froglife
Ltd.
Portfolio January 2012
i fe
Ltd.
Froglife Ltd We offer ecological services to the highest professional standards, including habitat surveys, protected species surveys and mitigation, site management plans, and habitat design, creation and restoration.
froglife
Froglife Ltd is an experienced ecological consultancy with an expertise in reptiles and amphibians, offering competitive rates. Our experience includes phase 1 habitat surveys, large translocations and specialist advice for organisations including architects, developers, landowners and planners.
Froglife Ltd is a social enterprise - all profits raised through the consultancy are reinvested in The Froglife Trust, a reptile and amphibian conservation charity creating and restoring habitats and educating future generations about wildlife.
Ltd.
Within this portfolio are examples of some of our work. If you have any questions or would like a quote please contact Kathy Wormald, Director, on 01733 558844 or kathy.wormald@froglife.org.
Mitigation
Site 1, Cambridgeshire This development comprised of approximately 16ha of residential development, approximately 7ha of employment development and included areas of landscape and open space for differing land-uses such as informal recreation. The site contained a number of protected species including species of interest to Froglife. The internationally protected great crested newt Triturus cristatus had been recorded in the small ponds; two species of reptile, grass snake Natrix natrix and common lizard Zootoca vivipara, were recorded on parts of the site on either side of a road. A juvenile grass snake confirmed the presence of a breeding population. Froglife successfully removed all amphibian and reptile species from the site and relocated them to suitable receptor sites. There is a five year monitoring programme for these sites which Froglife has been carrying out since 2008. Working alongside the development phase
Amphibian fencing on site
2
Site 2, Bedfordshire This 106ha site is an unrestored former clay quarry which is partially vegetated. There is a large depression in the middle of the site, as a result of the clay extraction, in which a number of water bodies have formed, two of which are fairly substantial. The topography varies across the site, with relatively steep sides, especially towards the northern and western boundaries. Arable fields lie to the south and east. A Country Park lies adjacent to the western boundary of the site, whilst to the North West is a lake. Approximately 10ha of this land will be developed; these works are planned to take place between February 2011 and March 2014. Map courtesy of Google
This is a large and complex site (see diagram above) requiring the use of all amphibian and reptile trapping methods: bottle trapping, egg searches, netting, buckets, tins, mats and hand searches. Phase 1 of the work has now been completed by Froglife. The work included trapping animals over 30, 60 and 90 day periods and also included carrying out night-time torching to survey ponds for great crested newts. During the peak period of the project Froglife had a team of up to 14 field workers on site.
Reptile tin
Netting for newts
Torching for newts
3
Site 3, Cambridgeshire With the expansion of a residential area, a school also needed to be expanded to deal with the increased number of pupils. The only practical area to expand the school into was the existing wildlife area; the school grounds had a large pond surrounded by a wildlife friendly garden and the pond contained a great crested newt population. Natural England agreed to the expansion on the proviso that two new ponds were created to replace the existing pond. Froglife advised on the best location for the two new ponds to maintain habitat connectivity and then undertook the habitat creation work, ensuring that the mitigation ponds were ready to accept the translocated newts. Froglife then carried out the translocation and continued to monitor the population.
Map courtesy of Google
Site 4, Cambridgeshire This ongoing project is translocating amphibians and reptiles from the site for a new road development to a nearby site. The work is being carried out in stages during appropriate seasons and will continue into 2012.
4
Site 5, Cambridgeshire Froglife surveyed this proposed development area and found a strong population of great crested newts in the pond; we then put together a mitigation strategy. The total area of the site was approximately 1.1ha and the development comprised of five residential dwellings. The site was almost entirely surrounded by a historic brick wall and was covered in grassland with a few solitary fruit trees. Apart from the north and west, the site was surrounded by residential housing areas. To the north there was a mix of woodland and parkland habitats limited by a busy road. The pond was located in an open-access area, close to a school and houses. The neglected nature of the site lured vandals who frequently dumped rubbish into the pond and it was only a matter of time before this pond was seriously damaged by pollution. It was envisaged that the development would improve the ownership of the area, and was welcomed by the Woodland Trust who is leasing and managing the woodland surrounding the pond. Due to the abundance and availability of terrestrial habitats, the mitigation strategy focused on securing and enhancing a spectrum of aquatic habitats. This was important considering the isolated nature of the site and public access. An additional breeding pond was dug, approximately 50m to the east of the existing pond, in a 0.2ha area designated for long grass. Half of the existing pond was cleared of leaf litter, and scrub and trees surrounding the pond were cleared. Logs from the tree clearance were piled up between the wall and northern edge of the pond to provide some additional refuge and to block an undesirable pedestrian access route. Froglife later led on an information campaign for new residents informing them on newt-friendly gardening, pet supervision, and other risks such as traffic, exotic fish and invasive species.
5
Surveying and Mpnitoring One off surveys include:
Crown Lakes, Peterborough: Great crested newt surveys of all ponds
Magna Park business park, Lutterworth: Great crested newt survey
Valiant Square, Upwood: Great crested newt survey
The Old Clay Pit, Bottesford: Great crested newt survey
Priory Park, Huntingdon: Great crested newt survey
Riverside Park, St Neots: Great crested newt survey
Nene Valley Railway (Nene Park Railway Station), Peterborough: Reptile survey
Other surveying and monitoring work (Phase 1 Habitat Surveys, Mitigation Licences (great crested newt), Consultations, Habitat Management Plans):
RAF Molesworth: Mitigation licence
Drayton, Leicester: Ecological assessment
Wellingborough: Phase 1 Habitat Assessment Survey
Since 2008 Froglife has been carrying out monitoring on translocation sites. This is a five year monitoring programme, operating from Spring until Autumn each year.
Stillwells Nature Reserve, Peterborough: Monitoring of reptiles
Kingston Nature Reserve, Peterborough: Monitoring of great crested newts
Crown Lakes Country Park, Peterborough: Monitoring of reptiles
Stanground Lode, Peterborough: Monitoring of reptiles
In addition to these sites Froglife is also carrying out five year monitoring for reptiles in a privately owned nature reserve and for great crested newts passing through amphibian tunnels.
Setting a bottle trap
6
Hand searching for newts
Habitat creation and restoration Froglife has, over the years, gained an enormous amount of experience in the field of habitat creation and restoration. We mainly work on ponds but also put in place suitable terrestrial habitats. To date Froglife has created/restored over 150 ponds in London, Cambridgeshire, Glasgow and North Lanarkshire. We have a team of experts who are able to provide advice on habitat creation, restoration and maintenance. Restoring and extending a pond in Glasgow
New pond in London
Training Froglife offers comprehensive amphibian, reptile and habitat creation/restoration courses. Competent trainees can obtain a great crested newt Licence on completion of the training programme. Froglife also offers bespoke courses for larger groups. Checking under reptile tins
Torching for newts
7
froglife
Ltd.
froglife
Ltd.
Froglife Ltd 2a Flag Business Exchange Vicarage Farm Road Peterborough PE1 5TX 01733 558844 kathy.wormald@froglife.org Supporting The Froglife Trust (registered charity no.1093372 in England & Wales and no.SC041854 in Scotland)