Annual Review 2011/2012

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A celebration of the year

Silver-washed fritillary: Steve Aylward

2011/2012

Silver-washed fritillary returns to Suffolk Creating a Living Landscape for Suffolk

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New nature reserves Sir Kenneth Carlisle Chairman

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ou will read in this report what a great year your Trust enjoyed for its 50th birthday. We should all take pride in these achievements.

We have continued to enrich the habitats on our growing number of reserves. Education lies at the heart of our efforts, and the new centre at Bradfield Woods exemplifies this. In tough times, all the school places on our courses are booked. In the wider countryside we are pledged over the coming years to do our best to spread good practice, a key ambition towards our vision of a ‘Living Landscape for Suffolk’.

All we do is underpinned by the scientific knowledge, enthusiasm and skill of our excellent staff; and, on your behalf, I want to say ‘thank you’ to them.Their work has placed yourTrust in an enviable financial position, and this enables us to develop our work with freedom.

TheTrust is rightly respected throughout Suffolk and beyond. None of this would happen without the generous and cheerful backing of all our 26,000 members. It is wonderful that we have over 1,000 volunteers and active local Wildlife Groups. Our members are at the heart of what we do, and your loyalty was given forceful expression in the stunning response to our Knettishall Heath appeal.

Knettishall Heath

Steve Aylward

We are so grateful to all those who sustain the work of theTrust; this gives us confidence for the future.

Colin Varndell

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his year has been a celebration of Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the people, places and challenges that have shaped it. As the Trust was formed to safeguard special places for wildlife, it was fitting that in our 50th year we completed our largest ever land purchase, Knettishall Heath. The first few weeks of 2012 were an exhilarating time as we threw all our energies into raising the £1,000,000 we needed to buy the 434 acre site. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, our members, local people and to William McAtamney for his generous legacy in memory of his wife Mary, we now have this magnificent new nature reserve.

The McAtamney’s legacy was exceptional in its size and generosity, but every legacy the Trust receives

enables us to make a lasting difference for wildlife. Our approach of keeping legacies separate from the Trust’s day to day finances means we are able to bring several legacies together to secure smaller, strategically important pieces of land, to extend existing reserves or help to create links between sites. Our purchase, this year, of 2.5 acres of peat marsh alongside Oulton Marshes in the Suffolk Broads is an example of this. It has been intensively horse-grazed, but we know from experience that sympathetic management and improved water levels will enable wetland species, such as marsh orchid, to return.

Overall this year, we added a total of 592 acres to our network of nature reserves, including a tenancy on a further 175 acres of heathland in Rendlesham

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...and a new Local Nature Reserve for Ipswich

Knettishall Heath, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with the characteristic mix of sand and chalky soils that make the Brecks one of the richest areas for plants in the British Isles.

Away from the heathland there is an extraordinary diversity of habitats including a mile-long river frontage alongside the Little Ouse.

a network of valuable wildlife sites on the fringes of Ipswich. Thanks to an outstanding campaign, led by local people and supported by the Trust, Ipswich Borough Council has decided to designate this area as a Local Nature Reserve – a tremendous result after a long campaign.

Amy Lewis

Today the destruction of important wildlife habitats is, fortunately, a rare event. For some years we have opposed Ipswich Borough Council's proposal to sell Kiln Meadow for housing development. With its huge toad population, dormice and three species of reptile, Kiln Meadow forms part of

Forest. We were delighted to strengthen our partnership with the Forestry Commission and now graze our sheep and ponies over nearly 1,000 acres of Dunwich and Rendlesham Forests so enabling open habitats to be managed sustainably. With the government considering different models for the management of the public forest estate, Suffolk provides an excellent example of the Forestry Commission working with local organisations to benefit wildlife and people.

This year we have added 592 acres to our network of nature reserves

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ver the course of the year, we received legacy gifts amounting to ÂŁ367,734.

We would like to thank the followingTrust supporters who remembered Suffolk Wildlife Trust in their Will. Their generosity will enable us to actively pursue opportunities to make our nature reserves bigger and better in the years to come

Marion Farley Patricia Godbold Janet March-Penney Eric Mason Peter Williams

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New species

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Wall brown is suffering a catastrophic decline in Suffolk. We were delighted to record it this year at Arger Fen

National importance

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n the Suffolk Broads, last year’s introduction of the fen raft spider to Castle Marshes from Redgrave & Lopham Fen appears to have been very successful and this year we carried out a further introduction at Carlton Marshes.

These are the first introductions to new UK sites and it is a key element of the national recovery plan for this vulnerable invertebrate. We will monitor these new populations and hope visitors will soon be able to spot this stunning spider on our Broadland reserves.

At Bradfield Woods, our volunteer surveyors have reported record

dormouse numbers, illustrating the benefits of well-researched reintroductions in safeguarding species.

In just five years this reintroduced population has become the largest in the national dormouse monitoring scheme, a testament to the diverse structure of Bradfield Woods created by its traditional management of coppicing.

We are working with neighbouring landowners to ensure that this healthy population can spread out from the National Nature Reserve into the surrounding ancient woodlands.

Five new barbastelle sites have been discovered by the Suffolk Bat Group, one of the Trust’s specialist groups

ABOVE:

Ian Pratt

Crossbill have bred this year at Upper Hollesley Common

Hugo Willcox

FLPA

David Kjaer

he unstinting effort of volunteers has reaped dividends at nature reserves across the county, with exciting new species records and the return of species which have been absent for many years.

Over a thousand people give their time to support the Trust and much of what we achieve, on the ground, for wildlife is a result of their commitment and dedication.

The formal accounts include all financial transactions but the considerable impact of this voluntary effort is immeasurable.

Volunteers have been the driving force behind our most wide-ranging species success – barn owl. Although held back by a lack of natural nesting sites, barn owl take readily to nest boxes. We now have over a thousand barn owl boxes in place (with more planned for this year) and something like a third of these are being used by barn owls. Today Suffolk's barn owl population is the highest it has been for over a generation, perhaps even since the 1930's. It is a remarkable turnaround and is due to a number of factors including the widespread adoption of grassy headlands on farmland as well as the provision of nest boxes.

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Seaweed surveys along the Suffolk coast added three new species to the county list

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New moths

Devon carpet moth, found at Dunwich Forest is the only record for Suffolk White-mantled

wainscot moth, found at Darsham Marshes and Hen Reedbeds is only known in Britain on the Suffolk coast Glythipterix schoenicolella, new to Suffolk, found on black bog rush at Market Weston Fen.

Rob Spray

Rob Spray

A Coryphella sea slug found in dive surveys off Orford

Another new species for Suffolk, the micro moth Coleophora hydrolapatha which lives on water dock, was discovered at Carlton Marshes. The photograph shows the larval cases.

Silver-washed fritillary

Fen raft spider has been introduced to Castle Marshes and Carlton Marshes

Dormouse

round fifty years ago, just as the Trust was forming, silver-washed fritillary disappeared from the county’s woodlands, almost certainly the consequence of changes in the way woods were managed. Their spectacular comeback at Bradfield Woods and other ancient woodlands across Suffolk, is a welcome indicator of the great strides the county has taken in securing commitment to nature conservation.

The value of good habitat condition was reflected too in the surveys undertaken this year by the Suffolk Moth Group, with exciting new records on our coastal reserves.

Much of what we achieve for wildlife is a result of the commitment and dedication of volunteers

David Kjaer

Martin Smith

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Greater butterfly orchid has re-appeared at Bradfield Woods

Tony Prichard, Neil Sherman, Lee Gregory

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ur education centres at Foxburrow Farm, Carlton Marshes, Lackford Lakes and Redgrave & Lopham Fen offer children and adults the opportunity to learn about wildlife in wonderful locations. This year we celebrated the opening of our fifth centre at Bradfield Woods National Nature Reserve. Built almost exclusively with timber from the surrounding woodlands and set on a bed of oak trunks from Groton Wood, the award-winning, 'carbon-positive' building provides a new base for education activities and an inspiring welcome for visitors.

Each education site has a unique character, reflecting the local landscape and habitats, and is brought to life by the expertise of the Education Officers and their team of skilled volunteers. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has funded a new Education Officer at Bradfield Woods to encourage schools and adult groups to visit and learn about the wood’s history, wildlife and traditional crafts.

At Knettishall Heath we

have a new Education Ranger to work with local people, groups and schools over the next three years, leading volunteer teams, family activities, school days, wildlife walks and building a community to support the heath.

We have also stepped up our education delivery at Redgrave & Lopham Fen and have closed the cafe so as to make better use of the centre for school days and adult courses. We now have a record number of education volunteers and have expanded our education activities. We are looking to improve the centre further over the next few months to make it even better for visiting groups.

Our nature reserves are such inspiring outdoor classrooms, we are able to give children a space for learning that plays to all their senses. The result is actionpacked, hands-on learning where children become the experts in their chosen field and leave with skills and experiences that will grow with each new wildlife encounter.

The creation of new wetland habitats at Oulton Marshes has transformed the reserve.

A new circular trail offers local people and visiting birders excellent views over the marshes.

Malcolm Schuyl FLPA

In winter there were up to 2,000 pink-footed geese and 600 wigeon along with regular sightings of hen harrier and short-eared owl.

Hen harrier

Alan Price

Bradfield Woods

Common dog violet, food plant of the silverwashed fritillary

Investor in Wildlife

We are grateful to all the individuals, CharitableTrusts, grant-making bodies and statutory organisations that fund our work.

Without their support we could not carry on our existing activity or take on new projects.

EADT

Steve Aylward

New ways to get involved

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Nick Illot

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Seen here in Framlingham, our community advisers offer support to wildlife initiatives across Suffolk

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urturing an interest in nature and making it easier for people of all ages to get closer to wildlife is what the Trust is all about, not just at our education centres, but also at our reserves, through wildlife walks, talks and species surveys, by volunteering and in our support for community wildlife projects, indeed‌ everything we do!

Throughout the last half century, support for the Trust has grown out of every community in Suffolk. It was fitting therefore that we were able to secure funding from HLF to recruit a team of three Community Advisers to offer more encouragement than ever before for locally-led conservation projects.

Markus Varesvuo naturepl.com

Making it easier for people of all ages to get closer to wildlife is what the Trust is all about

Facebook, Twitter and our website allow us to offer instant news of sightings and seasonal spectacles, like the starling roost at Hen Reedbeds

140 staff from BT Innovate and Design volunteered their tim e on the Sandlings heaths

With this in mind, our 50th anniversary celebrations included monthly walks to showcase some of the breathtaking wildlife events our nature reserves offer.

The autumn starling roost at Hen Reedbeds was one of the most memorable, with numbers peaking at 40-50,000 birds in November. Over the next year we plan to make more use of our website, facebook and email to let members know when these seasonal spectacles are happening.

Over the next four years the team will inspire and help people to initiate projects, as well as respond to requests for advice from groups that are already up and running.

Our experience is that nature reserves must sit within a wildlife-friendly landscape. Local communities have an important role to play in creating a Living Landscape for Suffolk and thanks to HLF we now have the resources to help and support them in achieving this.

Thank you to all our business supporters Platinum EDF Energy Southwold Pier UK Power Networks Gold Anglian Water Aspall BritishTelecom Cemex UK Climax Molybdenum Greenwillow Associates Ltd HSBC Ipswich Building Society ISG Jackson Silver Arncliffe Leisure Binder

Birketts BOCM Pauls Ltd Carillion CenterParcs Ltd Essex & Suffolk Water Harwich Haven Authority John Stebbing Architect Magnox Limited National Express East Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd Viridor Bronze ABP Ipswich Alan Boswell Insurance Management Aldeburgh Golf Club Barker Gotelee Birds Eye

BTS Group Ltd Field Solutions Ltd Flempton Golf Club Ipswich Golf Club J Breheny Contractors Ltd Lafarge Aggregates Larking Gowen Maritime Cargo Processing plc N & S Wildlife & Walking Holidays Nicholas Jacob Architects Ransomes Dock Ltd S W Cross & Sons Seckford Wines Ltd Strutt & Parker Suffolk Life Tarmac Southern The Landscape Partnership Ufford Park Ltd White Stuff

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Financial summary

Members’ subscriptions directly fund our work and give us the financial stability to plan ahead and secure new opportunities for wildlife

SWT year ended 31 March 2012 Incoming resources Members’ subscriptions & donations Legacies Fundraising & grants SWTTrading company income Other Total incoming resources

£000’s 664 368 1,620 248 251 3,151

Income

Resources expended Nature reserves & conservation Education Membership Fundraising & grants Support, management & admin SWTTrading company costs Total resources expended

1,100 292 158 121 131 206 2,008

Net unrealised surplus on investments Net incoming resources

54 1,197

Fund balances brought forward Fund balances carried forward

21%

12%

Members’ subscriptions & donations

Legacies

51%

8%

Fundraising SWT Trading

8% Other

Trustee’s statement

These are the summarised accounts.

To allow a full understanding of the financial affairs of Suffolk Wildlife Trust you can view the full audited annual accounts on our website or request a copy from Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Brooke House, Ashbocking, Ipswich IP6 9JY. The annual accounts have been audited by Larking Gowen Ipswich Ltd and received an unqualified opinion.

They were approved by Trustees on 26th July 2012 and will be submitted to the Charity Commission and Registrar of Companies.

TheTrustee’s target level of free reserves, equating to six months establishment and core staff costs, currently equates to £636,000. Funds above this level are designated to specific projects particularly the acquisition of land as nature reserves.

Robin Drayton, Hon Treasurer

Expenditure

8,924 10,121

Analysis of group net assets between funds *Fixed assets Wildlife reserves 5,873 Other tangible assets 369 *Net current assets 3,879 10,121 * including designated, unrestricted & restricted funds

55%

15%

Nature reserves & conservation

Education

8%

6%

6%

10%

Membership Fundraising Management SWT Trading & admin

Auditor’s statement

In our opinion these summarised accounts are consistent with the full statutory accounts on which we have reported with an unqualified opinion.

Approved 26th July 2012.

Since its launch in 1995, the Heritage Lottery Fund has played a huge role in enabling some of theTrust’s major habitat restoration and reserve purchases and has transformed our education capacity.

This year, we have celebrated three HLF successes, with grants to fund the new Education Officer at Bradfield Woods, to support more community-led conservation projects and to secure the purchase and management of Knettishall Heath.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Brooke House Ashbocking, Ipswich IP6 9JY 01473 890089 info@suffolkwildlifetrust.org www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org Registered charity no 262777

www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Silver washed fritillary: Steve Aylward

Nick Illot

...and thank you