Natural World summer 2017

Natural World How to be kind to bees

News from The Wildlife Trusts across the UK

Summer 2017

Monty Don’s gardening tips to help our threatened pollinators

21st century housing

Our new blueprint for wildlife-filled streets

My first nightingale

What the best birdsong does for the soul

Ten great hilltop picnics Enjoy an awesome view with your lunch

UK NEWS

Critical tests lie ahead for vulnerable sites As pressure increases to build new homes, wildlife sites which previously enjoyed protection are coming under threat

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kent wt

Threatened Lodge Hill, Kent Kent Wildlife Trust is opposing a plan to build thousands of new homes on a site with one of the UK’s largest populations of nightingales.

Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill SSSI is a nationally important area of ancient woodland and rare grassland. Its owner (the Ministry of Defence) and Medway Council want to build a new town on it.

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Stephen Trotter, Director, The Wildlife Trusts England, says: “Lodge Hill is a test of whether the Government is committed to its stated aim of leaving the natural environment in a better state than this generation inherited it. We should be celebrating sites like Lodge Hill, not building on them.”

Help at kentwildlifetrust. org.uk/lodge-hill

Skylarks are safe at Rampisham Down.

Elsewhere the fight continues

All development should contribute to nature’s recovery

Kent Wildlife Trust

he Wildlife Trusts are working across the UK to protect wild places from an increasing number of potentially harmful developments.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Local Wildlife Sites are designed to protect the very best of our wildlife. They are the essential basis for nature’s recovery.

So whilst we work with developers wherever possible (see pp8-9) we will also campaign against developments that are simply in the wrong place.

Protections are never n How ceaand guaranteed and The Wildlife f wildlim Trusts are often the last line ent get p o l e dev along? of defence for these wonderful wild places. ces wild pla xisting e t The best solution of all c s te e n n Pro new o would be for local n Create en nature th g n n Stre authorities to plan s network life in positively for nature’s ild w te ra n Integ elopments recovery. This would be v new de essential under our proposals for an Environment Act (see wildlifetrusts.org/EnvironmentAct).

Nightingales v new town: which will win?

Saved! dorset WT

Plan positively for wildlife

Rampisham is safe – but it took a two-year fight

Rampisham Down, Dorset

sheffield & rotherham WT

After two years of campaigning by Dorset Wildlife Trust and others, Rampisham Down SSSI in West Dorset will not be developed into a solar power station.

The site is a legally protected, nationally

important area of rare acid grassland with skylarks, adders and many species of butterfly. The solar panels will now be sited on a less sensitive area nearby. More at dorsetwildlifetrust. org.uk

Threatened Smithy Wood, Sheffield

Late new st UK-w s i wild and issude lifetr es org/ usts. : new s

We are enjoying another beautiful English summer. And those of us who took part in 30 Days Wild noticed wildlife every day in June, an experience I recommend to everyone. I realised how beautiful the stalk of a bramble can be, and stopped long enough to listen to a chattering in a nearby tree than turned out to be king shers.

But loving the natural world makes you vulnerable too. I am sure many of you know only too well the sickening feeling of hearing about an imminent new development, or seeing the bulldozers move in. This is all the more poignant the closer to home it is, the more we love the place and the more memories it holds.

The Wildlife Trusts oppose development where it is simply in the wrong place and too damaging to wildlife. Many fantastic sites have been saved by Trusts. Most of us don’t even know about the threats these places once faced. For example, my favourite reserve in Nottinghamshire was destined for land ll in the 1970s. More recently Rampisham Down has been saved by Dorset Wildlife Trust.

This edition lays out our vision for housing, which avoids harm to important wildlife sites and creates new wildlife habitats. The best housing developments start with the landscape, building around existing old trees and hedges, and working in sympathy with the nature of the area.

Trumpington Meadows (p8) is a good example.

Gaydon (p9) is another, where the development went ahead but in a much better form because a Trust worked closely with the local authority and developer.

To get on the front foot we need local authorities to plan positivly for nature’s recovery. This would mean new developments of any kind minimise damage to wildlife and maximise benefits.

We all want to feel safe in our love of wildlife and the natural world. One way to do this is by building wildlife into every new development.

More than 1,000 people objected to swapping a bluebell wood for a motorway service station

When a proposed motorway service station threatened one of Sheffield’s ancient woodlands, the local Wildlife Trust organised a protest in March outside the city hall.

More than 300 people showed their objection to building on the bluebell wood, which is a Local Wildlife Site and

part of Sheffield’s green belt. The City Council also received more than 1,000 online objections, almost all citing the loss of local wildlife as the key concern.

The Council was due to make a decision on March 28th but instead delayed it. Keep up with developments at wildsheffield.com

Stephanie Hilborne OBE Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts @stephhilborne Wherever you are in the UK, your Wildlife Trust is standing up for wildlife and wild places in your area and bringing people closer to nature. Contact us on enquiry@wildlifetrusts.org or 01636 677711.

To join your Wildlife Trust, visit wildlifetrusts.org/joinus. Natural World, The Kiln, Waterside, Mather Road, Newark, Notts NG24 1WT. Editor Rupert Paul Layout editor Dan Hilliard Communications officer Catherine Boggild. Cover: White tailed bumble bee in Sheffield city centre, by Paul Hobson twitter @wildlifetrusts facebook.com/wildlifetrusts

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UK NEWS

7,000 join landmark youth project More than 7,000 young people have taken part in the first year of a youth programme managed by The Wildlife Trusts and supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

Our Bright Future brings together 31 projects which all connect young people to their environment in different ways.

Over the last 12 months young people from different walks of life have learned new skills and gained certifications in practical conservation, leadership, construction and campaigning.

In April representatives from all 31 projects met to share experiences and develop a youth vision. This is

currently being worked into a campaign which will launch in the autumn. The aim is to inspire all young people to value their local environment and take action to improve it. n More at ourbrightfuture.co.uk or @OBrightFuture

Young volunteers glean cabbages, reducing waste and supporting nearby community kitchens

How Our Bright Future helped three young people to: Grow in confidence Jack, 16, had suffered family loss and was often missing school when he came to Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s Growing Confidence project. There he thrived, learning woodwork, tree planting and scrub clearing. He was particularly proud of the wooden spatulas he made and that he overcame his fear of heights during a tree-climbing exercise.

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Learn new skills Holly was frustrated by “how screwed up our food system is,” so she joined Foodcycle’s From Farm to Fork project. She learned to cook and preserve food, and helped at the project’s soup kitchen. Now she’s applied to study anthropology and archaeology, and is exploring how food production, consumption and waste can be used as a central theme in her studies.

Get back to work Emyr, 20, came to Building Sustainable Communities after a long period out of work. He lacked confidence and even doubted his abilities to use a tape measure. However, he became involved in a sustainable building project and by the end had achieved a practical qualification and secured a job. He is now thrilled to be in work again.

wildlife, and improved community buildings and recreational facilities.

“We now want to see the fund boosted, to support more projects that help wildlife and improve people’s lives,” said Stephanie Hilborne, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts. n Has your local area benefited from the Landfill Communities Fund? Share your story on social media using #TheLCF

kent wildlife trust

The 20 year-old Landfill Communities Fund has been saved from the axe. The fund was threatened by Government proposals but the actions of representatives from across The Wildlife Trusts has led to a U-turn.

The Fund has supported 3,500 environmental projects, many of them with The Wildlife Trusts.

People living near landfill sites have enjoyed better access to their local

Eden Meadows in Kent benefited from the LCF

Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the University of Chester are researching the genetics of natterjack toads. The rare amphibians exist in isolated populations and are at risk of extinction due to their lack of genetic variability.

Research students will help

paul hobson

The study assesses survival factors in natterjacks and other amphibians

the Trust at their Red Rocks Nature Reserve in Merseyside, where the natterjack population was reintroduced. “From this research, we will be able to better direct our conservation work,” said Martin Varley, Director of Conservation at the Trust.

Hickling Broad appeal reaches £1 million Norfolk Wildlife Trust has raised £1m in six months to expand Hickling Broad by 655 acres. The reserve is one of the UK’s richest wetlands, and home to swallowtail butterflies, marsh harriers, common cranes and bitterns. With a further £1m loan from the Garfield Weston Foundation the purchase can go ahead – but fundraising continues.

“We are very moved by how much people appreciate the value of Hickling Broad,” said CEO Brendan Joyce. norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

Cumbria and Lancs grow their own ecologists

Georgie, Amy, Hayden, Becky and Jade explore the wildlife of Morecambe Bay

If you can’t find marine ecologists with practical skills, train them. For six years Cumbria Wildlife Trust and The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside have done exactly that.

With funding from HLF they’ve seen 24 marine and coastal trainees learn species ID, ecological surveying, practical conservation and getting their message across.

All now work in the environment sector, and eight are at Wildlife Trusts around the country. More info at irishsea.org/marine-andcoastal-heritage-traineeships summer 2017 NATURAL WORLD 5

cumbria wt

Gene study avoids inbred toads

This way for more common cranes

elizabeth dack

Wildlife Trusts save vital nature fund

people & wildlife Wildlife areas on school grounds

Wild play areas for young people

A new way to build

Existing trees, water and meadows integrated

illustration: Nik pollard

New developments don’t have to squeeze out wildlife. In fact, they can enhance it – and benefit people at the same time

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he Wildlife Trusts are calling on developers, local authorities and Government to embrace a new, more holistic way of building: one that avoids damage to protected sites, and works with the natural surroundings to create gains for nature, and better health and well-being for residents.

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Wildlife permeable barriers between gardens and public green spaces

Rachel Hackett is Living Landscape Development Manager at The Wildlife Trusts @RachelTassell

Green spaces joined up in large connected blocks

Sustainable Urban Drainage for biodiversity and flood relief

Integrated bat and swift boxes

Wildlife-friendly planting and landscape design

Green roofs and walls to provide habitat, and regulate pollution and rainfall

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people & wildlife

The next decade is likely to see hundreds of thousands of new homes built. In the past, housing developments have mostly destroyed habitats rather than created them. But done in the right way, on the right site, they can lead to a net gain for wildlife – and offer their incoming residents a healthier, happier place to live. And that’s because good housing and a healthy natural world are intrinsically linked.

The Wildlife Trusts have pioneered the integration of wildlife into new developments for many decades (see box below). Using our expertise

The Wildlife Trusts have pioneered this idea for the past decade and relationships with developers we have ensured that existing meadows, wetlands, hedgerows, trees and woods are retained. We also aim for wildlife-rich gardens, verges, amenity green space, cycle paths and

pment Existing develo

Trumpington Meadows: Beds, Cambs, Northants WT

keith heppel

CHALLENGE: 1,200 new homes.

RESPONSE: Habitats created and managed with the local Wildlife Trust.

The developer consulted widely about creating a new country park. They chose the local Wildlife Trust to advise on green infrastructure and to manage the land in future. Play areas, open ditches and tree avenues weave

t New developmen

through the development and the 58ha park is both a space for people and a ‘nature reserve’. Creation of 40ha of species-rich meadows, hedgerows, woodlands and floodplain meadows began before the first houses were built. Wetland features keep runoff to the River Cam at pre-development levels.

Natural Estates: appreciated by 7,000 inner city residents

Natural Estates: London WT CHALLENGE: Little wildlife in many estates. RESPONSE: Encourage residents to improve their area.

This was a partnership between London Wildlife Trust, Groundwork London and social landlords. More than 7,000 people from nine different London housing estates took part.

“It helped create havens for wildlife and attractive outside areas for people to enjoy, and built a sense of pride and wellbeing in the local environment,” said the Trust’s Gareth Morgan. More at

neighbourhoodsgreen.org.uk/ case-studies/natural-estates

The developer at Trumpington Meadows understood the value of high quality green space

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It created attractive outside areas for people to enjoy

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Some we did earlier...

walkways. The result is natural corridors weaving through the development and reaching out beyond. These features add what is known as natural resilience: they reduce surface water flooding and improve air quality, for example. We also work with social landlords and residents to create natural places that encourage wildlife and benefit people.

The best new houses are energy and water efficient; have built-in roosting and nesting features; and provide easy access to safe, attractive green space for exercise,

play and social interaction. And they deliver the priceless treasure of wildlife on your doorstep.

The Wildlife Trusts believe that all new housing developments could and should be places where people and wildlife flourish with: ■ Access to wildlife whether in a town or country ■ High quality natural green space ■ A genuine, measurable net overall gain for wildlife ■ Connectivity to the wider ecological network.

With the urgent need to build so many new homes, the Government

now has a perfect opportunity to reset the approach to housing. We believe it should refocus to help wildlife, and to create healthy, cohesive and thriving communities, where residents can connect with nature and each other.

All the necessary knowledge, evidence and expertise to do this already exists, and so our vision is simple: it should become normal for all housing developments – whether new or established – to contribute to nature’s recovery.

■ More at wildlifetrusts.org/ housing

My Wild City: Avon WT

Priest Hill: Surrey WT

Challenge: Bristol is the UK’s fastestgrowing city. Response: To transform it into a place where wildlife can thrive.

Avon Wildlife Trust’s My Wild City idea aims to get whole streets joining up wildlife-friendly gardens, and communities and businesses transforming their local green spaces.

One starter project offered a wildlife garden makeover for 30 houses in Stanley Park. It is now a wildlife corridor between two neighbouring green spaces. All the My Wild City actions, projects and groups are recorded on an interactive map. See it on avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Then: abandoned playing fields and some developed land. Now: 15 new homes alongside a new nature reserve.

Surrey Wildlife Trust worked with the developer and Borough Council to restore the 34ha reserve site, which helps reconnect a green corridor into

“We like living here”

“We have attractive, varied open spaces with no need to get in the car. The area feels safe and the kids can play within walking distance of our home.”

Rachel Mortimer, wild development resident at Cambourne, Cambs

London. The Trust is recreating speciesrich chalk grassland, wetlands and hedgerows, and many existing paths have been retained. Small blue, whiteletter and brown hairstreak butterflies are increasing, as are common lizard, skylark and linnet. alan oakley, surrey WT

t New developmen

avon WT

pment Existing develo

Why can’t all front gardens...

...look like this?

Gaydon: Warwickshire WT Challenge: A planned 3,000 home development. Response: To make it a net gain for wildlife.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has worked to shape this complex development since it was proposed as part of the local plan in 2013. Final planning permission is pending but as part of the development a Local Wildlife Site will become a nature reserve with long term management. There will also be semi-natural buffers to protect nearby ancient woodlands; semi-natural habitat links to the nature reserve; and green infrastructure throughout the development.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

The new housing estate seen from the fast-developing nature reserve

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Wildlife on this site should increase after the houses are built

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david tipling/2020vision

love wildlife

My first night Melissa Harrison spent three years trying to hear the elusive nightingale. Finally, with Essex

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here’s one!’ says Charlie, almost as soon as we get out of the car. He looks at me, smiling, one finger aloft. I freeze and listen: surely it can’t be as easy as that? But if one was singing distantly it’s stopped now, and after a moment I zip up my coat, shoulder my binoculars and put on my gloves.

We’re at Fingringhoe Wick, near Colchester, on a cold spring evening.

Essex Wildlife Trust’s Charlie Oliver has promised me nightingales – my first ever – and while I’m looking forward to hearing them, of course, it’s a complicated feeling. I caught a packed train here from central London after a long day at work and now I’m worried that the sound won’t live up to the hype I’ve been absorbing about them all my life.

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We’re not half way when we hear them We begin to walk up the track. The hawthorn is coming into bloom and the wood to our right is a froth of spring green; the sky is clearing to apricot, the sun low and golden.

Three years ago I realised I’d never heard a nightingale, and wanted to put it right. Bookham Common, in Surrey, reportedly had several; it was also somewhere I knew well. But it was too late for me to hear them that year. The following spring I had another go. The common was loud

with song thrushes, blackbirds, robins, blackcaps and warblers, but I didn’t hear anything that sounded like the nightingales I’d listened to online.

I went twice more and still drew a blank. The brief window passed, for the males fall silent as soon as they have attracted a mate. Last year I tried again; numbers had reportedly fallen to a single singing male at Bookham, but I couldn’t find him. I tried nearby Capel, a private reserve whose numbers were up, and tried to persuade myself I’d heard a ‘jug-jug-jug’ in the distance, but I couldn’t be sure.

At one time, the song of a nightingale was so familiar to people in the south-east as to be ubiquitous.

Now, as we continue along the broad track, I wonder whether in 100 years

Nothing will prepare your ears for the sound coming out of that beak

The morning symphony in your garden amy lewis

Visit wildlifetrusts.org/birdsong to hear our dawn chorus playlist

Blackbird

people will go on pilgrimages to hear blackbirds or robins. I hope not.

We’re not half way to the visitor centre when we begin to hear them: first one, then another, away among the trees. Even at a distance the sound is easy to distinguish from other birdsong, with an uncanny quality that no recording can capture. “The best notes of other birds... come distinctly from the point where the bird utters them, and seem to reach and terminate at the listener’s ear,” wrote Sir Edward Grey in 1927. “But the supreme notes of the nightingale envelop and surround us: so that we lose perception of the point whence they proceed: it is as if we were included and embraced in pervading sound.”

Our faces are joy-struck, lit from

Wren

within by the birds’ liquid, ventriloquial recital. When we move on, I follow reluctantly; surely we should stay and hear more? But I needn’t worry: this beautiful site yields more, even closer and clearer, for there are around 30 males here and more yet to arrive. At last, in a thicket by the mudflats of the wide River Colne, we find one only a few feet away, spilling out vivid, liquid phrases completely unconcerned by us.

As dusk fell, female birds were doubtless listening, assessing the parenting potential of competing males. But to me, the song’s meaning was more ineffable: loaded with myth and legend, and a bittersweet reminder of a wildlife-rich world we must not let slip away.

richard steel

Melissa Harrison is a wildlife writer and author of Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. @M_Z_Harrison

Next comes a metallic, frenetic, high-pitched trilling and zipping.

This little brown bird uses his huge voice to proclaim his territory.

Chiffchaff Chiffchaffs join in a bit later, as the sun rises. They simply repeat their name, two notes going up and down, welcoming in the morning. amy lewis

Wildlife Trust’s help, she struck gold

Brian David Stevens

tingale

andy rouse

Blackbirds have the sweetest voice. Mellow and tuneful, they open the dawn chorus while it’s still dark.

Song thrush Loud and boisterous, the repeating tunes of the song thrush carry over the rest. They get faster and faster until they’re barely pausing.

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People & wildlife

Bee a friendly gardener Habitat loss and pesticides are hitting wild bees hard. But whether you’ve got a window box, a patio or a whole garden, a few simple actions can make a difference

Plant nectar and pollen-rich flowers

Monty Don is a gardening author and speaker, and presenter of BBC Gardener’s World @TheMontyDon

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t has been estimated that 80 per cent of the western diet depends on pollination by bees.

So their steady decline is a cause for real alarm.

But British gardeners can actively nurture and conserve the wild bee population. Gardens are always a rich source of food for wild bees and with a little care can be made even better for them without any trouble or loss of pleasure to the gardener.

You do not need rare or tricky plants. In fact the opposite is true.

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Provide a water source

Bees need pollen and the smaller flowers of unhybridised species are likely to be a much richer source than huge show blooms on plants that are the result of elaborate breeding. Any flower that is open

You do not need tricky plants. In fact the opposite

and simple, such as members of the daisy family, or any that are set like a lollipop on a stick, such as scabious, and all members of the thistle family, are ideal for attracting honey bees, which have rather short tongues so need easy access. Bumble bees have longer tongues so are better adapted for plants that have more of a funnel shape, such as foxgloves.

Bees love any flowering trees, so an apple or a pear is a huge bonus.

All legumes such as peas, beans, clover and sweet peas, as well as

Create potential nest sites

Encourage natural predators

Have long as well as short grass

dandelions, blackberries, asters, ivy, and willow, are as attractive to a foraging honey bee as your carefully cultivated borders.

A garden without bees not only reduces its fertility but also diminishes its beauty. You can keep bees as I do, or simply provide a source of food for them. But one thing is certain: we cannot do without them. So as gardeners we should do everything we can to welcome them as an integral part of a beautiful garden.

Bees don’t just need nectar and pollen. Nest sites and water are just as important

Download your free Wild Bee action pack To make it easy for everyone to help wild bees, we’ve produced a short e-booklet. In it you’ll learn how our many different types of bees live, why they are threatened – and what you can do to help them flourish. For example, you can revive a tired bee with sugar solution. Find the booklet on wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk, our long-running collaboration with the RHS.

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great days out

Top 10 hills for a

emma bradshaw

Summer is here, so pack the rucksack and head out the door with friends and family for a hilltop

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othing signals summer more than eating outside, and nothing tastes as good as a hard-earned picnic. So we’ve selected ten hills which will reward a climb with a great view while you eat, drink and enjoy the sunshine.

All our suggestions are on Wildlife Trust nature reserves, and come with plenty of wildlife. You’ll be surprised by the variety of plants and animals you encounter. Why not count the species of butterfly or bee, or see how many birds you can identify by their song?

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The Wildlife Trusts care for thousands of special places across the UK. Please do your bit to look after these ones on your visit; stick to the paths, respect wildlife, never pick wild flowers and leave nothing behind afterwards.

A great view while you enjoy your lunch

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St Catherine’s Hill Hants and Isle of Wight WT A fantastic spot to enjoy 25 species of butterfly, rare orchids, ancient monuments and spectacular views over Winchester and the surrounding countryside.

Map reference: SO23 9PA

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Red Hill Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust A precious fragment of ancient ‘sheep walk’ downland, with a huge diversity of wild flowers.

Map reference: TF 264 806

wild picnic feast in one of our nature reserves

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Weetslade Country Park Northumberland WT A hilltop just outside Newcastle, with a drill head sculpture representing the area’s mining past. On a clear day you can see the North Sea and the Cheviot Hills.

Map reference: NZ 260 723

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Allt Rhongyr Brecknock WT A perfect spot, with views that take in the source of the River Tawe and the Black Mountains. You’ll also see a big variety of birds and butterflies.

Map reference: SN 852 156

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Share your experiences

Share your pictur e perfect picnics wi th us on social media @wildlifetrusts #LoveWildlife

St Martha’s Hill Surrey WT You can see eight counties from the ancient church yard at the top on a clear day, as well as a variety of reptiles, birds and mammals. Be prepared for a steep climb.

Map reference: TQ 031 485

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Straidkilly Ulster Wildlife Enjoy panoramic views across the Irish Sea to Scotland, perhaps spotting harbour porpoises. In the sunny glades, look out for the wood white butterfly – only found in Northern Ireland.

Map reference: NW 457 721

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The Hollies Shropshire WT Here are 500 of Europe’s oldest holly trees. Feel free to picnic under any one. An unbelievably peaceful spot with magnificent views.

Map reference: SJ 383 016 Planning a wild picnic this summer? Visit wildlifetrusts. org/wildpicnics

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s Swift’s Hill: well worth a bracing stroll

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Roundton Hill Montgomeryshire WT A National Nature Reserve, and a great place to enjoy a summer picnic, if you can make it! The views from this 1,200ft hill are spectacular – it’s the site of an Iron Age fort.

Map reference: SO 293 946

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Swift’s Hill Gloucestershire WT Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie mentions this local landmark with its distinctive double bump. The limestone grassland has more than

130 species of wild flower, including 13 species of orchid.

Map reference: SO 877 067

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Eycott Hill Cumbria WT Enjoy the wild flowers in a newly created Coronation Meadow, or venture on, through fascinating wetlands, to the summit of Eycott Hill, where you’ll find spectacular views of the northern Lake District fells.

Map reference: NY 394 301

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my legacy

— MY WILD LIFE — Kathy & Andrew, Nottinghamshire

Andrew started volunteering for Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in 2011. Both Andrew and Kathy are members, and their trips to Attenborough Nature Reserve helped them understand how in need of protection our wildlife is. Realising how much work The Wildlife Trusts do, not only protecting wildlife now but also how much would be needed in the future, inspired Andrew and Kathy to leave a gift in their Wills.

Leave a gift in your Will to your Wildlife Trust. wildlifetrusts.org/legacy