The Grebe Magazine Summer/Autumn 2014 by Tom Marshall

Grebe The

Autumn 2014

Cheshire

The magazine of Cheshire Wildlife Trust

Berry tasty Your guide to autumnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hedgerow bounty

also... Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend sniffs out rare species 15 ways to go wild with your kids Winds of change for nature at Red Rocks

Cheshire

ire

WELCOME

“we can only achieve success for wildlife in the future if we’re able to inspire our young people today” Charlotte Harris

Chief Executive

Cheshire People taking action for wildlife Cheshire Wildlife Trust is the region’s leading independent conservation charity and has been working for wildlife across Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington and Wirral for over 50 years. Cheshire Wildlife Trust receives no direct Government funding and would not exist without the support of you, our members. To add your voice to over 13,000 others and show how much you value Cheshire’s wildlife, give us a call today or visit our website.

Cheshire Ecological Services CES is a member of the Association of Wildlife Trust Consultancies (AWTC) and is the ecological consultancy arm of Cheshire Wildlife Trust, with 20 years of industry experience. All profit revenues generated by CES go directly to supporting the work of Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Who are the Wildlife Trusts? There are 47 Wildlife Trusts across the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. With over 800,000 members, we are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the full range of the UK’s habitats and species.

In late August, you will have received our urgent appeal for support to help continue our project to bring back the whitefaced darter at Delamere Forest. This iconic dragonfly – recorded in Cheshire almost as far back as records began – was once a regular sight above our meres and mosses, but disappeared as recently as a decade ago. Now, after years of dedicated planning and work to secure exactly the right habitats, we have a chance to bring the white-faced darter back in a first for the Cheshire region. The Trust is at the forefront of this exciting and ground-breaking wildlife reintroduction scheme, and I hope you will be keen to support us as we look to bring dragons back to Delamere. You can find out more and donate to the appeal on our website, along with a chance to see a video on the difference your support will make. We can only achieve success for wildlife in the future if we’re able to inspire our young people – no mean feat during perhaps the most technologydriven era in our history and one when youngsters get just a fraction of the time outdoors they enjoyed a generation ago. That’s why as I write this, we’re opening the doors to a new £120,000 learning centre here at the Bickley Barn in south Cheshire. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and countless others, including a number of generous individual donors,

Grebe The

Cheshire

Berry tasty Your guide to autumn’s hedgerow bounty

also...

Man’s best friend sniffs out rare species your kids 15 ways to go wild with at Red Rocks Winds of change for nature

iii THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Following our members’ survey and your hundreds of comments earlier this year, we have tried to reflect the views of as many of you as possible in our plans for the years ahead – please do take a moment to look at our strategy in the centre pages of this addition of The Grebe magazine. I also hope many of you will be able to join us for our Members’ Day and AGM on the 25 October at the National Trust’s famous Quarry Bank Mill near Cheadle. Full details and a booking form are enclosed with this copy of The Grebe.

Charlotte Harris, Chief Executive

Cheshire

Wildlife Trust

@wildlifetrusts

wildlifetrusts

Finally, after what seems like the blink of an eye, we’re again taking the time to reflect on and celebrate the last 12 months in our Annual Review, included with this edition of The Grebe. The Trust has enjoyed another positive year at a time when challenges continue for many in the voluntary sector, despite a generally improving picture for the UK economy.

Autumn 2014

The magazine of Cheshire

TheWildlifeTrusts

the centre will act as a hub for the thousands of schoolchildren who visit our farm each year from across Cheshire – often getting their first ever connection with nature. As your local Wildlife Trust, we’re excited to be delivering these valuable opportunities with your support, now and for the future.

On the cover The stunning waxwing adorning this cover of The Grebe is by Jon Hawkins. Although usually a mid-winter visitor, waxwings have been seen as early as November in harsher weather, gorging on cotaneaster and other berries. You can see more on our autumn berry bounty on page 16.

“autumn’s berry bounty is here”

In this issue

Welcome With our Chief Executive Charlotte Harris

02 UK News The big wildlife issues from around the UK and a word from Stephanie Hilborne OBE

04 Local News What’s been happening on your doorstep, including our regular badger vaccination update and more

08 Something to natter about on Wirral A new lease of life for our Red Rocks reserve

10 Looking ahead The Trust’s strategy for the years ahead

12 Get out and go nature Your top tips for going wild with little ones

14 Sniffing out rare species How man’s best friend is helping out dormice

16 Seasonal menu The autumn berry bonanza in our hedgerows and which creatures may join you at the dinner table

19 Doors open on Bickley Barn The Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire joins us to celebrate the opening of our new education centre

20 Box clever this Christmas Super stocking fillers for the festive season

“ there came a deep croak like no other”

Your Magazine The next edition of The Grebe magazine will be published in January 2015. We welcome letters, comments, photographs and contributions to The Grebe. Please write to the editor at the address below or email: tmarshall@cheshirewt.org.uk All contributions including events to be featured in the Events Diary should reach the editor no later than 1 November 2014. Events listings in the Winter edition will run from January to April 2015. The views expressed in The Grebe are not necessarily those of Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

Contents © Cheshire Wildlife Trust 2014. No part of this publication shall be reproduced without prior written consent. Advertising in The Grebe We invite enquiries for advertising in The Grebe magazine, with various packages available. Please contact the editor for our current rate card or an informal discussion. Allowing advertising in The Grebe lets us cover some of the costs of producing our members magazine, meaning we can spend more on conservation projects.

The Grebe Editor Tom Marshall Communications Officer

Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Bickley Hall Farm, Malpas, Cheshire SY14 8EF

Patron The Duke of Westminster KG DL

Tel: 01948 820728

President Felicity Goodey CBE DL

email: info@cheshirewt.org.uk

Chairman Chris Koral

web: www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk Registered Charity No: 214927 A company Limited by Guarantee in England No: 736693

Chief Executive Charlotte Harris

@cheshirewt

Designed and Produced by Orchard Corporate Ltd

Cheshire Wildlife Trust CheshireWT Cheshirewildlifetrust

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 1

UK NEWS

The Wildlife Trusts are calling for the controversial HS2 railway to become one of England’s biggest nature restoration projects, if it goes ahead.

See the report at wildlifetrusts.org

Tackling bovine TB in cattle makes more sense than killing badgers, say The Wildflife Trusts

We oppose the current route because of the environmental damage it would cause. The proposed mitigation measures also miss the chance to achieve a net gain for nature. “Improved public transport is an important part of our transition to a low carbon economy, but this must not be achieved at the expense of the natural environment,” said Paul Wilkinson, Head of Living Landscape. The Trusts are proposing a 1km ribbon of wildlife-rich landscape either side of the railway, with regular green bridges, pathways and cycle tracks (‘Low Speed 2’) reconnecting communities and habitats cut through by the line. “It could be planned, established and run by a partnership of residents, landowners and local groups,” explained Paul. “Recreated habitats would link and provide ‘stepping stones’ between wildlife sites. In time there would be new meadows, woodlands and wetlands for people to explore, alongside existing farms, communities and housing.” Independent research puts the cost of establishing and managing the green ribbon at less than 1% of the overall HS2 budget of £42bn. Read ‘HS2 – A Greener Vision for HS2’ wildlifetrusts.org/hs2

A greener vision for HS2

n along the proposed route Ideas for large-scale nature restoratio

Badger TB costs revealed in Wildlife Trusts’ report Badger TB vaccination schemes led by county Wildlife Trusts are being demonstrated as a practical, cost-effective option in dealing with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in badgers, according to a report released in August. The report outlines the progress of 10 badger vaccination schemes across the UK over the past three years, including programmes on Wildlife Trust nature reserves and privately owned land, in partnership with farmers, vets and other landowners. The report includes lessons learned from activity so far, as well as a detailed description of the vaccination process including costs (£380 per dose administered/£998 per km2). Cost of delivery is variable and depends on the size, nature and accessibility of the sites involved. The report reiterates that, although offering the most effective approach to dealing with bovine TB in badgers, vaccination represents only one element of an overarching strategy to reduce prevalence of the disease in cattle, and should therefore be delivered alongside a comprehensive package of cattle measures.

New Wildlife Trust binoculars Thanks to a partnership with Opticron we now have five Wildlife Trust binoculars, ranging from £30 to £130. Sales will help fund work on our reserves, keeping them a great place to see wildlife. The range comprises 8x21, 8x32, 8x42, 10x42 and 10x50. You can buy them from optics retailers and selected local Wildlife Trusts.

There are five models in The Wildlife Trusts’ range

See more on page 20

AROUND THE WILDLIFE TRUSTS AVON

BBOWT

B’HAM & BC

CUMBRIA

ESSEX

LONDON WT

A derelict former sports ground in Bristol’s Avon Gorge will become Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock nature reserve from 2015 when Bristol is the European Green Capital of the Year. wtru.st/AvonGorge

The 34th annual count of snake’s-head fritillary plants at Iffley Meadows revealed a record 84,190 individual plants despite the site being under water for eight weeks earlier this year. wtru.st/RecordCount

The Trust has taken on the historic Deer’s Leap Wood, on the boundary between the Edgbaston, Harborne and Soho Wards of Birmingham. It now has a secure future as a nature reserve. wtru.st/DeersLeap

Since 2012 16 volunteers have been mapping distribution of the Lake District’s smallest tree, dwarf willow. Its habitat requirements make it a potential indicator species for climate change. wtru.st/DwarfWillow

A new Education and Visitor Centre at Walton on the Naze will be created with £1.145m from the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund. It will help develop understanding of the Naze’s ecology. wtru.st/NazeCentre

The Trust has a new reserve – Braeburn Park. A large brownfield site, it has ex-Victorian landfill, a shooting club, an orchard and a geological SSSI. It’s notably rich in scarce invertebrates. wtru. st/BraeburnPark

2 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

ELLIOTT NEEP

The Wildlife Trusts propose a greener HS2

All protected wildlife areas, nature reserves and national parks should be frack-free zones. Each drilling proposal should have a full environmental assessment. The shale gas industry should pay the costs of its regulation and pollution clean-ups. That’s the message in a report by The Wildlife Trusts, the Angling Trust, the National Trust, RSPB, the Salmon & Trout Association and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust which challenges the way fracking in the UK is regulated. Weaknesses in the current regulatory framework could put species such as pink-footed geese, salmon and barbastelle bats at risk and chalk streams could be contaminated or affected by water stress. More at wildlifetrusts.org/fittofrack

Osprey revival

No child stuck indoors

There are signs the UK’s osprey population is expanding with birds prospecting and fighting for nesting sites. In Montgomeryshire the regular Dyfi pair saw off stiff competition for their nest. At Rutland Water one nest was abandoned after territorial disputes. Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Foulshaw Moss saw its first clutch of eggs. And in Scotland the old female at Loch of the Lowes laid her 70th egg. wildlifetrusts.org/ospreys MIKE LANE

Alliance challenges fracking rules

Four generations ago children roamed, on average, six miles from their home on foot. Now children roam 300 yards and spend twice the time we did indoors. Four generations ago Britain had more than three million hectares of wildflower meadows. One generation ago we had only three per cent of this left and this is vanishing fast. So the chance today of a child stumbling across a wildflower meadow is almost non-existent.

Ospreys thrive on Wildlife Trust reserves

KENT WT

Wildlife Trusts and RSPB call for Nature & Wellbeing Act The UK’s two leading conservation organisations have called upon all political parties ahead of the general election to value nature and secure its recovery by committing to a new Nature and Wellbeing Act. The call comes as a recent State of Nature report revealed 60% of wildlife species in the UK were under threat. The Liberal Democrats have declared they will commit to a Nature Bill in the party’s manifesto.

The Wildlife Trusts want to see nature top of the agenda at the next election

MANX

SOMERSET

S & W WALES

ULSTER

The first juniper grove has been planted in Glen Auldyn just a few hundred yards from where the last native tree was dug up nearly 70 years ago. It’s part of the 30-year Ramsey Forest project. wtru. st/ManxJuniper

Two million baby eels were released into Westhay Moor National Nature Reserve and Catcott Great Fen by the Sustainable Eel Group, the Rivers Trust and Somerset Wildlife Trust. wtru. st/SomersetEels

The Trust is urgently raising money to continue critical breeding seabird studies along the Pembrokeshire coast. Government funding cuts are withdrawing support just when it is needed the most. wtru.st/SeabirdSOS

Grazing animals will return to Bog Meadows in Belfast thanks to £50,000 from the Alpha Programme. The reserve will also become easier for visitors to access. wtru.st/ BogMeadowsWork

Yet we know our happiness is tightly bound up with experiencing the natural world. The UK’s children are the unhappiest in the Western world, Unicef reports. And the most overweight. And many parents wish their kids were outside more. I know I do. The reasons are clear. When I was a child the doors were open, the woods were nearer and there was a limit to how much entertainment could be found indoors, especially after a winter of board games and books. Now the doors protect us from strangers; the woods and meadows are further away and the garden, if there is one, may not entertain older children for very long. Meanwhile, indoors there is a constant and varied scene of entertainment. The solution is more wildlife places nearer where most of us live. It means forest schools being core to our learning. It means parents being more actively involved. And that’s no bad thing because whilst we may have been outside more we are ecologically illiterate compared to the generation before ours. Thanks to your support, your Trust is doing all it can to help change this. Let’s say it loud and clear: No Child Stuck Indoors!

Stephanie Hilborne OBE Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts

There are 47 Wildlife Trusts. With more than 800,000 members, we are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving all the UK’s habitats and species.

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 3

LOCAL NEWS

Darter’s designs on Delamere This summer saw our first major season of white-faced darter dragonfly translocations in Delamere Forest, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and our partners at the Forestry Commission. Consistent weather during May and June saw a trouble-free release of 100 new larvae (right) from our donor sites at Natural England-managed National Nature Reserves Fenns & Whixall Moss and Chartley Moss. By the end of the monitoring season, we had confirmed counts of a minimum of 28 emerged adults (based on larval cases or ‘exuviae’), up markedly on last year. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the John Lewis Spedan Foundation for their generous donation in support of the Delamere’s Dragons project, helping us to continue in our efforts toward the recovery of the whitefaced darter in Delamere, where it was last recorded breeding in 2003.

TOM MARSHALL

JACQUIE ROGERS

FIND OUT MORE cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/white-faced-darter

Blooming marvellous fundraiser A summer open garden event in aid of the Trust raised almost £1,000. Sue Makin threw open the gates to her Tarporley garden, providing visitors with a chance to see a huge array of wildlife-friendly and green-fingered features, including habitats for birds, bees and bats. The Trust has run its Wildlife Friendly Gardening scheme for a number of years, with more than 200 gardens receiving a gold, silver or bronze award in that time for their backyard nature reserves. Collectively, our gardens remain the single largest area of land in public management in the UK, making them vital stepping stones for wildlife within our Living Landscape. Sue said: “I was keen to open my garden and support the Trust in their outstanding work, while spreading the word on the value of gardening for wildlife. They helped by promoting the event and came along on the day too, to speak with visitors, along with assisting on some of the practical aspects of hosting a public event. It was a great success and I look forward to opening the garden again for them next year”. Would you like to open your garden in aid of the Trust next summer? For more information or an informal chat, contact Jacquie Rogers on jrogers@cheshirewt.org.uk

Nocturnal discovery in Northwich We were delighted in spring when experts from local bat groups discovered a small group of rare Nathusius’ pipistrelles (below) at our Marbury Reedbed nature reserve, near Northwich. The find was made by members of the South Lancashire Bat Group and Cheshire Bat Group as part of a Bat Conservation Trust pilot study into the species. The presence of an apparently pregnant female is believed to be a first for the North West. The largest of the UK pipistrelles, the migratory Nathusius’ had previously only been recorded in flight along tree-lined stretches in the area. However, the recent finds were part of a bat box checking scheme within the area of wet woodland at the Trust’s reserve.

One of Cheshire’s few pairs of peregrine falcons nesting at Beeston Castle had one of the most successful seasons in recent years, raising four chicks. The healthy family made it through against the odds, after at least two attempts to illegally disturb the nest were thwarted by volunteers from the local Beeston Peregrine Watch, who collectively provided more than 1,500 hours of round-the-clock observations during the spring and summer.

4 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

STEVE HOLMES

Peregrine success in Beeston

Dormice in the limelight

AUSTIN MORLEY

Our conservation officer Sue Tatman took centre stage in June, when we joined the BBC’s One Show and presenter Miranda Krestovnikov at Natural Resources Wales’ Bontuchel Woods to introduce our innovative new project using detection dogs to help us learn more about one of our rarest and most charismatic mammals. The successful nine hour shoot included a chance for Miranda and the team to get up close to a pair of sleepy dormice, an unexpected bonus at that time of year. FIND OUT MORE Turn to page 14 to see more on our work with the Conservation Dogs.

Man Diesel join Trust

TOM MARSHALL

Trust chairman Chris Koral (pictured, right) recently welcomed Man Diesel and Turbo UK Ltd of Stockport to the Trust as our latest top level Platinum Corporate Members. The company has been working in partnership with the Trust over the last year to develop a 60 acre greenspace on their operations site known as ‘Mirrlees Fields’, for the benefit of wildlife and the local community. This followed a full ecological survey undertaken by the Trust, also commissioned by the company.

Petty Pool students get hands-on The Trust joined partners the Forestry Commission at Delamere in spring, to celebrate the work of students from Petty Pool College on our Delamere’s Lost Mosses project. In recent months, more than 80 students have worked with project officer Katie Piercy on tasks to help uncover lost meres and mosses which have become locked away beneath trees and scrub within the forest.

TIM MELLING

In total, the Trust aims to restore more than 90 football pitches’ worth of these internationally important habitats, which not only have a role to play in balancing climate change but are also home to some of our rarest wildlife like the round-leaved sundew, green hairstreak and white-faced darter dragonfly.

Best foot forward in Chester

TOM MARSHALL

There are now three self-guided walks you can enjoy across our Gowy Connect Living Landscape just south of Chester. The latest edition added in spring takes in our Hockenhull Platts reserve near Waverton, where summer visitors include purple hairstreak butterflies (above) and spotted flycatchers, all easily seen from the route. Further on beyond the famous Roman Bridges you can see our work with local farmers as well as stroll alongside the River Gowy where water voles and otters are always a possibility. Our Gowy Connect scheme is supported by WREN, the Environment Agency and United Utilities. FIND THE WALKS AT www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/livingwalks

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 5

LOCAL NEWS

Families get a taste of life on the farm

ALL PICS TOM MARSHALL

We opened the gates to our Bickley Hall Farm headquarters back in June for another successful Open Farm Sunday event, in association with Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) and the Meres & Mosses Landscape Partnership. Around 700 visitors, many of them families, took a chance to get up close with our Hebridean sheep and Longhorn cattle, along with exploring a new education and learning area through pond dipping, willow weaving and taster sessions for our Forest School scheme. There was also an opportunity to climb aboard our tractor, grab some local British produce and of course sample our nature-grazed beef with burgers prepared specially for the event by recent BBC Retailer of the Year award winners, Edge & Son Butchers. Next year’s event will be Open Farm Sunday’s 10-year anniversary and the Trust is expected to feature in a special short film due to be released to celebrate the scheme.

Gone fishing… on the Mersey Local wildlife watchers got a real treat in early July, when a rare osprey decided to drop in for a few day’s fishing on the Mersey estuary. The iconic bird of prey – which is usually only seen in Cheshire on migration – was thought to perhaps be a young, non-breeding adult. The bird spent a lot of time at Norton Marsh, where the Trust grazes floodplain meadows in partnership with the Forestry Commission using our traditional breed English Longhorns. An osprey last spent an extended period on the Mersey during 2006, after which feeding perches and platforms were installed to encourage the species’ return. The sighting came in a year that saw milestones for ospreys in their traditional Scotland haunts, with the 100th egg hatched at Loch Garten and the 70th egg laid at Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes nest.

6 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Brimstone boost on the Wirral After years of dedicated work with local volunteers, the team at New Ferry Butterfly Park revealed in June that brimstone butterfly caterpillars have hit their highest ever numbers at the park – and become the first confirmed breeding on Wirral. The caterpillars of various sizes were discovered feeding on alder buckthorn planted over a decade ago by 4th Bebington Scouts St John’s New Ferry and will eventually grow into the handsome yellow adult butterflies – typically one of the first species to appear each spring. Being the longest lived British butterfly they have a prolonged flight period, giving visitors to the park a great chance to encounter them.

School’s brew and bake raises £500

TOM MARSHALL

Children from Mablins Lane Primary School in Leighton, Crewe, raised £500 for the Trust after holding a ‘Brew and Bake’ day in support of our new education centre at Bickley Hall Farm. Around 80 youngsters were then some of the first children to enjoy the new centre in early July. The school has been a regular summer visitor with classes since 2011.

Trust gets behind the wheel with SHB

Poors Wood facelift

Keeping the wheels rolling on our conservation work is a constant challenge, which is why we recently welcomed a new replacement to our vehicle fleet thanks to more than £2,400 of support from SHB Vehicle Hire & Management in Carrington. The Toyota Hilux will allow us to transport tools, materials and most importantly our livestock to all four corners of our nature reserve network, and updated Cheshire Wildlife Trust visuals on the side of the vehicle help to raise awareness of our work when we’re on the road.

Thanks to our supporters at INEOS Enterprises, we were able to complete a number of access improvements at our Poors Wood nature reserve at Kingsmead in Northwich. This gently sloping valley woodland next to the River Weaver now has an established footpath network, extended boardwalks through formerly inaccessible areas and bluebell planting to enhance the spring scene by visitors’ feet. Two new information boards at entrances to the site via the river and neighbouring housing area also provide information on what visitors can explore.

In May, members of our Wirral Local Group ‘Wirral Wildlife’ welcomed special guests including the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Dame Lorna Muirhead, to the annual summer opening of the Trust’s New Ferry Butterfly Park. Dame Lorna joined long-standing volunteer Paul Loughnane BEM to help raise the Park’s first ever ‘Green Flag’ confirming its status in the UK’s benchmark for local parks and green spaces. The day proved as popular as ever with hundreds of visitors and families in particular heading through the park’s gates to enjoy pond dipping, art and crafts, bug hunts, planting for minibeasts and much more.

Badger ‘Edge Area’ boost welcomed A report released by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts in August listed Cheshire as hosting the second largest Wildlife Trust badger vaccination scheme in the UK after Gloucestershire. This year our scheme will encompass around 10 farms across more than 2,800ha – almost double the area undertaken in 2013, when nearly 90 individual badgers were treated. The Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) also announced in early September that a new Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) will provide up to 50% financial support for farmers who want to undertake vaccination in Edge Areas – which currently includes Cheshire. The Trust will continue its badger vaccination appeal, which allows us to visit landowners to discuss vaccination, undertake surveys and other strategies to encourage vaccination as an effective tool in tackling bTB.

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 7

TOM MARSHALL

New accolade for Wirral butterfly haven

NATURE RESERVES Red Rocks, near Hoylake, is home to an array of habitats including mature and ‘embryo’ sand dune systems

Dunes of distinction Earlier this summer, there was a Tiger on the loose in Hoylake as The Open came to town. Just a few yards from the Royal Liverpool Golf Club tees, however, there are even more rarities to be found on Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s only coastal nature reserve – Red Rocks. It was a chilly spring evening earlier this April that found a group

The success was also all the sweeter given the short time from the

of Cheshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers standing on the

Trust taking on a management extension at Red Rocks earlier in the

beach near Hoylake full of anticipation. It may have been almost

year to achieving a result for one of the reserve’s rarest residents.

dark with just a few early rising bats for company, but the sea view wasn’t what everyone had come along for. Suddenly, gurgling unmistakeably through the low whisperings amongst the wellingtons and waterproofs came a deep croak like no other – the natterjack toad.

Nestling in a long strip alongside the Royal Liverpool Golf Club and tipping its toes into the Dee estuary, Red Rocks has the classic mosaic of habitats that always attracts a rich diversity of wildlife. A backdrop of mature sand dunes and younger ‘embryo’ dunes at the shoreline, along with a reedbed and scattered stands of scrub

This astonishingly loud duet, or perhaps it was a three-piece,

come together to form a home for rare plants, invertebrates, birds

brought cheerful relief all round. After several nervous weeks of

and of course amphibians like the natterjack. Curiously named

waiting, the vocal performance finally confirmed that new habitats

‘yellow’ and ‘grey’ sand dunes and salt marsh too are constantly

for these rare amphibians – found nowhere else in Cheshire and

changing and adapting, in turn bringing an opportunity for wildlife

Wirral – had attracted the house-hunters we’d been hoping for.

populations to expand.

8 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Seasonal Highlights Listen for calling male natterjack toads in April at dusk Spring

Grayling and small heath butterflies, warblers in the

For many living nearby, Red Rocks is perhaps a place to enjoy a stroll with the soundtrack of skylarks and murmurings of the reeds,

Summer

with not everyone realising the variety and often rarity of much of the wildlife found along the reserve.

Passing migrants like wheatears and terns offshore Autumn

Taking on around 35 hectares in additional reserve management

Wading birds offshore, special visitors like snow

meant the Trust could, for the first time ever, consider the site as whole and how the various different habitats interact with each other.

reedbeds and natterjack toadlets at your feet!

Winter

buntings along the beach

The whispering stands of Phragmites (common reed) play host to an array of our most enigmatic summer migrant birds like the reed warbler, sedge warbler and, on the scrubby fringes, the grasshopper warbler with its fishing reel-like rasping call. Managing the reedbed is an annual task, with a proportion of the reeds cut in swathes or ‘rides’ each autumn allowing for new growth and, in time, creating a healthier, more robust reedbed. Just one of the pieces in the jigsaw at Red Rocks, the reedbed is flanked on the seaward side by a series of embryo dunes, a habitat unique to this part of the region. As a constantly changing micro-landscape at the hands of wind and tide, the dunes are by definition always new, making them an ideal place for so-called ‘pioneer’ species.

Fingernail-sized natterjack toadlets emerged this summer from pools created just months earlier

sand couch, sea-holly, saltmarsh grass and strawberry clover hunker down within the dunes Amongst these species is the curiously named Isle of Man cabbage – found in fewer than two dozen locations in the country. Endemic to the UK, the cabbage is now at risk of extinction. In a bid to turn around the cabbage’s fortunes in the region, Chester Zoo have been cultivating stock from the main Wirral colony (Wallasey Gun Site) BBC North West Tonight’s Judy Hobson joins Matt from the Trust to meet the toads

for several years, and re-planting there. Although not a stronghold for the cabbage, new sand dunes forming at Red Rocks mean it could become a vital location for more re-planting schemes. One of the rarest plants at Red Rocks, however, is the least spectacular, a hybrid horsetail growing extensively along the board walk at the south end. It has only recently been correctly identified, and is now known as ‘Wirral Horsetail’ Equisetum x meridionale. It grows in several places across north Wirral, and in one colony on Anglesey, but the Red Rocks population remains the largest. Other plants such as sand couch, sea-holly, saltmarsh grass and strawberry clover hunker down within the dunes, some acting as a food plant for the sandhill rustic moth, another species heavily reliant on the maintenance of these coastal dune habitats, along

Isle of Man cabbage

with the grayling butterfly.

VISITING RED ROCKS

This range of complex and intimate interactions between the habitats and species at Red Rocks makes it one of our most fascinating nature reserves, and one where how we carefully manage and even reinstate some of the most vulnerable and diminishing habitats will determine the future of much of the wildlife that lives there. From the successful new pools or ‘slacks’ for natterjack toads – which have since seen a bumper crop of baby toadlets – to healthy reedbeeds and reinstating dunes for rare flora, looking after Red Rocks remains one of our most exciting challenges.

Grayling butterfly

Red Rocks nature reserve can be accessed on foot via Stanley Road, Hoylake (limited on street parking) or with a slightly longer walk north from West Kirby. There is a boardwalk running alongside the reedbed and mature dunes on the landward side. Please observe seasonal signage relating to breeding natterjack toads which are largely restricted to fenced-off areas for their protection. FIND OUT MORE www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/red-rocks-marsh

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 9

To conserve and create space for local wildlife that is enjoyed and valued by all.

Our purpose

Cheshire

We act locally and influence nationally

We are proactive, professional and pioneering

• •

We make sustainable choices

• We act pragmatically to secure the best outcome for wildlife

We work in partnership to achieve our goals

•

• We lead by example and make decisions based on evidence

•

• We aim to meet the aspirations of our members, supporters and volunteers

• We are passionate about securing a future for local wildlife on land and at sea

Our values

We will achieve this by creating a Living Landscape and securing Living Seas. We want a network of more, bigger, better and healthier spaces for wildlife. We want local people to be knowledgeable and passionate about nature and take action for wildlife and we want the needs of wildlife to be valued in decision making in balance with the needs of people.

In a generation wildlife has more space to thrive and more local people value nature Cheshire

Our vision

5. Science evidence areare used more 5. Scienceand and evidence used more effectively to underpin our work effectively to underpin our work

4. Healthy networks support 4. Healthyecological ecological networks support nature’s to to people nature’sbenefits benefits people

3. More Moredeclining declining species recovering 3. species areare in recovery

2. Spacesfor for wildlife better protected 2. Spaces wildlife areare better protected and and better managed better managed

1. New Newspaces spaces wildlife created 1. forfor wildlife areare created

Space for is wildlife is Aim S pace1:for wildlife and conserved createdcreated and conserved

Our outcomes

5. There is more financial support for wildlife conservation

7. We achieve greater impact by being part of the UK wide Wildlife Trust movement

6. Our work and achievements are well communicated and understood

5. Our governance structures deliver effective and timely decision making

4. Our processes and systems are fit for purpose, understood and used

3. We are the ‘go to’ local wildlife organisation

2. Staff, volunteers and members feel valued and well supported

1. We focus delivery on our strategic priorities and reflect our values

We are an effective organisation

5. More decisions affecting nature take account of its value and secure benefits for wildlife

4. The benefits we get from nature are better understood and valued

4. As we grow, more of our supporters’ money is spent directly on delivering our purpose

3. We are good stewards of our assets and resources

2. More people take action for wildlife 3. More people visit the coast and countryside and experience wildlife

2. Our financial and business planning processes are fully integrated

1. We are financially sustainable and independent

Our funding is sustainable

1. Families and children are more passionate about wildlife

Wildlife is enjoyed and valued by all

By 2020 our work will have created more space for nature. Wildlife will be valued more highly by local people and given greater consideration in decision making. By working locally for nature’s recovery we will have inspired more people to take action for wildlife and secured more resources to deliver our vision.

PEOPLE & NATURE

Taking young children out? Here are our experts’ tips to introduce them to the wonderful planet they are a part of

15 great outdoor games Lay a sheet under a tree and shake a branch. You will be amazed at how much is living up above your heads.

Explore under logs, in crevices in trees, on leaves, in meadows, in streams. Children love holding millipedes that are ‘playing dead’ and watching them unfurl. For advanced ‘minibeasting’ set an overnight pitfall trap: sink a yogurt pot to ground level and prop a rain proof roof over the top.

In the woods, get the children to leave a trail, marking out arrows with stones, sticks or pine cones to show the way they’ve gone. Or leave some leaf art for other people to find.

What sounds better? “Fancy going for a walk?” or, “Who’s up for a mission to go back in time and discover dinosaurs and find their eggs?” It’s fun chasing imaginary dinosaurs through the woods. Stones are their eggs! Muddy puddles are footprints!

As you walk, make up stories about the unusual things you pass. Who really lives down that hole? Was that tree watching you?

Catch grasshoppers in long grass with a net made from light material and a wire coat hanger. Have a jam jar ready to catch flying insects from the net for a closer look.

Find objects and make up what they could be. A twig is a walking stick for a hedgehog. A catkin is a squirrel’s scarf. Children will really get into it and come up with some crazy ideas.

Building nest boxes is a brilliant activity for children. Ready-sawn wood and pre-drilled nail holes make it easier for smaller ones to get involved.

Roll down a grass bank and see who can roll the slowest – or who can get to the bottom first!

Stop, sit and be still in long grass or under a tree. Nature will come to you! A couple of minutes is all it takes!

Watch bees: spot the pollen baskets on their hind legs, and their long tongues drinking nectar.

Use the best binoculars available – a pair of taped-together loo rolls. This simple bit of kit will focus their attention on the smallest of habitats under a leaf, or features across a landscape. They’re light, durable and you can even stick them on the compost heap when you get home.

Even your back garden becomes a jungle of exciting creatures after dark. Hang up a sheet and shine a torch to attract moths. Or search under stones or logs to spot nocturnal creepy crawlies.

12 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Make a pond to attract wildlife with an upturned dustbin lid dug into the ground. Wait a few weeks in spring or summer. Then just lie down on your tummy and watch.

TOM MARSHALL

the children to pretend they’re 5 Ask an ant. They could put a piece of string on the ground and explore every minute detail along it as if they were very small. What do they see and what do they find? What would it be like to be that creature?

TOM MARSHALL

Hello world

Think like this

l Embrace the great outdoors in all its wildness. You and your children are wild at heart. We are meant to be connected to nature. l Children who are engaged and buzzing with excitement take in and store that experience for the future. It also awakens their natural curiosity. l Get out there and enjoy the sunshine, wind and rain. Children will follow your lead and will want to do the same. l Let yourself go: run around, get muddy, make silly shapes and noises. Children will thrive off the energy you give off. l Keep it simple, cheap and local. There’s no need for fancy expensive materials. l If you come across a bug you’re not sure of, think of a funny way to describe it. That way you’ll remember it to look up when you get home, if you want to. l Above all, give them the time and freedom to play, and to explore the outdoors for themselves.

l Play with your children outside, regularly l Let them get wet and muddy l Encourage them to exp lore and discover l Let them grow plants they can eat l Climb trees, make de ns, dip ponds, look for bu gs l Go out at night to sea rch for bats or minibea sts l Rear spawn into frogs or caterpillars into butterflies l Pick and eat wild bla ckberries l Use your senses: look, listen, touch, smell

Don’t

l Worry if you’re not an expert. Just aim to create a sense of wonder – happ y memories which will set them up for life l Stay indoors if it’s rai ning. Take a change of clothes and see who ca n make the biggest puddle splash

Go wild this autumn

Find a wild place near you to explore. See a list of our regular nature clubs. Download activity and spotting sheets. wildlifetrusts.org

Your experts

Judy Powell, Suffolk Wildlife Trust; Bryony Carter, Shropshire Wildlife Trust; Lorna Fox, London Wildlife Trust; Jennifer Morpeth, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust; Michelle Crooks and Jim Day, Hants & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust; Katie Fenton, Essex Wildlife Trust; Julie Doherty and Jo Morris, Avon Wildlife Trust; Debs Richardson Bull, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust; Steve Ashton, Tees Valley WT; and Cheryl Marriott, Cornwall Wildlife Trust

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 13

ALL PICS TOM MARSHALL

CONSERVATION ACTION

What has be

Dormouse detectives For generations, we’ve used dogs’ unrivalled sense of smell to help us out – from seeking out disaster victims to tracking illegal drugs. Now, in an innovative new partnership, the Trust is hoping to use our four-legged friends to help discover rare wildlife too. It’s an unseasonal summer morning when a team from the Trust joins Emma Parker and Louise Wilson from Flintshire-based Conservation Dogs at Natural Resources Wales’ Bontuchel Woods. Everyone is wrapped up in waterproofs but the star of the day is braving it in a simple high-visibility harness, her own fur coat more than enough to keep the early morning chill at bay. There’s excitement amongst the two-legged members of the team, but nine-year-old Kim, a German shepherd, is taking it all in

Whilst the dozens of nest boxes are a tried and tested technique, it still left researchers with an impossible question to answer – what if the dormice are making a home elsewhere? It was this dilemma that led the Trust to enlist the help of Kim and her owner, Emma. Although Kim and her canine colleagues have already been hard at work detecting wildlife as varied at bats, great crested newts and pine martens, this is the first time in the UK that dogs have been employed in a bid to seek out dormice.

her stride. The aim of the day is simple. To discover whether Kim has what it takes to sniff out one of the forest’s rarest and smallest residents, the dormouse.

This is the first time dogs have been used to track dormice in the wild

After disappearing from the wild in Cheshire at the beginning

Kim is Relaxed and calm, and once her harness is on she knows it’s

of 1900s, the dormouse made a long-awaited comeback during

time to work and it’s just a short walk into the first training area for

the mid-1990s, thanks to a team led by the Trust, who helped

investigation. With owner Emma just a few feet behind, Kim makes

reintroduce the charismatic creatures to a secret location in

light work of the challenging terrain of logs and scrub beneath

south Cheshire. Since then, researchers have kept a close eye on

the canopy, running her nose just a few millimetres off the ground.

the progress of the dormice through a network of hundreds of

Far from being a hindrance, the overnight rain and lingering

nest boxes along with routine micro-chipping in partnership with

drizzle is more likely to keep scents near ground level instead of

Chester Zoo and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species.

disappearing on the wind, according to Emma.

14 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Once Kim has indicated in an area the team can move in to investigate

Until now, nest boxes have been the only way to monitor breeding dormice

een a clear success, is

FIND OUT MORE Hi-vis harness on, Kim knows it’s time for work

Methodical and complete silent, Kim systematically roves from side to side, occasionally raising her head into the upper branches of the scrub, waves of myriad scents passing across her nose, her ears gently twitching and adjusting. But there’s one particular tree that has caught Kim’s interes, with countless small holes at its base. She turns toward Emma and calmly sits down, providing the indication that she has been trained to do on all of her jobs. A small orange flag is dropped into the ground before Kim is off again amongst the bluebells and on to the next potential location. Moments later, the team from the Trust can head in and investigate; searching for signs of nest material, leftover nuts with their distinctive dormouse chew marks, or anything else that might give away the rare mammal’s presence where Kim has shown interest. In just this short session, there’s already some nest material and feeding debris that the team can take away to identify further. Kim’s behaviour and the testing of this innovative technique have been a clear success, with the team happy that there will be no impact on either the habitats or wildlife by Kim’s supersleuthing nose. Although the team now know they have Kim as another tool in their efforts to understand more about our dormice and how to secure their future, there’s still much to be fine-tuned in this ground-breaking approach.

Find out more about the Conservation Dogs at www.conservationdogs.com

At the heart of Kim’s ongoing training will be honing her skills to definitively separate dormice scents from other small mammals such as voles, shrews and mice. Although this is a tough challenge, the team believe that using captive-bred dormice bedding and perhaps even the cotton bags used for handling wild dormice during weighing and measuring on annual survey days could all be key to adding the dormouse to Kim’s repertoire. Not only an advantage in discovering when dormice may be making a home away from where we’ve given them a helping hand, it’s also hoped that Kim’s nose, and perhaps those of her kennel mates, may one day be seeking out dormice in completely new areas, perhaps even saving them from being lost to woodland removal or development. However long it takes for Kim to become a true dormouse detective, those looking after our dormice can be sure that in the future man’s best friend could be at their side too.

ADOPT A DORMOUSE IN CHESHIRE You can help safeguard the future for Cheshire’s rare dormice by adopting one today through our new Nature Gifts scheme. As either a gift or a treat for yourself, each beautifully presented adoption comes with a personalised certificate and is packed with information on the dormouse with lots of stunning images. Wildlife adoptions start from just £25 and you can find out more at www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/naturegifts

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 15

FORAGING

Seasonal menu Autumn is a time of plenty. As the leaves turn, our hedgerows strain under the weight of berries and forest floors come to life with fungi. Sue Tatman takes us on a gastronomic tour of what to look for this September – before the wildlife grabs a table! As this copy of The Grebe drops on your doorstep, plants of all types are producing fruits, nuts and seeds. Fruits are produced by plants to encourage animals to help in the distribution of the precious seeds; the seed is packaged in a nutritious fruit pulp which is valued by many animals, both to feast on now and as a reserve against the lean months of the coming winter.

Elder

Sambucus nigra

The elder is a vigorous shrub, growing in hedgerows, woodland edges, and often found on waste ground. In late spring it produces large flat masses of creamy white flowers, which can be eaten or used to make elderflower cordial and elderflower champagne, or cooked as elderflower fritters.

In the autumn these are replaced by the tiny purple-black berries. The berries can be collected and made into a rich, red wine. Bank voles are particularly partial to both elderberries and the flowers, with moth caterpillars feeding on elder foliage including the white-spotted pug, swallowtail, dot moth and buff ermine.

16 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

Dog Rose

Rosa canina

s The wild dog rose is common in our wood can and hedges; its sharp curved thorns inflict vicious scratches on the unwary! The oval, orangey-red autumn fruits are rose-hips, sometimes known as heps or the itchy-coos, the latter name referring to irritating hairs on the seeds, which small in boys sometimes used as itching powder generations past. Rose-hips have a very high vitamin C content, so in the Second World War they , were collected to make into rose-hip syrup the in as well As t. lemen as a food supp syrup rose-hips can be use as a puree, with in the seeds removed, or as an ingredient . hedgerow wines

AMY LEWIS

ALAN PRICE

ZSUZSA NNA BIRD

Today, whilst we might not have to rely on this seasonal bounty for survival in quite the same way, these tasty autumn treats are still top of the menu. We look at some of the firm favourites with people, and wildlife, below.

Bramble

Rubus fruticosus

The blackberry, fruit of the bramble, is our commonest wild fruit, and for many n collecting blackberries is part of an autum dn’t shoul ritual in the countryside. Yet we take them for granted; they are a vital food source for many birds including migrants like blackcaps and rare barred warblers, and a range of mammals including wood will mice, dormice and even foxes, will who delicately pick off the ripe fruit. Where brambles hang over rivers and stream sides, it’s not unknown to find water voles reaching up to pick off the fruit as a treat amongst their usual diet of grasses

and nettles. For ourselves, as well as eating of the fruit straight from the bush they can jams. and pies ings, pudd into made be course

Blackthorn

Hawthorn

Prunus spinosa

The rowan, or mountain ash, is a woodland tree, but the tree and its cultivars are often planted ornamentally in towns. It bears clusters of small red berries, which are highly attractive to birds, and may even bring in migrant berry-feeders such as waxwings (above). The berries are also edible to humans, and can be made into a sharp jelly to serve with roast meats. Why not visit our website and find out about our conservation-grazed beef and lamb, raised on our nature reserves right here in Cheshire?

ALAN PRICE

AMY LEWIS

JON HAWKIN S

Rowan

Sorbus aucuparia

Crataegus monogyna

Blackthorn is another common hedgerow shrub, which produces the earliest blossom in spring, before its leaves appear. The berries, known as sloes, are like tiny plums, with a bluish bloom to the skin. They are highly astringent and sour to the point of being inedible. However, they can be gathered to make sloe gin; made by pricking the sloes, placing in a bottle and covering with gin and a little sugar and leaving to mature for several months. Take care when gathering sloes; blackthorn is armed with ferocious spines over an inch long and very sharp.

The hawthorn, also known as quickthorn, or may, is our commonest hedgerow shrub. Left untrimmed it grows into a small tree. The small fruits, known as haws, are barely edible, although they can be made into a jelly. However, they are a valuable autumn food source for many birds and animals.

Make sure you have the landowner’s permission before you head out foraging

RESPONSIBLE FORAGING When out harvesting wild fruit or nuts don’t pick everyth ing you find; always leave plenty for birds and animals. These foods are vital for their survival into the winter, so don’t deprive them of this vital resource. Luckily for us, most wild fruits are produced in abundance, so there is plenty for all.

TOM MARSH ALL

Only eat plants if you are sure you have identified them correctly. Some berries look lovely but if eaten can make you very ill. Don’t assume a fruit is safe because you see birds’ eating them: birds digestion is differe nt to ours and they can cope with berries that are toxic to humans.

Fungi – If in doubt, don’t

Hazel

The wild hazel has a much smaller nut than cultivated varieties, so you will need to collect plenty. Squirrels use their teeth to crack the nut in half, while mice, voles and dormice all gnaw through the outer nut shell to reach the nutritious kernel within; the dormouse’s distinctive chew marks can be seen above.

ELLIOT NEEP

Corylus avellana

Don’t eat this one!

The mushrooms we see are the fruiting body of a much larger mass of fungal threads growing in the ground or rotting vegetation; picking the mushroom does no harm to the underground mass. However, great care is needed. While some of our native fungi are edible, many more are distast eful, and a few are highly toxic. Unless you are an expert in identify ing mushrooms they are better avoided.

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 17

l The UK’s seas are home to half our wildlife: whales, dolphins, turtles, birds, fish and thousands of other weird and wonderful animals and plants l They should be safe, but in fact they are threatened by damaging over-exploitation. Many habitats have already been destroyed, and species pushed towards extinction l Please join our campaign to persuade the UK Government to set up a network of Marine Protected Areas where wildlife can flourish again

Yes! I’ll help to save the UK’s sea life I’ll become a Friend of Marine Conservation Zones by going to wildlifetrusts.org/mczfriends. This will give me regular emails from The Wildlife Trusts’ marine campaign team, letting me know how I can help. If I live near the sea, my local Wildlife Trust may also contact me with other ways I can get involved. My details will not be used for any other purpose.

wildlifetrusts.org/mczfriends 18 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

What are we trying to achieve? The Wildlife Trusts want the UK Government to set up and defend a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). These are parts of the sea where habitats are protected from damaging activities such as scallop dredging and trawling. In England, nationally important MPAs are called Marine Conservation Zones. After the 2009 Marine Act, establishing them should be a formality. But only 27 Conservation Zones have been approved so far in England, with a further 33 being considered in Scotland, and more in Northern Ireland. The Wildlife Trusts are campaigning for a joined-up network of protected sites in UK seas. Marine Conservation Zones protect threatened undersea habitats such as eelgrass meadows, rocky reefs and deepwater canyons – and the animals that live in and around them. Only your support will put pressure on the Government to fulfil its commitments and set aside areas of the sea for protection.

LINDA PITKIN, 2020 VISION/NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

YOU The UK’s sea life needs

NEW BICKLEY BARN

Sun shines for grand opening of the Bickley Barn Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire cuts ribbon on £120,000 project New dedicated outdoor learning area for children First time schools will have all-weather facility at the farm Dozens of guests joined the Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire, David Briggs MBE as the Trust opened their new Bickley Barn education and learning centre. The £120,000 project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has seen a 100 year old former dairy milking barn - still in daily use just 8 months ago - transformed into a purpose-built centre of classrooms and other facilities for visiting schoolchildren from across the region. The opening marks the first time since we took on Bickley Hall Farm in 2007, that visiting youngsters will have an all-weather teaching facility, including indoor washrooms, disabled access and a kitchen. The latest technology also means neighbouring wildlife can be beamed by wireless cameras directly into the centre and big-screens can bring microscopic creatures in the farm’s ponds to life.

The new centre also opens onto a large dedicated outdoor learning area; with ponds, an orchard and wildflower meadows just seconds away from the classroom, along with native-breed Longhorn cattle and Hebridean sheep just across the fence. As well as visiting schoolchildren, it’s hoped those in surrounding villages and the local area will also be keen to make use of the new conference room for community events and educational courses. Declaring the new centre open, Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire David Briggs said the facility had been a great achievement for the Trust, and was all the more important after recent research showed that just one in five youngsters today get

a meaningful regular experience in the outdoors. Just a generation ago, the same interaction was enjoyed by around three quarters of children. The Bickley Barn has been supported by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery, People’s Postcode Trust, the Meres & Mosses Landscape Partnership, Urenco, the Garfield Weston Foundation, The Jean Jackson Charitable Trust and a number of private donors including the estates of Steve & Betty Cheek and Margaret Coates along with an appeal with the Trust’s 13,000-strong membership. Enquiries for the centre can be made by calling 01948 820728 or email info@cheshirewt.org.uk. Youngsters enjoying the hay meadows

(L–R) Philip Cheek, John Thorneycroft - Jean Jackson Trust, David Briggs MBE, Charlotte Harris - CWT CEO, Tom Hayek Meres & Mosses Landscape Partnership, Gerald Coates Charlotte Harris and David Briggs plant a lime tree to commemorate the opening

The new conference room and the barn before the project began

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 19

NATURE GIFTS

Enjoy a wild

Christmas

We have a host of gift ideas for the festive season; from the chance to adopt your favourite Cheshire wildlife and lend a hand to nature on your doorstep, to our very own binoculars that will get you closer to the action, and stocking filler favourites like our popular cards and calendars. Still can’t decide? Head to our online shop today to see the full range.

Think inside the box With a brand new, contemporary design for 2014, our beautifully presented Nature Gifts wildlife adoption packs let you give a gift that can make a real difference for nature. From the diminutive dormouse to the unmistakeable otter and the charismatic barn owl, there’s something for everyone. And all presented in an easy to wrap box too, what could be easier?

Don’t miss a moment Launched earlier this year in partnership with one of the UK’s leading optical manufacturers, Opticron, the Wildlife Trusts’ first range of Oregon WT branded binoculars has a choice to suit everyone. From a lightweight beginners option to throw in the backpack, to high-quality waterproof optics for the determined wildlifewatcher keen to check out every detail, there’s price to suit your budget as well.

20 THE GREBE SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014

£25.00

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£2.50

All you need is a biscuit… With four stunning and vibrant designs by artist Mark Greco, these colourful mugs feature iconic British wildlife like the hedgehog, short-eared owl, otter and peregrine falcon. Guaranteed to brighten up any tea break! As well as your purchase with us, manufacturer Creative Tops will give a donation to the Wildlife Trusts for every mug sold.

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• www.glebecottage.co.uk

32569 91210 6

YOUR FREE GIFT FROM US Spend at least £30 in our shop this autumn and you can enjoy a FREE copy of our anniversary book ’50 favourite species’ worth £7.95, for an extra last minute gift. To see our full range of wildlife gifts visit our website, you can also place an order by calling 01948 820728 (Mon-Fri, 9:30am4:30pm) or by completing the form on the back of the address sheet with this edition of The Grebe.

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2014 THE GREBE 21