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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
New report links volunteering in nature with better mental health
- Wildlife Trusts Today The Wildlife Trusts (2 October) publish a new report which
examines the effects of volunteering in nature on people’s mental
health. The study was carried out by the University of Essex and found: 95% of participants who were identified as having poor levels of
mental health at the start, reported an improvement in 6 weeks, which
increased further over 12 weeks The mental wellbeing of more than two-thirds (69%) of all
participants had improved after just 6 weeks. Improvements were greatest for people new to volunteering with The
Wildlife Trusts and those who had poor levels of mental health at the
start. Participants also reported significantly enhanced feelings of
positivity, increased general health and pro-environmental behaviour,
higher levels of physical activity and more contact with greenspace. The study The Health and Wellbeing Impacts of Volunteering with The
Wildlife Trusts was the third phase of scientific research carried out
by the University of Essex on behalf of The Wildlife Trusts. Dominic Higgins, Nature and Wellbeing Manager at The Wildlife Trusts
says: “The results of this structured research project make a powerful
case for nature having a larger role in people’s every-day lives. The
evidence is loud and clear – volunteering in wild places while being
supported by Wildlife Trust staff has a clear impact on people’s health;
it makes people feel better, happier and more connected to other people.
Participants also reported increases in their sense of connection to
nature. The Department of Health should take note – our findings could
help reduce the current burden on the National Health Service because
they illustrate a new model of caring for people that does not rely
solely on medication and traditional services.” See here for a
4-page summary pdf of all three phases of the University of Essex’s
research for The Wildlife Trusts and here for the The
Health and Wellbeing Impacts of Volunteering with The Wildlife Trusts. The
appendix on page 31 describes the projects.
Public has little faith in Government to build ‘right homes in right
places’ - CPRE With Government planning to increase housing numbers in expensive
areas, a public poll reveals little public faith in either Government or
large developers to meet local housing needs. A YouGov poll commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England
(CPRE) shows that just 5% of people think that the national Government
is doing a ‘good’ job of determining local housing needs. Forty-two
percent of respondents, by contrast, believe the Government is doing a
‘bad’ job. Of the Conservative voters polled amongst the total sample of 4,931
respondents, just 8% believe the Government is doing a good job. Three
percent of Labour voters and 2% of Liberal Democrat voters agree.
Twenty-two respondents out of nearly 5,000 rate the Government as doing
a ‘very good’ job. The Government’s recent consultation on housing – Planning for the
right homes in the right places – sought to provide a new methodology
for local authorities to calculate housing need. One clear intention,
publicised by ministers, is to require local councils in expensive areas
to set higher housing targets in the hope of improving the affordability
of housing in the area. CPRE is concerned that this process will do little to make sure we
are building more of the type and tenure of homes local people actually
need, while leading to a further and unnecessary loss of countryside. To
many, including CPRE, the reliance on large private developers to build
affordable homes in particular has perpetuated the housing crisis.
Recent CPRE research has illustrated a death of affordable housing in
rural areas, with a forecasted shortfall of 33,000 rural affordable
homes over the next five years.
Galloway forests home to rare bat roost -
Forestry Commission Scotland Galloway Forest Park is the home to Scotland’s second confirmed maternity roost for the rare Leisler’s Bat. Although widely distributed throughout the British Isles, the Leisler’s bat is not common, especially in Scotland, and to find maternity roosts is very rare. The first ever recorded find of a maternity roost was in Culzean Country Park back in 2012 where 40 adult females were found. Galloway’s roost has at least 27 adult females. The finding of such a maternity roost is a good sign that Galloway’s plantation forests are playing an important part in allowing this rare bat to flourish. Gareth Ventress, Environment Forester with Forest Enterprise Scotland
said: “Since 2010, a group of bat experts and volunteers have been
trying to find out more about the rare Leisler’s Bat in Scotland. At
first we knew that bat boxes on the National Forest Estate were being
used by Lesisler’s bats in the Cree Valley and Glentrool area of
Galloway. Unfortunately there was no evidence of breeding at all.
Over the next few years, research continued but it proved difficult to
find any signs of breeding. In 2016 we did find a juvenile male
Leisler’s in Galloway which confirmed that there must be a roost nearby.
The team decided to come back again this July and were successful in
finding lactating Leisler’s bats with the help of sonic lures and
specialist bat nets. We radio-tagged three adult female bats and were
able to track them to their maternity roosts. We’re really pleased that
our forests are providing a safe haven for this wonderful and rare bat.”
Views sought on reward and return schemes for drinks containers
- defra Environment Secretary Michael Gove has launched a call for evidence
on how the littering of plastic, metal and glass drinks containers could
be reduced The government today (2/10) invited views on how reward and return
schemes for drinks containers could work in England by issuing a call
for evidence. More than eight million tonnes of plastic are discarded into the
world’s oceans each year, putting marine wildlife under serious threat. To improve these numbers and increase recycling, Environment
Secretary Michael Gove has asked organisations and individuals to share
their views with the government on the advantages and disadvantages of
different types of reward and return schemes for plastic, metal and
glass drinks containers that could help reduce the number of bottles
entering our waterways. The call for evidence opens today for four weeks and ministers have
asked the Voluntary and Economic Incentives Working Group, set up as
part of the
Litter Strategy, to accelerate its work and report back early in the
New Year. Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: "We must protect our oceans
and marine life from plastic waste if we are to be the first generation
to leave our environment in a better state than we found it. That means
tackling the rise in plastic bottles entering our waters by making it
simpler and easier to recycle and dispose of them appropriately. Today we are launching a call for evidence to help us understand how reward and return schemes for plastic bottles and other drinks containers could work in England." Take part in the consultation:
Consultation closes 30 October 2017
The country hawk and the city hawk - RSPB Scientists have found that city sparrowhawks in Scotland are more
successful than their country cousins, in a first of its kind study on
these raptors. Researchers from RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Raptor Study
Group examined differences between populations of the birds in Edinburgh
and in the Ayrshire countryside over four years from 2009 to 2012. They found that territories in the urban environment (Edinburgh) were
occupied far more frequently than those in the rural study area
(Ayrshire) and that the city hawks also had significantly higher
breeding success than the country hawks. Of the twenty breeding attempts that failed, only two were recorded
in the urban study area, the rest in the rural. The number of nest
desertions was also much higher in the latter. It was this complete
failure of numerous nests that caused lower breeding success in the
rural sparrowhawk population. In total, 195 sparrowhawk pairs were located in the two study areas
across 117 separate sites or ‘territories’. The paper has been published
in the journal Écoscience. Michael Thornton, lead author of the paper and member of the Lothian
& Borders Raptor Study Group, said: "This study clearly shows that urban
green spaces, such as parks, gardens and golf courses provide both
suitable nest sites and an abundance of prey species to support high
breeding success in this charismatic predator, and it is important that
we protect these areas for urban wildlife and for our own health and
wellbeing."
Boost for Knapdale beavers – Scottish
Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of
Scotland (RZSS), the lead partners of the successful Scottish Beaver
Trial, have been granted a species licence to reinforce the population
of Eurasian beavers in Knapdale
Forest, mid-Argyll.
Up
to 28 beavers will be released into lochans on land managed by Forest
Enterprise Scotland at Knapdale over the next three years. The idea
behind the project is to give the small Knapdale beaver population the
best possible chance of thriving in the long-term and to increase the
genetic diversity of the population. Beaver swimming on Buic © Philip Price The beavers will be sourced from a variety of locations. All beavers
will be screened to ensure that they are healthy and free from disease
before their release into the wild. The reinforcement will be carried out by Scottish Beavers, a new
partnership between the Scottish Wildlife Trust and RZSS created to
continue the work of the Scottish Beaver Trial, under licence from
Scottish Natural Heritage. Sarah Robinson, Head of Conservation Programmes and Science for RZSS,
said: “We are delighted that Scottish Natural Heritage have granted us a
licence to continue the important work that we started with the Scottish
Beaver Trial.”
Urban Buzzing Birmingham Success – Buglife Birmingham has been buzzing for the past 21 months with Urban Buzz
providing a variety of new feeding
and
nesting opportunities for a number of different pollinators throughout
the city. Working closely with many different volunteer groups from
‘Friends of Groups’ to regeneration trusts and scouts, as well as
partnering with the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country
and Birmingham City Council Urban Buzz has been in prime position to
help drive the pollinator agenda further to forefront of local people,
facilitating workshops and training events making people aware of how
important bees, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators are to us,
and what people can do in their garden or local open space to help
conserve them.
Urban Buzz created 115 buzzing hotspots throughout the city
consisting mainly of vibrant wildflower patches and meadows bursting
with pollen and nectar, with other key sites including plug planting in
young woodlands, wetland planting along brooks and streams, bee bank
creation in nature reserves and honeycomb planted planters in
Birmingham’s business district.
Work begins on multimillion pound Green Infrastructure projects
- Scottish Natural Heritage Close to £20 million will be spent transforming urban green spaces,
says Scottish Natural Heritage Work has begun on one of seven major urban greenspace projects that
have been awarded Green Infrastructure Funds (GIF) by Scottish Natural
Heritage (SNH). SNH is delivering this funding on behalf of Scottish
Government, using money from the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF). The Aberdeen City Council project is in one of Scotland’s most
disadvantaged urban areas and, along with six other proposals, will
benefit from a total investment of just under £20 million, including
£5.8 million of ERDF awarded through the GIF. The GIF aims to enhance the lives of those living in urban areas by
improving the quality, accessibility and quantity of green
infrastructure in major towns and cities, especially in areas with a
deficit of greenspace for community use. As well as the development of
derelict sites into natural spaces, the project will improve entrance
points, paths, viewpoints and signage to enhance community access. Mike Cantlay, Chair of Scottish Natural Heritage, said: “The impact
of a robust green infrastructure on a community can be revolutionary,
from improving physical and mental health, attracting business to an
area, to reducing flood risk and improving biodiversity. The Green
Infrastructure Fund provides a unique opportunity to create better
places for people and wildlife on an unprecedented scale across urban
Scotland. It is inspiring to see work begin on these exciting projects
today in areas where this type of transformation is most needed.”
Click through for more on some of the projects receiving funding.
Pheasant roadkill peaks in autumn and late winter
- University of Exeter Chickens’ motives for crossing the road are often questioned – but
pheasants should probably avoid it altogether, new research suggests. Researchers from the universities of Exeter and Cardiff compared
roadkill figures from the 1960s and 2010s – before and after the start
of mass release programmes of pheasants for shooting – and found
pheasants remain disproportionately likely to be run over compared to
other birds. “There may be a number of reasons why pheasants are so commonly
killed on the roads, including their short flight distances and
relatively small brains,” said Dr Joah Madden, of the University of
Exeter. “Our research shows that large-scale release of pheasants has
not changed their likelihood of being killed, but it has changed the
times of year when they are being killed.”
Pheasants
are commonly roadkill, but the recent increase in their artificial
rearing and release has changed the time of year when most fatalities
occur (photo Bev Milne) The peak times of year for pheasant roadkill have changed from early
summer in the 1960s to autumn and late winter now. These twin
peaks coincide with times in the year when captive-bred pheasants are
released from pens, and when supplementary feeding ceases following the
end of the shooting season. Dr Madden added “Roadkill first peaks in September-November as
pheasants disperse from release pens. It then declines over winter, but
when supplementary feeding ceases in February, we see a second peak.
Captive-bred pheasants may be at risk after release from pens because
they have not learned survival skills. Being raised in the absence
of parents, they simply lack the opportunity to learn.”
Ghost hunters leave Woodland Trust in bad spirits
- Woodland Trust Ghost hunters and vandals at a Kent wood have forced the Woodland
Trust to stump up nearly £50,000 in security and clean-up costs.
Over
the last three years, the conservation charity has spent just under
£41,000 employing a security firm at Dering Wood in Pluckley, near
Ashford, which has a reputation as one of Britain’s most haunted
hotspots due to screams heard in the night. Between 2012 and 2016
the Trust has also spent £6,070 on regular litter picks, clearing away
rubbish and cleaning or replacing vandalised signs. Dering Wood litter (Photo: WTML/ Clive Steward) Site manager Clive Steward said: Dering Wood is an ancient, semi-natural woodland. It harbours an
amazing array of plants as well as wonderful wildlife, such as
nightingales, dormice and many species of butterfly – but no ghosts.
Diamond spider presumed extinct discovered for the first time in almost
50 years - National Trust A spider presumed extinct in Britain for almost half a century has
made a remarkable comeback thanks to habitat restoration. Two National Trust volunteers were astonished to find the rare
Diamond spider (Thanatus formicinus) while searching for
arachnids in heathland at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. Diamond spider (image: © Lucy Stockton via National Trust) The spider has only been recorded in the UK on three occasions, all
of them in the South of England, and not since 1969. The discovery was
made by volunteer rangers as part of ongoing ecological monitoring of
the park. Lucy Stockton, who made the discovery with fellow volunteer Trevor
Harris, says, “The spider ran away from me twice but with persistence
and some luck I caught it; at the time I had no idea that it would turn
out to be such a rare find. Upon closer inspection our spider had a
conspicuous ‘cardiac mark’, a black diamond shape on its abdomen, edged
with white that helped us to identify it. We were thrilled to have
discovered this new resident of Clumber Park and to prove that this
species is definitely not extinct in the UK.”
Campaign for National Parks raises significant concerns about proposals
for the Welsh National Parks - Campaign for
National Parks Campaign for National Parks has responded to Welsh Government
proposals which could have significant implications for National Parks. In a response to the Welsh Government’s proposals on sustainable
management of natural resources, Campaign for National Parks has raised
worrying issues for the future of Wales’ three National Parks. The
response recognises that National Parks have a key role to play in the
sustainable management of natural resources, but argues that their
existing protections must be maintained and strengthened if they are to
do this effectively. Key points in our response include:
Read the full response from CNP here (PDF)
UK takes world stage in fight against marine plastic
– Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Today Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey is at the Our Ocean
conference in Malta.
Environment
Minister Thérèse Coffey has set out how the UK is taking action to
tackle marine litter and protect oceans from the effects of climate
change at today’s ‘Our Ocean’ conference in Malta. Coral (image:
© Natural England Speaking in front of heads of state, ministers and NGOs from around
the world, the Environment Minister pledged her support to help small
island developing states with marine science, research and conservation
projects – alongside setting out how the government is continuing the
fight at home against the eight million tonnes of plastic that make
their way into oceans each year. The UK’s ban on microbeads has been lauded as one of the toughest in
the world and nine billion fewer plastic bags have been distributed
since the government introduced a 5p charge. This week the government
also issued a
call for evidence on the benefits of reward and return schemes for
plastic bottles in a bid to clean up our oceans. Speaking from Malta, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said: The Our Ocean Conference, held in Malta from 5-6 October, brings together heads of state, governments, industry and NGOs to discuss marine conservation and agree actions to protect seas and oceans around the world.
Portuguese man o' war found washed up on Dorset beaches
– Dorset Wildlife Trust
Dorset
Wildlife Trust (DWT) has received sightings of the Portuguese man o’ war
being found washed up on Chesil, Kimmeridge and Charmouth beaches this
week. Portuguese Man O’War (image: Sarah-Hodgson) This follows sightings of the same creatures in Cornwall, Devon and
Somerset recently. They are thought to have arrived on the South
Coast via the Gulf Stream, due to the strong south westerly winds that
have been pounding our coastlines recently, bringing with them an influx
of marine wildlife usually found in the open Atlantic Ocean. Whilst swarms of these beautiful creatures in Dorset are unusual, the
Portuguese man o’ war has appeared before. The largest swarm was
recorded in August & September 2008, with reports spanning Charmouth to
Swanage. A much smaller swarm was recorded the same time the
following year and in 2012. Until now, there have been no known
Portuguese man o’ war in Dorset. However, each year DWT do
frequently record individuals from seven other oceanic jellyfish species
in Dorset. The Portuguese man o’ war is not a true jellyfish, but floating
colonies formed by coral-like hydroids living joined together to create
venom filled stinging tentacles reaching 10-30m long - perfectly adapted
for capturing prey fish. These tentacles hang from a large
gas-filled iridescent float capable of angling itself to catch the wind
on the seas surface. Records state this float can measure up to 30
cm long and 10 cm wide. Whilst they can cause a very painful
sting, they are rarely serious, and only fatal in a few rare cases. Marine Conservation Officer, Emma Rance said, “Whilst they have been
described as ‘invading’ our beaches, so far, only a handful have
actually been sighted in Dorset this Autumn. If you find one, we
advise that you do not touch them, as they can sting even when dead.
These are fascinating and beautiful creatures and are only seen in very
rare cases on our seashores, so Dorset Wildlife Trust is really keen to
hear about any sightings in Dorset.”
Overeating animal products is devastating wildlife
- WWF
Diets rich in animal protein are having dire effects on the
environment, with the largest impact from producing crops, such as soy,
to feed livestock. This puts an enormous strain on natural resources and
drives wide scale wildlife loss. A new WWF report ‘Appetite for Destruction’, launched today at the
Extinction and Livestock Conference, highlights the vast amount of land
that is needed to grow the crops used for animal feed, including in some
of the planet’s most vulnerable areas such as the Amazon, Congo Basin
and the Himalayas. Protein-rich soy is now produced in such huge
quantities that the average European consumes approximately 61kg each
year, largely indirectly through animal products like chicken, pork,
salmon, cheese, milk and eggs. In 2010, the British livestock industry
needed an area the size of Yorkshire to produce the soy used in feed. If
the global demand for animal products grows as expected, it’s estimated
that soy production would need to increase by nearly 80% by 2050. With 23 billion chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks and guinea fowl on
the planet – more than three per person - the biggest user of crop-based
feed globally is poultry. The second largest feed crop consumer, with
30% of the world’s feed in 2009, is the pig industry. In the UK, pork is
the second favourite meat after chicken, with each person eating on
average 25kg a year in 2015 – nearly the whole recommended yearly intake
for all meats.
Make great memories in England’s National Parks
- National Parks England England’s National Parks are delighted to have been awarded £1m from
the Discover England Fund, complemented by £400k in match funding, to
introduce a collection of National Park experiences designed to inspire
overseas visitors from Australia and Germany. Make Great Memories in England’s National Parks is one of a number of
successful projects to receive funding from the UK Government’s £40
million Discover England Fund. The Fund is administered by VisitEngland
which will be working on a programme of activity to ensure that England
stays competitive in the rapidly growing global tourism industry, by
offering world-class English tourism products to the right customers at
the right time. The Fund is a central government funded programme of
activity, supported by match funding partners in the public and private
sectors. The project “Make great memories in England’s National Parks” is a
two year collaboration that will deliver a joined up, branded collection
of signature experiences and a business support and trade marketing
strategy to develop bookable tourism product across all the English
National Parks. The core elements of this exciting project include:
The new product collection will be marketed to travel trade partners
and through co-operative marketing activities including a range of trade
missions and travel shows.
New survey improves our understanding of bats in southern Scotland
- Scottish Natural Heritage Support from 275 volunteers – in one of the largest-ever
volunteer-based surveys in Scotland – is giving a clearer picture of bat
populations in Southern Scotland. An encouraging finding was that Leisler’s and noctule bats were found
to be more abundant than previously thought, although they are still
among the five scarcest species of bat in Scotland. A report commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and
published today, demonstrates the power of the volunteers in helping to
better understand the distribution of rare and vulnerable species.
Coordinated on behalf of SNH by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO),
the survey was carried out across southern Scotland and had huge support
from enthusiastic volunteers throughout the area collecting data in the
summer of 2016. The collective effort generated over 1,500 complete nights of
recording in just under 1,500 different recording locations. Almost
670,000 recording were collected which included just under 400,000 bat
recordings. In total, the survey collected data across 715
one-kilometre squares in southern Scotland – an area of more than 20,000
km² – making it one of the largest-scale volunteer-based surveys in the
country. The study focused on the distribution and abundance of three bat
species – Leisler’s bat, noctule and Nathusius’ pipistrelle – because
their preferred habitat and hunting styles make them particularly
vulnerable to wind farms. It was found that the previous population
estimate of about 250 bats per species can now be increased to
thousands. Access the SNH Commissioned Report 1008:
A survey of high risk bat species across southern Scotland
myForest supports landscape-scale deer management
- Sylva Foundation and the Deer Initiative Thanks to new online technology, landowners and managers will have
the ability to create deer management plans and collect and share data
more easily to manage and monitor deer population impacts across the
landscape, helping to improve the environmental condition of woodlands. Sylva Foundation has been working with the Deer Initiative to allow
landowners and managers to create Deer Management Plans and collate
annual monitoring data using the myForest Service. The project has
been jointly funded by Forestry Commission England and Natural England. All six species of deer in Britain have increased in density and
range over the last 40 years. As deer populations have increased, their
impact on ground flora and the structure of woods is greater than ever
before. Collaborative management of deer populations at a landscape-scale is
seen as critically important in helping to address issues arising from
high deer populations in woodlands. Under this joint initiative, five
priority areas have been identified in England where deer are having a
damaging impact on important sites, such as woodlands designated as
Sites of Special Scientific Interest. In these priority areas landowners
can receive additional support from the Deer Initiative to organise
collaborative action across landscapes. Operations and Research Director for the Deer Initiative, Alastair
Ward, said: “The launch of these new online tools are an important step
forward in managing deer collaboratively. The ability for users to share
data (should they wish to) will also allow data to flow quickly and
easily providing contemporary information on the impact of deer
populations on the landscape.” Read more about the deer management functions and sign up for a myForest account online. And finally - CJ goes home! For many years CJS sponsored a tiny snail,
that we nicknamed CJ, at Durrell,
read more about him and when
Niall actually met our little CJ.
Slow and steady wins the conservation race -
ZSL
Dispersing
Partula snails on tree trunk on Moorea in French Polynesia (image: ©ZSL) Conservationists are celebrating the successful reintroduction of
thousands of tiny endangered tree snails to their former home in French
Polynesia, thanks to a
global breeding programme coordinated by ZSL London Zoo. The release is the result of the international Partula snail
conservation breeding initiative, an international collaborative
conservation programme between zoos and collections across the world,
including Bristol Zoo, Chester Zoo, Marwell Zoo, Royal Zoological
Society of Scotland and ZSL London Zoo in the UK. Following three dedicated decades of joint work at 15 institutions,
last month conservationists from ZSL supervised the release of more than
2000 snails on the islands of Moorea and Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean.
These new arrivals follow hot on the snail trail of a group released in
2016, which the team have confirmed are showing promising signs of
becoming established.
Scientific Publications
Carboneras, C. et al (2017) A prioritised list of invasive alien species to assist the effective implementation of EU legislation. Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12997
Phillip P. A. Staniczenko, Owen T. Lewis, Jason M. Tylianakis,
Matthias Albrecht, Valérie Coudrain, Alexandra-Maria Klein & Felix
Reed-Tsochas.
Predicting
the effect of habitat modification on networks of interacting species.
Nature Communications 8, Article number: 792 (2017)
doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00913-w
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