Volunteer News The latest news and highlights for the Volunteers of Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust
SPOTLIGHT FEATURE
Spotlight On...
Lindsay-Anne Heald & Russell Parry In each issue we will feature a 'Spotlight' on one of our volunteers. In this issue two of our volunteers, Lindsay-Anne Heald & Russell Parry, talk about their passion for botany, urban recording, and their involvement with the Nextdoor Nature project
Russell & Lindsay-Anne leading a recent urban botany walk across Leicester city
SPOTLIGHT FEATURE
Volunteering for the LRWT has created a fantastic opportunity to share our passion for plants and the natural world with a wide audience of nature-loving people. It is really inspiring to have the support of a large organisation. Botany as a subject is rarely taught in schools, but knowledge of plants can bring so many benefits, physical and mental. The LRWT has created a sharing environment where skills and knowledge that are missing in our school and adult life, are given a much valued space. Lindsay-Anne and I set aside a lot of time to investigate our local vascular plants. We’re particularly fascinated by those that, in various ways, manage to find a niche to flourish alongside us in our City and towns. We record every such species that we find in a given area – either a street or a monad, and this information builds up to give a picture of a plant’s frequency and habit. So far in the last 12 months we have recorded almost 800 different taxa, some really common like Dandelion and others just starting to settle in here, like Jersey Cudweed. There are always some fun surprises to be found, like woodland plants growing in a busy pavement, tomatoes growing in a wall or, a particular favourite; Hart’s Tongue Fern growing in a drain. Looking at old plant records we can see the amazing ways and rates at which our county’s urban flora is changing. Urban Botany Walk
We first met Fee Worton (LWRT’s Nextdoor Nature Community Officer) one chilly winter’s day in Leicester’s Abbey Park to show her some of the wild plants that have made the park their home, and then to communicate our enthusiasm for them while warming up in the park café with mugs of tea. She invited us to showcase some of Leicester’s wild plants as a subject for a college student film-making project and then, with her help and organisational backing from Leicester City Council, we ran a guided wild plant identification tour of a small area of the city. One of the most enjoyable things about volunteering is seeing people’s amazement and wonder at the variety of plants growing ‘on their doorsteps’. We believe that if people learn to see and name their wild plant neighbours it will help them feel more connected to their environment. To quote Helen Keller: “The more I handled things and learned their names and uses, the more joyous and confident grew my kinship with the rest of the world”. An appreciation of the beauty and resilience of our wild plant companions will also hopefully discourage the powers that be from being too free with the ‘herbicide trigger’. Sometimes we feel that we are ‘preaching to the converted’, but plants are absolutely essential to all animal life on this precious planet, and the more of us that can enjoy and cherish them, the more chance we and they have of a sustainable future.
Redwood Tree in Belgrave Cemetery
NEWS & UPDATES
Joe Davis leading the Big Wild Walk in Cherry Wood
NEWS & UPDATES
International Volunteers Day 5th December The 5th December will mark International Volunteers Day so this is the perfect opportunity to say a massive thank you to all our amazing volunteers. Volunteers play a vital role in the work of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. They are the backbone of our organisation and without them we simply could not deliver our essential work for wildlife. Each volunteer brings with them knowledge and enthusiasm which really makes a difference to our work. We have so many incredible volunteers whether out in the field or in the office helping with administration roles, even to those who share their wonderful stories and photos with us on social media.
Volunteers at Narborough Bog stopping for a well earned tea break
We really hope you are enjoying your time volunteering with us. If you are then perhaps you could mention it to your friends, family, and colleagues. Volunteering can be a great way for people to get involved, socialise, and meet new people. As a volunteer, you are helping to protect threatened wildlife, have fun, meet people who share your interests - and benefit from feeling happier, healthier and more connected to nature. Even if they might not be able to get involved in person, anyone who shares a story or likes a photo, helps spread the word about what we do.
Big Wild Walk The 16th – 30th October was the national Big Wild Walk. This is an annual fundraising challenge set by the whole Wildlife Trust which encourages people to run, cycle, walk or roll, while fundraising to protect the wildlife you love. There was something for everyone, including a hedgehog walk for children, and this was a fantastic way to get out and about in the autumn whilst raising money. As our way of taking part, we were joined over at the VTC by our friends at the Melton Building Society and Joe Davis led us on a walk around Hambleton Peninsula. Rob Persani from Rutland and Stamford Sound also joined us for a feature on the radio and was able to talk to staff from both organisations. We were treated to the most glorious autumn’s afternoon and really enjoyed our walk around the peninsula.
Rutland Water from Hambleton village, taken during the Big Wild Walk
NEWS & UPDATES
Courses for the new year Are you interested in learning about the ancient art of hedgelaying? Do you want to know how to lay throughstones correctly? Would you like to try your hand at art whilst connecting with nature? The dates for our courses for 2024 have been released and you can now book your place for our hedgelaying, dry stone wall, and botanical art courses. These are 2-day courses that take place in Rutland and they offer the chance to get hands on whilst learning about something interesting. Previous attendees have said what an amazing time they have had, and they really enjoyed joining us. Head over to our events page on our website for all the details and to book on. Try your hand at hedgelaying - book onto our courses for 2024 now
World Mental Health Day Tuesday 10th October was World Mental Health Day and all the staff at LRWT had the opportunity stop what they were doing and spend an hour so that we could come together to talk and challenge mental health stigma. We were treated to cake, coffee, and a chance to chat about how we are feeling and things that make us happy or sad. Talking a little more openly about our struggles might mean a whole lot of difference to someone within our workplace community and this was a great thing to be able to do. A massive thank you to Fee Worton for organizing this, and to everyone who baked delicious cakes and treats for us to enjoy as we talked.
Cake and a chance to chat on World Mental Health Day
NEWS & UPDATES
Fee Worton filming in Begrrave, part of the Nextdoor Nature project
Fee Worton, Jeein Hong, Helen Ball, and Karen Pollard on World Mental Health Day
Dry stone walling - book onto our courses for 2024 now
Cows at Charnwood Lodge - Help with our Wild about reserves appeal
NEWS & UPDATES Nextdoor Nature Film In our last Volunteer Newsletter, community organiser, Fee Worton, talked about the Nextdoor Nature project and the partnership with Belgrave Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Association (BNCHA). This partnership has led to the creation of a community garden in the centre of Leicester, and this was a feature of a recent film created by the Wildlife Trust. The film features Fee and BNCHA member engagement officer Rupal Rajani talking about the project and how people can get involved. They also talk to other volunteers about how they are involved and the benefits they have seen. The full film can be found on the Wildlife Trust YouTube channel, as well as the LRWT social media accounts. We hope that this video inspires other groups and communities to come together and create their own wild green spaces.
Bulb planting - Nextdoor Nature Film
Wild about reserves appeal Our Wild About Our Reserves appeal has been launched and we are hoping you can help with our appeal. We are looking to raise £100,000 to help ensure the wild spaces of Leicestershire and Rutland will be enjoyed by everyone for years to come. We have ambitious plans for our reserves across the two counties and if you would like to see what this money will help towards please visit our website For example, the creation of a new pond, at a cost of £2,000, would help increase biodiversity across the site at Altar Stones. £6,000 is needed for a new Tern Raft, creating safe conditions for breeding Common Terns and Black Headed Gulls. £1,500 is needed to construct new steps in the Geology and Valley areas of Ketton Quarry. This year your support will have an extra impact with matched funding! Thanks to the generosity of one of our donors, all gifts to the Wild About Our Reserves Appeal will automatically be doubled until we reach our £100,000 target. So you can double your donation at no extra cost to you.
Muddy steps at Ketton Quarry - Help with our Wild about reserves appeal
NEWS & UPDATES Practical reserve management for East Reserves Could you help us maintain our beautiful reserves across the East of Leicestershire and Rutland? Reserve officers Sarah Bedford & Juliette Colaço are looking for volunteers to help them manage reserves such as Ketton Quarry, Launde Park Wood, Priors Coppice, and Great Merrible Wood. Tasks include scrub clearance, mowing and raking, hedge cutting, fence repairs/installation, gate installation, and more. No previous skills are required, but please note that tasks are undertaken in remote places with no facilities and the terrain can often be challenging. Any training required will be given in situ, or volunteers will be provided with adequate in-house or external training where appropriate, before using equipment.
Volunteers moving and raking at Bloody Oaks Quarry - One of our East Reserves
Work parties for the east reserves normally take place on Monday, Thursday, Friday and are usually 5 hours long (9.30-2.30 or 10-3 depending on site location). If you are interested in joining the volunteer team, or if you have any questions, then please get in contact volunteering@lrwt.org.uk
Team Wilder – Pin your actions for nature Do you want to show what you are doing for nature? You can map your actions on our website and let us know the things you have been doing. This could be your own action, something you did as part of a community group, or even something you might have done in your workplace. Plot your action on our map and tell us how you are acting for wildlife by choosing your pin from the key. Tell us your action and the area you live by filling in our form and your pin will instantly be dropped onto our map, helping us to show a Wilder Leicestershire and Rutland for everyone! Head over to https://www.lrwt.org.uk/teamwilder and get involved.
Team Wilder - Map your Wild Actions
NEWS & UPDATES
East Reserves Officers Juliette Colaco and Sarah Bedford
NEWS & UPDATES
Photography Permissions We do hope you are enjoying reading our volunteer newsletters. They have been coming out bi-monthly and this is the 5th edition since we started putting these together back in April.
Matt Scase and the Gardening Group at AWBC
The newsletter is filled with pictures that show the wide range of activities and groups that take place within the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. We love seeing all our volunteers taking part in activities and equally love sharing these pictures in our newsletters, on our website, or on our social media accounts. We do however understand if you do not wish for your picture to be taken and shared publicly. If this is the case then please let a member of staff know before each volunteer session begins. That way the members of staff will be able to acknowledge this and make sure that they do not take any pictures of you.
Sarah Bedford and the volunteer team raking at Great Merrible Wood
JOAN BRADY GARDENING GROUP
Migrant Hawker Dragonfly
JOAN BRADY GARDENING GROUP
Joan Brady - Lead Volunteer for LRWT Gardening Group
Our Wildlife Gardens
Gardening Group at AWBC in Egleton
Many of you will know the wildlife garden by the entrance to AWBC at Egleton, but have you wondered about the what and why of what the gardening team does? The garden was first established in the early days of the reserve, and has evolved considerably over the years, now including a huge range of lovely native wildflowers, and provides important habitat for many invertebrates. During the Covid hiatus it became very overgrown, but in the last two years we have expanded the team of gardeners and now have a lovely enthusiastic group who have already done a great job of renovation, this summer the garden has looked the best I’ve ever seen it. All wildflowers and grasses have their place in nature, but for our garden, some are too invasive – for example, couch grass and docks will overwhelm the flowers which are more beneficial for pollinators, so renovation work involves removing them, and keeping the areas around the picnic tables and paths clear of stinging nettles – there are plenty of out-of-the-way places in the garden area where nettles can make their important contribution to the ecosystem! An innovation in 2017 was the creation of the “Gabion Bed”, which provides a seating area, and which showcases a few of the (non-native) garden plants which people can use to encourage pollinators in their own gardens. We needed special permission from Natural England to plant these garden hybrids, as the SSSI status of the reserve means that they cannot be planted elsewhere in the garden.
Two male Brimstone butterflies on a teasel plant
JOAN BRADY GARDENING GROUP
Highlights of the garden include Hemp Agrimony, beloved by butterflies, Small Teasel (tall, but with small white flower-heads), Clustered Bellflower (used by the Small Scissor Bee, Chelostoma campanularum), and in the Gabion bed, the shrubby winter-flowering honeysuckle, which provides nectar for Bumblebees during the winter and early spring. Among the trees, we have Spindle, and (behind the picnic tables) Alder Buckthorn, whose leaves are the food plant for the caterpillars of the Brimstone butterfly. Overwinter we leave most of the summer growth, the dead stems provide shelter for wildlife.
Tim Sexton and the gardening group in Merry’s Meadows
An important new project for the gardening team concerns Egleton Meadows, which needs enrichment by improving the variety of wildflowers. In early July we paid a visit to Merry’s Meadows with Tim Sexton, who showed us the target species, and we were able to collect seed which was already ripe. Some of the seed is being used by team members at home to grow plug plants, to be planted out next spring, other plants will be grown as stock plants in an area of the garden at AWBC, from which we can harvest more seed, while the largest part of the seed has already been sown in two of the meadows. It’s an ongoing project which will last several years, next summer we will hope to collect seed of several later-flowering species. An entertaining aside, is that for growing the seed we need to use soil collected on the reserve – mole-hill soil has proved to be ideal – easy to collect, and of a lovely fine texture just right for seed-sowing! The gardening group are currently at full capacity, but if you are interested in joining the groups waiting list then please contact Helen Fairhead hfairhead@lrwt.org.uk
Two Small Scissor Bees on a Clustered Bellflower
JOAN BRADY GARDENING GROUP
Hemp Agrimony, Agrimony, Field Scabious, and Perforate St John's Wort at the front of the AWBC in Egleton
STAFF UPDATES
Tim Sexton, Katie Jobbins, Beth Fox, Joe Davis, & Sarah Bedford - Ketton Quarry
STAFF UPDATES
Sarah Bedford - Senior Reserves Officer
How does it feel to be a volunteer?
Beth Fox & Katie Jobbins - Ketton Quarry
As a team, we had been saying for some time that we should get out and do some work on each other’s patch, and Juliette and I jumped at the opportunity of some free labour for the East Team and to show them how it feels to be a habitat volunteer for the day. Some might say the date was picked deliberately… as some of the Reserves Team gathered on an unlucky and soggy Friday 13th in October. Thankfully, the promise of biscuits and good banter was enough to persuade them into their trucks and we headed off to Ketton Quarry Nature Reserve. What else could we choose but scrub removal? As our ‘real’ habitat volunteers will already know, thanks to endless task days dedicated to this job, it is a task suited to only the gnarliest of individuals: fraught with the danger of scratches, tense with the frustration of snapped roots and tingling with the potential glory of being awarded the recognition of having pulled out the biggest specimen! Following feedback from a representative at Butterfly Conservation who recently examined the site at Ketton and encouraged us to continue tackling scrub there, we set to work with tree poppers. Some of the team had never used the tools before so after a demonstration, they learned the joys of teasing out young scrub.
Glow worm larva - Jim Higham
STAFF UPDATES
The reserve is a result of centuries of limestone quarry activity and as such, it is excellent calcareous grassland habitat. Reptiles (adders in particular), scarce butterflies such as the grizzled and dingy skipper, glow worms and a variety of wildflowers can be found in abundance during the summer months, providing we continue to control the encroaching aggressive species. The team did an excellent job at nibbling away at species such as guelder rose, hawthorn, blackthorn and willow in the rocky areas in the paddocks, and we will continue to build on their efforts in the coming winter months.
Tim Sexton & Joe Davis - Ketton Quarry
Of course, you cannot take Species and Recording Officer, Tim Sexton anywhere without him upending a rock and finding something exciting. Sure enough, part way through the morning he shouted “glow worm!” at the top of his lungs and showed us all a female he had discovered. This is excellent news at the trust continues to plot and understand the presence of this species across our sites. He also found megabunus diadema (a harvestman species with incredibly long “eyelashes”!) and our Nature Reserves Manager Joe Davis disturbed a snoozing common lizard. Not even all of this excitement could drown out the rumble of both bellies and thunder and with lunchtime approaching, we packed away our tools as the skies threatened heavy rain. Big thanks to colleagues in the Reserves Team. After a few very productive hours at Ketton, they have a newfound appreciation of a day in the life of a LRWT habitat volunteer!
Harvestman (megabunus diadema) - Tim Sexton
STAFF UPDATES
Common hawthorn at Tilton Cutting
STAFF UPDATES
George Smith, Libby Smith, & Laura Brady
STAFF UPDATES
Laura Brady - Engagement Manager - Lyndon
With Autumn in full swing, and Christmas already hitting the shops, you know it won't be long until frosty mornings are back again, and I'm suddenly grateful for how much warmer the VTC is compared to Lyndon! As many of you will know, Lyndon Visitor Centre is now closed for the winter months, with access to the Nature Reserve still available through the side gates. There is still plenty to see at Lyndon if you do get the opportunity, and I'm still getting reports of otters being spotted from the hides down to Manton Bay! They still hide from me on every visit though! Libby Smith
I just wanted to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Libby and George, whose dedication and hard work have been instrumental in making Lyndon a warm and welcoming place. Their contributions will leave a lasting impact, and I'm sure you will join me in wishing them all the best in their future endeavours. I am pleased to say that the Osprey Winter Work Party are already in full swing, tirelessly preparing the reserve at Lyndon for the upcoming year. The team work together on crucial practical work, ensuring the site is safe and ready to welcome visitors once again. We will look forward to reconnecting with you all in the Spring, as we reopen our doors with renewed energy and enthusiasm, and of course plenty of coffee and cake! Thank you again for all your ongoing support and commitment to our shared cause.
George Smith
STAFF UPDATES
Gorse removal at Croft pasture
Gorse removal at Croft pasture
Gorse removal at Croft pasture
Gorse removal at Croft pasture
STAFF UPDATES
Sophia Attwood-Clarke - Reserves Officer
The Western reserves volunteers have been busy at Dimminsdale, Croft Pasture and Narborough Bog since the last update. We first joined forces with the National Trust volunteers one soggy Tuesday to replace broken steps and a gate post and improve access in the woodland at Dimminsdale. Natural England identified willow encroachment as the salient threat/pressure to the neutral grassland at Narborough Bog. Over the course of a couple of sessions here, our volunteers completely removed the willows and their roots using mattocks and other hand tools, meaning no herbicide was required. They also knocked back patches of scrub which had expanded onto the grassland. Sophia Attwood-Clarke willow coppicing Bittern hide at Narborough reedbed - before Bog
The extent of the acid grassland at Croft is less than previously recorded, as gorse and course grasses are taking over. Within several weeks of a successful first session here removing the gorse, Sheep's sorrel was abundant in its place. The remaining gorse in the priority area was removed, deposited over the cliff using a tarpaulin shoot and burnt at an agreed fire site below. We mow a fifth of Narborough Bog’s reed bed on rotation each year. Our volunteers spent two days clearing up after the powerscythe, raking and dragging the cut reed off the reed bed. The willow edge was coppiced and the brash was stacked in the wooded area adjacent to the reed bed. Moving wet reed is no easy feat and we were a little mud embossed by the end of both days, but hell yes we got the job done! You never cease to amaze me, team. Thank you for your time, energy and ambition. We are a very lucky reserves team to have such an incredible volunteer work force.
Step repairs at Dimminsdale
STAFF UPDATES
Brash human chain at Narborough Bog
Willow coppicing at Narborough Bog
Mowing a fifth of the reed bed at Narborough Bog
Narborough Bog - After the willow regen removal
STAFF UPDATES
Maddy Gage, Nusrat Naqvi, Jeein Hong, & Georgina Boonham
Hello from the Finance & Support Services Team - Georgina, Jeein, Maddy, Nusrat, Azrin & Karen
We thought that it would be great to introduce you to us all, as we are a bit behind the scenes. Our Team look after every receipt, donation, grant, subscription and invoice receipt. We process every bill and associated payment, refunds, HMRC PAYE and VAT and even salaries. We take care of all the utilities for all the buildings and nature reserves, the vehicles and the IT phones and mobiles, HR and salaries We create the budgets, the forecast and the year-end work for the annual accounts. Here is a little introduction to the Team Hello I am Georgina, Finance & Support Services Manager I have worked for the Trust for the past 23 years, starting with just myself in the team of 2 admin staff. When I first started with the Trust I wondered how I would fill my part-time hours, now I work full time plus extra hours and with a team of 5, please let them introduce themselves... Hello I am Jeein, Finance Officer I started as a volunteer helping with membership and admin in 2012 and a couple of years later, I joined the Trust as Finance Assistant. I am very proud working with brilliant people who care and are so passionate about nature. The generosity and kindness from our volunteers and public is what make us keep going strong! Hey I’m Maddy, Management Support Officer I started out volunteering with the Osprey Project and the bird and butterfly surveys in March 2022. When this post became available a year later I jumped at the chance to join the team. As a bit of a newbie I am still ‘learning the ropes’ but I am very much enjoying working for LRWT. Hello, I’m Nusrat, Senior Finance Officer I started with LRWT just last month and so far have really enjoyed learning about all the amazing things everyone does. I hope to possibly join in with some outdoor activities (when the weather starts warming up that is, so next year!) I’m looking forward to working with you all to make our behind the scenes as robust as possible :) Karen and Azrin Azrin is our Full-time HR Officer, but presently is on maternity after giving birth to a lovely little boy, so Karen Pollard is presently covering this post part-time until March 2024
STAFF UPDATES Matt Heaver - Reserve Officer
Hello everyone, it has been a busy time on the reserve as we move from summer surveying and infrastructure repairs, into the autumn and winter work, which usually involves me using a chainsaw somewhere on the reserve. Sometimes though, it is nice to take a step back and appreciate the reserve we all work on. Much of the time it is head down and cracking on with habitat management at this time of year, but I wanted to share a few highlights while out around Rutland Water recently.
Short-Eared Owl - Danny Green/2020VISION
The most recent highlight was while teaching our Trainee’s to use the tractor-mounted post driver on our wet meadow before the cows were moved back into the area. Beth and AJ are quick learners and picked up the process well and that left me in the tractor cab to get into position and activate the hydraulics. On one such manoeuvre, I spotted a shape in the sky that looked a lot like an Owl. We immediately stopped work and watched the bird come closer and to our delight, it turned out to be a Short-eared Owl. It passed over close to us and just to add to the excitement, a Peregrine appeared and proceeded to mob the Owl as it flew overhead. Short-eared Owls used to be regular winter visitors to Rutland Water but for reasons unknown, their visits are now far more sporadic. A couple of weeks prior to this sighting, hundreds of Owls were seen arriving from Scandinavia along the East coast so it is likely that this bird at Rutland Water was part of that influx. The wet meadow has also proven an excellent place for finch movements recently, with lots of Chaffinches and Siskins calling as they flew over our volunteer work parties while completing the fencing. I was also lucky enough to hear a Brambling fly over too. It’s not all about our winter birds though as a late Swallow was spotted near to the VTC on 31st October. It just goes to show, that whatever you are doing and wherever you are working, it is always worth looking up; you never know what wildlife spectacle might occur. Many thanks to all our volunteers over the last year. The work party days are always the highlight of my week and we couldn’t do what we do without every single one of you.
Willow coppicing on the shore of Rutland Water
STAFF UPDATES
Lagoon 6 wildflower meadow - preparing the seedbed
STAFF UPDATES
Paul Trevor - Senior Reserve Officer
Hi Folks, Well, I can certainly say that I’ve hit the ground running during my first month or so as Senior Reserve Officer at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. This was always going to be the case due to the fact that we have such an extensive area of land to manage, but also as I previously worked with the team between 2017-2022, I don’t get the usual period of grace whilst I get to know the site.
Lagoon 6 wildflower meadow sowing
Thankfully I’ve had such a warm welcome from the volunteers. They really are one of the sites biggest assets and they were a significant reason for attracting me back to my new role. However, I do seem to be getting a bit of stick/getting a reputation as a fair weather conservationist because my increased administrative duties seem to coincide with rainy days. I can assure you that this is just a coincidence. I’ve also been pleased to inherit a new team of staff and trainees who have really impressed me so far. It’s reassuring to have such a capable and enthusiastic team to work with in Matt, Katie, AJ and Beth. I’m particularly excited to see what we can achieve over the coming years and have started working with Joe Davis (Head of Nature Reserves) and Tim Sexton (Senior Species and Recording Officer) to develop a vision for the site and some really interesting projects.
Bittern hide reedbed - mowing
STAFF UPDATES
Since my arrival me and the team have been busy with our regular work looking after our range of habitats. We’ve been mowing meadows, cutting the islands on the lagoons, fencing, managing ponds, managing shoreline willows, starting some of our woodland management and looking after livestock. Two other tasks I’ve been working on have been the wildflower meadow creation around lagoon 6 and some reedbed management in front of bittern hide.
Bittern hide reedbed - before
The lagoon 6 wildflower meadow creation has been made possible by a very generous donation and has enabled us to bring a boost to the species diversity of our grasslands around lagoon 6. The recent work has involved cutting and removing the recent growth, scarifying the ground, preparing the seedbed and sowing a specific wildflower meadow seed mix. By next spring/summer we will hopefully see a wonderful flush of wildflowers which we can continue to enhance over the coming years. We will also be working on creating some bee banks to provide nesting habitat for some of the pollinators which the new habitat will attract. The reedbed in front of Bittern hide is managed not only to keep the reedbed healthy and to prevent succession into wet woodland, but also to enable better viewing of the wetland features from the hide. This really helps when it comes to survey work such as the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) and means we can gather more accurate numbers of birds and data to analyse. The task of mowing it can be pretty tough at times as your orientation can be completely thrown by the fact that you can’t see any reference points from inside the 7ft high reedbed. And hats off to the volunteers for working on one of the most challenging terrains we have – very wet underfoot and particularly tricky to walk across reed stubble whilst carrying a huge pile of reeds on a pitchfork. I’ve still got plenty of people I need to meet and catchup with, but hopefully I will get to see as many of you as I can over the next few weeks and months. In the meantime, keep up the fantastic work and enjoy all our fantastic reserves.
Bittern hide reedbed - after
STAFF UPDATES
Bramble cutting Mountsorrel and Rothley Marshes
Tree work at Ulverscroft
Bramble cutting Mountsorrel and Rothley Marshes
Willow pollarding at Cossington Meadows
STAFF UPDATES Chris Hill - Reserve Officer
We were at LBM on Tuesday October 3rd where the volunteers helped me with an old mature crack willow that had finally collapsed crushing a fence. It was imperative that we took to the weight off the fence before it fell further and enabled the cattle to escape. It was a lovely sunny day only spoilt a little by me losing a nut that had fallen off my chainsaw. Some of the volunteers would like to return with metal detectors to try and find it but I said I would buy one off ebay, which I did that evening. I bought a pack of six for about a fiver. We had a homemade fruit cake but somebody pointed out that it had green bits in and was probably courgette cake. Anyway, it turned out there had been a mix up in the freezer and I had taken one of Prue Crowleys courgette cakes made for a recent MacMillan coffee morning. How we all laughed. Fallen tree at Loughborough Big Meadow
Wednesday 11th saw us all at Mountsorrel and Rothley Marshes cutting back the brambles that are determined to take over the nature reserve. They make great habitat but have a tendency to grow towards areas that we want to keep open and clear. Tuesday 17th was our first day in Brook Wood at Cossington Meadows for a number of years. Due to a damp summer, the willows grew like crazy so a bit of pollarding was the order of the day. The footpath was in great danger of becoming engulfed in darkness. We had the weather on our side and we were working under blue skies. Our final day of the month, 24th October, was spent undertaking some general maintenance at Tom Longs Meadow. It isn’t really a meadow anymore. Wet woodland would be a more apt description. It’s quite a challenging reserve to work on as it is essentially a swamp but it’s made more bearable by the praise we receive from the passing Quorn residents. One of which brought us 2 packs of ginger nuts, expensive ones not the cheaper end of the market. We were supposed to be erecting two new gates but after heavy rain overnight, the holes for the gate posts would fill immediately with groundwater.
Volunteer team at Tom Long's Nature Reserve
STAFF UPDATES
Beth Fox - Trainee Reserve Officer
Time has been flying by and we're now just over three months into our traineeship. I really have enjoyed every minute! It has been great meeting everybody, and I feel very grateful for how welcoming everyone has been, both staff and volunteers.
Beth feeding the sheep at Rutland Water
There have been many new opportunities thrown at me, from getting into the hard graft of habitat management, taking groups badger watching, dry stone walling, driving tractors, livestock care (and learning the fine art of sheep wrestling!), various 'expeditions' out to see a rare bird that has flown in or a fungi that has sprung up in a car park, to glow worm hunting at midnight! Particular highlights for me have been learning to ring my first bird (a blackcap), which is always such an amazing experience to be up this close to birds, and getting to take the boat out onto the lagoon to cut back the islands! These have all been invaluable experiences where I have learnt so much already, and I'm very excited about all that is coming up and around the corner!
Supplies in the boat on lagoon 1 at Rutland Water
STAFF UPDATES
AJ Meakin - Trainee Reserve Officer
What a first few months it has been! I’m thoroughly enjoying working at Rutland Water and am learning so much. Thank you to all the volunteers who have given me some great tips and advice, it’s been much appreciated! This has been a real change of pace after leaving teaching – if you’d have told me back in January that I’d have left education, learnt to drive a tractor and be able to use a chainsaw by the end of the year I wouldn’t have believed it. But here we are, and it’s been fantastic! AJ holding a bullfinch
During my time here, the badger watches have been a particular highlight for me. I’ve seen badgers before but only very briefly, so being able to observe their natural behaviour for an hour or more, all whilst talking to the public about them has been fantastic. I’m looking forwards to doing more of them come springtime, and hopefully we’ll see some cubs. Some other really memorable moments for me have been seeing my first kingfisher diving, learning about moth and fungi identification (thanks Tim!) and helping out with bird ringing. One of my favourite birds is a bullfinch, and being able to hold one and see it up close was fantastic. Now I’ve settled in to the VTC and have got to know everyone I’m really looking forwards to the upcoming winter jobs and getting stuck into my own project on site.
Badger watches
STAFF UPDATES
Blackening Waxcap - Barnsdale
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Tim Sexton - Senior Species and Recording Officer
Fabulous Fungi October and November are often the best time of the year to go out looking for fungi. We are fortunate that in the UK our damp and mild climate provides the perfect growing conditions for some 15,000 species. Over 550 species of fungi have been identified at Rutland Water Nature Reserve over the last 45 years - a number of which are either rare or uncommon in the county. Collared Earthstar - Lax Hill
A recent change in the weather to more typical Autumnal conditions has meant that many interesting fungi are now starting to show in the woodlands and grasslands across the Reserve and although I say this every year, it appears to be a fantastic year for them. We have carried out a number of fungi forays over the last few weeks, with the help of Leicestershire Fungi Study Group, Rutland Natural History Society and members of the public. On the 1st of October, a foray organized by Leicestershire Fungi Study Group on Lax Hill discovered 46 species. The highlights being three species of earthstar, including the Striate Earthstar, Beaked Earthstar and Collared Earthstar along with an uncommon species of Mycena which has barely any records in the East Midlands, called the Blackedge Bonnet – this was the first record of this species in Leicestershire and Rutland. On the 10th of October a public Beginners Fungi ID course in Cherry Wood found 51 species.
Parrot Waxcap - Barnsdale
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Green Elf Cup - Cherry Wood
The highlight being a number of Green Elf Cup on a wood pile near the Ringing Hut – you do not often see the fruiting bodies of this species so a real treat for visitors on the walk. Finally, we had over 40 species (additional species are being identified at time of writing) on a Rutland Natural History Society walk in Barnsdale Wood on 29th October. The highlight of this session came at the very end of the walk when two species of Earthtongue (Geoglossom cookeanum – of which there were hundreds - and Trichoglossum hirsutum – the Hairy Earthtongue) were discovered along with three species of waxcap on a grass verge in the middle of the Car Park! These species are typically only found in unimproved grasslands with low nutrient levels, such as old pastures and ancient hay meadows. As such species that are found in ‘Waxcap Meadows’ are considered to be a real rare grassland treasure! With unusual names such as Dead Man’s Fingers, Hairy Curtain Crust, Black Witches Butter and King Alfred’s Cakes, participants on the beginner’s course suggested that the common names of fungi sounded more like a random assortment of words from a Victorian version of the What Three Words app. It is not difficult to enjoy looking at the many different species of fungi that can be found at this time of year. Not all fungi have a typical ‘mushroom shape’ and their common names are often quite descriptive of their appearance. You also don’t need to be an expert to find fungi as they grow almost anywhere. Many species continue to ‘fruit’ into the winter months, so why not go out and photograph some fungi of your own? Make sure you keep me posted if you find anything interesting around Rutland Water.
Earthtongues - Geoglossum cookeanum - Barnsdale
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Fairy Inkcaps - Lax Hill
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Isabel Raval - Charnwood Forest Regional Park Project and Surveys Officer
Bales being collected
Things are winding down somewhat for us with the Charnwood Forest LPS projects, as the lateseason cramming of hay cuts and the like for the Grasslands Project has come to an end. In midSeptember we carried out some green hay spreading, using our reserve Coalville Meadows as the donor for two nearby private sites. This is a time-sensitive activity and requires a lot of coordination. The ground must be scarified beforehand, and then the green hay cutting, transporting and spreading on the receptor site all take place in the same day. We are very much looking forward to seeing the results of this hard work in the coming years. Thanks must be extended to the landowners and volunteers who made this happen, and also to our contractor tenant farmers, who do much of the grassland management ‘heavy lifting’ for us around Charnwood. We have been continuing our scything volunteer days twice per week on those locations that are not tractor-friendly, rotating between nine different sites and averaging three days per site. We are now finishing the season in late November, having held more sessions than we have done in previous years. The volunteers have been fantastic and put in tremendous work in over the past four months to get as much mown as possible. Running the days has been a real learning curve for me, especially when it comes to manoeuvring Trust vehicles out of sticky situations!
Fly agaric fungi in Charnwood
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Scything in Charnwood
For the Wildlife Recording Project, our series of training days has continued. After the popularity of an October joint fungi foray with the Leicestershire Fungi Study Group at Charnwood Lodge, we held a second foray at this reserve in November led by our Head of Nature Recovery, Ben Devine. We have also recently held a webinar on spiders and will be holding an event on Harvest Mice at the end of November. If you would like to help us achieve our goal of 10,000 new wildlife records on NatureSpot for the Charnwood Forest region, please submit your records with the project tag ‘Charnwood Forest LPS’, and if you would like to be added to the mailing list for the group meetings then please email iraval@lrwt.org.uk. Lastly, in mid-October I surprised both myself and the Charnwood Local Group by stepping in as replacement speaker last-minute to give a talk about our projects. Being rather inexperienced in public speaking it resulted in a whirlwind few days preparing and was over before I knew what was happening! I was grateful to receive some very kind feedback, though, and can only hope that folks took something positive away from the evening.
Bales being transported
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Scythes having a quick rest
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Helen Fairhead with David Attenborough
Helen Fairhead - Volunteer & Events Coordinator/Project Lead (Nextdoor Nature-Team Wilder)
A final word from Helen our Volunteer Coordinator Hello everyone, I hope you have enjoyed another bumper issue of our Volunteers News which is the last one for this year. Matt Scase has done another fantastic job producing a really informative magazine (can’t call it a newsletter now as it is too big!) and if you have anything you would like to include in future issues such as photos or snippets/interesting facts just pop Matt or myself an email. By the time you receive this we will be in December, a month of many celebrations but it is also the month of International Volunteer’s Day (5th December). Everyone who volunteers with us, help us to achieve all these wonderful things we do in the fight for nature’s recovery, and without you all we wouldn’t be able to do all of these incredible things. Nature thanks you and we all THANK YOU at LRWT for all your hard work. I am sure it is not too early for me say a very Happy Seasons’ Greetings to you all and a very Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you over the coming weeks for our various festive gatherings and general merriment! Bye for now. Helen Helen Fairhead: hfairhead@lrwt.org.uk Matt Scase: mscase@lrwt.org.uk
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Front cover image is a Parasol mushroom (macrolepiota procera) taken by Isabel Raval at Lea Meadows Back cover cover image is the team day at Ketton Quarry. L-R Joe Davis, Sarah Bedford, Beth Fox, Katie Jobbins, Tim Sexton, & Juliette Colaco