Wildlife focus 114 winter by The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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A Gift for Christmas What can you get for the friend or family member who has everything?

You can sign someone up for a gift membership online: www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/ membership or call 0121 4541199 and ask us to send you out some information. Please ensure you get your gift

Support your local wildlife today! Simply text WILDLIFE to 82540 to make a donation of £5.00* to The Wildlife Trust, or text BADGER to 82540, to make a donation of £1.50*.

membership ordered by 12th December to avoid disappointment! n

through the following activities: We are working to: • build the skills of individual community groups to allow them to continue to flourish without our support. • establish a network of community groups across the Black Country in order to facilitate the sharing of best practice and resources. • facilitate the engagement of community groups in strategic conservation and help them influence environmental decisions and enable them to engage in partnership working.

Photo: Gary Roskell

Access to Supporting Nature Change and Impact funding success.

It was always the intention that we would create some sustainable structures for communities to work independently for long term environmental benefits. Access to Nature is a scheme run by Natural England and funded by the Big Lottery Fund and we are delighted that with their help we can now focus on doing this

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A Robin

Securing the Legacy for Living Landscapes In the last issue, we reported on the end of the Black Country Living Landscapes project, but now we are pleased to announce that funding has been secured for work to ensure that its legacy will live on.

ISSUE 114 | WINTER2012

Thank you *Standard network charges apply. The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham & the Black Country will receive your donation less a small processing fee.

Photo: Len Gill

Well, rather than wasting your money on something they may not like and never use, how about buying them a gift membership for The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country? Then they can feel, as you do, that they are part of an organisation doing great work to champion wildlife and green spaces, caring for wildlife across the area.

Text 2 Donate

ensure work towards creating a living landscape continues. n Pip Bradley, Education & Living Landscapes.

Ponds Come to Life New species appear after ponds are dug

Black & White Alert Children playing in the woods

Caring for Badgers in Urban Areas and the Countryside

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Photo: Jon Hawkins

We also hope that by doing this we will be able to link the groups in with the work of the Nature Improvement Area to

Wildlife Watch pages for Kids and Families - see pages 8 & 9 Get involved in Nature Improvement Areas - see page 3 Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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Join the Action

Message from our Chief Executive.

Nature Improvement Areas.

Dear Members,

The article later gives more detail, so tell your local MP what you think - but don’t just criticise the cull, let them know the importance of getting cattle vaccination approved. The downpours in August were miserable for holidaymakers, but weren’t much fun for wildlife either. Butterflies, especially, had a hard time. But there is a silver lining, as it seems this autumn will be a spectacular one for fungi - mushrooms and toadstools. I have already found some beautiful ‘Lawyer’s Wig’ toadstools and some really strange looking earth-stars in the woods. Why not come along on our ‘Fungus Foray’ in a few weeks’ time, and see what you can discover about these strange and colourful plants? n Neil Wyatt Chief Executive

One way we can do this is through the media, and we were successful in getting a piece on Midlands Today showing an example of the things that can be done (with some wildflower meadow creation at Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood) and a call for more people to engage. Even better is to do it through word of mouth and trusted local contacts, so we are looking for our members to help in this. We want as many communities as possible to benefit from the amazing opportunities available to give nature a boost where they live, so please talk to us about what we can do to help you make where you live a better space for people and wildlife. Also pass this information onto anyone else who might be interested, too.

Wildlif e Watc hp for Kid s and F ages amili See pa ges 8 & es 9

In simple terms, two things the NIA can offer to partners are:

WILDLIFEFOCUS If you have any comments, queries or suggestions regarding WILDLIFE FOCUS please call us or email info@bbcwildlife.org.uk. WILDLIFE FOCUS is published by The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country. The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country is one of 47 local trusts working to make the United Kingdom a better place for people and wildlife. Collectively we have over 800,000 members and manage over 3,000 nature reserves. Locally we work to conserve biodiversity, improve the environment and raise awareness and understanding of wildlife issues.

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country 16 Greenfield Crescent, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3AU. Tel: 0121 454 1199 Email: info@bbcwildlife.org.uk Web: www.bbcwildlife.org.uk www.facebook.com/wtbbc

More than fifty partners were originally involved in the successful bid for Birmingham and the Black Country to become one of the government’s designated Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs), but as lead partner, The Wildlife Trust is striving to get more involved all the time.

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Before improvements at Kings Norton Nature Reserve, Birmingham

Photo: Simon Atkinson

Many members have got in touch with us about the trial of badger culling in some parts of England. It is heart breaking for a farmer to lose his entire herd of cattle as a result of a tuberculosis outbreak, so it is understandable that farmers are demanding action against a disease that has been steadily spreading for decades. The tragedy is that experiments, carried out over many years, make it clear that killing badgers is not going to solve the problem, and may make it worse.

At last, there is good news - a few weeks ago it was announced that there is now a test that can show the difference between inoculated cattle and those that have the disease.

Photo: Simon Atkinson

You may not have noticed, you now have a “Local Nature Partnership”! No, this isn’t a group of foxes, rabbits and other wildlife, it is a body which brings together representatives of councils, health bodies, business, government agencies, the voluntary sector and others to agree how they can best work together to protect wildlife in Birmingham and the Black Country. Approved by the Environment Minister, Richard Benyon, in October, we have high hopes the Local Nature Partnership will bring increased awareness and support for the natural world from the area’s decision makers.

Photo: Chris Taylor

Welcome

After improvements with the creation of a new reed bed at KNNR

The work which was carried out to create a new reed bed will help to improve water quality and wildlife habitat while maintaining the area’s increasingly important floodwater retention capacity. The area was previously overgrown and contained invasive species of plants.

Provide funding • If a project fits with the priorities listed on our website, there is some money available to make it happen, although there are limits to how much. You can see how much is available for each delivery theme per year in the application form notes (see link below).

through the NIA include: Provide expertise • As Programme Manager, Simon Atkinson has time allocated to work with NIA partners to develop their projects and look at what kind of habitat work would be suitable. Examples: As well as the creation of wildflower meadows and the introduction of a bluebell-rich flora to planted woodland at Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood, other projects that have applied for funding

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The creation of a new reed bed, grassland enhancements and the planting of a new hedgerow at Kings Norton Nature Reserve, Birmingham. Naturalisation and improvements to the wildlife value of the Platt Brook close to Lea Hall, Birmingham. The restoration of an historic avenue of trees which link Merrion’s Wood to Great Barr Hall in Walsall, and the diversification of the grassland verges. The introduction of a flower-rich flora to

the woodlands of Warley Woods, in Sandwell. Anyone can suggest ideas for nature improvements in their area, so get in touch. All the information you need is on the Nature Improvement Area website www.bbcnia.org.uk. If you are unable to access this and would like to read the information, please contact us and request paper copies to be sent. n Simon Atkinson, Nature Improvement Area Programme Manager.

and other

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Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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Standing up for Badgers & Farmers

A badger on the lawn

Photo: Neil Aldridge

The situation became more urgent after Owen Paterson was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: one of his first actions was to approve the start of culling in trial areas. After revealing the rather surprising news that as a child he had kept two badgers as pets, he went on to profess his enthusiasm for badger culling:

We first noticed the badger last spring when he triggered the garden security lights in his discovery of the nuts knocked off the bird table. We’d seen and, more often, heard foxes in the garden before, but this was our first live wild badger - ever!

"We will start culling in two pilot areas to prove that it can bear down on the disease.” Asked if he thought the first pilot culling licence was a positive first step towards a more widespread cull in England, Mr Paterson said, "I very much hope so". He has also accused opponents of the cull of being out of touch: “We can’t live in Wind in the Willows sentimentality – we have to live in the real world”.

A badger emerges from its set

“They should be looking at husbandry methods, vaccination, regional variants and livestock movement and management before looking for an innocent scapegoat to kill.” There was an announcement on 23rd October that the cull was to be postponed. MPs then voted by 147 to 28 in favour of a vaccination programme for badgers and cattle, along with improved testing and biosecurity, but this is nonbinding so it means we still need to work to ensure the cull is dropped completely.

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When he turned up again we decided this was a behaviour to be encouraged by deliberately leaving enough food to keep him coming back, but not enough to make him dependent on us. A scattering of peanuts, left-over cat food and other suitable scraps have done this throughout summer and now into autumn.

pushed out from his clan as part of the enforced dispersal of year-old boars common in these animals.

Badgers are becoming increasingly common in suburbia (see the excellent clip on the Wildlife Trust’s Facebook pages) and badgers do roam widely each night in their search for food. Our visitor is likely to be one of last year’s males

He is very tolerant of our proximity: we can watch him methodically looking for the scattered food through the window as long as we don’t make any rapid movements. When we put out broken eggs, a fox

A badger in the garden

Photo: Tessa Andrews

Yet the scientific evidence for culling badgers simply doesn’t stack up. Simon King, President of The Wildlife Trusts, has been prominent in the media, saying "It is in the interest of both farming and conservationists to eradicate Bovine TB in the British Isles. The way forward is undoubtedly vaccination for both cattle and wildlife. Culling is not an answer.

Photo: Margaret Holland

For over a year, all The Wildlife Trusts have opposed government plans for a badger cull on the grounds that they will not be effective in tackling bovine TB and may make matters worse.

A pile of peanuts is clearly a feast for an animal whose customary idea of a good meal is a tangle of worms.

Owen Paterson MP

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Write to your MP to ask them to call for the cull to be stopped. Write to your MEP to ask them to press for the EU ban on a cattle vaccine to be lifted. EU rules currently prevent it from being tested and used in this country. The e-petition forced a debate in parliament; look out for any others to keep up the pressure.

We will continue to do everything we can to ensure plans to kill badgers are abandoned and that farmers are helped to combat Bovine TB, but we need your help. This is a fast-moving situation, so see our website for the latest news. n Joe Peacock, Communications Officer.

The badger ignores the foxes unless they come too close when a threatening lunge is enough to see the smaller animals off. But foxes, of course, are known for what in humans we would call ’cunning’. When the badger has found a particularly desirable titbit, a fox will sometimes approach from behind and nip the badger’s tail before running off down the garden. The annoyed badger will then chase the fox. The fox, though, accelerates more rapidly and, while the badger can move quickly, the fox is quicker. Ten or so metres down the garden, the fox turns round and, giving the badger a wide berth, returns to the food to snatch it up before the badger has been able to turn round.

SImon King, President of The WIldlife Trusts

What can you do to help? •

will immediately take them away to hide them for later consumption. The badger, however, will eat through the other food first, then take the eggs away - as a dessert.

The foxes have a den at the bottom of the garden, but where the badger sleeps is a mystery, and where he will over winter is a concern. But at least, meanwhile, he shouldn’t starve. n Fox cub in a Leeds garden

Peter Jarvis, Trustee.

Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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Better rivers and streams?

Work on producing a Catchment Management Plan for the River Tame and its tributaries is progressing well.

A look at what has changed in our region’s waterways.

In one of fifteen pilot initiatives being prepared nationally for DEFRA and the Environment Agency, The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country is working with its partner trusts in Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire to prepare a Catchment Management Plan (CMP) for the largest river in the West Midlands, running through a diversity of urban and rural landscapes. The aim of the CMP will be to ensure that local knowledge is used to plan for and manage the catchment. Four workshops have been held across different parts of the catchment with attendance from over 100 people, representing a range of organisations.

Photo: Chris Wishart

Tame waits for no man

In 2005, Dr Ellen Pisolkar produced a technical report to support publication of Peter Shirley’s The Endless Village Revisited. Ellen’s thirty-year review identified many changes in the nature of our region’s waterways.

The River Tame

They have inputted local information and views about the water environment. Thoughts about a vision for the catchment have been captured, along with views about the issues and opportunities, and options and actions. Thanks to those who have already completed the ‘water environment attitude’ online survey at www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/water_survey.

We are still looking for more responses, so if you haven’t made your views known yet, please do so! A draft version of the CMP will be made available for further comment later in 2012. If you would like more information about the River Tame Catchment Plan, or would like to pass on any relevant views, please send an email to info@bbcwildlife.org.uk n Chris Parry, Principle Ecologist.

Birmingham & Black Country update. Great news for Birmingham and the Black Country! Members may already be aware of the work this year to support the development of a Local Nature Partnership (LNP) along the lines set out by the government. In June, this resulted in an application to DEFRA for LNP status. After providing further information following the application, LNP status was confirmed in September. A ministerial letter formally confirming this status has now been received. An introductory event, organised by DEFRA, took place in London on 5th October for representatives of the 48 LNPs who have

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been given formal status to meet one another and key contacts in DEFRA. This is just the beginning as DEFRA have said that most partnerships (including ours) still have work to do to develop their partnership further. Ministers plan to meet all LNPs later this financial year and will be keen to discuss progress. It is hoped that the first meeting of the Birmingham and Black Country LNP will take place before Christmas. Alan Cutler (Biodiversity - Geodiversity Partnership Chair) and myself would like to thank all those who have supported and

Water quality In 1975 water quality throughout the Tame was given the worst category of ‘bad’ and the Rea was classed as ‘doubtful’. In the 1960s, the Tame was virtually lifeless, but in 1987 the fish fauna included Carp, Tench, Pike, Roach, Gudgeon and Perch. Indeed by 2000 fish numbers had increased to a level sufficient to attract Otters which were found at four sites.

Photo: Tessa Andrews

Local Nature Partnership

Over 850km of rivers and streams are found in Birmingham and the Black Country. Located on the watershed of England, the central and eastern parts of the region drain into the Rea, Cole and Tame. Dudley; West Sandwell and Wolverhampton drain into the Stour. Most watercourses have been poor in water and habitat quality, but reversal of both of these is in progress.

Potentilla erecta

encouraged the LNP initiative this far, and look forward to making further progress over the coming months. n The River Cole

Chris Parry, Principle Ecologist.

Wild flowers on the bank of the River Tame

Surveys of the Rea and Cole have shown considerable improvements in quality. A biological survey of the Rea in 1986 compared with one in 1978 showed a dramatic improvement, with good quality in its upper and middle reaches. A number of freshwater invertebrates sensitive to organic pollution such as Mayfly Ephemerella ignita were recorded. However, the culverted section through the City remained virtually sterile. The Cole has shown a similar improvement in its upper reaches and in 2004 adult Brown Trout and Bullhead were found, the latter species requiring high oxygen levels to survive.

A major international project (Sustainable Management of Urban Rivers and Floodplains) was based in Birmingham. A demonstration site in Perry Hall Playing Fields involved creating a meander, widening part of the river channel, making a shallower slope, creation of a wildflower meadow, tree planting and involvement of the local community. At Sandwell Valley, protective gabions were removed so that natural deposition and erosion created river cliffs that could prove attractive nesting sites for Kingfishers.

Habitat quality Major anti-flooding habitat modification, particularly on the Tame, has resulted in a deepened and straightened channel with a uniform cross-section and a corresponding reduction in habitat quality. This is partly offset by the creation of balancing lakes to take flood waters, valuable wildlife habitats, particularly for birds. There have been moves to improve habitat quality through restoration of natural river features, for example Project Kingfisher on the Cole to enhance an 11km section.

Local interest Opening river valleys to recreational use and encouraging natural habitat has taken place in many parts of Birmingham and the Black Country, including Project Kingfisher on the River Cole, and walkways along the rivers Rea, Tame and Stour, as well as along numerous tributaries. n Sara Carvalho, EcoRecord Manager (Based on The Endless Village Revisited technical report by Dr. Ellen Pisolkar, 2005).

Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

WILDLIFEFOCUS Photo: Gillian Day

Welcome to your Wildlife Watch page. Here you’ll find lots of ways for children, young people and families to get involved with the Wildlife Trust.

Help a hedgehog - see how to make a house below

Five things to do this winter! Find out what’s going on at your local nature reserve and get involved. You could make your own Christmas wreath and roll your own festive candle at Moseley Bog.

Or in the New Year try your hand at making a nest box at Bumblehole. There are lots of things happening over winter: grab a ‘What’s On’ or have a look at our website and join in! n

Go for a walk and spot the signs of winter! Take along a bag or bucket and collect interesting things like pine cones or colourful leaves. If take a camera you you can bring home reminders of the things you can’t collect, like animal tracks or fungi. n

Go for a walk and spot the signs of winter

The nights are drawing in and there may be a chill in the air, but there are still plenty of things that you can do outside in your green spaces and to help wildlife. Why not try some of these!

Make a bird feeder. Feeding birds in winter helps them out when food is scarce.

Method: •

Ingredients: • • •

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String. Pine cone. Bird seed, old cheese, old muesli (use whatever you can get your hands on). Vegetable suet.

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• Make a simple hedgehog house. Hedgehogs need a warm dry house to survive winter: 1. Get a big thick cardboard box, a plastic bag and a pair of scissors. 2. Cut some holes in the side (get a grown up to help) - drawing around a small ruler will give you the right shape and size. 3. Remember to cut a door in the front, about 15cm tall and 15cm wide. 4. Cover the box with an opened up old carrier bag to keep it dry. 5. Put some shredded old newspaper inside to make it cosy. 6. Tuck your box under a hedge and put some dry leaves on top. 7. Try and point the door to the direction the sun comes up in your garden. Remember not to disturb the house and keep your distance, but keep your eyes peeled - signs of disturbance will tell you that you have a hedgehog living there. n

How to make a simple hedgehog house...

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Tie your string around the top, stalk end of your cone. Make sure you leave a big tail of string as you will need this to tie it up outside. In a bowl place two handfuls of veggy suet and two of your seed mix. Scrunch up the seed and suet. Squish it through your fingers till it’s mushy and completely mixed up. Push the messy seed mix into the gaps in- the cone. Hang it up outside, somewhere out of the way of cats and foxes. Keep your eyes peeled and watch to see who visits your feeder! n

Create your own golden crown. On a winter walk, gather lots of different-coloured leaves. Using cardboard from an old box, cut a length long enough to go all the way round your head. Tape it together so it fits you. Stick your leaves all around until you have made your very own leaf crown. n

Let us know how you’ve got on with these activities, or any other nature things you get up to this winter. If you write to us or take a photograph we may even publish it next time or put it on our web site! Send it in to info@bbcwildlife.org.uk n Pip Bradley, Education & Living Landscapes Officer.

Photo:

Mick

Put on your wellies and check out your Local Nature Reserve

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Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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A dramatic new welcome

This August, with support and funding from Awards for All, the Friends of Bumblehole Conservation Group and The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country hosted free forest play activities for local families.

Nature reserve gets an entrance worthy of somewhere special. Visitors to the Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood Nature Reserve coming from Yardley Wood Road previously had only an old wooden gate and stile to welcome them. Now there is a striking new entrance incorporating a lockable vehicle gate, height barrier, disabled parking bays and a pedestrian access gate. The gates and height barrier were designed by nationally acclaimed artist Adrian Moakes, who encouraged local people to sketch plants, roots and larger tree forms that have captured their interest. These sketches were then translated into simple sculptures using green garden wire and pliers, and then developed further to feed into the final design. Building a camp fire at Bumblehole

Sue Goodyear Secretary, the Friends of Bumblehole Conservation Group.

Every day throughout August, qualified Forest Schools Leaders from the Wildlife Trust led young people through a range of activities from the woodland ‘base camp’ created at the Bumblehole reserve. Kids learned how to build dens and shelters, make woodland furniture, and create all sorts of artistic and creative things from natural materials found in the woodland. A highlight of each day was cooking on the campfire. The kids learned to light the fire using traditional methods like flintand-strike, skills needing lots of patience! Everyone joined in to find dry wood and

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sort it into kindling and suitable sizes for getting a fire going safely. They learned about constructing safe fire boundaries and locating the fire so as not to damage anything growing. At the end of each cooking session, everyone got involved in making sure the fire was extinguished properly and that no traces of the fire were left. Worth all the work, to cook marshmallows on a stick they had whittled themselves, and cooking popcorn in the wild certainly got an explosive response! Children who have the chance to participate in Forest Schools activities benefit in many ways, including self confidence and self-esteem, team work, motivation, skills and knowledge, and pride in, and understanding of, their surrounding environment. I hope that the kids who joined in our Forest School activities this summer will take all of those things forward with them, but most importantly will now have a real sense of pride, protection and understanding of their green spaces. n Pip Bradley, Education & Living Landscapes Officer.

Reserve Officer Francesca Jarvis-Rouse says: “The combination of the entrance feature and community-focused activities can only emphasise the importance of the nature reserve and help to protect it into the future.” Come along to the launch on Sunday 9th December 12pm-3pm and meet Adrian Moakes. It’ll be a great day out for all the family with winter activities, including wreath making, candle rolling and green wood working. n Francesca Jarvis-Rouse, Moseley Bog Reserve Officer.

Park Hall ponds come to life An update on the National wetland restoration and flood alleviation programme from last issue. New ponds and scrapes have been created across the site both in and outside of the flood plain in order to maximise the diversity of the aquatic habitats and niches. Surveys undertaken this summer have had some surprising results. In ponds only created in the spring of 2012, there is already a remarkable variety of life, including several notable (and nationally scarce) aquatic beetles. Hydroglyphus pusillus, Rhantus suturalis, Hygrotus nigrolineatus were amongst the diving beetles found. All are considered uncommon since they require newlycreated ponds as their preferred habitat,

or they are relatively new species arriving from the European mainland. We also found the impressive Great Diving Beetle (Dytiscus marginalis) and many other aquatic invertebrates taking advantage of newly available habitat. In the older restored ponds and ditches, we found evidence of healthy populations of amphibians. The early autumn dry spell saw large numbers of dragonflies vigorously defending ponds as part of their breeding behaviour, including Broad Bodied Chaser, Brown Hawkers, Ruddy Darters, Southern Hawkers and our first ever Aeshna mixta - Migrant hawker.

Entrance featue at Moseley Bog

Photo: Gary Roskell

“We’ve had a wonderful month here at Bumblehole with Pip and Steve and the rest of the guys at The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. They have done an absolutely fantastic job delivering our Forest Schools activities. I don’t know who’s enjoyed it more, the children or the parents. Everyone has had a whale of a time and everything has been done professionally and very safely. It’s been fantastic, so thank you everyone!”

Forest Schools are based on a Scandinavian idea about embracing woodlands and the outdoors as a learning environment. Steven Hodgkinson from the Wildlife Trust said, "Getting back to nature is what it is all about this summer, we want to get kids back into the woods and greenspaces and let them try out the things that we used to do in the woods. We can show them ropes, fires and dens - what more can you ask for!"

The main plant to feature in the artwork is Wood Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum), an ancient species that still grows in the reserve, though on a much smaller scale today.

Other plants putting in an appearance are Hedge Garlic (Alliara petiolata), the spiral forms of early spring fern croziers and the numerous examples of climbers, creepers and root systems, as well as woodland grasses/soft rushes and Crack Willows.

Photo: Francesca Jarvis-Rouse

Photo: Pip Bradley

Free forest fun!

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly

As winter approaches, we begin the task of removing aquatic vegetation from some of the ponds and ditches, so the cycle of recolonisation can begin again. Thanks to Ellen Pisolkar for her identification of species and invaluable advice on all matters relating to ponds. n Chris Wishart, Park Hall Reserve Officer.

Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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Fond memories

New Staff

Urban Wildlife Group Manpower Services Commission staff reunion.

We are delighted to welcome three new members of staff to the team.

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country began life in 1980 as the Urban Wildlife Group (UWG). In order for the fledgling organisation to take its pioneering nature conservation work forward in the conurbation, UWG exploited government training and employment schemes, such as the Manpower Services Commission scheme.

Joe Peacock is our new Membership and Communications Officer and joins us from Birmingham Friends of the Earth where he has been working for the last three years. He says he is looking forward to getting to know a lot more of our members and helping The Wildlife Trust promote its work through social media and more traditional means.

Between 1980 and 1988, UWG sponsored a scheme which helped to further nature conservation in Birmingham and the Black Country by employing staff to protect, survey, plan for, manage, educate and campaign for the natural environment. In 1984, there were 60 full - or part-time posts, and by 1987 this had grown to 130. Staff stayed for periods of between 6 and 12 months and so many people passed through the doors of UWG, a good number beginning their working careers and many finding a direction and inspiration for their future. In Spring 2012, Richard (Russ) Andrews got in touch with us to ask if it would be a good idea to get ex-Community Programme staff together again for a reunion as it was 25 years since he had worked for UWG. He did not realise that one survivor of that period was still employed at the Wildlife Trust, me, as Principal Ecologist. Over the Spring and Summer, Richard and I liaised, endeavouring to track down and contact former members of staff and plan a reunion event. After much detective work and careful planning, this took place on Saturday 22nd September at the Trust’s education centre in Winson Green, the Centre of the Earth. About forty former members of staff attended on the day bringing with them husbands, wives, partners, children and a dog to renew friendships, re-visit fond memories and re-live important moments

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Urban Wildlfife Group Manpower Services staff reunion

in the work of UWG. I gave a presentation about the work of the Wildlife Trust today, Mark Jeffreys wrote a special song for the occasion, opportunities for sharing contact details were given and former staff left messages for the Trust. The day was complete with a walk to the City Centre along the Birmingham Wolverhampton Main Line Canal, followed by a celebratory meal. Community Programme staff between 1981 - 1988 were the foundation of the Wildlife Trust as we know it today and a significant debt of gratitude is owed to these pioneers. Without their enthusiasm, commitment and belief, it is difficult to see where we would be today. With acknowledgement to Peter Shirley in Wildlife in Trust edited by Tim Sands (2012). n Chris Parry, Principle Ecologist. Our first newsletter logo

Some messages to the Wildlife Trust Participants: “Working at the Urban Wildlife Group was a formative experience, it had a spirit I’ve been trying to find / recapture ever since.” “Wildlife Trust - you were my inspiration, my start in the big wide world of environmental education, promotion and improvement. We had such joy in 1986/7 - thank you for that experience.” “It’s great to see the way UWG has developed and to know that in some small way we made a contribution to something worthwhile. You are doing us proud.”

Gary Roskell is the new Development Manager and comes with a wealth of experience working in the Third Sector locally. Most recently he has spent six years running an educational charity, using drama as a means of engaging young people and communities across Birmingham and the Black Country.

Left to right: Joe Peacock Michael Shiner and Gary Roskell

Michael Shiner has taken over as Finance Officer. He is a qualified accountant with many years’ experience in the commercial

sector and is delighted to work in an organisation that helps protect the greenbelt, which is one of his passions. n

Land Care Associates Land Care Associates is subsidiary of The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country. Land Care Associates (LCA) is a not-for-profit company that provides ecological, landscape architectural and arboricultural services throughout the West Midlands and beyond. As well as providing a comprehensive range of ecological services, Land Care Associates offer full landscape design services for both professional and private customers. As well as designs for hospital and school grounds, not to mention the new accessible landscape at Moseley Bog, their portfolio of recent work includes garden designs for homeowners throughout the region. And as well as designing, they can

also manage the construction of your project from start to finish. All of LCA’s profits are donated to The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country, so by choosing LCA for your next project you are also supporting the wildlife on your doorstep. n Adam Atkins, Landscape Architect at LCA.

A plan view of Moseley Bog

A viewing platform at Moseley Bog

Creating a Living Landscape

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

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Regional Highlights News from around the region

Wildlife What’s On?

A round-up of wildlife and conservation events in Birmingham and the Black Country in the coming months.

Photo: Jon Bowen

Get Involved with Local Wildlife

A Bechstein Bat

The launch of wildlife friendly cheese

Gloucestershire and the makers have to have rare breed Gloucester cattle within their herd.

The cattle spends it’s time grazing on Greystones Farm nature reserve helping maintain the site by producing a unique pattern of grazed land that only sympathetically managed cattle can make.

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Shropshire Badger vaccination has successfully been carried out on two nature reserves along the Shropshire/Cheshire border, in a joint project by these Wildlife Trusts. This is the first stage of a five-year project which has attracted significant interest, both from the media and local farmers.

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Gloucestershire This autumn, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and local organic cheese maker, Simon Weaver, have teamed up to produce a special wildlife friendly cheese! Newly launched by BBC Countryfile’s Adam Henson and his father Joe Henson at the Moreton-in-Marsh Show, Greystones Single Gloucester Cheese is a Protected Designated Origin product. The PDO means it has to be produced in

A percentage from each sale will be donated to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to plough back into Greystones Farm nature reserve and help create sustain the nature reserve over the long term in an ecologically and, importantly, economically sustainable way. More information at www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/ cheese. n AM GH K IN AC RY RM BL T BI & OUN C

Worcestershire With funding from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, we’ve been researching the behaviour of rare Bechstein’s bats during the summer. Working with experts Johnny Birks and Eric Palmer and volunteers from local bat groups, we attached radio-tags to bats at our Grafton Wood nature reserve. Worcestershire is believed to have the most northern population of these rare mammals and the research will help us and other organisations to work out how best to manage our woodlands for them. More information can be heard on Episode 2 of Radio 4’s Saving Species on the BBC iPlayer. n

If you’d like to find out more about any of the following regular activity days then please contact the appropriate member of the team. Please note that you will need to pre-book to join in:

Two landowners in the project area have asked us to vaccinate badgers on their land next summer, which will help to create a firewall against the disease in this area. “I’m very happy with how the project has gone,” said Helen Trotman, People & Wildlife Manager. “We’ve demonstrated that vaccination is a practical method of tackling the disease and raised awareness of the problems associated with culling.” n

• Tuesdays (fortnightly) Practical conservation management at Moseley Bog & Joy’s Wood Nature Reserve in south Birmingham. Contact: Francesca Jarvis-Roues on francesca.j@bbcwildlife.org.uk / 0121 454 1199. • Tuesdays (weekly) Working alongside our Greener Futures volunteers on a variety of gardening and conservation management projects based at our EcoPark education centre in Birmingham, but also at our other nature reserves and education centres. Contact: Paul Stephenson on paul.s@bbcwildlife.org.uk / 0121 454 1199. • Wednesdays (weekly) Practical conservation management of Park Hall Nature Reserve in east Birmingham. Contact: Chris Wishart on chris.w@bbcwildlife.org.uk / 0121 454 1199. • Sundays (third of the month) Practical conservation management at Moseley Bog & Joy’s Wood Nature Reserve in south Birmingham. Contact: Francesca Jarvis-Roues on francesca.j@bbcwildlife.org.uk / 0121 454 1199. n

These events are particularly well suited to children and families.

Meteor Watch on Barr Beacon Saturday 17 November, 9pm - 11pm. No booking required, but if weather is cloudy, check http://whatsonwalsall.co.uk/ after 1pm.

Candle & Wreath Making Moseley Bog. Sunday 9 December, 12:30pm - 3:30pm. Come and make a decorative Christmas wreath with holy and ivy collected from the reserve & hand roll your own candles. All material supplied, booking is preferred as events can be cancelled due to the weather but if you want to risk it on the day come along.

Contact: Paula Riley on 0121 454 1199.

Tree Week Leaf Rubbing Walk Moseley Bog. Thursday 22 November, 1.00pm - 2.00pm. A nice family walk, particularly for young children. Booking required.

Meteor Watch on Barr Beacon

Contact: Paula Riley on 0121 454 1199.

No booking required, but if weather is cloudy, check http://whatsonwalsall.co.uk/ after 1pm.

Friday 14th December, 9pm – 11pm.

Geodiversity Work Day

Winter Buds

Beacon Quarry, Walsall. Thursday 22 November, 1.00pm - 2.00pm.

Thimblemill Library. Wednesday 16th January 2013, 10am.

Come and help protect the Geological interest at this site. Your help is needed to cut back encroaching vegetation to keep the quarry rock faces.

Come along and learn how to identify trees from their winter buds. No more than one mile of easy walking on the level along hard and grassy surfaces. Meet at Thimblemill Library, Thimblemill Road, Smethwick at 10am.

Contact: Paul Stephenson, Senior Ecologist on 07975 540954 for further details.

Contact the library on: 0121 429 2039.

Rowley Hills Walk Pre-Christmas walk in Birmingham’s Eastside Friday 7 December, 10.30am. Join us for a pre-Christmas walk around the rapidly changing Eastside and learn about the history and Natural History of this fascinating area. A circular walk of approximately 2.5 miles starting and ending at Moor Street Station.

Friday 22nd February 2013, 11am. A two part walk (the second to be arranged for June/July) to see the work carried out so far at the newly acquired Rowley Hills Nature Reserve. See the site for yourself and hear what plans the Wildlife Trust has for the site. Meet at the bottom of the track leading onto the hillside near Kentucky Fried Chicken on the Wolverhampton Road A4123 at 11am. Stout footwear recommended. Steep paths which could be slippery. Booking required.

Contact: Paula Riley on 0121 454 1199.

Daffodil Walk Natural Christmas Wreath Making The Collingwood Centre, Walsall. Saturday 8 December, 10am - 12 noon. Booking required.

Contact: Martin Harrison on 077910 70929.

Merritt’s Brook. Wednesday 13th March 2013, 10.30am. Are there any truly Wild Daffodils growing in Birmingham? Come along and make up your own mind. A walk of approximately 2 miles along Merritt’s Brook to Manor Farm Park and back. Meet just inside Whitehill Lane off Bell Hill, Northfield at 10.30am. Stout footwear recommended. Relatively flat but banks can be slippery. Booking required.

Contact: Paula Riley on 0121 454 1199.

Creating a Living Landscape