8 minute read
The benefits of wildlife photography
nature How helps us
At Essex Wildlife Trust, we are all about helping nature. It is important, however, to consider how nature helps us.
From walking the pathways of cobbled coastlines to the tune of the sea birds calling out, to getting lost in ancient woodland, noticing the colourful display of flowers while you hear the rustle of little animals in their hidden wilderness, nature nurtures you. Evidence has shown that spending time in nature alleviates stress and provides a much-needed outlet for many of life’s pressures.
Photo: Bethany Ellen Pho tog r ap hy
Alfie Bowen is a 24-year-old wildlife photographer, author and activist living with autism spectrum disorder in East Anglia. We spoke to Alfie, whose passion for wildlife has not only pathed the way for his career but helped him overcome the obstacles he once faced.
Hi Alfie, thanks for speaking to us today! We’d love to know; how and why did you get into wildlife photography?
I first picked up a camera aged 16 as another way to satisfy my life-long obsession with animals - I had grown tired of reading the same books or re-watching television programmes, so I resorted to my mum’s little Lumix compact camera and began to take photographs. My connection with the camera grew as I faced severe bullying at school; it quickly became an outlet for my pent-up emotions. Being out in nature with a camera in my hand became my therapy and my main source of solace.
We love that idea - nature as therapy. What do you think nature has to offer people?
Nature is our shared home and offers us so much. Get out and explore your local patch and you’ll discover so much beauty, it’ll benefit your mental health, and help keep you active. Whether it is catching sight of a soaring swift or watching the tinges of ambers and blacks decorating the red admiral butterfly’s delicate wings as it flutters past, noticing nature can bring people great comfort.
Why do you think it is important that young people connect with nature?
Young people are the future custodians of planet Earth and the creatures that call it home, and so it is vital that young people foster connections to nature and the natural world so that they take better care of our shared home than previous generations have done. We also find ourselves living in a very noisy and chaotic world; connecting with nature can be the perfect antidote to that. Alongside my photography, I campaign passionately around conservation issues and for the equality and acceptance of those with autism and other disabilities – nature has empowered me, and I hope it does the same for other young people.
What advice would you give someone starting out with their own wildlife photography?
I am often asked for my top tips when it comes to photography, and my first answer is always to photograph what you love, because you’ll always photograph best what you know best - whether that be a certain species, or a specific habitat/location. Go and visit your favourite Trust nature reserve and start there! My second piece of advice is to be patient with yourself and don’t give up, it can take hours out in the field to get the results you are looking for, or many days to improve your photography. Remember: to succeed we must first fail.
See more of Alfie’s amazing photographs at his website www.alfiebowen.com or by following him on Instagram @alfiebowen.
Home and garden gifts for summer
Wrendale Designs are an award-winning publisher of greeting cards, stationery and giftware featuring the characterful artwork of artist Hannah Dale. Amongst a love of the outdoors (and the occasional cup of tea) Wrendale Designs pride themselves on producing high quality design-led products which often feature added extra special little touches.
Inspired by the glorious Lincolnshire countryside, Hannah started to paint hares; loving their expressive faces and wonderful personalities. The company has since won five prestigious Henries awards for their greeting cards (the Oscars of the greeting card industry!) and supplies cards and giftware all over the world.
You can purchase items from this beautiful range at all Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Discovery Centres. Find your nearest centre here: www.essexwt.org.uk/visit/ centres
Happy, healthy and hungry to learn.
Welcome to the Nature Nursery. We offer quality childcare for 2-5 year-olds based on learning through nature.
Set in the grounds of Abbotts Hall Nature Discovery Park near Colchester, where children can enjoy both freedom and security, our outdoor nursery is run by early learning experts at Essex Wildlife Trust, the most experienced provider of outdoor education in the county.
June and July open days available
Come along and experience a morning at our outdoor nature nursery. Take a look at our upcoming open days and book a spot:
www.naturenursery.org.uk
Nature Nursery is part of:
At this moment in time, our waters, rivers, oceans and marine places are under threat from global and local pressures. Essex Wildlife Trust has been working hard to breathe life back into the declining seas of our coastline. From surveying seagrass meadows swaying in the shallow shores to using managed realignment projects to create important stretches of saltmarsh habitat, read our latest marine updates here.
Saltmarsh sausages
Colne Point photo: Terry Joyce
Surveying the saltmarsh ‘sausages’
Our exciting Saltmarsh Restoration Project in partnership with the Environment Agency began in 2018. Since then, we have been evaluating the success of using the coir roll structures (nicknamed sausages due to their appearance) through a combination of research with the University of Essex, including drone flights, mapping and data analysis.
Several years on, the ‘sausages’ are decorated by an abundance of vegetation and sediment. Both findings are essential because the roots of the growing plants help stabilise the marsh and, importantly, they lock in carbon for hundreds of years. This is a positive step, and although more data is needed to definitively measure success, our initial findings provide a solid baseline to springboard further research, establish future targets and, ultimately, introduce this restoration on a more ambitious scale.
Nature-based solution projects are key in our combat against the climate emergency, helping nature and people become more resilient in the face of our changing climate. The findings of this project have been brought together to create a ‘Saltmarsh Restoration Project Toolkit’ , designed for practitioners and those considering different options for saltmarsh restoration. The Trust will also conduct further research with the University of Essex this summer to continue measuring the project.
Managed realignments creating fish nurseries
This autumn recognises the 20-year anniversary of the managed realignment project being created at Abbotts Hall. The project is not only a flood risk management measure and a boost to carbon capturing habitat, but also an essential underwater habitat for fish. Our recent surveys revealed the habitat is acting as an important fish nursery ground, alongside providing vital corridors for migratory species.
Saltmarshes provide intertidal areas of refuge and feeding habitats for juvenile fish. The habitat provides cover from predators and fish use the ebb and flow of the tide to remain hidden, without using much energy. Species benefitting include common goby, European eel, sea bass, herring, and thin-lipped grey mullet. Alongside fish, invertebrates like shore crab, comb jelly, brown shrimp and prawn were discovered nestled within the intertidal zone.
Save our seagrass
With the ability to soak up carbon, provide long stretches of grassy green shelter for mystical marine life and be an energy-filled food source for others, seagrass is a marine superhero. Essex’s 350-mile-long coastline has plenty of shallow coastal areas where our most common seagrass species, Dwarf eelgrass (Zostera noltei), can soak up the sun’s rays. Seagrass also helps to filter pollutants in the water and reduce coastal erosion, slowing down the powerful waves that crash upon our coast.
Essex Wildlife Trust launched the Essex Seagrass Project last year, to protect and restore seagrass meadows and inform future management in Essex. Part of this project will deliver the Natural England led LIFE Recreational REMEDIES project, which focuses on how sensitive seabed habitats are impacted by recreational activities.
LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES (LIFE18 NAT/ UK/000039) is financially supported by LIFE, a financial instrument of the European Commission. In the Thames and Stour estuaries, the Essex Seagrass Project is kindly supported by The AIM Foundation.
The Essex Seagrass Project focuses on current, historic and potential seagrass areas, including off Two Tree Island, St Lawrence and Wrabness. Five ways you can help protect seagrass:
1 2 3 4 5
Know what it is Bishops Stortford and why it’s so important
Know where it is
Harlow
avoid anchoring in seagrass
areas Epping and minimise disturbance from anchoring and mooring. Loughton avoid trampling and other Brentwood activities that Havering disturb the
seagrass Spread the word
Haverhill
Sudbury
Suffolk
Braintree
Witham
Chelmsford
Maldon
Colchester
St Lawrence
Basildon
Leigh-on-Sea Foulness Island
Canvey Island
Southend -on-Sea
Seine mullet
European eel
Sea hare photo: Paul Naylor
Hermit crab photo: Paul Naylor
Wrabness Harwich
Walton-on-the-Naze
Clacton-on-Sea
