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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
A Blooming Awful Summer - Plantlife Summer flowers are a rarer sight on our road verges The last few decades has seen huge changes in our road verge flora.
As a result of mowing earlier in the year we have effectively lost
summer from verges in many areas. We often get magnificent displays of
bluebells, cowslips and celandines that give a clear sign that spring
is here but sadly we don’t get the same floral signs to welcome the
arrival of summer. Only plants that flower early get the chance to set
seed before the mowers arrive. As a result some spring flowers are
thriving and spreading, but many summer flowers are disappearing. This
isn’t just bad news for the 700 species of flowers that grow on our
verges, it’s bad news for the bees, beetles, butterflies and birds that
rely on them for food. This month Plantlife launch their road verge campaign to encourage
those in charge of our verges to cut less and cut later in the year. As
part of their campaign, the conservation charity have created a new
“Good Verge Guide” which will offer councils and community groups expert
advice on how to better manage road verges for wildflowers whilst
keeping them safe for motorists. One solution the Good Verge Guide will explore is the use of yellow
rattle, an annual meadow plant that was once common on flower-rich road
verges. As it germinates each spring, its roots tap into those of the
grasses growing around it, stealing water and nutrients reducing their
growth by 40-60%. With less competition from vigorous grasses, other
wildflowers like harebells and orchids have more room to thrive. Instead
of cutting grass three or four times a year, Councils such as Dorset,
Anglesey and Gwynedd are experimenting with introducing Yellow Rattle
onto road verges, bringing in seed from those few surviving ancient
wildflower meadows. Plantlife are currently working with councils across the UK and as a
result 2,370 hectares of road verges is protected but far more needs to
be done. In June 2016, Plantlife launches its road verge campaign for
the 5th year and are urging people who love wildflowers to sign the
petition to show councils it’s crucial for road verges to be managed
with wildflowers and wildlife in mind.
Creating a new generation of young green leaders
- Groundwork The benefits that high quality, accessible green infrastructure
brings to local communities have been well proven. Green spaces provide
neighbourhoods with a place for social interaction, a space for physical
activity, a sanctuary to support mental wellbeing to name but a few. Times are, of course, very tough in ‘Austerity Britain’ and public
sector funding for our formal parks and informal green spaces can be
much harder to come by. While the benefits are well documented, so are
the likely cuts to future budgets. For 35 years Groundwork has championed work to enable communities to
have a greater say in how their neighbourhoods are improved and managed.
By giving local people the skills, support and resources to make a
practical difference to their local area, they are naturally more
engaged and committed to ensuring it’s vibrant and well-maintained.
Communities are being encouraged to take more responsibility for assets
and services in their local area. Making sure that young people
are able to participate in this shift in both thinking and power is
critical. The misconception that young people aren’t interested in volunteering
and simply use green space as a place to misbehave is a barrier that
needs to be overcome. Encouraging ‘social action’ is a major priority of government and
campaigns and programmes such as ‘Step Up to Serve’ and National Citizen
Service have shown that young people are not backwards in coming
forwards when it comes to giving their time as long as they have the
support and can see the value. New research conducted by Business in the
Community shows that young people aged 18 to 24 years old in Britain
volunteer more than any other age group (57%) and are also using
volunteering to further their career aims (38%) and gain new skills
(48%). While we are blessed with networks of committed local groups and
activists devoting their time and energy to improve their local parks,
many of them report the challenge they face in engaging local people in
their work. At the same time we know many young people see
traditional volunteering approaches as a barrier. There is a clear
need for support and capacity building on both sides of the equation.
As the state shrinks its budgets and retreats from providing universal
services such as youth centres and green spaces, we need to find new
models to ensure that the benefits of these services in terms of the
wellbeing of our communities is maintained. Young people have more to lose if we don’t and more to contribute if
we do.
Engaging farmers in environment management through a better
understanding of behaviour A paper produced by CCRI providing insights into farmers’ willingness
and ability to undertake environmental management has just been
published in the Journal of Agriculture and Human Values. The paper is based on research undertaken by a team at CCRI over the
last 8 years for Defra. One research project was concerned with
understanding and influencing environmental behaviour change among
farmers and led to the development of the two key conceptual frameworks
presented in this paper. The empirical data in the paper is derived from
60 farmer interviews for another project which explored farmers’
attitudes to on-farm environmental management. Increasingly, there is interest in the UK of ‘nudging’ managers
towards voluntary environmentally friendly actions. However, we argue in
the paper that this approach requires a good understanding of farmers’
willingness and ability to take up environmental activities and the
influences on farmers, particularly the social-psychological influences
which are often under-researched. The research findings show how an
in-depth understanding of these influences is necessary to develop
appropriate engagement approaches to achieve sustained and durable
environmental management. Access the paper: Mills, J., P.
Gaskell, J. Ingram, J. Dwyer, M. Reed, and C. Short. 2016.
Engaging farmers in environmental management through a better
understanding of behaviour. Agriculture and Human Values:1-17.
doi:10.1007/s10460-016-9705-4.
Trust’s
devolution to deliver major heritage investments – National Trust
for Scotland Scotland’s largest conservation charity, the 350,000-member National
Trust for Scotland, has begun formal consultation on significant changes
to its structure as well as proposals to invest tens of millions of
pounds in its iconic heritage properties, its systems and people. The changes are part of the Trust’s strategy to widen its appeal,
encourage more people to visit and enjoy the heritage in its care,
increase membership and generate more income for investment in
conservation. An ambitious investment programme of circa £17 million over the next
three years will benefit a number of famous locations, including Culzean
Castle and Country Park in Ayrshire, Brodie Castle near Forres and
Newhailes House in Musselburgh.
Culzean
Castle (NTS) The changes are designed to support new ways of working and will mean
that the charity’s HQ will be streamlined. Conservation expertise will be relocated around the country, along
with a number of new posts bringing competencies and skills in areas
such as commercial management, as part of a flatter, more nimble
structure, with decision-making and planning devolved to properties at
regional and local levels. 68 new posts will be created across Scotland, while circa 42 posts
will be transferred from the Trust’s HQ in Edinburgh to be based
alongside properties. There will be an overall reduction in staff
numbers, mainly at the Trust’s HQ, with 142 posts classified as ‘at
risk’. Only core services operating at national level will remain
there. The Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland, Simon Skinner
said: “We have opened consultation with our recognised trade union on a
visionary transformation of the Trust. It is a bold and ambitious
vision, which challenges us to completely change the way we deliver our
core purposes. While the Trust has achieved stability in the last few
years, we have choices to make if we are to move forward and face up to
ensuring our heritage remains relevant and engaging in an era of
ever-more demanding, digitally-savvy generations. We need a step-change
if we are to find and generate the investment we need to ensure the
Trust is fit for the future and offer world-class visitor experiences
that are stimulating, thought-provoking and fun. Our core purposes
are to promote access, engagement and learning , and we will begin by
tempting visitors back to our properties in numbers that were last seen
eight to ten years ago.”
Urban bird species at risk dying prematurely due to stress – Lund
University
Birds
of the species Parus Major (great tit) living in an urban environment
are at greater risk of dying young than great tits living outside
cities. Research results from Lund University in Sweden show that urban
great tits have shorter telomeres than others of their own species
living in rural areas. According to the researchers, the induced stress
that the urban great tits are experiencing is what results in shorter
telomeres and thereby increases their risk of dying young.
Telomeres are located at the end of each DNA strand in the body’s
chromosomes, in both great tits and humans. The length of the telomeres
can be described as a kind of age biomarker – short telomeres mean short
life expectancy. According to the researchers, their study shows that
the environment in which great tits grow up determines the length of
their telomeres more than their genetics. “Although there are advantages to living in cities, such as the
access to food, they seem to be outweighed by the disadvantages, such as
stress – at least in terms of how quickly the cells of the great tits
age”, says biologist Pablo Salmón who conducts research in the field of
evolutionary ecology at the Faculty of Science, Lund University. The study is published in an article in the scientific journal The
Royal Society Journal Biology Letters. Download it here: Salmón P,
et al (2016). Urban
environment shortens telomere length in nestling great tits, Parus
major.
Fake birds used to help rare Suffolk seabirds - RSPB
Little
tern at nest (Image: Chris Gomersall) Special hand-painted models of little terns are being used on the
Suffolk coast to help conserve one of the area’s rarest birds this
summer. The Suffolk coastline is one of a few UK strongholds for breeding
little terns, Britain's second rarest tern, with just 1,900 breeding
pairs in the UK each year. The tiny chattering birds travel from West Africa each year to nest
on the beaches of the British Isles, but their numbers have been
declining as they struggle to find safe beaches to nest and feed their
young, free from predators and human disturbance. The model birds were successfully tested on Suffolk beaches last
year, and will be used again in 2016 at Kessingland and Shingle Street
to attract the vulnerable species to protected areas on the Suffolk
Coast. Thanks to funding from EU LIFE + the little tern recovery project has
been able put measures in place such as electric fencing and dedicated
little tern wardens to create safe havens for little terns on Suffolk
beaches at sites including Kessingland, Ben Acre and Shingle Street. In 2016 the RSPB will also be installing special ‘chick shelters’
inside the fenced areas made of old piping which will protect
little tern chicks from aerial predators and bad weather as they begin
moving around. Emily Irving-Witt, EU Life + Little Tern Warden for Suffolk said:
“After trialling the fake birds last year, little terns had their most
successful breeding season in Suffolk. Benacre became the UK’s largest
little tern colony in the UK, and saw a fantastic 180 fledglings
starting their long migration back to West Africa at the end of last
August.”
Arup report reveals why walking is good for business Arup launches ‘Cities Alive: Towards a walking world’- a new report
that analyses research and trends in city design to show how walking
friendly cities can help create healthier and wealthier cities. Improved walkability has been proven to increase local retail spend,
enhance the value of local services and create more jobs. Making places
better for walking can boost footfall and trading by up to 40 per cent.
In fact, pedestrians have been found to spend on average 65 per cent
more than drivers, so the economic benefits of walking for city and town
centres are significant. Similarly, companies are now choosing walkable central locations as
it has been proven to increase productivity and creativity by 60 per
cent. Walking reduces the risk of stress, anxiety and depression
positively helping people’s mental health and happiness. When employees
are more physically active and mentally healthier, they are less likely
to take time off, improving productivity. Click here to
view the report in full
Scotland’s butterfly population shows winners and losers – Scottish
Natural Heritage Scotland’s butterfly population continues to have winners and losers
in the face of climate change and habitat loss, the latest Scottish
Biodiversity Indicator has reported. The majority of Scottish butterflies can be conveniently classed as
‘specialists’ or ‘generalists.' Scotland’s specialist butterflies have
declined by 67% since 1979. Three species declined significantly – small
pearl bordered fritillary (over the past 10 years) large heath and
grayling. Generalists like Small Skipper and Essex Skipper are benefitting from
climate change and have expanded their range into southern Scotland. And
three generalist butterflies show climate-driven, significant long-term
population increases – peacock, speckled wood and orange-tip. Regular migrant butterflies, including the red admiral, are also
growing in number. Butterflies are a familiar sight in the summer months
across Scotland. Some inhabit a range of habitats and include meadow
brown and small tortoiseshell, commonly found throughout Scotland.
Scotland’s bugs are good for your health! -
Buglife Buglife have recently launched two new campaigns to get the Scottish
public outside and looking for insects. By involving the public in these
campaigns, Buglife hope to help encourage people to spend more time
outside and appreciating what Scotland’s nature has on offer as well as
helping nature conservation efforts. Spending time outside is immensely
beneficial to your physical and mental health, participating in projects
such as Nest Quest and the Longhorn Survey is a fun way to do this
and to help conserve Scotland’s beauty. Buglife, funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, will be running a
series of events across Scotland to encourage people to head outside and
look for Wood ants and Longhorn beetles this summer. They are also
encouraging the public to head out on their own or with their families
to spend time outside and help conservation by collecting records whilst
they are out and about. By spending more time outside, people can
strongly improve their health and wellbeing. By joining in with projects
such as Nest Quest and the Longhorn beetle survey, participants will not
only improve their own physical and mental wellbeing, but they will
learn something along the way and help protect Scottish nature. Scottish
Natural Heritage is encouraging the people of Scotland to go outside a
bit more, “Being active outdoors and having contact with nature brings
many health benefits, but in an ever busier world, it’s hard to find the
time to exercise. This is why projects like Nest Quest are great.
Why not get involved in a little citizen science, and by joining in on
the Nest Quest not only will you provide useful local information on
wood ants, you’ll be having a healthy dose of the outdoors – good for
your body and mind.”(Bridget Finton, SNH)
A new bat species for Jersey! - Bat
Conservation Trust
Alcathoe’s
bat – Myotis alcathoe During a recent Jersey bat group bat trapping session as part of the
Woodland Project a small myotis bat was caught which we were unable to
formally identify. Following DNA analysis of a faecal sample we
are delighted to confirm that the bat was an Alcathoe’s bat – Myotis
alcathoe. This is the first record for this species in the Island. Alcathoe’s bat is a rare species with narrow ecological requirements.
It was only identified as a separate species in Greece in 2001, and has
only been confirmed in a few locations in the UK (in Sussex and
Yorkshire) as well as from limited sites across Europe. Dr Amy Hall, Chair of the Jersey Bat Group said ‘We are very excited
to find this species in the Island for the first time. As the
Woodland Project moves forward there may be further exciting new
discoveries’.
South Downs take lead on Pondtail Wood action The South Downs National Park Authority has secured agreement from
the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission to lead on a coordinated
response to restore Pondtail Wood in West Sussex. Margaret Paren, Chair of the South Downs National Park Authority,
said: “These two government agencies, along with ourselves and Mid
Sussex District Council, have key roles to play in fixing this situation
but we need to make sure that action is taken and that the local
community are kept informed. Our
Enforcement Notice stipulates that the site owners must remove all
deposited soils, waste and drainage channels in order to expose the
ancient woodland soils which can then support the return of native
species. Wherever possible we try to work with site owners to fix
breaches in planning, however if the work isn’t carried out by the 23
August deadline we will certainly consider prosecution. We appreciate
that the local community are as frustrated as we are with the damage to
the site and will be sending out regular updates on progress with the
case.”
Ancient origins of bog revealed during restoration work
- Buglife Surveys carried out by wildlife charity Buglife Scotland during
peatland restoration work at Fannyside Muir, near Cumbernauld have
revealed that the bog has been accumulating peat for over 9000 years. Peat depth surveys were carried out as part of a large project
restoring 210 hectares of damaged raised bog at Fannyside Muir. The
results show that parts of the bog formed at the end of the last ice age
when Britain was still connected to mainland Europe. As part of their Slamannan Bog Restoration Project, Buglife Scotland
have helped restore over 210 hectares of damaged bog at Fannyside Muir
by blocking old ditches and removing trees to encourage peat-forming
Sphagnum moss to recolonise the site. Over 1600 dams have been
installed, and 25 hectares of invasive conifers and scrub have been
removed by volunteers and contractors. Over 1500 shallow bog pools
have also been created for dragonflies and other wildlife, including
rare Taiga bean geese that roost on the bog pools in winter. Buglife Scotland’s Conservation Officer Dr Scott Shanks said “Under
ideal conditions, peat accumulates at about 1mm per year; so it was
quite a shock to discover that parts of Fannyside Muir hold over 9
meters of preserved plant fragments, pollen and animal remains!
It’s possible that some of the Sphagnum mosses, and other bog-specialist
plants and invertebrates at Fannyside Muir may have survived there
continuously for over 9000 years. It's amazing to think that when
these bogs were forming extinct mammals such as giant deer, lynx, bears
and wolves would have been found in Scotland, and it was possible to
walk from Cumbernauld to Copenhagen'!”
New app to record full range of UK wildlife -
CEH The new iRecord App is available now, enabling users to get involved
with the biological recording of all UK species. Now you can record all
the wildlife you see and contribute to scientific research and
conservation. The app, available for both AndroidTM and Apple devices, adds to the
family of iRecord tools. Contribute your species sightings with GPS
acquired coordinates, photos, descriptions and other information. Such
important new biodiversity information contributes to nature
conservation, planning, research and education. It was developed by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology’s mobile
applications development team and part-funded by the CEH / Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC) partnership supporting the Biological
Records Centre. It helps further the aims of the National Biodiversity
Network to share biological data. Deborah Procter, Senior Monitoring Ecologist at JNCC, said, “We
welcome the development of this new tool to make species recording and
subsequent sharing quick and easy. Records submitted all add to the
growing body of useful information that supports conservation and
research. The iRecord App is for anyone who wants to contribute their
observations to improve our understanding of the natural environment,
and for those sightings to be shared with others.” Dr David Roy, Head of the Biological Records Centre at CEH said, “The
iRecord app is perfect for wildlife enthusiasts to record the range of
species they see, from mammals and insects to plants and birds. Our
species specific apps including iRecord Grasshoppers and iRecord
Butterflies are also available and are ideal if you want to access more
detailed information about species as well as submit observations.
Please continue to use these too if you prefer. All records are sent to
the same place and treated in the same way.” The app is BRC approved which means you can be assured that the data
you submit will be made available to experts for quality assurance, made
available for conservation and research and preserved for long-term use.
Search for Wales’ most mysterious seabird -
University of Gloucestershire As part of a national drive to count the UK's breeding seabirds, this
summer a hardy band of fieldworkers will be searching two Pembrokeshire
islands, Skokholm and Skomer, for the most mysterious seabird in Wales -
the European Storm petrel. Perhaps 5,000 European Storm petrels breed on Skokholm Island,
representing up to 20% of Europe's breeding population, and a few
hundred on Skomer, but no one really knows simply because they're
notoriously difficult to count. If you turn on a torch they fly away, if
you disturb them in their breeding burrows they tend to desert their
nest. And they nest in inaccessible places, so it's understandable that
ornithologists have to think smart to count storm petrels without
disturbing them. "We play the sound of a singing storm petrel to a likely nest site,"
says Vicky, "and if there's a bird in there it often calls back. It's
supposed to sound like a fairy being sick, but I think it's more like a
purring cat with the hiccups!" The distinctive smell of storm petrels
can also reveal a nest. "It's a musty, oily smell, but distinctly
pleasant," says Skomer Assistant Warden Jason Moss. "If you get a strong
whiff it can help to locate a nest burrow or a new breeding colony." The survey technique has been refined over the years, but 2016 sees
the first attempt a complete census of the largest European Storm petrel
breeding colony in England and Wales: the 'Quarry' on Skokholm Island.
Warden Richard Brown says, "The Quarry is a natural amphitheatre of old
red sandstone where hundreds of storm petrels nest in fragile crevices.
Work there is challenging and requires careful planning, but what an
office!" The survey is a great example of cooperation between
conservationists, seabird biologists, and government agency: the project
is carried out by the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales & the
University of Gloucestershire, with funding and support from Natural
Resources Wales.
£10m skills boost for heritage careers -
Heritage Lottery Fund A £10million fund to train the next generation of heritage
craftspeople, specialists and entrepreneurs was unveiled today (24/6) by
Sir Peter Luff, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Skills for the Future funding will have a particular focus on people
who might not have previously considered a career in heritage because of
a lack of paid training opportunities. It will address a shortage
of skills in building conservation and the preservation of landscapes,
species, industrial heritage and museum and archive collections, as well
as public engagement and business skills. Speaking at the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) Conference
in Edinburgh, Sir Peter Luff said: “In order to thrive, our heritage
needs ongoing investment in training - and a heritage workforce that
reflects our population. The
Skills for the Future programme puts novices together with experts,
helping them learn on the job. Our grants will ensure trainees are
paid – so they can get the best possible experience to set them up for a
new career in heritage.” The launch of a third round of Skills for the Future is a key HLF
contribution to the Government’s Culture White Paper. Skills for the Future challenges the sector to recruit from a wider
pool of talent, encouraging more people to see heritage as a career open
to them. Grants given out under the programme will help
organisations draw in expertise and recruit in new ways.
Scientific publications Van Overveld, T., Vardakis, M., Arvidsson, L., Stolk, K., Adriaensen,
F. & Matthysen, E. (2016)
Post-fledging family space use in blue and great tit: similarities and
species-specific behaviours. Journal of Avian Biology.
DOI: 10.1111/jav.00999
Van de Peer, T., Verheyen, K., Baeten, L., Ponette, Q. and Muys, B.
(2016),
Biodiversity as insurance for sapling survival in experimental tree
plantations. J Appl Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript.
doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12721 Rinella, M. J., Espeland, E. K. and Moffatt, B. J. (2016),
Studying long-term, large-scale grassland restoration outcomes to
improve seeding methods and reveal knowledge gaps. J Appl Ecol.
Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12722
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