, but winter mud can be equally as good. Birds must be considered the stars of the winter. Over-wintering species, like redwings and fieldfares, add interest to hedgerows, and the cast list on bird feeders takes on a new look. Waxwings are one of the winter stars that people look out for and can turn up in unexpected locations. One winter I was sat in my living room on an urban street when 20 waxwings suddenly descended on next door’s small rowan – the only tree on the street.
Over-wintering waders can also provide a spectacle, with lapwing, and sometimes golden plover, seen in large flocks. The wetlands created over the summer as part of Discover Brightwater are already working well, with those species, and also teal, in large numbers. The wetlands at Ricknall Carrs have one great advantage for the winter wildlife spotter - you can see them from the comfort of a train or car!
Jim Cokill Director
Hides get a refresh
The Trust was delighted to welcome staff from Bowmer and Kirkland to Rainton Meadows, in September, for a grand re-opening of the bird hide.
The hide received a much-needed refurbishment by a team from the construction firm. The work carried out included rendering the outside walls, a replacement floor, new seating and windows, plus a fresh coat of paint all round.
Emily Routledge, Head of Development and Communications at Durham Wildlife Trust, said: “It was great to have the opportunity to invite along the team from Bowmer and Kirkland, and the regular users of the hide, to celebrate the opening of the refurbished hide. The Trust would like to thank everyone who contributed to the refurbishment for their hard work and support.”
At Low Barns, the South Hide has also had an update. Set on the south bank of Marsden Lake, the hide had been in place for more than 20 years, offering fantastic views.
Over the past few years, the fluctuating water levels of Marsden Lake and the River Wear have taken their toll on the building. Various repairs were undertaken to ensure it remained open, as Tim Davis, Reserves Office (South) says: “There was no getting away from the fact that our South Hide had reached the end of its serviceable life.
“We are extremely fortunate and grateful that a long standing and active member of the Trust, and their family, stepped forward with an incredibly generous donation that allowed a brand new bird hide to be installed. Their generosity will allow visitors to Low Barns to enjoy seeing the wildlife on site for many years to come.”
New starters in the Trust team
The Trust is delighted to welcome a number of new members to the Durham Wildlife Trust team: Michael Andrews – Reserves Officer (North)
Graeme Jobes – Nextdoor Nature Officer
Dawn Tiernan – Administration and Support Officer
Our latest team of Conservation Trainees –Oliver Freeman , Mollie Matthews , Hayley Cook , Emyr Hopkins
Accessible nature
Wildlife at Rainton Meadows has become accessible to more people than ever, thanks to funding from Sir James Knott Trust, Sunderland City Council, and the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust. With their support, the Trust has been able to make a mobility scooter available for use by visitors.
The scooter, which can be hired at no charge, is located at the visitor centre and will ensure that those with mobility issues can make the most of all that this beautiful wild space has to offer.
To book the scooter, call 0191 5843112 or visit www.durhamwt.com/rainton-meadows-visitor-centre
The dark-red helleborine is a rare orchid species that grows in significant numbers at the Trust’s Bishop Middleham Quarry Nature Reserve. A summer survey by staff and volunteers recorded 3,380 dark-red helleborines, by far the highest number in more than 30 years of monitoring at this site. Mark Dinning, Head of Conservation, said: “A significant population of dark-red helleborine grow at this Durham Wildlife Trust nature reserve, situated on the site of an old quarry. It’s a beautiful orchid that flowers between June and August, and the reserves’ management team work hard to ensure conditions are right for this important species. This year’s count is a testament to their efforts.”
Running fundraisers Record numbers of rare orchid
The Trust would like to thank everyone involved in this year’s Run Rainton event, as well as the charity fundraisers who completed the 2024 Great North Run. Between the two events, more than £5,000 has been raised, all of which will support nature’s recovery across the region.
Get involved: www.durhamwt.com/fundraise
Some farewells, thank yous, and a warm welcome
The Trust would like to say a fond farewell and a big thank you to Trustees who stepped down at October’s AGM. Peter Bell, Michael Coates, Chris Gorman and Tony Pensom have all given invaluable service to the Trust.
Jim Cokill, Trust Director, said: “I would like to thank all those Trustees who have recently stepped down, for their expertise, support and guidance during their time on the Trust Board. Peter Bell has been actively involved since the 1980s and has always been available to give expert advice on all birding matters and share his knowledge with members. Chris Gorman and Michael Coates’ senior management and business experience has helped the Trust to professionalise its approach. As Treasurer, Tony Pensom has overseen the financial development of the charity and put us in the strong position we are in today.
“I would also like to welcome the new members of the Board - Brenda Davidson, Bill Oxbury, Ian Cole, Richard Arrowsmith and Simon Bell. We look forward to working with them to deliver the Trust’s ambitious plans for the future.”
Phil Lingwood
UK HIGHLIGHTS
New report reveals massive carbon stores in UK seabeds
A pioneering series of reports have revealed the vast amount of carbon stored within UK marine habitats, and the importance of protecting UK seas for tackling climate change.
The seas around the UK and Isle of Man cover nearly 885,000 square kilometres – over three times the size of the UK’s land mass. This vast area is host to different habitats that sequester and store carbon, known as ‘blue carbon’. They include seabed sediments, seagrass meadows, saltmarshes, kelp forests, intertidal seaweed beds, maerl beds and biogenic reefs, such as mussel beds and honeycomb worm reefs.
The Blue Carbon Mapping Project, completed by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) on behalf of The Wildlife Trusts, WWF and the RSPB, is the first time a country
has provided a comprehensive estimate of the carbon captured and stored in its seas, including within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The report finds that 244 million tonnes of organic carbon are stored in just the top 10 centimetres of seabed sediments – principally made of mud – plus coastal habitats including saltmarshes and seagrass beds. The reports identify bottom trawling and offshore energy installation as the biggest potential threats to blue carbon stores.
The Wildlife Trusts, WWF and RSPB are calling on governments across the UK to strengthen protections for the most valuable and vulnerable blue carbon stores.
Find out more at wtru.st/blue-carbon-report
Sir David Attenborough celebrates 60 years with The Wildlife Trusts
Sir David Attenborough has been awarded the Rothschild medal in recognition of the extraordinary leadership, inspiration and indefatigable support he has given to The Wildlife Trusts federation of charities over the past 60 years.
Charles Rothschild founded the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves which would later become The Wildlife Trusts. He was ahead of his time in recognising the need to protect natural habitats and the wildlife that lived there.
His daughter, Miriam, was a visionary scientist who dedicated her life to the natural world.
Sir David Attenborough credits Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust’s Tilton Cutting Nature Reserve with giving him his love of the natural world –he would explore it and search for fossils there as a young boy. Since then, Sir David has championed the work of the Wildlife Trusts across the UK for six decades.
Discover how The Wildlife Trusts are helping wildlife across the UK
Children who changed the world
Manx Wildlife Trust and theatre company, Hello Little People, have launched an audio-immersive wildlife training academy for kids, Let’s Get Wild! Wearing silent disco style headphones, 5–9 year-olds move, shake and dance through an action-packed adventure to complete challenges and help save wildlife in the Isle of Man. wtru.st/LetsGetWild
Garden escapers game
North Wales Wildlife Trust is tackling invasive plant species with an innovative new mobile game. Players complete ‘missions’ on the Crowdsorsa mobile game by locating and recording the garden escapees, along pavements in urban areas or in nature reserves. Players are paid £1 for each new observation of target plants. wtru.st/GardenEscapers
Pink sea fans
Off the Alderney coast, citizen scientists scuba-dive and snorkel for small tissue samples of the pink, warty looking soft corals of pink sea fans. Research by Alderney Wildlife Trust, University of Exeter and Jersey Marine Conservation is assessing their genetic connectivity across the rocky reefs of the Channel Islands. wtru.st/PinkSeaFans
Member Events
Please book our events online at www.durhamwt.com/events or
. The events listed below are for members and members’ guests only and free to attend unless otherwise stated.
New Year’s Plant Hunt
Monday 30th December, 11am - 2pm
South Shields
Take part in this annual event to find out how our wildflowers are responding to changes in autumn and winter weather patterns. An opportunity to get a closer look at our botanical treasures and walk off those mince pies.
New Members Walk
Saturday 1st February, 3pm-5pm
Low Barns Nature Reserve
Join Durham Wildlife Trust Director, Jim Cokill, for a tour of our flagship nature reserve, Low Barns. Covering the history of the reserve, the work of the Trust and of course, watching wildlife... maybe even a murmuration. These events are pitched as an introduction to Durham Wildlife Trust, but all members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Our annual celebration of the birds of Rainton Meadows returns. Dust off your binoculars and join our guides for a stroll along to the hide to discover the feathered residents (and visitors) of Rainton Meadows. We’ll help you with your bird ID and share in some valentines-themed bird facts including the ‘divorce rate’ in swans.
New Members Morning
Saturday 1st March, 10am – 12pm
Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve
Join Durham Wildlife Trust Director, Jim Cokill, for a tour of our flagship nature reserve, Rainton Meadows. Covering the history of the reserve, the work of the Trust and, of course, watching wildlife. These events are pitched as an introduction to Durham Wildlife Trust, but all members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Martin Fishburn
A Brightwater legacy
In previous issues of this magazine, we have outlined the wide range of activities which the Discover Brightwater Landscape Partnership - to give it its full title - has delivered. Throughout the six years the programme has been running, we have carried out a range of habitat improvement works, including working with Tees Rivers Trust on a range of riparian and in-river work over a 15km stretch of the River Skerne.
Cuckoo flower
But our flagship projects have been the creation of two new wetlands, helping the land in this part of the Tees Lowlands to return to a more natural state and to accelerate the recovery of nature, including the return of more wetland and wading birds such as lapwing, golden plover and egrets.
After a series of major hurdles, obstacles and challenges –ranging from the complexity of the land under the surface, to delays in obtaining the necessary legal agreements, licences, funding shortfalls and permissions – we finally completed the construction of both Bishop’s Fen (lying between Bishop Middleham and Hardwick Park) and Ricknall Carrs (at the intersection between the East Coast Mainline and the A1M just to the east of Newton Aycliffe). Between them, we now have more than 50 hectares of improving wetland habitat owned or controlled by the Trust.
But these projects represent the beginning of something even bigger. Built into the original proposals, and thinking of Discover Brightwater, were two major legacy projects: The Eco-Museum and The Great North Fen.
By Paul Black
Head of Strategy and Programme Manager for Discover Brightwater
The Eco-Museum is a museum ‘without walls’. We will soon be launching the Discover Brightwater and the Great North Fen Eco-Museum, accessible via the Trust’s own website, where you will be able to download a range resources including maps, walks and ‘village atlases’. The eco-museum is designed to provide information which will interest the casual visitor, local walkers and cyclists, together with information of interest to specialists and academics. You can visit the site here: www.durhamwt.com/discover-brightwater
Our vision for the Great North Fen was revealed in detail by Trust Director, Jim Cokill, at a Brightwater celebration event on October 9th. A nationally significant mosaic of wetlands, fens, carrs (boggy woodlands) and ponds, covering up to 850 hectares of the flood zone in the River Skerne catchment. This ambitious vision is a key part of the Trust’s 30 by 30 strategy. As before, we will be relying on the support of our members, volunteers and supporters to deliver this truly exciting and transformative project. When Bishop’s Fen was officially opened by The Archdeacon of Auckland, The Venerable Rick Simpson (pictured left), our most significant project – The Great North Fen – was launched.
Links with Nature
By Anne Gladwin
Links with Nature Project Manager
agladwin@durhamwt.co.uk 0191 584 3112
Links with Nature is an ambitious programme of habitat and access improvements across 13 greenspaces in Sunderland’s Coalfield area. Work began in the summer and started with recruiting the project team, each with a distinct role within the project.
Welcome to the Links with Nature Project Team
Pip Jackson (Engagement Officer) is working with community groups to support local people to connect with wildlife and local greenspaces through outdoor, nature-based activities. So far, this has included:
• Visiting Flint Mill with Space4 to make bird feeders and bug hotels, have a go at willow weaving, and litter-pick the site.
• Exploring Copt Hill with families from Houghton Racecourse Community Centre who enjoyed quizzes and making wildflower wreaths.
• Young people attending holiday activities at the Old Rectory – a week-long programme that helped them find out more about wildlife and the outdoors.
• Delivering themed walks (bat, dragonfly and wildflower) at various greenspaces.
If you are a resident or part of a community group in the Coalfield and want to get involved in activities on any of the Links with Nature greenspaces, contact Pip by email pjackson@durhamwt.co.uk or by telephone on 0191 5843112.
Getting actively involved in caring for 13 greenspaces is a key part of Links with Nature. Coalfield volunteering opportunities are led by Chris Knox-Wilson (Greenspaces Officer). Weekly tasks are held Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 2pm at various locations, and are open to everyone. Since the start of August, the growing volunteer group has been to Copt Hill, Flint Mill, Hetton Park, Elemore Park and Success Railway. They have had a go at opening up footpaths, clearing bracken, scything grasslands, managing scrub, and building leaky dams with the Wear Rivers Trust at Elemore Vale. Whilst out with volunteers, Chris has been speaking to residents to talk more about the project and how to get involved.
The fantastic group of volunteers are already having a massive impact.
If you want to join the volunteers with Links with Nature, please contact Chris by email cknox-wilson@durhamwt.co.uk or by telephone on 0191 5843112.
Alex Swainston is the Hetton Park and Hetton Bogs Officer. Alex is regularly in the park and wants to hear your views on how the area can be improved for visitors. Alex is delivering nature conservation work, improving access across the park and running events.
On the fourth Sunday of the month, you can join Alex for a volunteer activity and site walkabout. Meet outside the Hetton Centre at 10am. Everyone is welcome to come along, or for more information, contact Alex by email: aswainston@durhamwt.co.uk or call 0191 5843112.
Pip Jackson Chris Knox-Wilson Alex Swainston
By John Hayton Education Projects Officer
Wear cleaning up the Coalfields waterways
Durham Wildlife Trust is teaming up with a range of local partners to deliver a new project aimed at tackling plastic pollution in the River Wear.
The Litter-Free for Wildlife project will see the Trust, Sunderland Council, and Goundwork North East working with schools to raise awareness about the harm litter and plastics can cause to wildlife and the wider environment.
The project, which is set to run over the next two years, will invite Coalfield primary and secondary schools to participate in a bespoke scheme of educational sessions that will give pupils an insight into the consequences if discarded litter enters our watercourses and, ultimately, ends up in the sea.
The groups will research the local issues that can cause littering, and actively contribute to solving the problem by litter-picking near their schools. There will then be a trip to the Waste Education Centre in Sunderland where they can see how waste recycling ensures that our rubbish does not contaminate the natural environment.
The project is designed to offer a range of research, citizen science and hands-on activities so that pupils better understand the issues and get involved in raising awareness across the region.
Speaking about the project, John Hayton, Education Projects Officer explained: “This project is about more than just involving schools in a litter pick and an assembly. It is designed to give schools a broader understanding of the impacts of litter - particularly plastics - on the places where they live.
“We will find out about the wildlife close to their schools and explore the consequences of littering on flora and fauna in the area. The aim is for the project to create a sense of ongoing stewardship of our social spaces, with the schools spreading awareness as well as providing hands-on support to help prevent litter and plastic pollution entering our waterways.
“We will explore, with the schools, the extent of the environmental damage caused by plastic litter, to emphasise how what happens on our doorsteps can go on to cause significant problems in our seas and oceans.”
The problem with plastic
The problem with plastic is that it does not rot, like paper or food, so it can hang around in the environment for hundreds of years. Scientists now predict1 that there is more than 5,000,000,000,000 (5 trillion) pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans, with 400 million tonnes of plastic still being produced every year, 40% of which will only be used once before it is binned. In the UK, just 57% of bottles are collected to be recycled.
5tn+ pieces of plastic in world’s oceans
A report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation warns that ‘Without significant action, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight, by 2050’2 1.
By Mark Dinning Head of Conservation
SeaScapes Celebrating
September saw an end to Durham Wildlife Trust’s involvement in the SeaScapes Project, which is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This groundbreaking project, led by Durham County Council, was the first landscape partnership that extended out to sea. Six nautical miles out to sea to be exact!
Durham Wildlife Trust delivered the Intertidal Interaction element of ‘SeaScapes – Intertidal Interaction’. Our work provided opportunities for people to engage with marine and coastal wildlife through a wide range of events, activities, wildlife recording groups, and citizen science initiatives. We supported a diverse range of local people to discover, record, monitor and celebrate the coastline’s natural heritage.
• 600+ volunteers collected more than 700 bags of litter from local beaches, protecting marine wildlife from the risk that discarded waste can pose.
• The weekly Beach Tots programme got young families onto the beaches - 725 children attended the sessions, exploring the intertidal zone and learning about seaweeds, coastal wildlife and the tides.
• Beach Rangers was aimed at 12 to 16-year-olds and welcomed 188 young people out to the coast, providing training on cetaceans, shore birds, rocky shore species, seal conservation and citizen science surveys.
• More than 200 adult volunteers joined in with surveying and monitoring our coastal and marine wildlife, counting sea birds, cetaceans, seaweeds and coastal grassland plants, and invertebrates.
• The beaches of the SeaScapes coast provided the ultimate in outside classrooms for schools, with 1,080 children taking part in the North Sea Science Workshops, from exploring the rocky shore safely to understanding habitats, food chains, and how wildlife has adapted to live in this harsh environment. They were also able to learn about the devastating effects of the dumping of mining waste and the recovery of the coastline.
• Meanwhile, indoors at local swimming pools, 360 children learnt a new skill – snorkelling. They enjoyed exploring mock sea life on the pool floor created by special models of seaweeds and sea creatures.
Dorinda Kealoha
Amanda Bell
Little Terns
For the past four years, SeaScapes has funded Durham Wildlife Trust’s little tern conservation efforts at Seaton Carew. This sea bird is a summer visitor to our shores and has seen some of its most successful breeding years in recent times.
This small tern favours sand or shingle beaches for its breeding colonies, and nests at lower densities than our other tern species. Nest sites are often at risk from mammalian and avian predators, or the disturbance caused by human activities, which means wardening of little tern breeding colonies is a key conservation tool.
Funding from SeaScapes supported wardens’ salaries and the development of a robust local volunteer group, meaning the colony now benefits from almost 24-7 protection. The reward for those involved this year was a hugely successful breeding season, with up to 182 chicks eventually counted – a record number for this site and the colony as a whole when data is compared to results from Crimdon beach, the former nest site. Although it is hard to count the birds accurately, it is believed the total number of fledglings was between 136 and 145 birds.
Steve Lindsay
Steve Lindsay
Rainton Meadows appeal: a shared success.
Before I write anything more about the Rainton Meadows Appeal, I must say a huge thank you. It isn’t often that we come to you, our members, for your help in this way, but when we do, you overwhelm us with your kindness. Not only were we able to reach our appeal target within a week, but the positive messages and the overall support for Durham Wildlife Trust and the appeal demonstrated just how important a part nature plays in the lives of so many people.
By Emily Routledge Head of Development and Communications
The target of the appeal was set at £54,000 –the amount needed as ‘match funding’ to enable a Biffa Award application of £540,000 to purchase land adjacent to Rainton Meadows and undertake initial habitat restoration work. At the time of writing, £81,750 has been donated by more than 1,000 people. All the funds raised will be used to support the purchase and deliver the work needed to begin nature’s recovery on the land.
The application to the Biffa Award was submitted in July, with the decision due in November. When the magazine went to press the Trust was still waiting for that decision but rest assured, the land is in safe hands. As the Trust was in the process of negotiating the purchase price with the vendor, a separate application was made to a charitable lender who agreed to purchase the land and hold it for the Trust for a defined period while we fundraise the full amount needed to buy the land. The sale of the land to the charitable lender was completed in July and the Trust is now the tenant. This means that should the Biffa application be unsuccessful the land is still safe while we explore our plan B to fund the purchase.
The appeal will also remain open, so that those who wish to support the habitat creation work at Rainton Meadows can contribute.
www.durhamwt.com/rainton-meadows-appeal
Restore Nature Sunderland
Sunderland needs nature and nature needs Sunderland. With a mighty river, a beloved coastline, some of the greenest suburbs and imaginative plans for the city centre, it’s a great time to raise ambitions for nature too.
Through our strong community connections and Sunderland-based projects, the Trust has been exploring what more it can deliver for Sunderland, its people and its wildlife. Now it’s time for Sunderland residents to have your say on what your local area needs, or to tell us about what is already happening so we can discover spaces that can be havens for wildlife, connect projects together, and develop the ideas and activities that will really make a difference.
Head to our website to drop a pin on our interactive map to show where we can improve a space for nature, where you are already helping wildlife or taking action for the climate, or where you believe action should be taken.
You will also be able to register to keep up-to-date with activities and projects in Sunderland, and be the first to know when the ideas received come to life.
www.durhamwt.com/restore-nature-sunderland
SCAN ME
The role of grazing in conservation
What’s better than one new Exmoor pony? Three new Exmoor ponies! We are excited to soon be welcoming Harry, Honeysuckle and Puffin as the newest members of our Exmoor herd. The three ponies, acquired from the Moorland Mousie Trust, will soon find their new home at Rainton Meadows, where they will join Bertie, Wally and Horace.
The question arises, why have we acquired these new stars of conservation grazing? To answer that question, we must find out what conservation grazing is and how we employ it on our reserves. Simply put, conservation grazing is the use of livestock to manage habitats and wildlife for conservation purposes. This technique is particularly important for grassland habitats – a priority for conservation. Since the 1930s, 97% of the country’s meadows are thought to have been lost. This obviously led to a loss of the plants, invertebrates, birds, bats and other species that relied on the meadow habitats. The habitat loss also restricted the movement of species across the landscape, making them more vulnerable to random events - such as severe weather – thus further increasing the pressure on populations and leading to further species loss. This habitat fragmentation is one of the main reasons why climate change is having such a negative impact on our wildlife today.
By Andy Wadds Reserves Manager
What is the role of conservation grazing in this?
Grasslands themselves need to be managed, to halt the process of natural succession. Without any form of management, conditions will naturally change over time and grasslands will succeed to scrub and woodland. Grazing and cutting at the right time allows the grasslands to persist by maintaining the conditions that favour grasses and wildflowers.
Historically, natural processes helped to create and retain grassland areas. The role of large herbivores, such as wild cattle and horses, was a vital part of that natural management regime. Those animals are long extinct in Britain; their role and our natural grasslands being overtaken by domestic livestock and farming. Today we use conservation grazing to recreate the natural process, with animals like the Exmoor pony taking the place of wild ponies and horses of the past.
Jo Davies
Wilkinson
Grazing or cutting?
The main alternative to grazing is cutting the area and removing the arisings after flowers have set seed. Meadow cuts can be an effective method of managing a grassland as it allows the timing, precision and extent of management to be carefully controlled. But cutting requires resources – machinery, fuel and staff time. Cuts are also a more sudden and uniform change, instead of the slower and varied munching of herbivores. Grazing animals also come at a cost, with fencing and water supplies and animal welfare all needing to be taken into account. Grazing must also be carefully monitored and adjusted to suit the weather conditions and prevent poaching (creating areas of bare ground) that can allow less desirable species such as ragwort and thistles to dominate. As with many things in conservation, there is no one method that fits all situations, and habitats need to be carefully assessed to determine the best method to be used.
Different tools for different jobs
With the three new arrivals, Durham Wildlife Trust now owns 14 Exmoor ponies, but these aren’t the only animals we use to manage our sites. Different types of livestock produce different results and suit particular habitats and locations.
Ponies
Ponies like our Exmoors have front-facing teeth, which allow them to graze very close to the ground. Ponies have a strong preference for grasses and will graze the long, coarse grasses that can dominate the sward. If ponies are used in appropriate densities, they will form small latrine areas in which they don’t forage. This grazing pattern can create a varied structural mosaic, allowing a diverse meadow to form. Ponies are very adaptable grazers that can thrive on a range of habitats: they will trample and browse scrubby species like gorse, are comfortable on uneven ground, and are relatively easy to move around various sites. Their hoof prints will open up small pockets of bare ground, creating areas for wildflower seeds to germinate.
Cattle
Cattle will use their tongue to rip and tear vegetation at a height of around 5cm, and are less selective than other types of livestock. This creates a varied sward structure, as with ponies. Their size allows them to trample and break up areas of bracken and bramble, and they will eat some scrub and woodland species, preventing scrub from developing. They will also happily graze lower-quality forage and can be suited to grazing wetter areas, depending on the cattle breed.
Sheep
Finally, sheep can also graze very low to the ground. They are highly selective feeders and will choose young flowers and shoots. Sheep are also much lighter than the two other livestock types and less likely to cause poaching. Sheep grazing has proved to be a useful tool to provide the conditions for meadow restoration. They can be used to graze the sward very low, and the action of their hooves creates enough bare ground to allow flower seeds to contact the soil and germinate.
Conservation grazing is an incredibly important site management tool. Having the right stock, at the right density, at the right time, allows the important grassland habitats the Trust manages to be preserved and enhanced, enabling wildlife to thrive. Our Exmoor ponies are definitely some of the hardest workers in the Durham Wildlife Trust team.
Donate to support our Exmoor ponies: www.durhamwt.com/donate
Andy Wadds
swans and geese 6 places to see
The honking calls of these large birds in flight is a clear signal that winter is on its way. Necks outstretched and beaks to the wind, swans and geese in a v-formation skein is an iconic sight.
There are three species of swans, the mute swan, whooper swan and the Bewick’s swan in the UK. The large, majestic and pure white mute swan is most recognisable and stays with us all year round in village ponds and waterways. Contrary to the name, the mute swan honks and snorts, while the whooper swan ‘bugles’ when feeding and in flight.
During the winter migration gaggles of geese flock together on UK wetlands. They graze on grassy banks, farmland, saltmarshes and seagrass meadows. The familiar Canada and greylag geese are joined by visitors such as pink-footed, white-fronted, barnacle and brent geese. Here are six of our best nature reserves for spotting swans and geese.
See the spectacle for yourself
1 Montrose Basin, Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Montrose Basin is a large intertidal estuary, attracting tens of thousands of pink-footed geese every autumn. As well as being internationally important for pink-footed geese, the reserve is a wintering site for whooper swans and mute swans.
Where: Montrose, DD10 9TA
2 Holywell Pond, Northumberland Wildlife Trust
The nature reserve consists of a large pond surrounded by grassland, mature and semi-mature areas of woodland and scrub. Greylag, pink-footed, brent and Egyptian geese visit together with whooper swans, wigeon and tufted duck.
Where: Holywell, NE25 0LQ
3 Parc Slip Nature Reserve, The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
The wetlands and surrounding ponds at Parc Slip Nature Reserve are a fantastic haven for watching swans and geese during the autumn and winter. Its bird hides are perfectly positioned to keep an eye out for heron, teal, mallards, visiting lapwing and the resident Highland cattle that patrol the fields.
Where: Bridgend, CF32 0EH
4 Nature Discovery Centre, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
Take a seat in our shipping container bird hide or stay cosy in the ‘hide in the sky’ in the visitor centre. Both overlook the lake which is home to mute swans, Egyptian geese, Canada geese and greylag geese during winter.
Where: Thatcham, RG19 3FU
5 Blue House Farm, Essex Wildlife Trust
Flocks of over 2,000 dark-bellied brent geese travel from Siberia to graze on the marshes and wetland areas of this coastal reserve through winter. Joining them, you could spot Egyptian geese, Canada geese, brent geese and barnacle geese, alongside hundreds of waders.
Where: North Fambridge, CM3 6GU
6 Chesil Beach and The Fleet Nature Reserve, Dorset Wildlife Trust
The Fleet Lagoon in Dorset hosts a fabulous spectacle of up to 4,000 brent geese when they return from their Siberian breeding grounds. These handsome grey, black and white geese come for the winter to feast on the eel grass that grows here alongside a fabulous herd of mute swans.
Where: Weymouth, DT4 9XE
Did you spot any swans or geese?
We’d love to know how your search went. Please share your best photos with us!
Beavers are Back
Angelika von Heimendahl, beaver reintroduction manager at The Wildlife Trusts, shares her hopes for the recovery of beaver populations across the British Isles and the incredible benefits they bring to wildlife and river ecosystems.
Beavers are a native species to Britain that were hunted to extinction about 400 years ago. However, they are on the verge of a comeback! The reasons for their disappearance were not conflicts with humans, but their usefulness. Beaver fur was highly sought after for making fashionable clothing and accessories and the scent glands excretions formed the bases of many perfumes. Even their meat was allowed to be eaten as they were considered aquatic animals.
Beavers were hunted almost, but not quite, to extinction in Europe. So, the hunting switched to North America, which led to the devastation of otter and beaver populations there too. Changing European fashion in mid-19th century Europe finally made beaver hunting uneconomic but by then it was too late: in Britain beavers had already been hunted to extinction. The beaver wetlands with their dams and ditches collapsed and were forgotten and the myriad of life that depended on those wetlands gradually declined.
Beavers made a comeback But this is not where the story ends. Beavers are incredibly adept at making a comeback. They dwindled to around 1,200 animals in Europe at the turn of the 20th century. But there are now over 1.6 million of them scattered across the mainland, resulting from reintroductions and natural recolonisation through strict protection. This has not been the case in islandBritain where reintroduction requires us to provide a helping hand by actively reintroducing beavers. This has led to different approaches in the devolved Governments. Scotland licenced wild beaver releases from 2009 and now have many sites with active beaver populations. Beavers are recognised as native species in Scotland and have been protected since 2019. In England the beaver was declared a native species and protected by law in 2022 but, so far, no wild release licences have been issued since the River Otter Beaver Trial completed in Devon. Despite that, some escapees have made a successful home especially in southwest England and Kent. In Wales, despite the efforts of the Wildlife Trusts, beavers are not recognised as resident or native and there is no national management framework. There have not yet been any authorised releases to the wild, although small numbers of wild-living beavers are present.
The various trials around Britain show that beaver reintroduction is not problem-free but issues can be resolved helping humans and beavers to live and work alongside each other.
Ecosystem engineers ‘beaver’ away The first time I saw a wetland created by beavers, I felt a sense of peace and calmness as though some evolutionary DNA inside me recognised this landscape. It is hard to describe how natural and ordered the pathways and dams are. Beavers do not flood their territory; rather they elevate water levels gently so they can move around more easily. They ‘beaver’ away, constantly adjusting water levels depending on whether the front door of their lodge is suddenly exposed, or the inside of the lodge starts to flood.
The dams they build are not as unforgiving as human structures and beavers listen to the flow of water rushing to repair any breaches. These ecosystem engineers create dams and ponds of varying sizes. This allows many different invertebrates and fish to lay their eggs in the resulting calmer and sometimes warmer water. In turn, this increases food, shelter and breeding opportunities for an abundance of wildlife.
In Estonia, for example, mute swans take advantage of their superior water engineering skills and build their nests on top of beaver lodges to stay dry. Contrary
to common perception, they rarely fell large trees, and instead prefer to coppice smaller trees along the streams such as aspen, birch and willow. These trees have co-evolved with beavers and naturally coppice, creating the juicy side shoots that beavers love.
Let beavers back into Britain
So, can Britain once again live alongside beavers, where they become a normal part of our environment? Should we accept the new reality of a nature degraded Britain in which most of us have forgotten what natural abundance looked like (often called the shifting baseline syndrome)?
Beavers are herbivores – so offer no significant threat to humans, livestock or pets – and can live happily in cities or in the countryside. And, given they provide the majority of urban dwellers an opportunity to see big wildlife up close, it is surely time to let them live free back in Britain.
Moreover, beaver wetlands slow the flow from upstream rain to downstream flood and improve water quality –hydrological engineering at no cost to taxpayers. It may seem surprising that beavers can achieve so much, but we forget that for millions of years, long before human settlements and agriculture, they were the evolutionary force creating wetland ecosystems.
Beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK in the 19th Century for their fur and scent glands
Regulatory hurdles to overcome
Despite the beaver’s success story there are regulatory hurdles to overcome. In Scotland the culling of beavers has become a control mechanism although the carrying capacity of the country is far from reached. There are only around 1,000 beavers in Scotland. Bavaria – a similar sized region that is much more highly populated and agricultural – is home to around 25,000 beavers.
We would rather see efforts targeted at coexistence, including via translocation to other areas, rather than culling. Meanwhile, in England, we have yet to see detailed guidance from regulatory authorities to reintroduce beavers back into our rivers. In Wales, there has not been a commitment from Welsh Government to allow beavers back or recognise them as a native species.
As the General Election campaign in Summer 2024 demonstrated, there is rightful anger about the state of our rivers. They must be cleaned up and we must return the full abundance and diversity of life to our freshwaters. Beavers are a keystone species – they have a disproportionate impact on their environment given their numbers. One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to restore our freshwaters to vitality is to welcome beavers again and watch them bring the richness back to our rivers and lakes.
Angelika von Heimendahl
is a vet and farmer, and recently joined The Wildlife Trusts as beaver reintroduction manager. She believes it is possible to create landscapes where nature thrives, people live and healthy food is produced.
The Wildlife Trusts have published A vision for the return of beavers to England and Wales making the case to end enclosures so beavers can be free in the wild again.
To support the ambition to bring back beavers to the wild, The Wildlife Trusts call on the UK and Welsh Governments to:
• Publish an ambitious beaver reintroduction strategy
• Fund farmers and land managers in the two countries to make more space for water on their land
• Support beaver management groups
• Confirm all wild beavers can remain in England and Wales
• Recognise beavers as a native species in Wales
Gnawed trunks are often a sign that beavers are living nearby
Rhiane Fatinukun MBE
@rhianesworld
Finding Your Feet
I am a person who cannot stay still for very long. Hiking and going on adventures are part of my DNA. Whether it’s discovering new corners of the world or right here at home in the UK, getting outdoors is so good for our physical and mental health. Plus, there is so much to see and learn about; we share the planet with so many amazing flora and fauna.
As a child, I would spend time playing outside with my friends at the park, running down alleys to the brook behind my house. We used to go looking for black and white caterpillars and frogs, and we would leave water out for the hedgehogs living in our garden. Sadly, you don’t see them anymore, which is one of the reasons I am so excited to be working with The Wildlife Trusts, to find ways to inspire young people to connect with and save nature. Hopefully, we can bring our spiky friends back from the brink.
In school, I always enjoyed spending time outdoors doing sports: cross-country running, rounders and netball. But when I started work, I lost that connection to the outdoors and nature. This is something I hear from people all over the UK – they are desperate to connect with the environment but not sure how. That used to be me.
If you live in an urban area, it’s hard to find like-minded people who want to experience the outdoors. When you do find groups, most people are white. It’s not that those groups are all unwelcoming to a Black woman, it’s just that there are shared cultural experiences that only Black women experience. I find strength, security and bonding in those situations.
But we needed to challenge stereotypes in outdoor adventure and within our community. So, I started Black Girls Hike, a small weekly meet-up group of nine or 10 people so that we were among like-minded and non-judgmental people. BGH is owned by the members, and collectively we challenge the norms and break down barriers for future generations. Now Black Girls Hike is a multiaward-winning national organisation with tens of thousands of members.
I love exploring different terrains, from mountains, hills and forests to coastal walks. I absolutely love the Peak District. I took Clare Balding there for the first time, which is really strange because she has been to loads and loads of places. I remember thinking that’s like when people say they’ve never seen Sister Act or Dirty Dancing. But my favourite walk is from Robin Hood’s Bay to Ravenscar in Yorkshire. It is so beautiful.
My top tip: a waterproof jacket is essential. But when I get my foam sit mat out, people often say, ‘Oh, that’s so handy, I’m going to get one of those.’
The Wildlife Trusts believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife in their daily lives and are committed to putting equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our movement. Find out more about our Wild About Inclusion approach, which includes ensuring more people from across society have better access to nature.
wildlifetrusts.org/commitment-to-edi
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE
Your Wildlife Trust is part of a movement of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK, Alderney and Isle of Man – so whether you’re looking for a local stroll or setting off from home in search of a serious hike, The Wildlife Trusts have lots of great suggestions of walks to take:
wildlifetrusts.org/visit/ choose-your-adventure
Rhiane Fatinukun MBE shares how her desire to reconnect with nature led her to become a globetrotting hiker, adventurer and founder of the UK’s largest outdoor collective, Black Girls Hike, dedicated to empowering Black women and girls to explore the great outdoors.
I UK NEWS
A Success Story: Nature’s recovery powered by communities
n two years, the UK-wide Nextdoor Nature project, backed by a £5 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, has empowered over 400 communities to restore and enhance nature in their local areas. This achievement far exceeds the original target of engaging 200 local groups, demonstrating the project’s impact.
At the heart of Nextdoor Nature is the dedication to equipping individuals and communities with the skills and resources needed to take meaningful environmental action. To achieve this, community organisers were funded in every UK Wildlife Trust, with a focus on reaching communities that have traditionally been excluded from environmental and conservation efforts.
The Nextdoor Nature project has much in common with the grassroots of The Wildlife Trusts movement where passionate local people come together to create positive change for nature. For those who get involved, they also create heart-warming connections, experiences and memories too.
The stories shared here are just a glimpse of what has been achieved through Nextdoor Nature. From a
mental health support group in Durham finding solace in newly accessible gardens, to schools in Kent, the Isles of Scilly, and North Wales engaging in species reintroduction and habitat creation – each success story is a testament to the power of communitydriven conservation.
A key measure of Nextdoor Nature’s success lies in its sustainability. The project has established connections with other organisations and resources to ensure the continuation of this vital work. Notably, 86% of UK Wildlife Trusts have secured or are actively seeking funding to retain community organisers, ensuring the momentum built during these two years continues to grow.
Thanks to Nextdoor Nature, Wildlife Trusts have made a cultural shift as a movement towards a community organising or ‘Team Wilder’ approach, that is helping to make environmental conservation project more open and accessible to a diverse range of communities. The legacy of Nextdoor Nature is clear: empowered communities, equipped with the knowledge and passion to protect and restore nature, are now driving lasting environmental change across the UK.
Community gardening with Avon Wildlife Trust
Examples of Nextdoor Nature projects across the UK
• Gwent has trained the Newport community in bee and butterfly surveying, enabling them to contribute valuable data to citizen science initiatives.
• Hertfordshire and Middlesex facilitated AQA accreditation in River Management for eight young people, opening doors to future conservation opportunities.
• In Radnorshire, a thriving grassland and verges group successfully negotiated reduced mowing with the local council, fostering healthier ecosystems.
• Warwickshire inspired local people to take ownership of their green spaces, leading to the independent launch of a Tree Mapping project to address the impacts of ash die-back.
• Gloucestershire supported the Guardians of the River Chelt, helping them move toward becoming a fully autonomous, constituted group.
• Lincolnshire has developed a robust network of Nextdoor Nature Champions who are spreading their conservation message across the county.
Climate adaptation in action
The Wildlife Trusts are embracing nature to help adapt to climate change. Eleanor Johnston, climate action lead, produces The Wildlife Trusts’ annual climate report, sharing examples of adaptation across the UK.
Our seas and coasts are places of wonder –my own fascination with them starting when I was just six years old and lucky enough to go snorkelling for the fist time. Fast forward a few years and with a marine biology degree under my belt, this sense of fascination has only grown, but so too has my concern for them as I’ve witnessed the serious pressures they face, including climate change.
Rising temperatures, sea level rise, coastal erosion and changing weather patterns are some of the threats faced by our oceans linked to climate change. Our coastal reserves have been flooded with seawater more frequently and this is likely to continue as the climate changes. This threatens the sensitive freshwater coastal habitats and the species that depend on them, such as the elegant avocet, which feed and raise their chicks in the shallow pools and muddy banks of coastal marshes. If these habitats are lost, these birds have nowhere to feed and breed.
Embracing nature
Over the last couple of years, The Wildlife Trusts’ have produced an annual climate adaptation report, with the latest, Embracing Nature, highlighting the work we’re involved in across the UK to adapt to climate change. From peatland and grassland habitat restoration to woodland creation and natural flood management, we are helping nature and communities adapt to climate change.
This includes multiple projects from Wildlife Trusts and partners to create and restore marine and coastal habitats. These innovative programmes not only help our coasts adapt, but also provide a home for a range of wildlife and remove carbon from the atmosphere, playing a big role in tackling climate change.
How you can help
Adaptation work ‘on the ground’
Examples of Wildlife Trusts in action include Norfolk Wildlife Trust who alongside the Environment Agency, have been working to adapt the Cley and Salthouse Marshes. They have rejuvenated reedbeds and moved a section of the ‘New Cut’ flood drain to better evacuate flood water and help the marshes maintain freshwater coastal habitats. As well as wading birds such as redshank and avocet, the restored areas will support the fascinating and elusive bittern, which hunt for eels and other fish aongst the reedbeds. One day I hope to hear its booming foghorn-like calls on a visit there!
This summer, I was lucky enough to visit Spurn National Nature Reserve to see the work of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trusts who are restoring sand dunes, seagrass and saltmarsh habitat, alongside native oysters as part of the Wilder Humber project with Ørsted. One of their aims is to rebuild the Humber’s lost native oyster population to over half a million oysters!
Having grown up holidaying on the north coast of Wales, I am also really excited about the seagrass restoration being done by North Wales Wildlife Trust as part of Seagrass Ocean Rescue. A staggering 200,000 seagrass seeds were planted in spring last year and the growth of seagrass at these sites is now being monitored, with plans for more planting to take place.
These are just a handful of the brilliant projects happening across The Wildlife Trusts, which are embracing nature to adapt to climate change! This work gives me hope that we really can help if we act now.
Eleanor Johnston leads climate action work at The Wildlife Trusts supporting the 46 Wildlife Trusts in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
There are many ways to help our coasts adapt to climate change, so if, like me, you feel inspired to take action to save them, then here are a few ideas you might like to try:
• Help your local Wildlife Trust – whether it’s helping make seagrass seed bags or monitoring coastal marshes, this work couldn’t happen without our volunteers. Get in touch and see how you can help!
• Collect data – check out our citizen science projects such as Shoresearch and Seasearch and help us collect important data whilst enjoying spending time at the coast (what’s not to like?)!
• Get adaptation noticed – help us make climate change adaptation a government priority by asking your local MP, MSP or AM what is being done in your area.
Natural Connections
Exploring religious and spiritual connections to a natural world in crisis
Some days it feels like we are in a desperate scramble to respond to the challenge of species and habitat loss, as well as an intensifying climate emergency. One upside of our experience of the sharpness of urgency has been a broadening in the category of environmentalism. Now it includes new or previously marginalised stakeholders and overlooked forms of care for nature.
As a general rule, sustainability has tended towards a default of elite, white, secular and scientific. In the research I was involved in last year on project Spotlight*, we identified a massive upswell of enthusiasm for environmental care and action among people of colour in the UK. A significant number of our respondents also linked their concerns to religious and spiritual traditions and identities.
These finding supported work I’ve done alongside everyday activists and environmentalists, where I’ve seen an exciting range of new initiatives coming up in the context of religious communities. This includes the Sikh Guru Nanak Sacred Forest project, aiming to establish a new network of sacred forests across the world. British Muslims are drawing on the Quran and Hadith to reclaim forms of thoughtful stewardship of nature.
This can also be seen in urban ecology projects: British Bahu Trust mosques are covered with solar panels and proactive in leading community clean-ups. Cambridge Central mosque is a true eco-mosque with a near-zero carbon footprint. The Eco-Church network, has grown from 250 to more than 5,000 British churches in a decade, making it one of the largest community networks of local environmental action groups in the UK. Woodlands, nature reserves, and other nonreligious environmental charities are also connecting with their stakeholders in more holistic ways. Given that so much of our work restoring the landscapes we care about is about re-
establishing forms of connection, it makes sense that many people are re-discovering their own environmentalism in the context of personal faith and spirituality.
But while conservation as a genre is opening up, there is still a lot of work to do. Are there aspects of ourselves that we still hold back and fence off from our concerns for wildlife? For example, the natterjack toad, hazel dormouse and hedgehog are all under threat of extinction. We might try to stretch our awareness to bring creativity to forms of love for creatures that we might find unlovely or pause to learn about new kinds of beauty.
By bringing spirituality to nature it can also help us navigate feelings of loss and disconnection, like the process of mourning a lost-through-melting Icelandic glacier. This might take the form of a slow walk, drawing close and leaning in to nature, even though we may want to flee for fear of grief. Why not treat walking footpaths, hills or the spectacular but fragile British peatlands as an eco-pilgrimmage?
It’s especially exciting to me that we are finally bringing spirituality to nature conservation as this can help us to forge deeper relationships, harmony and forms of connection with habitats and creatures.
*Project Spotlight is an initiative engaging people of colour with nature and climate change. You can learn more about the project at climateexperiences.org
This article by Jeremy Kidwell precedes an upcoming blog series by The Wildlife Trusts exploring the intersection of nature conservation and climate change, religious faiths and spirituality. Starting towards the end of 2024, each blog will focus on religious festivals or awareness days that highlight diverse spiritual perspectives on the natural world. View all blogs from The Wildlife Trusts at wildlifetrusts.org/blog
Jeremy Kidwell is an associate professor in theology at the University of Birmingham. He is the author or editor of a range of books including most recently a collection of essays edited with Stefan Skrimshire called Religion and Extinction
Fruit trees are fantastic
Ecology, conservation and wildlife gardening teacher, Paul Ritchie, shares his most loved garden fruit trees that offer a bounty of flowers, berries and fruits. These eight trees will boost wildlife in any garden, while offering treats for your winter kitchen store.
Fruit trees are fantastic for wildlife and a great way of making space for nature in gardens. Wild fruit trees offer homes for numerous insects at all stages of their lives, nesting birds and small mammals such as bats. Vitally they also provide year-round food: blossom is nectar for wild bees emerging from hibernation, leaves and the fruit feed moth caterpillars.
Fruit trees in blossom are beautiful but they have a broader benefit for the natural environment and for people too. They improve soil quality, filter the air and slow water run-off which reduces flooding, as well as providing shade in hot weather and lessening noise pollution. I plant native hedgerows to provide wind breaks and shelter for wildlife such as hedgehogs and house sparrows.
Choosing a tree
You do not need a big garden to grow fruit trees and some smaller varieties will grow happily in pots.
When I am choosing the right tree for the right place I always consider:
• Height: The mature size should be appropriate for the available space. Especially important if there are buildings, telephone cables or powerlines nearby.
• Shape: The average dimensions of the tree’s canopy spread will affect shading and space so slender trees such as rowan are ideal for smaller gardens.
• Soil: Check the label when buying a tree for its hardiness to drought and preference of soil type to match with your garden e.g. clay, chalky, sandy or loam soils.
I suggest buying trees as bare-root whips to plant in winter, but potted trees can be planted all year in square holes. Remember that fruit trees can be pruned to suit your own garden and needs.
Paul Ritchie is a biologist, passionate about trees, outdoor learning and connecting people with nature. He has worked for City of London Open Spaces, Surrey Wildlife Trust and now teaches at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and RHS Garden Wisley.
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) or ‘Lady of the Mountains’ produces large clusters of scarlet berries loved by redwing and fieldfare and used as a sugar substitute for diabetics.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) or ‘Mayflower’ supports hundreds of different insects, and its berries can be used to make ketchup, chutney, jam and beverages.
Crab apple (Malus sylvestris) has small apples loved by hedgehogs, mice, voles, fox and deer and, if cooked, as jelly, chutney, cordial or brewed as cider, is enjoyed by humans too.
Elder (Sambucus nigra) we use the clusters of creamy flowers and black berries to brew cordials, champagne and wine, whilst the berries are loved by thrushes and blackbirds.
For more information and advice on planting fruit trees in your garden, visit mycoronationgarden.org
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) has evergreen leaves that are slow to break down, so hedgehogs, small mammals, toads and slow worm hibernate in the leaf litter under the tree.
Wild cherry (Prunus avium) has fruit suitable for making jams, puddings, chutneys, soups, vinegar, cordials, wine and beer.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is culturally linked with Hallowe’en and, like many wild fruits, sloe berries have medicinal uses as well as being used to flavour gin.
Wild plum (Prunus insititia) or bullace grows in hedgerows and, whilst smaller and less sweet than domestic plums, it can be stewed to make fruit preserves.
Protecting wildlife, a wonderful legacy
On Monday, Inspire the next generation about the natural world.
On Tuesday, Help with the restoration of a wildflower meadow.
On Wednesday, Support a young person to gain the skills they need for a career in conservation.
On Thursday, Help move some Exmoor ponies to new pastures for conservation grazing. And on Friday, Survey a local stream for water voles.
You can do all of these things by leaving a gift in your Will for Durham Wildlife Trust. Your support will do amazing things for wildlife, for years to come. For further information, visit our website: www.durhamwt.com/legacy
