Nottinghamshire
The Magazine of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Summer and Autumn 2015
Reptiles are here
UK News
Species
Reserves
Inspiring People
2 Ready steady... wildlife!.. 12 Giving back to our seas
4 A personal species challenge 5 Badger vaccination
8 Strawberry Hill Heath update 9 Bittern breeding success
14 Wildlife Guardians update 15 Wildlife on your Doorstep Awards
Protecting Wildlife for the Future
NEWS
Ready steady.. wildlife! Avon Wildlife Trust’s pioneering Bristol eco-map is a blueprint for bringing wildlife back to every city
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We’re all aware that bringing wildlife back into our daily lives makes us healthier and happier, and that wildlife-rich places are more resilient in the face of climate change. The question is, what can individual people do to help create such places?
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Local Wildlife Sites Local Wildlife Sites. Local Wildlife Sites. Apparently when you hear things three times it sticks. And I’m resorting to repetition because, despite our championing these hidden gems non-stop for decades, few people have ever heard of them. Yet in many places Local Wildlife Sites hold most of our remaining wildlife, covering up to ten times the area of their legally protected SSSI cousins. It’s not that Local Wildlife Sites have been designated on a whim. Scientific experts have surveyed the land field by field. Using rigorous criteria they’ve mapped out 52,000 places across the UK – our most important reserves of wildlife and soil. So what’s the problem?
“We want to turn Bristol into a giant nature reserve,” says Avon Wildlife Trust’s director of conservation programmes Dr Lucy Rogers. “The maps allow you to zoom right in to your own street and garden level. They identify the areas where it would help to improve woodland and grassland habitat, or to do other things such as put up bird boxes, dig a pond or simply plant up a tub.” The Trust hopes that linking gardens, passageways and other green spaces will create corridors for wildlife to move easily around the city. “It doesn’t matter the size of your garden, or if you live in a flat,” says Lucy. “There are still lots of small changes you can make that will benefit wildlife.”
Extreme detail
In our centralised culture the word ‘local’ can, wrongly, mean ‘not so important’. So these amazing places get overlooked. And, because they have a variety of names, and data on them is held locally, they are harder to integrate into centralised decisions. But our economic prosperity and social fabric depends on our starting ecological restoration in earnest and Local Wildlife Sites are a massive part of that equation. Thank you for supporting your Wildlife Trust. By doing so you are helping the biggest champion of your Local Wildlife Sites – whether in quiet locations away from the public eye or in the centre of cities.
Bristol
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Avon Wildlife Trust has come up with the answer. Its 20 My Wild City maps show Bristol as never before: a network of wildlife habitats and green spaces showing householders, businesses and local authorities the best thing they can do for wildlife in their local area.
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17 1. Avonmouth and Kingweston 2. Henbury and Southmead 3. Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury-on-Trym
4. Horfield and Lockleaze 5. Greater Fishponds 6. Bishopston, Cotham and Redland 7. Cabot, Clifton and Clifton East 8. Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill 9. St George 10. Greater Bedminster 11. Ekwood, Knowle
13. Bishopsworth, Hartcliffe and Whitchurch Park 14. Hengrove and Stockwood 15. Portbury and Abbotsleigh 16. Long Ashton and Dundry 17. Keynsham 18. Eastfringe and the Bristol Urban Area 19. North fringe of the Bristol Urban Area
20. Severnside
and Windmill Hill
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Brislington
Hengrove and Stockwood
The maps, which draw on more than 200 datasets, give detail down to individual houses and gardens to guide optimal action for wildlife
Read more and download one of the maps at avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/mywildcity
KEY ■ Buildings and roads ■ Water ■ Areas with sealed surfaces, for example car parks ■ Gardens with opportunity for tree, shrub and wildflower planting ■ Gardens with opportunity for tree planting ■ Gardens with opportunity for wildflower planting
Stephanie Hilborne OBE Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts Together The Wildlife Trusts have more than 800,000 members. We are the largest voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving all the UK’s habitats and species. Contact us on enquiry@wildlifetrusts.org or 01636 677711 twitter @wildlifetrusts facebook.com/wildlifetrusts
■ Gardens without green space, opportunity for bird boxes, planters etc ■ Existing semi-natural habitat, for example woodland and hedges ■ Green space with opportunity for further wildlife enhancement ■ Other green space, for example sports pitches ■ Agricultural land which can be enhanced for wildlife
Nottinghamshire Wildlife
The Trust hopes that communities will talk about what they can do in their local urban areas. Five demonstration sites will kickstart the project
Your new look magazine We are sure it won’t have escaped your notice that both this magazine and your Wildlife What’s On guide have changed shape since the spring mailing. The new look formats are part of our effort to keep members informed through the provision of high quality materials whilst keeping down costs. The shift to new paper sizes will deliver significant cost savings over the next 12-18 months, money which will be directly used to support our conservation and education programmes.
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Get talking
We’ve also taken the decision to produce a new ‘On your doorstep’ What’s on flyer. This means that you can see at a glance what events are coming up in your area. It will also give us some flexibility when producing the county-wide guide – ensuring we can properly promote our centres, holiday clubs and key events. A supply of these new flyers will also be used by our Local Members’ Groups and at our education centres to better promote local activities.
www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
Notes from
5 species that could benefit from local action
Common frog
Create holes in fences to allow hedgehogs safe passage
A network of ponds helps colonies thrive
Richard Bowler
David Chapman
Chaffinch
Honey bee
One of many birds to benefit from garden feeders
Plant nectar-rich plants to benefit bees and other pollinators David Chapman
Lesser stag beetle Lives as a grub in dead hardwood
© Andy Wickham
Rupert Paul
Paul Hobson
PAUL HOBSON
Hedgehog
the Chairman
In the Spring newsletter, I highlighted the Trust’s key objectives for 2015 onwards, i.e. protecting, restoring and enhancing wildlife, and inspiring people about the natural world. So what have we been doing to foster these aims? We have completed the large scale works at Blott’s Pit, part of the extended Skylarks Nature Reserve. Many of you will have already visited the site, but we will be showcasing it at our AGM in the Autumn when we meet at Holme Pierrepont Hall, very close to the reserve. In another large project we are working closely with Harworth Estates to restore to heathland a vast area of the old Rufford Colliery in Sherwood. Particular wildlife highlights for me have been sitting in the sand martin hide at Attenborough, right next to these birds whizzing in and out of their nests next door, and getting up close and personal to a dormouse in Eaton Wood. I have to confess however that this year the bitterns at Attenborough, breeding there for the first time, have still eluded my binoculars. In support of the Trust’s second key aim we have put on a wide range of training courses, as part of our extensive education programme. These have included wildlife identification sessions with subjects ranging from grasses to hoverflies (I now know there are over 250 species of the latter!). Our highly successful NHS supported work helping people with mental health problems has continued at the Idle Valley reserve. Along with this, there is an increasing, and long overdue, awareness of the importance of the natural world to our health and well being, and the Trust, along with other Wildlife Trusts, will persist in pressing the government for a Nature and Wellbeing Act. All this is a great tribute to our staff who have, as usual, been working flat out over a period in which we have made considerable internal changes to strengthen the organisation for the future. But, and it is a big but, we could not sustain the work we do without our 700 plus volunteers who support our work both on the reserves and in the offices. One aspect of volunteering is being a trustee, and the skills and commitment that trustees bring to Council are essential to the effective running of the charity. We do have a small number of vacancies for trustees at present (see below), so get in touch if you feel able to assist us. Finally, we do look forward to meeting you at our AGM and Members day on October 24th. Ian Johnston – Chairman
Trustees wanted: Can you help shape the future of wildlife conservation in Nottinghamshire? We are currently seeking applicants to join our Council of Trustees and help drive forward our twin aims of promoting, restoring and enhancing wildlife, and inspiring people about the natural world. No previous experience of acting as a Trustee is necessary. However an interest in the natural world and a wish to connect people with nature would be an underlying driver to help us achieve our aims. We are specifically looking for applicants with current experience or knowledge in the following areas:
Content highlights
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Species news Where to see reptiles Reserves news Orchards for people Wildlife Guardians update
Contributions Editorial enquiries and contributions to: Erin McDaid Copy deadline: Monday 5th October 2015 Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, Nottingham NG1 1EA Tel: 0115 958 8242 Email: info@nottswt.co.uk www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org Front Cover Common lizard near Bedruthan in Cornwall, by Ross Hoddinott The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Wildlife Trust or its Council. Published by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Editor, Erin McDaid A Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England No. 748865 Reg. Charity No. 224168R President Sir Andrew Buchanan Designed & Produced by Optima Graphic Design Consultants Limited www.optimadesign.co.uk
• Financial Management • Business management • Marketing and campaigns. Avon Wildlife Trust is mapping habitats in urban areas to raise awareness
We hope to refine the formats over the next couple of issues and if you have any suggestions or ideas, especially for one off articles or regular features in Nottinghamshire Wildlife, please contact our Membership Development Officer Alex Walls via email – awalls@nottswt.co.uk or on 0115 958 8242
The main duties of our Trustees include the overall governance of the Trust, the setting and overseeing of its strategic direction, its financial stability, accountability to members and the Charities Commission and the conduct and culture of the organisation. At present the Council meets 6 times a year. Trustees may also chair or sit on our standing committees or task and finish groups, assist with key projects, support staff in developing key objectives and act as ambassadors in the public arena. We are also striving to develop a more diverse board and welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds.
Interested? Please contact Rob Fitzsimons, Chief Executive (email: rfitzsimons@nottswt.co.uk) providing your phone number so he can arrange an informal discussion in the first instance. Summer and Autumn 2015
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Species news
SPECIES
Birds featured strongly during the spring and early summer. At the end of April a black-crowned night heron at Attenborough showed really well for two days and attracted over 300 birdwatchers. © Dave Thorpe
House sparrow
Species News is brought to you in association with Walter Harrison
The hairy hawker was once restricted to only one site in the county, but in recent years it has spread to many new areas including Idle Valley, Attenborough and now Skylarks. It is a member of the hawker family and is usually the earliest dragonfly species to be seen. Our garden mammal survey is progressing well and is providing very useful species distribution information. To date 22 species have been recorded, meaning that over half of our resident species of mammal have been seen in gardens. A few gardens have recorded more than 10 species which confirms just how important our gardens are for wildlife. The survey is also highlighting the decline of hedgehog numbers with a significant number of people reporting that they haven’t seen one for several years. Records from any garden in Nottinghamshire would be welcome and we would be especially interested in records from villages in the north and east of the county where we have fewer reports.
Night Heron
There were impressive numbers of passage migrant birds including regular groups of dunlin, ringed plover and sanderling.
Early morning was the best time to see this bird and gave photographers excellent opportunities for some close up views. By the middle of May all of our attention was focused on another ‘heron’, when two bittern chicks were seen at Attenborough, the first confirmed evidence of the species breeding in the county in modern times.
A single wood sandpiper was resident for three days at the end of April. Away from waders, there were impressive numbers of wagtails including several counts in double figures of yellow wagtail and a maximum count of 19 white wagtails, the European race of our pied wagtail.
The habitat creation work which took place over the winter at Skylarks has already proved to be a great success, especially for wading birds. Little ringed plover and lapwing have both bred successfully on the new islands. Unfortunately a ringed plover’s nest was predated.
There has been a large expansion in the range of some dragonfly and damselfly species in recent years which is most likely a result of our warming climate.
Hairy Dragonfly
You can take part in the survey at www.nottsmammals.org.uk
A personal species challenge Tim Sexton, Assistant Manager at our Attenborough Nature Centre is a man of many talents. Whilst he is very happy advising customers on which binoculars or telescope would suit their needs and budget or selling ‘Ay up mi duck t-shirts to raise funds for our work, he is happiest when out studying wildlife on the reserve in his free time, often accompanied by his son Jake. Following the success of the Trust’s 50th Anniversary ‘Bioblitz’ last year, Tim set himself the challenge of recording 1000 different species on the reserve in a calendar year. Along the way Tim hoped to discover one or two new, previously un-recorded species. In the first six weeks of the challenge Tim found over 200 species. A box bug – a first record for the county and just one of over 950 species now recorded as part of the challenge!
It looks nailed on that Tim will succeed but he is keen to use his records to encourage other people to get involved or, if they already keep personal records, to share them with the Trust and county recorders.
Speaking about the challenge Tim said:
Over 2,600 species have been recorded at Attenborough over the past 50 years, including many waterfowl, invertebrates and mammals such as bats, foxes and badgers but despite being so well studied I have always been fascinated by the fact that you can still make new discoveries. In search of those new discoveries, Tim has spent much of his time surveying invertebrates under log piles and has found many new species of millipede and centipede for the reserve. Tim added: "They are not as sexy as butterflies and dragonflies but they have historically been overlooked – I also like the challenge of identifying them. You need to look a little closer and you can only be 100% of the identification by looking at the genitalia, not much bigger than a speck of dust."
Tim Sexton
Get Involved If you have records of species on Wildlife Trust Reserves we’d be delighted to receive them. All records should be sent to Michael Walker at the Trust’s main office or emailed to mwalker@nottswt.co.uk. If you would like to get more involved in recording why not sign up for one of our species identification courses. For further details see your new look Wildlife What’s On guide or visit www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/events
The previous record for species recorded by one person in a year at the reserve was 755 back in 2011. Tim has recorded over 950 already including 235 new recordsfor the site and a number of new county records – an amazing effort!
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Nottinghamshire Wildlife
www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
SPECIES © Elliott Neep
Trust set to
vaccinate badgers
In July Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust announced that it is to participate in a badger vaccination scheme which forms a key part of the government’s comprehensive strategy to make England bovine TB free.
The Wildlife Trusts have been campaigning nationally for many years against the culling of badgers and for their vaccination as a means of controlling the spread of bovine TB. We do not believe that there is sufficient evidence that culling is effective, while the dispersal of infected animals may even make matters worse. Whilst against the culling of badgers we do accept that they may contribute to the spread of bovine TB in cattle and that every effort must be made to tackle this devastating disease. Alongside measures to improve animal husbandry we believe that vaccinating badgers can play a key role in keeping the badger population healthy and preventing the spread of the disease in local cattle herds. For us this is a ‘win-win’ situation - protecting badgers, cattle and farmers’ livelihoods. Several Wildlife Trusts are already playing leading roles in vaccinating badgers, including our neighbouring Trusts in Derbyshire and Leicestershire. We are pleased to announce that in the next few weeks we will be vaccinating badgers in an area of almost fifty square kilometres between Tithby and Long Clawson – an area famed for supplying milk for the production of Stilton cheese. Villages included in the vaccination programme area include; Cropwell Bishop, Owthorpe, Kinoulton, Hickling Pastures, Upper Broughton and Nether Broughton. The area also includes a small area of Leicestershire at Long Clawson – where we will be liaising closely with our sister Wildlife Trust, which has been vaccinating badgers on its own land for some time. The four-year programme will be supported by DEFRA’s Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) which provides support for badger vaccination projects in “edge” areas outside the bovine TB high risk area. The edge area covers counties in the middle of the country such as Cheshire, Oxfordshire and Nottinghamshire. These edge areas are most at risk of the disease spreading from areas already badly affected such as the South West and West Midlands. Vaccinating healthy badgers in this way is intended to help create a buffer zone of bTB free badger populations to help curb the spread of TB in cattle. Badger vaccination forms
part of the government’s comprehensive strategy to make England bovine TB free.
Gaynor Jones-Jenkins
Whilst the Wildlife Trust will receive 50% of the funding required for the programme from DEFRA through the BEVS scheme, we shall have to raise the remaining funding, in the region of £75,000, from participating farms and public donations.
Speaking about the vaccination programme Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Gaynor Jones-Jenkins, who will manage the project, said: “As landowners with our own cattle herds we know that bovine TB can have a devastating effect on farmers and the farming community but we don’t believe that culling is the solution. Culling is a hugely emotive and divisive issue and we do not believe it offers an effective or acceptable solution. We have long believed that vaccination of badgers, alongside measures to improve biosecurity in cattle herds, is a vital tool in both limiting the impacts on farming and safeguarding the future of badger populations. We are excited at the prospect of playing an active role in eradicating this disease but we need the public’s backing to raise the funds we need to make it a success.” We now have a fully trained team of lay vaccinators and a large team of survey volunteers to help us ensure we know as much as possible about badger activity and setts in the area.
Other measure’s designed to eradicate bovine TB include: • Tighter cattle controls to reduce bovine TB spread between herds •
Tougher financial penalties for those who are late in completing their TB cattle tests, resulting in up to a 60% fall in the number of overdue tests
• Designing field trials to help develop a cattle vaccine • Better advice to farmers who are buying and selling cattle. For further details about our vaccination project visit www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/news Adrian Scholl, one of the farmers supporting our vaccination programme
Gaynor added: “We are delighted that our project will form part of the BEVS programme and we have had a tremendously positive reaction from local farmers. The BEVS funding has been essential to getting the local vaccination project off the ground but we will need the support of wildlife lovers from across the county to help us raise the funding needed to protect Nottinghamshire’s badger population and prevent bovine TB getting a foothold in our county.” This vaccination scheme is just one element of DEFRA’s comprehensive strategy to achieve bovine TB free status in England by 2038. Other measure’s designed to help eradicate bovine TB include:
• Tighter cattle movement controls to reduce bovine TB spread between herds • Tougher financial penalties for those who are late in completing their TB cattle tests, resulting in up to a 60% fall in the number of overdue tests • Designing field trials to help develop a cattle vaccine • Better advice to farmers who are buying and selling cattle.
Get Involved Without the support of our Members, we would not have been able to commit to such an important and ambitious programme. This vaccination programme is a great example of the type of work Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust can deliver thanks to your support. If you would like to make an additional contribution directly towards the vaccination of badgers here in Nottinghamshire you can donate from your mobile phone – simply text BADG20 £10 to 70070 today. To donate a different amount please alter the number after the £ symbol. Alternatively please visit www.justgiving.com/nwt or call our Membership Team on 0115 958 8242 You can read more about the vaccination scheme and the government's TB strategy by visiting http://bit.ly/1gDybun
Summer and Autumn 2015
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LIVING LANDSCAPES
Where to see reptiles around the UK Whilst not the easiest of creatures to catch a glimpse of, there are sites you can visit where, with a keen eye and a bit of luck you do stand a chance.
Matt Cole
Sites such as Rainworth Heath in the heart of Sherwood Forest are home to common lizard and our Beeston Sidings Nature Reserve on the University Science Park in Nottingham, is home to a colony of slow worms which were translocated when the Victoria Centre car park was extended some years ago. Grass snakes, whilst present on many of our reserves are most likely to be seen when swimming, so keep an eye on the surface of the water when visiting sites with ponds and lakes.
A ONE-MINUTE GUIDE TO
Reptile watching
Unlike us, reptiles need a warm day before they can be active. So it’s often easiest to see them early in the morning, when they are still soaking up the rays. Snakes in particular can feel the vibrations of your footsteps, so tread softly. Never chase a reptile or try to pick one up. Reptiles can be irresistible, but leave handling them to experts
John Ellis
An Obituary
We are sad to report that John Ellis, previously our longest serving member of staff, passed away in May after a long period of illness. Prior to joining the staff of the Wildlife Trust in 1987 John was a volunteer at Attenborough, a site with which he was associated throughout his life, and a respected naturalist. He had an excellent all-round knowledge of wildlife and a special interest in invertebrates, particularly moths. He also went on to be county Mammal Recorder. During 25 years as an employee of the Trust he covered a variety of roles from office management and fundraising to maintaining the Trust’s wildlife records. Whatever role John worked in he was always keen to share his knowledge and over the years he answered literally thousands of enquiries about everything from surplus frog spawn to injured birds. John will be sorely missed.
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Nottinghamshire Wildlife
www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
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Snelsmore Common Berks, Bucks & Oxon WT
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Harbottle Crags Northumberland WT
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A beautiful open moorland where nearby rocks have been scratched and polished by the last glaciers. The eastern end has sphagnum mosses but adder, slow worm and common lizard are easiest to find in the heathland areas.
Where is it? 2 miles N of Newbury off the B4494, opposite Mary Hare School. Grid SU 468721.
Where is it? 0.6 miles SW of Harbottle. Use Forestry Commission car park. Grid NT 922 040.
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Rackenford and Knowstone Moor Devon Wildlife Trust
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Gilfach Reserve Radnorshire WT
Where is it? Off the A470, 7 miles from Llangurig and 2 miles from Rhayader. Follow brown Nature Reserve signs.
Potteric Carr Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
See our full listing of places to see reptiles and more species information at
Common Lizard
wildlifetrusts.org/reptiles
14cm, spider hunter. Heaths and woodland clearings
Where is it? Between Hayle and Gwithian off A30. Grid SW 579 398 (extra parking at SW 581 407).
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Higher Hyde Heath Dorset Wildlife Trust
One of the best areas in England to see all six native reptiles: an internationally important mix of wet, dry and wet heaths, plus peaty pools, mire and wet woodland. Besides the reptiles there are many dragonflies and damselflies, nightjar, Dartford warbler, woodlark and tree pipit. Grayling and silver-studded blue butterflies can be found on the open heath.
Sand lizard
20cm, very rare. Sandy heaths and dunes
Slow Worm
54cm, legless lizard. Grassland, woodland and heathland
Where is it? 2 miles N of Wool on Puddletown Rd, between Bovington and Wareham. Grid SY856899.
Smooth Snake
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Level paths wind around the ponds and channels of this exceptional wetland. Newts, frogs and whirligig beetles are easy to find. But come early in the day and you’ll see grass snakes of all sizes in the ponds in Loversall field, or along Loversall delph.
70cm, constrictor. Predator of other reptiles. Heaths
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Where is it? Just south of Doncaster, post code DN4 8DB. By bus from city, get off at B&Q. Grid SE 589 007.
Grass Snake
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75cm, frog hunter. Frequents lakes and ponds
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Dave Chapman
Access/transport details for each site: wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/reserves
Bruce Shortland
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66cm, bears live young. Bogs, heaths, woodland clearings
Bruce Shortland
A hill farm of open moorland, flower-rich grasslands and oak woods. Follow the river upstream and out along the Monks Trod. This is the walk where you are most likely to spot up to 50 common lizards basking in the sun – an amazing sight.
Internationally important dune grasslands harbour glow worm, pyramidal orchid, skylark and adders. It also has wonderful views across St Ives Bay. A must visit if you’re holidaying in mid Cornwall this summer.
Adder
Where to find these places
Stewart Canham
Where is it? 9 miles W of Tiverton on the A361. The reserve is either side of the road. Grid SS 851 211.
Upton Towans Cornwall Wildlife Trust
Where is it? 6 miles from Cambridge. Grid TL 526 557.
Stewart Canham
With the adjacent Hares Down, this is the county’s largest remaining block of Culm grassland, and designated an SSSI and SAC. Walk slowly and carefully to see adders and slow worms basking on the tussocks.
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Britain's Six Native Reptiles
These old meadows have never been treated with pesticide or fertiliser, and swarm with plants and animals. Look for grass snake and common lizard in the wettest meadow, East Fen, where hundreds of orchids bloom in early summer.
The Wildlife Trusts
This 100ha mix of heather, wet bog and woodland is home to a host of nationally rare species. There is a good chance of spotting adder, grass snake, common lizard and slow worm in one visit. A pond also hosts breeding palmate newts.
LIVING LANDSCAPES
Fulbourn Fen Wildlife Trust BCN
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Cally Keetley
Photographic Competition We are seeking entries to our Wildlife on your Doorstep Photography Competition which is being held in memory of late Wildlife Trust stalwart, Dennis Heffernan.
Have you taken any great images this summer if so why not enter the competition?
Photographs must be taken in Nottinghamshire. Closing date - 25 September 2015 Photographs can be submitted in three categories:
• A Living Landscape • Splendid Species • Young Photographer (under 16s). Photographs must be taken in Nottinghamshire.
Why not encourage your children or grandchildren to enter the under 16s category?
For more details and to enter, visit: www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/campaigns Summer and Autumn 2015
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© Electric Egg
RESERVES
Family throws down the gauntlet We recently received a call for help from a member who was attempting to visit all 67 of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Nature Reserves. Here, member Tony Summers outlines the challenges he faced.
Volunteers have played a key role in transforming the reserve
Strawberry Hill Heath update
Working to restore habitats in Sherwood Forest The 'Sherwood’s Historic Heathlands' project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund enabled us to undertake several projects aimed at restoring the heathland at our Strawberry Hill Heath reserve which lies in the heart of the Sherwood Forest landscape at Rainworth. In 2013 around 300 trees were felled to help revert wooded areas back to the original heathland and the heather is now growing back. 2014 saw the installation of two small stock-proof fenced compartments to encourage ground nesting birds such as nightjar. These compartments will provide quiet safe areas for these rare birds. Although nightjars are known to be present in the general area there have been no official records on Strawberry Hill Heath. We therefore hope the work we have done on site will encourage these birds to visit and possibly even breed! We used a contractor to weedwipe areas of young birch scrub to kill it and allow heather growing underneath to flourish. Still in 2014, volunteers continued to remove silver birch scrub in areas where heather was growing underneath and dead-hedging the birch along the paths to create more quiet areas to benefit all wildlife including nightjars.
Speaking about the habitat restoration work at the reserve, our Conservation Officer Andrew Lowe, who co-ordinates the monitoring of nightjars in Sherwood Forest with the Birklands Ringing Group said: “When the Trust took over the management of this SSSI heathland site it was a in very poor condition, over-grown with silver birch, self-set conifer and oak. The area was covered in litter and the remains of burnt out cars, but through the work undertaken by Trust, especially in the past couple of years by our Western Reserves Officer Gary Cragg and his team of volunteers, it is now, in my opinion, the best example of lowland heath in the county. The heath is now a mosaic of different aged heather, open ground and scrub with scattered trees, the site still has issues with off-road motorbikes and horse riding but the impact of these pressures is much reduced. Improvements to the footpath network have also made the site much more accessible. What Gary and the volunteers have achieved on a challenging site is to be applauded.”
Other work included the installation of new steps on the far west and south of the site to improve pedestrian access. We have also erected three new ladder board signs to highlight the fact that we manage the site. There is also a new bridleway sign at the entrance to the site and waymarkers indicating more clearly the route of the bridleway.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife
It was a very enjoyable exercise as every reserve was stunning at this time of year. Perhaps the most amazing one was Spalford Warren where there were hundreds of foxgloves in flower. Awesome!! One or two reserves were a bit difficult to find – but I succeeded in the end and they were all photographed. Doing it made me realise that my subscription is money well spent! I wonder what challenge my nieces will come up with when I reach 100!
I was delighted to help Tony out with details of the reserves. I myself had the same issues last year when I decided to cycle around all the Trust reserves and it is complicated due to restrictions on access at some linked to matters of safety or lease conditions. Tony has now joined a select band of people who have visited over 60 of our reserves and we hope to arrange a trip to Misson Carr for him soon to help him tick another site off the list.
Stop Press… Stop Press…
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The card they sent me said, “You have to visit and photograph all of the Wildlife Trust sites!” I took that to mean the 67 nature reserves in Nottinghamshire, not nationally!! I doubt they expected me to do it but I decided to call their bluff. I started on May 15th and initially visited sites in the city, including three in Bulwell where I live. By June 21st I had visited 52 sites on the ‘Nature Reserves A to Z’ except Misson Carr which has no access. However, I was left with a problem because the Trust website stated that there are 67 reserves! I was saved by Erin McDaid at the Trust’s HQ who sent me details of the ‘missing’ sites. By June 27th (Day 44) the challenge was completed. My total however was 64 as I counted Aldercar Flash and the Cromford Canal (Erewash meadows) as two reserves and there are 4 with no public access. The highest number visited in a day was seven around Retford area.
Tony Summers
Gary Cragg
Since Gary completed this update we have had confirmation that a pair of nesting nightjar has been recorded on this site for the first time. This is a very exciting discovery and underlines the value of the work undertaken to help provide additional habitat for this declining species. Reports suggest that 2015 may not be a good year for nightjar in Sherwood Forest, making this news all the more impressive.
In May I achieved one of life’s milestones, my 70th birthday. My nieces decided it would be a good idea to take out a year’s membership of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in my name but they were thwarted on being told that I was already a member - so they made a donation to the Sherwood Forest Restoration Fund in my name.
One of the new fenced habitat areas
Have you had an idea for a challenge linked to our reserves or another aspect of our work? If so, do let us know. Erin McDaid, Editor
www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
© Andy Cope
RESERVES
Out & About A guide to what to look out for on our nature reserves and further afield in the months ahead.
September One of our bittern chicks
Bittern breeding Success at Attenborough is first for county News that bitterns had bred at our Attenborough Nature Reserve was warmly welcomed across the county – here, Sandy Aitken, long-standing volunteer warden at the reserve gives a personal account. The news that bitterns have bred at Attenborough is absolutely fantastic and is the result of work that I started in 2000. I was involved in the design and subsequent planting of these reedbeds, along with Eric Palmer and John Black of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, who supervised the whole project and a number of other volunteers. The work carried out was very challenging with many problems to overcome. It included the bulldozing of hundreds of tonnes of surplus earth into a deep lake and landscaping it to ensure that the young reed seedlings and ‘plugs’ would establish themselves, and develop into the strong mature reeds that you can see today. Reedbeds require continual management, in particular to remove fast growing willow saplings. In recent years this arduous but important work has been undertaken by Graham Bowden, along with staff and volunteers from the Trust.
To see two little fledgling bitterns poking their heads skywards through the reeds here on our doorstep at Attenborough (waiting for mum to arrive with food), has been especially gratifying for all the many local volunteers, and especially so for those who have, at some time or other, have ‘pulled willows out of reedbeds’! A. O. Aitken
Vice Presidents welcome news about bittern success Here are the reactions of two of our Hon. Vice Presidents on hearing the news that bitterns had bred at Attenborough
One of the most important gifts for wildlife enthusiasts is ‘patience’ and it’s paid off handsomely for Attenborough. Well, done to all those who believed breeding would happen in the end and put in such hard work but shame on sceptics, like me, who wanted it to happen, but thought it never would! Another national success for Notts
The restoration and re-creation of reedbeds has many advantages for the environment as they not only help to cleanse polluted waters but they also provide valuable habitats for a vast range of aquatic and marshland species. The bittern, although regularly over-wintering at Attenborough in recent years, has never bred before in Nottinghamshire. It is a species of international conservation concern, and an important ‘flagship’ for the restoration of reed swamp vegetation all over Europe.
John Holmes , BBC Radio Nottingham & East Midlands Today
Amazing news from my old University stomping ground!
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust ‘Match Fund’ success – helping us do more for the county’s wildlife
We also highlighted the need for us to provide a 10% contribution towards all LCF projects and asked that members to consider making an extra donation to our ‘Match Fund’ We are delighted to say that in just a few weeks following the publication of the magazine we had received over £200 in donations meaning we will be able to drawn down a total of over £2000 funds.
October If you go down to the woods this month, you’re sure to find plenty of fungal fruiting bodies, particularly if the weather has been damp. They come in a tremendous range of shapes, sizes and colours. Do you know the edible varieties? If not, look out for local fungal forays or check out the Nottingham Fungi Group website at www.nottsfungigroup.org.uk. Wanting to make some sloe gin for Christmas? Sloes are now starting to stand out on the spiky branches of the blackthorn, as its tatty autumn leaves fall away. Winged tree seeds are now mature, dry and papery and ready to spin away from the parent tree. Look out for the arrival of large flocks of winter thrushes moving slowly southwards. These redwings and fieldfares come from Iceland and Scandinavia, where they will have bred. Flocking greenfinches are amongst the birds now returning to the garden, so top up your seed feeders and peanut dispensers, which will also be enjoyed by the blue tits and other garden birds.
November Mike Dilger, Naturalist and BBC1 The One Show Presenter
In the last issue of Nottinghamshire Wildlife we highlighted the importance of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) as a source of income, especially to support habitat work on our nature reserves.
Summer gradually turns into autumn during September and great changes occur. The leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs start to change, providing a spectacular range of colours. The horse-chestnut also yields up its seeds this month in the form of conkers, which drop to the ground in their spiky green cases. Jays and grey squirrels pick up acorns from under oak trees and stash them in the ground to get them through the harsh winter to come. Certain insects are particularly noticeable at this time of year - crane flies (or daddy long legs) appear in their greatest numbers and seemingly fly in a haphazard and rather inebriated way. The larval stage of this family of insects (there are many species) is known as a leatherjacket. It is a destructive maggot-like larva which feeds on cereal and other roots, but which is an important food source for many birds. On sunny days, look out for large dragonflies patrolling along riverbanks and areas of wetland. They hunt for insects, moving with great agility and speed, darting one way and then the other. Earthworms, beetles, slugs and snails are pursued by hedgehogs with added vigour at this time as they start to build up body reserves for their winter hibernation.
Reserves which we hope will benefit from LCF funding over the next year include Moorbridge Pond and Eakring Meadows SSSI but we have to constantly find our 10% contribution from independent sources, we cannot re-direct existing funding. So if you would like to help us build up our ‘Match Fund’ you can do so by sending a cheque made payable to ‘Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’ to The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, NG1 1EA with a note on the back marked ‘Match Fund’ or by calling the Membership Team on 0115 958 8242 and making a donation over the phone.
November starts with a 'bang'. The fireworks and bonfires of the 5th light up the sky and by now the nights can be bitterly cold. Bonfires can be attractive refuges for hibernating hedgehogs, and you should always check them before they are lit, especially if you have used fallen leaves. Bats enter a state of torpor, but this is not a full hibernation as they will emerge on warm days. Other mammals, such as the badger, have reduced activity in winter. It is also the start of one of winter's highlights - the massing of huge flocks of starlings. In the early evening thousands get together and wheel around the sky in dark masses and chatter and squawk an amazing spectacle to witness. The numbers of waders and wildfowl are increasing so why not visit one of our wetland reserves, or take a walk in a wood, where woodland species are easier to see and the ground is covered in fallen leaves which rustle underfoot? If you see any unexpected or exciting species on our reserves don’t forget to send in details to Michael Walker mwalker@nottswt.co.uk
Thank you Summer and Autumn 2015
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UK UPDATE
Orchards for people When people restore an old orchard, the benefits flow both ways. Emma Websdale went to Herefordshire to find out how
A few years ago this little orchard had fallen into neglect, but today it’s back in business selling juice and cider, thanks to a band of happy, motivated volunteers
“I love keeping the old trees going.” Martin has been a volunteer since 2012
Juice and cider sell locally
After a few weeks, they walk through our gates with proud smiles. That’s the magic
It’s a beautiful spring morning at Davies Meadow in Herefordshire, and the pear blossom is out. Clare is sizing up one of the fruit trees, her pole saw leaning against the trunk. Like her fellow colleagues, she seems completely at peace with her surroundings. Clare is a farmer by profession, but she’s not at work today. She’s here to relax, meet friends and get in contact with nature. “Farming can be really isolating – it’s so nice to enjoy the social life here, and to know that other people like apples!” she says. It’s not just about this year’s cider crop. Clare is also recovering. “Being affected by mental ill health can feel isolating. You feel away from the world, but here you’re connected. I like the whole cycle of these trees. I enjoy finding neglected trees and putting their fruits to good use.”
Volunteers undertake every step of cider making, from pruning to bottling and labelling. The new skills, friendly atmosphere and green surroundings are a huge help. “The change in these people is absolutely massive,” says Laurence. “In the first week, people’s chins are down, and you can tell they’re thinking, ‘Why on earth am I here?’ After a few weeks, the tension in their shoulders has gone and they walk through our gates with shoulders back and proud smiles. That’s the whole magic of it.” Pouring out tea for each of his hard-working volunteers, he smiles proudly. “I have the best job in the world. It’s all about making people happy. How can you not enjoy that?”
Clare is volunteering for Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s Orchard Origins, which aims to improve people’s wellbeing as well as manage some of the county’s most beautiful – and formerly neglected – orchards. Every Friday, the Trust brings together local people and clients from Herefordshire Mind to care for a space that is part fruit crop, part wildlife habitat. “We try to create an environment for people to talk, to feel comfortable and relaxed,” explains Laurence, Orchard Origins manager. “About half of our volunteers are recovering from or managing recognised mental health conditions, but all feel better for being involved.”
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Clare finds the process of restoring old fruit trees hugely beneficial
Spring maintenance; removing crossed branches and checking for blossom damage
Nottinghamshire Wildlife www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
Wildlife needs
UK UPDATE
Willpower
Sometimes I think we all need willpower to keep going! But without a doubt, the support from members and supporters who have left a gift in their wills has meant the Trust has been able to achieve great things and keep going in tough economic times.
Tell your story, find out more We’d like to capture how intimate and important nature is to you.
Share your story at mywildlife.org.uk Learn more about Orchard Origins at orchardorigins.org
'Nature ‘could save the NHS £2.1bn’ Herefordshire is one of many Wildlife Trusts to run a nature-based social enterprise to improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing. Wildlife Trusts in Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Lancashire, London, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Tees Valley, Warwickshire and Yorkshire run similar projects, many in partnership with local NHS Trusts. They are doing so because a huge body of research shows that access to nature has great benefits for people, among them reduced depression, obesity and diabetes. Mental ill health costs the UK £105.2 billion in 2009-2010 (The Centre for Mental Health). One study suggests green therapy could save the NHS £2.1bn a year. This is one reason why The Wildlife Trusts and RSPB are campaigning for a Nature and Wellbeing Act, to put nature at the heart of decisions such as health, housing and education. It would also put wildlife habitats back into the landscape, and reconnect people with nature.
Find out more at wildlifetrusts.org/naturewellbeingact
Take the Skylarks Appeal for example. Thanks not only to donations but also to those people who have left a financial gift in their will, the Trust was able to unlock further funds to secure the land known as Blott’s Pit and carry out the work to extend and restore Skylarks Nature Reserve. Legacies are an important part of the project success story. Whilst we continue the work and development at Skylarks, the Trust has the restoration of Sherwood Forest’s legendary landscape in its sights too. The Sherwood Restoration Fund is already set up and accepting donations so thank you if you have already donated. This is a huge piece of work including education, reserve management and potential land purchase that will be our focus for the next few years. Having this fund set up already to go when larger funding hopefully is released is a far less risky strategy than responding to a quick request for action such as happened at Skylarks. Potentially, income received from gifts in wills during the period of the Sherwood project could go towards this work as well. With over fifty years of the Trust behind us, would you consider how you could carry on the support in the next fifty years? When writing your will, it is important to remember your friends and family but once you have given consideration to the needs of your loved ones, please think of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. The gift in your will, however large or small, could help us to acquire important wildlife sites in the next 50 years, saving them from future development, or help educate another generation of local school children. During September we are once again taking part in "Remember a Charity in your Will Week" which runs between Monday 7 and Sunday 13 September. This year we have the support of a number of local solicitors who are providing their services at special offer prices. Will you become a Living Legend and leave a gift in your will? However large or small, it all helps. Thanks to voluntary income including gifts in wills, every nature reserve is maintained; children & adults are inspired about the natural world; we provide a voice for wildlife across planning and policy so that nature isn’t taken for granted. All of which the Trust couldn’t do without you. Rachel Rutherford – Development Officer
Check out the Trust website for the latest special offers available for you from your local solicitor this ‘Remember a Charity in your Will Week 2015’: www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/support-us/leave-a-legacy Summer and Autumn 2015
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Andrew Pearson
UK NEWS
Giving back to our seas Achieving an ecologically coherent UK network of marine protected areas As an island nation, we haven’t taken care of our seas; despite our seas taking care of us. After centuries of putting our seas under pressure, the marine environment is degraded and we are losing species at an alarming rate. But all is not lost. We can help our seas recover by establishing an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas (MPAs). We are progressing towards that. In Scotland, 30 national sites were designated last year. Northern Ireland has designated its first site and is working to designate more. Wales is protecting inshore waters from scallop dredging and in England, 23 sites have been designated.
However there are still gaps in our network, both geographically, for example in the Irish Sea, and in terms of species (for example, to protect our whales and dolphins). Better protected seas are good for us all. By creating areas safe from damaging activities, the habitats within them can recover – which benefits both wildlife and people.
© Paul Naylor
A spiny seahorse in Studland Bay, Dorset which we hope will also be an MPA in the future
Did you know?
All these MPAs only protect static animals. There are none yet for highly mobile sharks and dolphins.
The new designations will protect habitats such as this reef off Devon
Local News Update
Helping us Defend Nature
Over the past few months Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been working in partnership with around 100 environmental and wildlife groups to try to ensure that a planned review of European wildlife legislation doesn’t undermine vital protection for special places and threatened species. As a result of the Defend Nature campaign which has largely been driven by social media, well over 300,000 people have registered their desire to see the levels of protection retained – a massive number for this type of campaign and clear illustration of the value the British public places on wildlife and natural environment.
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Nottinghamshire Wildlife
The #defendnature campaign is also a great example of the benefit of conservation groups and wildlife charities working together to achieve shared goals. Without strong European level legislation we would not have been able to prevent the destruction of nightjar and woodlark habitat as a result of the construction of a waste incinerator in Sherwood Forest, so it is essential that we maintain this vital layer of protection. Whilst the consultation process is now over, we will continue to apply pressure via other channels. We’ll keep you posted on how the campaign progresses but in the meantime, we’d like to thank everyone who responded and added their voice to the campaign. www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
UK NEWS
English beaver makes history With a slap of its flat tail and a fast paddle to freedom, this beaver was released into the wild this spring on the river Otter. It was an historic moment for the wild colony discovered living in a Devon river and finally given the green light to remain. Now Devon Wildlife Trust will monitor the animals and study what impacts they have on the local area.
The first beaver is returned into the wild
The beaver was hunted to extinction in the 16th century. Its disappearance from the UK meant the loss of the species’ function as a wetland engineer. Beaver activity can improve water quality, create new wetland habitat and even reduce the effects of flooding. Other Wildlife Trusts are working hard to bring back this keystone species, including the Scottish Wildlife Trust which is expecting a decision on the beavers at Knapdale later this year.
More on wildlifetrusts.org/beavers
Prince Harry visits Northumberland’s reds
The Devon beavers were either an escape or unsanctioned release. It now has Government approval.
More forest schools
HRH Prince Harry harboured a desire to see red squirrels in Northumberland ever since trekking to the South Pole with explorer (and Northumberland Wildlife Trust patron) Conrad Dickinson last year to raise money for injured servicemen.
Volunteers needed for bat research
This year the Prince, who planted a Trust flag at the Pole, got his chance. He visited the Haydon Red Squirrel Group and Frankham Woods near Fourstones, where new conservation techniques are helping red squirrels return to the wood.
How do bats use the landscape to roost, forage and commute? Tees Valley Wildlife Trust is beginning a two-year study in East Cleveland to find out. The area is heavily wooded, and important for at least eight of the UK’s 16 bat species.
“It’s tremendous that the Prince found time to support what he sees as a very worthwhile cause. He loves red squirrels,” said Conrad.
Harry tries out a thermal imaging scope used to study the returning reds in Northumberland
Support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery is giving hundreds more city-dwelling schoolchildren regular access to nature with The Wildlife Trusts’ Forest School activities. Trusts in Leicestershire & Rutland, Lancashire and Birmingham & the Black Country have begun giving children the chance to experience the natural world, develop confidence and build relationships with their environment.
The new Forest Schools Leics & Rutland: wildforestschool.org.uk Birmingham & Black Country: bbcwildlife.org.uk/ForestSchools Lancs WT: lancswt.org/forest-schools-manchester
But first the Trust needs volunteers to help survey for these fascinating and long-lived mammals. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t done this kind of work before; training is provided.
Brown long-eared and (top) pipstrelle bats are two of the species in the project area
“We want to build up the pattern of bat distributions across the area to create a unique batscape and help with their conservation,” says Bat Officer Sarah Barry. Thanks to funding from HLF and the Branch Out Fund.
Interested? Contact Sarah on sbarry@teeswildlife.org
Local News Update The Trust recently received a generous donation of £2000 from the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL). In recognition of the donation our Fundraising & Marketing Manager Isabel Greed presented a certificate to Nick Parson, of Browne Jacobson, the current FOIL President.
After a hard days work at the Skylarks Nature Reserve, Katie Last and Ruth Testa joined the Poppy & Pint’s Gareth Aukland to sample ‘Skylarks Reserve’ the latest special beer brewed by Castle Rock Brewery to raise awareness of our sites and to raise funds for our work.
Summer and Autumn 2015
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INSPIRING PEOPLE
Champions of Sherwood
Staff from Forest Holidays raised funds for us during our Garden Party weekend in June.
Wildlife Guardians
update
The support of companies, of whatever size, is vital to enabling us to care effectively for our nature reserves and inspire the next generation through our education programme. Here’s a update on some of the companies who supports us and the work they are enabling us to deliver across the county. Focus on Novozymes Biopharma UK Ltd Novozymes Biopharma UK is the Nottingham-based subsidiary of Novozymes A/S, a global company specialising in the development and application of sustainable industrial biotechnology solutions. Novozymes is a world leader in industrial enzymes and its Nottingham site, with around 100 staff, specialises in the development and production of biopharmaceuticals. Novozymes’ delivers innovative biological solutions to a wide range of industries to facilitate enhanced sustainability performance for both its customers and its own operations. This results in reduced energy and raw materials usage, limiting the environmental impact.
Collaboration between the Trust and Novozymes Novozymes’ involvement with the Trust began in 2008 and since then staff have enthusiastically participated in various Wildlife Trust events including pub quizzes and nature walks. Additional funds have been raised by holding raffles and an annual Christmas Market with Trust gifts for sale. This support allowed the Trust to expand its Blue Butterfly grasslands scheme, launch the Mini Meadows campaign and more recently the Wildlife on Your Doorstep (WOYD) campaign. In addition, Novozymes have sponsored the Trust's “First Steps to Sustainability” award since 2010.
Volunteering days at Kings’ Meadow Various members of staff have also taken part annually in hay-raking at King’s Meadow reserve in The Meadows, close to Novozymes’ two city centre sites. These volunteering days provide great team building opportunities, getting together staff who do not normally work with one another, and help conserve the area for a number of species including the common blue butterfly and the southern marsh orchid.
Company support for our Champions of Sherwood programme Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust's vision for a Living Landscape in Sherwood will be delivered by restoring, recreating and reconnecting wildlife-rich spaces. Having championed the protection and restoration of Sherwood Forest for over 40 years, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has an ambitious long-term vision is for the Sherwood Forest. We are committed to protecting and enhancing the remaining areas of Sherwood's forest and heathland but with key areas of the Forest still under threat, efforts to safeguard the future Sherwood Forest need new investment. Our work in the Sherwood area has been given a real boost thanks to the three companies featured below.
Forest Holidays Forest Holidays, which provides a variety of forest-based holidays at nine UK locations including Sherwood Forest, have signed up to support our Champions campaign for three years. As part of this support the Trust is providing the company with habitat management advice for their site and has also installed a bird seed hopper on the site, enabling guests to get close-up views of some of the area’s bird species. In June, Trust officers Ed Tripp and Andy Lowe ran a Wildlife Week at the Sherwood site to give guests to get closer to wildlife through activities such as an early morning bird walk and mini-beast hunts. These events also helped the Trust gather information to help us advise on future management of the Forest Holidays site.
Volunteers from The Mayborn Group have helped us at sites including Strawberry Hill Heath
Mayborn Group The Mayborn Group is the proud owner of the Tommee Tippee brand, supplying a range of essential feeding, soothing and hygiene products for babies. Their HQ is based in the North East of the UK but they also have a manufacturing site in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire which produces their Sangenic range of products. We would like to congratulate the Mayborn Group on being recognised at the recent Business in the Community (BITC) Awards event at the Athena in Leicester for their volunteering work, much of which is locally associated with supporting the Trust as a Corporate Partner and as a “Champion of Sherwood”. Further details about the group can be found at www.mayborngroup.com
OAKS Restaurant OAKS restaurant and bar on Bromley Place, off Maid Marion Way, opened recently, serving handmade sausages created to their own recipe and chicken, steaks and burgers, flavoured with homemade marinades and sauces.
Speaking about the partnership Kate Denton, Novozymes Regulatory Affairs Manager said:
The 30-strong team will be working with suppliers from across Nottinghamshire to deliver locally sourced food cooked on a custom-built, cast iron grill. This unique way of cooking uses embers of wood sustainably coppiced by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. To celebrate this partnership with the Wildlife Trust, OAKS is the first restaurant ever to become a Champion of Sherwood. Why not try out their unique dining experience for yourself? www.oaksnottingham.co.uk
“Novozymes are very proud of our long-standing partnership with the Wildlife Trust and are delighted to have sponsored the local “First Steps to Sustainability” environmental award for the last 5 years. As a company with concern for the environment at the heart of our business, it is a great opportunity to put this into action within our local community. In addition, our staff members participate enthusiastically in a range of Trust-related activities providing mutual benefits to the charity, Novozymes and Nottingham’s wildlife. A winning situation!”
To find out more about Forest Holidays go to www.forestholidays.co.uk
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Nottinghamshire Wildlife www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
Our Corporate Supporters
Corporate Partners Castle Rock Brewery
Winners announced in Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife on Your Doorstep Awards
CEMEX UK Center Parcs Chinook Sciences Ltd EDF Energy Harworth Estates HSBC Bank Plc Mayborn Group (Tommee Tippee) Novozymes Biopharma UK Ltd Turner & Townsend Walter Harrison & Sons
Wildlife Guardians Autofil Worldwide Ltd Bildurn Ltd Browne Jacobson LLP Broxtowe Borough Council) Capital One DutchTech Ltd East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Forest Holidays - Sherwood Forest Fred Hallam Ltd George & Gagg Ltd
Earlier this year we announced a series of winners in our expanded Wildlife on Your Doorstep Awards. The awards are designed to highlight the efforts of groups, schools and individuals in protecting the county’s wildlife. The awards have been developed with support from a number of our long-term partners including EDF Energy, CEMEX UK, Novozymes Biopharma and Chinook Sciences. A total of seventeen Wildlife on Your Doorstep Awards were made at the AGM’s of our Local Members’ Groups across the county in March and April. The awards, which grew out of our Green Guardians Awards and have a really local focus, fit very well alongside our involvement with the county-wide Nottingham Post Environment Awards. Speaking on behalf of the Wildlife Trust, Head of Communications Erin McDaid said: “We are delighted that our local members and Local Members’ Groups have taken the expanded awards to their hearts. We have had tremendous response with over 40 local nominations for individuals, groups, schools and churches. I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of the winners and their efforts underline just how much people care for the wildlife in our county.” For 2015 "Wildlife on Your Doorstep Awards" were expanded to ensure that people and projects across the county have a chance of recognition and winners were drawn from all corners of the county from The Friends of Woodlands and Coachwood Green in Shireoaks and the North Notts Ringing Group to Brinsley Primary School and Bill Bacon for his work with The Friends of Bingham Linear Park.
Lafarge Tarmac L’Oreal Luxe (UK) Ltd Lovell Beck
INSPIRING PEOPLE
Full list of winners Individuals (Area for which award was made in Brackets): Rosemary McEwen (Newark), Bill Grayson (Retford), Tony Critchley (Broxtowe), Bill Bacon (South Notts), Cllr Stephen Garner (Mansfield &Ashfield) Groups/Projects: Farndon Residents Environmental Group; North Notts Ringing Group, Friends of Woodlands and Coachwood Green, Shireoaks; Gedling Conservation Trust/ Netherfield Wildlife Group; Beeston Wildlife Group; Friends of Kingsmill Reservoir; Friends of Sharphill Wood, West Bridgford/Edwalton. Schools: Brinsley Primary; Edwalton Primary; Richard Bonnington Primary & Nursery School, Arnold; Samworth Church Academy, Mansfield Churchyards: St Marks Church Community Garden, Mansfield.
Get involved
The awards will be relaunched in the Autumn, so keep a look out on our website and in our Members’ email updates for details of how to nominate groups individuals or apply for an award yourself. If you aren’t already signed up to receive our regular newsletters just email membership@nottswt.co.uk At the time of going to print, The Nottingham Post Environment Awards were still open for nominations. For further details visit www.nottinghampost.com
Make Hay Ethical E-Media New Horizons North Midland Construction Plc Nottingham City Council Nottingham Trent University Opticron Optima Graphic Design Consultants Ltd Ransomwood Estates Ltd Siemens Operational Services Speedo International Ltd University of Nottingham XMA Ltd
Corporate Affiliate Plus Aquatic Control Engineering Ltd Hanson UK Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board
Corporate Affiliate Bio Dynamic (UK) Ltd BWB Consulting Ltd
Members Only
Events report
I think it’s really important that we at the Wildlife Trust give our members something special and different to enjoy as part of their membership. That is why I organise and arrange a variety of ‘members only’ events throughout the year so that you, our members, can get a taste of the work that you’re helping to fund, and see the benefits of protecting Nottinghamshire’s wildlife at first hand. Our first event of the year was in April where we welcomed new members to the Idle Valley Nature Reserve to witness the lambing of our grazing Hebridean and Herdwick ewes. This event is always very special for members to witness new life being born, and to get hands-on experience of bottle feeding, as well as seeing newly born lambs being moved into the appropriate pens and having a cuddle! This event will definitely happen again next April so please keep a look out for further details in your Wildlife What’s On guide next spring.
Plans for the rest of the year include a bat watch around Skylarks Nature Reserve and the annual fungal foray led by the Gedling Local Group at Foxcovert Plantation. (See your new look Wildlife What's On guide for details).
In May members also enjoyed the wildlife of ‘Attenborough’s Secret Garden’ with a behind the scenes look at the Delta, a sanctuary area within Attenborough Nature Reserve. Members learnt about the history of this important site and the variety of wildlife that lives there. We enjoyed looking at various fungi, plants and birds, including a great spotted woodpecker.
We will be planning a variety of events for 2016. Whether its birds, fungi or bats that interest you, or if you would just like to experience something new, I urge you to try out one of our special events exclusive to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust members. I guarantee that you will leave feeling even more enthused about Nottinghamshire’s wildlife than you did before!
June saw a wonderful twilight walk in Sherwood Forest spotting the reclusive nightjar, and in the same month Life Members were able to witness at first hand the results of our dormouse reintroduction project in the north of the county – a unique wildlife experience.
Alex Walls – Membership Development Officer
Summer and Autumn 2015
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my spiritual haven
my catwalk
my recovery
my lunch
What’s your wild life?
my daddy time
my calming influence
From a drug-free way to cope with illness to providing jobs and enjoyment, there are hundreds of ways nature matters to people. Why not tell us what it does for you? All these stories have been added to mywildlife.org.uk #MyWildLife Š Photography by Bob Coyle, Gary Dean, David Chapman, Charles Thody, Patrick Jefferies, Jon Hawkins
The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, Nottingham NG1 1EA Tel: 0115 958 8242 Fax: 0115 924 3175 www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
Printed on paper from sustainable forests