WILD NEWS Martlesham Wilds update

We are delighted that our new reserve, Martlesham Wilds, has struck a chord with so many people. To date, over two thousand people have donated to the appeal. Thank you to all of you.

The campaign will help us protect part of the internationally important River Deben. We are looking at opportunities to create new wetland areas for waders such as lapwing and redshank across 26ha (64 acres) of grassland behind the estuary walls. We also hope to create a new area of saltmarsh to offset the loss of this rare and precious habitat, providing vital feeding areas for many bird species and an excellent, natural way to absorb considerable amounts of carbon. On the higher ground, we will let nature take the lead, allowing the development of scrub and grassland, with thickets of hawthorn, gorse and wild rose, complementing existing trees. Over time, this will become a haven for barn owls, small mammals and reptiles.

We are holding walks and talks at Martlesham for people to find out more.

We are also being joined by a new warden, who will help develop plans for the site and get to know our local community and visitors.

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You have helped raise £500k towards our £1m land appeal for Martlesham Wilds. Thank you! You can donate at suffolkwildlifetrust.org/ martlesham-wilds

Agricultural land alongside the River Deben will be wilded to create a haven for wildlife at Martlesham Wilds.

Events at Martlesham Wilds

Join walks at Martlesham Wilds on Wed 7 June 10am-12pm and Mon 3 July 6pm-8pm.

More information and booking online suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events

Rivers

Landscape Recovery

We are delighted to announce that Suffolk Wildlife Trust was successful in our bid to host one of the first Defra Landscape Recovery (LR) pilots, as part of the government’s commitment to reinvent the way the UK approaches environmental funding.

The Waveney and Little Ouse Recovery Project (WaLOR) brings together 20 landowners with an ambitious vision for a bigger, better and more connected river valley, which is farmed sustainably and is full of wildlife. Through our involvement, we can help to inform government of the opportunities and challenges ahead and

Thank You

be at the leading edge of wildlife recovery. With a focus on water quality, we hope that improvements in the local habitats, funded in a variety of ways including private investment, will allow existing species and habitats within protected reserves to expand into the wider and wilder landscape.

Our ambition is to see biodiversity flourish and for the project to act as an example of success and profitability in investment for nature.

Hintlesham Woods saved

National Grid have dropped a proposal to take new overhead powerlines for their Bramford-Twinstead network reinforcement project through Hintlesham Woods, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The route will now pass around the woodland to the north and west. Together with the RSPB and Woodland Trust, we asked members and supporters to write to National Grid to ask them to protect the woods. The feedback they received was one of the reasons for their decision to drop the route. Thank you!

22 marsh harrier and a hen harrier roosting at Carlton Marshes last winter.

7 electric charging points One

15,000+ hours volunteered to help Suffolk's wildlife.

11 local groups championing wildlife hectares

Ayear of exciting marine sightings included a species completely new to science. Pseudumbellula scotiae is a deep-sea coral that was discovered 240 miles off Scotland’s west coast, at depths of up to 2,000m in the Rockall Trough. There were also several species spotted in UK waters for the first time, with Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteers discovering the first official record of a sea slug named Babakina anadoni Another sea slug found in Cornwall, Corambe testudinaria, was also new for the country, whilst Manx Wildlife Trust recorded the first ever swordfish off the Isle of Man.

Whales and dolphins delighted people from Scotland to Scilly, with sightings of pilot, fin, minke, and humpback whales showing how populations are recovering following bans on commercial whaling. Two new orca calves were spotted off Shetland in January, whilst volunteers recorded over 80 sightings of minke whales off the Yorkshire coast in a single morning in August. Monitoring by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust also suggests that bottlenose dolphins are now present off Yorkshire year-round.

In more distressing news, seabird colonies around the UK were devastated by our worst ever outbreak of avian flu, caused by intensive poultry farming. Tens