Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Newsletter June 2016
Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust
: m a e T e h t M e et
A thought from our Chief Executive Officer...
“Where have all the natural words gone?” Earlier this year, I was staggered to hear that the Oxford Junior Dictionary had removed over 100 words relating to nature and the outdoors, from their latest re-print. Bluebell, thrush, hazel, fungus and kingfisher have all been dropped in favour of chat-room, celebrity, blog, voicemail and database. And it’s not just habitats and species words that have been lost; allotment, spinach, bacon, beetroot and poultry have also disappeared as they are now deemed “of less importance” to our young people. What a stark reminder that we are becoming ever more remote from the natural world in which we live and increasingly more focused on the insular world of technology. I’m not against technology; I do feel that without it we would struggle in many areas of life (I am writing this on a computer and many of you will be reading it on one), but to give it a level of importance over nature in the education of future generations is alarming to me.
Wildlife Trust’s Missing Words Ca mpaign
I am of the age when climbing trees, making mud pies and spending more time outside than indoors during holidays was the norm. Not so now and even on the Isles of Scilly, children appear to be exploring their natural environment less and less.
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www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk
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“Where have all the natural words gone?”...continued Here at the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust we are giving local children the opportunity to connect with nature through a range of activities this year. The first of these was last month when Red Class (3-5 year olds) went to Lower Moors on St Mary’s to follow a trail of 14 of the “missing wild words” with Nikki Banfield our Communications Officer.
Their teacher, Mrs Wild said afterwards;
R ed C la ss at
L owe r M oo rs
“We had such a lovely time, thank you very much Nikki! I was really impressed with how much the children focused...they tried to remember all the things they had learned when we got back! I still think it’s madness that the words have been removed”.
We have loads of wild events planned this summer, helping families and young people to have amazing experiences with nature. Further afield other Wildlife Trust’s are doing the same; in June, “30 Days Wild” will campaign across the UK that no matter where you live – from an urban jungle to a windswept mountain – wildlife and wild places are all around, waiting to be discovered. You can sign up for your free 30 Days Wild pack at our website www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk Find out more about the “Missing Words” and what we’ve been up to for “30 Days Wild” via our Facebook Page and Twitter feed.
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Ranger Team Update
Bridges & Boardwalks & Access to Nature... Since March the Ranger Team have been incredibly busy preparing our Islands for the Summer season and ensuring access to our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is as easy as possible. Much of their work has focussed on path clearance and maintenance on St Agnes, Gugh, St Mary’s, Bryher & St Martin’s as well as many of the uninhabited Islands. With the addition of one of their bigger engineering projects being the installation of the new bridge and boardwalk at Lower Moors on St Mary’s. In the 2015 visitor survey, conducted by Islands’ Partnership, visitors to our Islands were asked to indicate what inspired them to holiday in Scilly; the top five responses were: Scenery = 92% Peace & Quiet = 86% Beaches = 70% Wildlife = 58% History = 32% Managing more than 60% of the Islands it is clear to us that the work we do, allows visitors to access and enjoy the very things that draw them here and as a result it is incredibly important to the Islands’ economy. That’s a huge responsibility for such a small independent local charity but we trust that we more than rise to the challenge each year! Already this year we’ve had some lovely comments from visitors regarding our work to ensure paths are clear and usable, as well as how happy and cheerful our Ranger Team are. One lady commented “It’s so nice to come somewhere and it’s obvious where you’re allowed to walk; in some places we’ve visited one minute you’re following a path and the next it’s just vanished and you have no idea what you’re meant to do!”
Last year the Ranger Team kept 17 miles of permissive paths open across the Islands’ and aim to do the same this year!
To find out more about the newly installed recycled plastic boardwalk and bridge at Lower Moors read the News pieces on our website.
Pic ~ BareFoot Photographer
http://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/news/2016/05/17/boardwalks-and-bridges-and-accessnature
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Top ~ R ed A m ira l fe edin g on hi u m Botto m ~ G reden Ve in ed W hite Ec on T hree Co rn ered L ee k
The Islands’ are still Buzzing... ...but now they’re tweeting & fluttering too!
Spring is well under way and the promise of Summer being just around the corner keeps lulling us, and our wildlife, into a false sense of security. The birds are nesting and locals’ gardens are inundated with fledgling Sparrows, Thrushes, Blackbirds, Starlings and much more; all chasing their tired looking parents around wanting food. The Elm trees have flowered and come into leaf and the hedgerows and garden flowers are blooming; providing much needed fuel for our buzzing and fluttering residents.
Walk past an Echium bush and all you can hear is buzzing; look closely and it is alive with bees of varying sizes and butterflies quietly feeding. It truly is a fantastic time of year to witness ra p h e r oot Ph ot og F re a B ~ s Pic Scilly’s wildlife, be mesmerised by the rainbow of assorted, vibrant colours and sounds and take a walk with nature. Why not support Friends of the Earth and their “Great British Bee Count”, running from 19th May to the 30th June ~ you could even make that your Random Act of Wildness for 30 Days Wild! To find out more about the Great British Bee Count, or take part, follow the link below: https://www.foe.co.uk/page/bee-cause t u la fe edin g va o a n re d n A o n Echiu m
Go Wild! Our Wildlife Safaris and Tresco Walks are now well underway for the season; giving visitors to our Islands the opportunity to find out more about the Trusts work as well as our resident and migrant wildlife. To date the most well attended Wildlife Safari has had about 40 people on and the most well attended Tresco Walk was last weeks which had 36 attendees!
the t u o k C h e cs s e ct ion onr Eve nt we b sit e fot ion ou r i nfo rm a m o re
We’ve had some brilliant feed back to date including this lovely message posted on our FaceBook Page: “Great walk round the northern side of Tresco this morning. Including lousewort, tormentil , flotsam ark and army, 30 days of wildness, Oxford Junior dictionary and eggs and bacon. Amazing!”
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Other news
Community archaeology
The Community Archaeology Group (CAG) trip to Gugh in May was sadly scuppered by weather; however, they are scheduled to visit Tean on the 26th June to carry out some clearance work around the Cottage and Chapel. This is a fantastic opportunity to visit one of our uninhabited Islands, learn more about it’s history and see some of the work that the Ranger Team have carried out this winter. So why not put a note in your diary and join them if you are on the Islands? The March newsletter contained information regarding the work on Tean but just in case you missed it and want to know more before joining the CAG here’s the link again. http://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/news/2016/02/22/teans-teeny-tiny-tenants As events take place outside they are weather dependant and can be subject to change or cancellation at the last minute - to ensure you stay up to date with the CAG events check back to either the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust’s FaceBook Page or “like” the CAG one; details of which are below. For more information about the work that CAG are doing check out their FaceBook Page : www.facebook.com/groups/473127096149620/
Bat Group
Scilly Bat Walks 2016
Each year the Isles of Scilly Bat Group host a programme of Bat Walks throughout the Spring and Summer months; if you want to learn more about Scilly’s batty world, the work of the Isles of Scilly Bat Group and even see some bats in action then why not join them? Date Time Tuesday 21st June 2016 21:35 Thursday 28th July 2016 21:15 Wednesday 24th August 2016 20:25 Wednesday 14th September 2016 19:40 For information about the group as well as locations and costs of walks see www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk select Scilly Wildlife and then Isles of Scilly Bat Group.
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Seabird Recovery Project M a rs h a
ll
On April 1st our Manxies were recorded back from wintering in South America, calling from burrows on St Agnes and Gugh. A summary of the full 2015 seabird survey is now available on our website www.ios-seabirds.org.uk.
Ma nx S
Pic ~ Ed
Seabird Survey Results h ea rwat e
r It showed mixed results for our seabirds. Overall the number of seabirds breeding within the archipelago has declined by almost 10% since the previous survey 9 years ago.
This somewhat rapid rate of loss may well represent a wider issue with the health of our oceans. But at least our project is playing its own part in helping to boost bird numbers. @seabirdrecovery Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery
AONB
Light Pollution in the UK Scilly has a number of Dark Sky Discovery Sites and the primary reason for this is because of its lack of light pollution; however, other places in the country aren’t so lucky.
Port h Hellick und er our sky at night
There is currently a petition to the Government running asking for legislation to be introduced to combat light pollution. Light pollution not only effects us it also effects our wildlife. For more information regarding this check out the link below to our website!
Pic ~ BareFoot Pho
tograp he r
http://www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk/node/3164 @Scilly AONB Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
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Local Businesses supporting their Wildlife Trust The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust is a charity that manages more than 60% of the islands. Looking after footpaths and restoring and maintaining habitats for the benefit of people and Scilly’s wildlife. ?Did you know? Last years beachcleans removed nearly half a ton of rubbish from Scilly’s beaches & coastline.
We’ve had a fantastic response from local businesses this year wanting to support us by having information leaflets, maps and donation boxes on display. We currently have 18 lovely purple donation boxes, complete with “Scilly Facts” and pretty pictures out and about both on the Islands as well as at the various Mainland entry points ~ how many can you spot in your travels? We’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all of our supporters; both resident and visiting and trust that you will continue to see the benefits of the work that we are carrying out both to and for our Island community.
Your donations support this work; helping to ensure it can continue. Why not become a member? It costs less than .60p per week!?
To finish.....
What better way to leave you than with some lovely pictures of where we live and work....
Keep in touch
Pics ~ BareFoot Photograph er
We’d love to hear your feedback about this newsletter or on any topic: 01720 422153
@ScillyWildlife
www.ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk
enquiries@ios-wildlifetrust.org.uk Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, Trenoweth, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, TR21 0NS
Registered charity number 1097807 Registered company number 04726698
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