Start of a new chapter for our river restoration project
NATURAL PROSPECTS CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OF OUR FANTASTIC TRAINEES PROGRAMME
Welcome to the Summer 2023 edition of Wildlife; summer is particularly welcome this year after such a cold start to the year! In this edition you can discover what you might be able to spot when you are out and about enjoying some sunshine, in particular some of our wonderful native orchids. We also highlight some of the new and continuing projects, and I am really encouraged by all of the fantastic outcomes we have been able to deliver through projects such as Natural Rivers and Green Corridors and Love Your River Stour.
Please do make a note of the date of some of our key events this year. On Saturday 9 September, we will be holding a free event at Edgbaston Park Hotel when members will have the chance to take part in some fun activities as well as meet some of the team. Also, our Annual General Meeting will take place online, on 14 October; do look out for your formal invitation with your autumn magazine. Finally, I am pleased to be able to report that since the last magazine, the Government has now ditched its ‘sunset clause’ which would have seen
Wildlife is the membership magazine for Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust
Email comms@bbcwildlife.org.uk
Telephone 0121 523 0094
Address Centre of the Earth, 42 Norman Street, Birmingham, B18 7EP
Registered charity number 513615
Website bbcwildlife.org.uk
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Twitter.com/WTBBC
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Instagram.com/bbcwildlifetrust
Editor Emma Thompson
Additional contributions by: Andy Slater, David Green, Jake Williams, James Benwell, Janaina Dos Anjos, Kasia Kordybacha and Natalie Burdett.
thousands of regulations and vital laws that protect nature and people fall away at the end of the year. The Government will instead list the regulations to be removed. This is a significant win for the sustained campaigning work of The Wildlife Trusts to warn against the damage the Retained EU Law Bill could cause. A huge thank you to all those who have contacted your MPs about this. However, we will not be congratulating the Government for its decision to stop doing something it should never have even thought about in the first place. Moreover, the huge problem posed by the bill still remains because it will allow future governments to revoke important laws at whim, whenever they want to. We will continue to scrutinise the laws that are proposed to be removed to ensure that there is nothing important lost.
Thank you for your continued commitment, we recognise that so much of the Trust’s work is made possible with your support.
Chief ExecutiveWherever you are in the UK, your Wildlife Trust is standing up for wildlife and wild places in your area and bringing people closer to nature.
This Magazine is printed on FSC material and is fully recyclable.
3 Orchids
What to spot this summer
5 Wild News
The latest news and updates on our work
7 Competition time! Design a garden in a pot
8 Natural Prospects: The Reunion Celebrating the conservationists of the future
9 Improvements at Moseley Bog An update following our 2021 fundraising appeal
10 Love Your River Stour
New project sites in Sandwell and Dudley
13 Site Spotlight Senneleys Park
14 Staff Spotlight Introducing Natalie Burdett
15 From Beyond the Brink
Iolo Williams' article on species reintroduction
17 UK News
An update from the Wildlife Trusts regarding HS2
19 My Wild Life Membership volunteer John Tidmarsh shares his love of nature
21 Members Page
Dates for the diary and more ways to help
Top weekly prizes of up to £25,000 and for every £1 you spend, at least 50p comes directly to us.
bbcwildlife.org.uk/lottery
There are 57 native species of orchid (Orchidaceae) in the UK and here in Birmingham and the Black Country we have records of 15, plus one hybrid. Some are surprisingly easy to spot, whilst others are rarities and are only found in select areas.
Orchids have an immense variability, including both between and within species, which can sometimes make identification a bit tricky. Summer time is best for seeing orchids in their full colours, but you can generally find flowers from May all the way through to September.
Orchids are present in a variety of habitats, but often the best place to see them is in wildflower meadows. These habitats are a home to a variety of plants and animals, acting as a carbon store, and are therefore crucial for the health of the environment. The development of land and changes in farming practices means that wildflower meadows are now one of the rarest habitats in the UK. This is why we have been working to create and restore meadows for many years.
Here are six species of orchids that you may be able to spot around Birmingham and the Black Country:
Taking its name from the green veins contained in its flowers, green-winged orchids flower in May and June. Greenwinged orchids are in a serious decline in the UK as they are sensitive to the chemical interventions that farmers take today to increase production of crops.
To identify: Their flowers can vary in colour from a deep purple to pale pink, with the occasional white. The hood formed by the sepals has a lining of green veins on the side of the hood formed by the tepals contained on the upper area of the flower. This is a good way to distinguish from the early-purple orchid, which is similar in appearance but does not contain these veins. The leaves are unspotted, and contained in a basal rosette, a circular arrangement of leaves. They grow between 7-15cm and are usually found on chalky soils.
The pyramidal orchid is a strikingly pink flower with spikes that form a pyramidal shape, hence the name. These orchids grow on chalk grasslands, coastal areas, scrub and even urban areas including verges, old quarries and railway embankments. This species flowers from June to July.
To identify: Pyramidal orchids can contain 100 clustered flowers in its dense spike and mature flowers will have a more cylindrical appearance. The flowers come in various shades of pink, although white forms can also occur and the flowers are upside down (resupinate). They grow between 20-60cm, and occasionally can reach up to 75cm. The leaves of this species are narrow and pointed and green-tinged grey in colour. Several leaves point outwards from the stem whilst some will point upwards, closer to the stem. There are many varieties of pyramidal orchids, including the white variety var. abiflora
leaves. The best time to see this flower in bloom is from June to early August. They inhabit a wide array of habitats, including grasslands and wetlands, with a preference for chalky soils.
The common spotted orchid is a perennial species that is frequent throughout the UK and named after its heavily spotted
To identify: Typically, common spotted orchids range from 10-60 cm in height and their purple, oval spots help with identification. Early in the year, they are pyramidal in shape and become tubular later in the year along with solid stems, which can be felt by gently pressing them between your fingers. The colouring of the flowers can vary from white to a pale pink, with distinctive darker spots and stripes, speckled leaves and a very prominent central lip. The flowers form tightly packed, coneshaped clusters, which have a strong perfume that attracts day-flying moths.
Bee orchid flowers mimic the appearance of bees, hence the name, making them a very distinctive species. These orchids flower later than most, in the UK it usually flowers around June. Although some can grow up to 65cm with as many as 11 flowers, many are smaller with only 2-3 flowers. They are a widespread species, and favour a wide variety of habitats, including dry chalk grasslands to wet conditions, and although it is tolerant of significant shade, has a preference to growing under complete sunlight.
To identify: This short to medium orchid, has a collection of leaves at ground level, and 3-4 greyish-green leaves along their stem, often peeled to the side. They have between 2-11 flowers which are brownish purple to yellowish green, with pink or purple sepals. The leaves contain a pale, midrib vein that goes through the centre of the leaves, and a silvery frosting on the upper surface of the leaf. This species has relatively large flowers, with sepals that mimic wings, and furry brown lips with yellow markings to mimic bees.
One of the most common of the marsh orchids, this species is easiest to spot from June until August. Southern marshorchids generally grow in damp alkaline meadows, and although commonly believed to be a coastal species, they can grow inland too, including in damp meadows and riverbanks.
To identify: They can grow between 30-50cm, and even up to 70cm. They generally have plain, unmarked leaves, and flowers can vary in colour from a pale pink, to a much darker pink. Their lip markings can also vary. The stems of these species are usually hollow, which you can tell by gently compressing the lower stem between your finger and thumb (without picking the flower). Unlike the common spotted orchid, the leaves do not usually contain spots and the lower lip on the flower is generally flat and rarely contains two dark loops. This species is difficult to differentiate from the Northern marsh-orchid, but identification is possible with practice. The lip of the Southern marsh-orchid is gently rounded and slightly folded back, it generally has larger flowers and the lip of the northern marsh-orchid is more angular.
Of all the British orchid species, spotted orchids produce the most hybrid species. Hybrids can be more challenging to identify, as there can be considerable variation in their appearance, especially in the lip pattern and form. Hybrid orchids will show characteristics of both parents, and both parents need to be in close proximity for confident identification.
To identify: These particular hybrids are the most frequent; however, they are only partially fertile. They can breed with their parent plants and, as a result, a swarm of flowers that look similar to either or both parents can develop in a population, making interpretation more challenging. Even in a small group of hybrids there can be lots of variation in their appearance, including shape, size, lip pattern and form. They flower between June and July, and are intermediate between both parent species in appearance, often with large and long flowerheads.
1 When visiting meadows, keep to the paths (this includes dogs) to avoid trampling wildlife. This is particularly important when meadows are wet as people, animals or vehicles can damage the soil, the plant’s structure and earthworms.
2 We take care of many meadows through hay cutting, reseeding and scrub clearance all to benefit wildlife. You can help by volunteering! Look out for opportunities on our events page or on social media each summer.
3 Report your sightings to of wildflowers and other species EcoRecord, or your local record centre, to help inform planning policies and to monitor the current state of our meadows.
You can report your sightings using iNaturalist or iRecord, via the EcoRecord website at ecorecord.org.uk or by emailing us at enquiries@ecorecord.org.uk
Birmingham and the Black Country was one of 482 city areas worldwide that took part in the 2023 City Nature Challenge, including 22 from the UK. This year the challenge was bigger than ever with almost 2 million observations made, of over 57,000 different species between 28th April and 1st May. Alongside other organisations and groups, we organised a range of wildlife-spotting events including a reptile survey in Pelsall, a bird walk in Walsall, an urban nature walk in Birmingham City Centre, a bat walk at Woodgate Valley, a moth survey at Sutton Park, a photo walk at Moseley Bog, a wildlife walk at Lodge Hill Cemetery and many more!
In total, Birmingham and the Black Country made an amazing 11,826 wildlife observations (more than any other UK city and the 7th highest total in Europe) and recorded 1,355 different species (higher than our total last year, and 2nd highest UK total behind Brighton & Eastern Downs).
Plants
• No. species recorded: 673
• Most recorded: common dandelion
• Interesting records: woodland species such as wood anemone, bluebell and dog’s mercury plus early meadow species spotted such as cowslip, yellow rattle and green-winged orchid.
Insects
• No. species recorded: 329 (including 10 species of butterfly, 26 species of bee and 33 species of hoverfly)
• Most recorded: 7-spot ladybird
• Interesting records: Emperor Moth, spotted at Sutton Park and a very apt sighting of a common mourning bee –spotted in the Graveyard of Smethwick Old Church.
Birds
• No. species recorded: 100
• Most recorded: mallard
• Interesting record: whimbrel (a wader more normally associated with the coast, spotted at Edgbaston Reservoir)
Mammals
• No. species recorded: 15
• Most recorded: grey squirrel
• Interesting records: three species of bat, red deer and water vole
Other highlights included records of three species of reptile – common lizard, slowworm and the non-native red-eared terrapin, as well as a semifree morrel mushroom spotted at our HQ at Centre of the Earth!
We are delighted with the outcome and want to express our thanks to everyone who took part, by documenting wildlife, helping to identify records and organising events to celebrate the wildlife of Birmingham and the Black Country!
You can see everything that we recorded here: uk.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023birmingham-black-country?tab=observations
We're delighted to welcome three new business partners!
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Our partnership with Wolverhampton Wanderers brings opportunities for the Premier League football club to engage supporters and its wider audience in driving action for nature’s recovery. We’ll work together on campaigns, community engagement and other wild work in support of a thriving local natural environment.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the launch of the Flora of Sutton Park, a lavishly illustrated exploration of the park's flowering plants, ferns, fungi, lichens and more! The book launch was held in March at the Sutton Park visitor
centre and it was fabulous to see so many people out enjoying this stunning new book, a testament to the brilliance of its authors and the beautiful biodiversity of Sutton Park, a botanical jewel in Birmingham's crown!
Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre is the University of Birmingham’s hotel, and we’re delighted to have been chosen as their Charity of the Year for 2023/24. Having a positive impact on our environment and local community is at the heart of their vision to be a worldleading hospitality destination, and we look forward to working alongside them.
Birmingham-based Energy Confidence provide practical energy saving advice to householders and small businesses to reduce energy use in the fight against climate change. They joined us in March as Bronze Business Members to support our work for nature’s recovery.
We are delighted to have entered into an agreement with the Environment Agency to extend our Natural Rivers and Green Corridors project for another five years! This will continue our focus on the upper River Rea catchment in south west Birmingham, further restoring the river and its tributaries, and enhancing the green corridors along their banks. You can read about some of the brilliant work recently undertaken at Senneleys Park as part of this project on page 13 of this magazine!
We have teamed up with our friends at Warwickshire Wildlife Trusts to be the charity partner for the Landscape Show annual garden design competition for the second year running.
Gardens are important spaces for wildlife – they provide habitats and food and link together other important habitats. But not everyone has a garden, which is why the theme for this year’s competition is container gardening.
Design a 1.8m x 1.8m wildlife friendly garden in a pot using planters, window boxes or containers with creative and practical ideas that can inspire others.
Designs should:
• Include an idea for a window box, a planter suitable for a patio and a pot for a balcony.
• Include a perspective view to show the containers in situ.
• Be no bigger than 1.8 metres x 1.8 metres x 1.8 metres (6ft x 6ft x 6ft).
• Promote native species and avoid invasive non-natives plants.
• Maximise opportunities for urban wildlife to thrive
• Ulitise sustainable, recyclable and local materials and resources where possible (consider repurposing an object as a container).
• Incorporate features that provide food, shelter and water in creative ways.
• Consider objects that would work effectively, without degrading in weather and causing environmental pollution.
Professional category
The winner will:
• Have their design showcased at Landscape Show 2023
• Be awarded up to £2,500 towards the costs of the materials and resources to build their design at our Centre of the Earth education centre
• Have their design hosted at BBC Gardener’s World Live in June 2024
Public category
1st prize:
One winner will receive a Garden Goody Bag worth over £53 including:
• ‘The Wildlife Pond Book’ by Jules Howard
• ‘Wildlife Gardening for everyone and everything’ by Kate Bradbury
• A flat-packed bird nest box kit
• 4 issues of Wildlife Watch magazine
• A matchbox of wildlife friendly seeds
Submit a digital presentation on a single A1 page that outlines your vision for this new wildlife garden in a pot including a brief warren explanation and a short profile of yourself.
Submit your entry by Friday 25th August 2023 to: info@landscapeshow.co.uk
For competition full terms and conditions visit: landscapeshow.co.uk
Runners up:
Two runners up will each receive a prize worth over £24 including:
• Bloomsbury ‘Concise Wildlife Garden Guide’
• A set of 5 greeting cards with images from local photographers
• 4 issues of Wildlife Watch magazine
• A matchbox of wildlife friendly seeds
Landscape is the free-to-attend industry trade show taking place on Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th September 2023 at the NEC.
Twitter: @LandscapeEvent Instagram: @Landscape.show
On Friday 31 March, we celebrated the end of our hugely successful four-year traineeship programme with a reunion celebration event at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Programme partners, representatives from the funder, previous trainees and Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, joined trust colleagues for this special event.
Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, our Natural Prospects project has enabled 25 local people to take their first steps into careers in urban conservation. The purpose of the traineeship was to help tackle the barriers that some individuals face when looking for work in the environmental conservation sector and therefore welcomed applications from non-graduates, those in receipt of benefits or people from black or minority ethnic groups.
The trainees worked towards a City & Guilds Level 2 Work Based Diploma in Environmental Conservation whilst gaining practical hands-on skills and experience from their expert mentors during their 12-month placements. Birmingham City Council, Walsall County Wolverhampton City Council
each hosted one trainee each year at Lickey Hills, Walsall Arboretum and Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve with the remaining trainees working directly at the Trust alongside our conservation and engagement teams.
We are delighted to confirm that all trainees who achieved their Level 2 Diplomas have moved into further education, are studying environmental subjects, or have secured employment within the conservation sector. Five former trainees have even secured further roles at the Trust; Kasia Kordybacha River Engagement Officer, David Howard as River Restoration Officer, Jane Grove as Centre of the Earth Development Officer, Sarah Nixon as Conservation Officer and me as Content and Communications officer!
We are now seeking new funding opportunities to continue to provide traineeship opportunities for the next generation of urban conservationists.
Craig Bennett commented: “What a pleasure to hear from such a diverse group of people about their journeys and motivations for working in nature conservation. We want to inspire and empower communities around the UK to play their part in nature’s recovery – and trainees like these are front and centre of that cause. Training schemes like Natural Prospects provide fantastic opportunities for people to learn life-changing skills. We need more programmes like this to help tackle nature loss and climate change – the biggest challenges of our time.”
BY JAKE WILLIAMS, Senior Reserve Officer
Regular visitors to our Moseley Bog & Joy’s Wood Nature Reserve may have noticed a lot of activity on site in recent months. We’ve been working closely with the Friends of Moseley Bog & Joy’s Wood and our regular volunteers to improve access for visitors to enjoy the site as well as protecting and enhancing the valuable habitats that make the site so special.
Here’s an update on what we have achieved.
The wet woodland of Moseley Bog contains a mix English oak, alder and willow and this charismatic habitat with vegetation such as large sedges and woodland flora give this part of the reserve a magical, swamp-like feel. This wet habitat is amazing for a wide range of species such as the regularly spotted tree creeper and woodpecker, but the damp conditions are not so good for wooden boardwalks! Over the last 12 months, volunteers have supported us in repairing a huge area of rotten boardwalks, steps and bridges to allow people to enjoy this unique space. Alongside the resurfacing of the small public car park, the reserve is now more accessible for visitors to enjoy for generations to come. We have installed boundaries and trip rails to protect banks from erosion and helping trees to
keep their support system. To create resilience to the existing population of woodland flora we have seeded banks native woodland species such as English bluebells using seeds gathered from the existing patch on site.
In the Joy’s Wood area of the reserve, we hired contractors to install hard standing paths to the meadow areas. This area was prone to becoming very muddy and visitors would (quite sensibly!) avoid muddy puddles by walking across the meadow. These new paths will allow visitors to enjoy the beauty of the meadows whilst protecting them from trampling. The new paths also helped us start further enhancement works on the meadows. By strewing green hay on the Horse Radish Meadow we aim to create a second area similar to the large Joy’s Wood Meadow where you can spot both green winged and common spotted orchids!
In between these two meadows is the wet meadow, which we are enhanced by adding the seeds of wet meadow species that are collected locally, including great burnet, devil’s bit scabious and ragged robin. The arising (cuttings) from the path installation have been used to make scallops along the path. Scallops are mounds cut into the scrub seeded
with wildflowers that act as great spots for basking butterflies and all manner of pollinators.
To help visitors enjoy the site, we have designed new interpretation panels, which provide information on the history of the site and species and features to look out for on your visit. Thank you to our volunteers for installing the new panels!
Back in 2021, with significant support from the Friends of Moseley Bog & Joy’s Wood, we raised over £23,600 to support this work. Huge thanks for the donations from over 300 members of the public and Leaflovers Café in Moseley and for grants from The Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust, Blakemore Foundation, Arnold Clarke Foundation, EH Smith, Limoges Charitable Trust, GJW Turner Trust, the Birmingham Mayor’s Charity and Seeds of Change via Neighbourly.
- POND CREATION AT SMESTOW VALLEY
Ponds and wetland areas
One chapter ends, another begins…
Here’s a snapshot of what we achieved!
4ha of grassland enhanced and created Over 400m of hedgerow planted, laid or enhanced
1000s of native plants and trees planted 7h a of woodland enhanced
Hedgerows
metres of new hedgerow and enhanced 210 metres of existing hedgerows through underplanting and filling in gaps within the hedgerow, with species such as hawthorn, alder buckthorn, common buckthorn, guelder rose, rowan and hazel, and laid 25 metres of ancient but overgrown hedgerow using traditional hedgelaying methods.
Over 65 dedicated and hardworking volunteers contributed over 2,500 hours to this phase of the project building friendships and learning new skills whilst making a difference to the wild spaces and wildlife in their local area. Volunteers have supported with coppicing hazel, thinning woodland areas, strewing green hay, collection and sowing wildflower seeds, clearing encroaching bramble, removing invasive species, clearing pathways and creating and planting wetland areas.
How our volunteers felt after joining us:
"I feel a sense of achievement"
"I’m more engaged with the local community and the environment"
"I feel physically and mentally awakened!"
Throughout this phase, we delivered over 60 public events with local communities including guided walks, presentations, wildlife surveys, litter picks and bat box building. Students from South and City College in Birmingham supported us with habitat management activities at Stambermill and Seth Sommers and students from King Edward College in Stourbridge took part in plant, bird and otter surveys, coppicing, ground clearing and planting.
As well as activities for the wider public, we delivered ladies-only sessions and well-being activities for vulnerable groups such as those at Riverside House in Stourbridge where participants attended 21 sessions to support with improving the site by controlling invasive species and creating an orchard.
We also delivered four training courses at Wildside Activity Centre and Saltwells Nature Reserve where 16-24 year olds gained a Level 1 Certificates in Tool Use and Species Identification. Participants learned about copping wood, preparing land for planned structures and native flora.
VOLUNTEERS AT SMESTOW BROOK SUPPORTING WITH WETLAND PLANTING
VOLUNTEERS AFTER CLEARING OVERGROWN STEPS TO INCREASE ACCESS AT STAMBERMILL
Our engagement activities benefit the local community by boosting mental and physical wellbeing as well as providing valuable work experience opportunities.
Feedback from our community engagement:
“Very informative… I enjoyed learning names of flowering plants in our beautiful Smestow Nature Valley”
“I like litter picking, it makes me feel good when we leave the place clean”
“The students liked looking at the nests and were talking about the skull when they got into the bus at the end of the day”
“I have been to Stourbridge many times but never knew about the beautiful area you introduced us to.”
“It has inspired me to look for careers in the environment and conservation.”
We delivered sessions for a year 5 group at Uplands Junior School in Finchfield, Wolverhampton and a year 3 group at Russell’s Hall Primary School in Dudley to teach them about human impacts on waterways. The children learnt about their local waterways, the wonderful wildlife habitats that the project aims to protect and enhance, and even found out about wastewater and what should not be flushed by making their own “sewage soup” and attempting to filter it!
Uplands Junior School said: Thank you for a fantastic workshop with our Year 5. Many of the children since their workshop have been making an effort to recycle plastic and to ensure their families are not putting oil down the drain. The whole workshop opened the eyes of pupils and staff on the importance of our local waterways and what they can do to help, especially helping the wildlife.
Mrs Pope from Russell’s Hall Primary School said:
The River Ranger sessions delivered by Sophie and Kasia from the Wildlife Trust were excellent and the children in year 3 thoroughly enjoyed them. We learned about the importance of how to keep water clean and caring for our local environment. We hope the Wildlife Trust will return again.
Throughout this phase of the project, we ran a survey to find out what local communities knew and felt about the River Stour and its tributaries and the issues affecting it. 313 people took part in the initial survey providing us with valuable insights and opinions such as
• 92% visited the area in a year
• 86% felt that the river should be protected
• The most commonly spotted species were heron, dragonflies and kingfisher
• 58% were interested in getting involved in practical volunteering
• 20% don’t visit the river because of access issues
Most importantly, in the follow up survey, we found that awareness of issues affecting the river had improved. For example, in the initial survey 45% of respondents were aware of the issue of waste products being poured down drains which increased to 62% in the follow up survey and only 13% knew about the issues caused by de-icer and screen wash, which increased to
25% in the follow up survey. The post survey included participants reporting that they most enjoyed ‘seeing the impact of the habitat works on people and wildlife’, ‘making a difference to the area’ and ‘working together as a community’.
Thanks to funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority Community Green Grants Fund, we have launched a new phase of the project, which will run from April 2023 to March 2024. We are thrilled to be working with Dudley Council and Sandwell Council on new project sites at Corngreaves Nature Reserve in Cradley and Bobs and Mears Coppice in Lye. We will be working to restore and enhance ancient, plantation and secondary woodlands along the river corridor as well creating species-rich grassland, treating and removing invasive species along the riverbank, identifying and helping to tackle pollution into the river as well as enhancing access across the sites where appropriate. Engagement is a key aspect of the project and we will be hosting events such as guided walks and species surveys throughout the year. In addition, we will engage with young people by working with local schools and providing training opportunities.
Visit our project webpage to watch our project film, download guides to take action from home and find out how to get involved with our volunteer days or for any other information drop us an email at LYRS@bbcwildlife.org.uk
bbcwildlife.org.uk/LoveYourRiverStour
Managed by Birmingham City Council, Senneleys Park in Bartley Green is a public park comprising of large open spaces, hedgerows and a tree-lined stream. The park lies within the catchment of the River Rea between Woodgate Valley Country Park and Manor Farm Park, which have been key sites for habitat improvement and creation as part of our Natural Rivers and Green Corridors project, funded by European Union Regional Development Fund.
In 2022, we worked with the Friends of Senneleys Park to increase biodiversity in a woodland area of the park by creating habitat known as rides. We also provided native woodland plants through our Growing Local Flora project.
Woodlands that are diverse in structure provide a wide range of microhabitats, which leads to an increase in number of species the habitat can support. A ride is an open linear area made up of several zones including a central pathway, taller grassland areas either side and shrubs grading into the taller woodland trees. Rides are created by removing scrub and by coppicing trees. Creating rides mimics the natural processes of grazing, fires and storms that open up areas of woodland. The sunlight that reaches the woodland floor allows plants to flourish, taller grassland areas to thrive, and fallen trees to rot down.
Many species benefit from the creation of glades:
• butterflies and moths benefit from the increase in wildflowers and grasses
• bumblebees benefit from the increase in nectar and pollen-rich plants
• bats benefit from foraging habitat
As well as support and guidance from the Trust, students from University of Birmingham joined local residents to plant 1,000 saplings to create an area of mixed woodland at the park back in March 2023 through the ‘Plant a Tree for your Degree’ initiative.
Natural Rivers and Green Corridors is a partnership project between Birmingham City Council and the Environment Agency and in 2022, work was also carried out on part of the Stonehouse Brook. Once in a culvert, the brook is now flowing through the park, adding a new and valuable habitat feature.
Since I started in the job in January 2023, I have been busy finding out more about the fantastic role volunteers play in the Trust’s work for nature’s recovery, whether that’s with administrative support or practical nature conservation. It has been great to meet volunteers, work alongside them on conservation days, and chat about their experience over break time cups of tea.
record keeping is fit for the future. In the shorter term, I am supporting staff to develop new volunteer role profiles, and updating the volunteering information on our website.
In partnership with
I’m keen to improve the ways we match interested individuals to appropriate roles. We’re known for our volunteering opportunities on our sites and nature reserves, but there is also potential to involve local people in other ways. Goal 2 of our strategy is ‘People taking action for nature and the climate across Birmingham and the Black Country’ and this requires flexible and new approaches to volunteering.
I have also been working with colleagues to review our volunteering systems and processes, so we can respond to enquiries more efficiently, and to make sure our
I am new to the Wildlife Trust movement, but have previously worked for other environmental charities, developing varied volunteering and community engagement programmes and supporting staff who work alongside volunteers. I also recently gained a PhD in creative writing, based around the green spaces and geography of the West Midlands. I love that this role enables me to continue to spend time in sites which are so valuable in such an urban area.
Volunteers play an important part in helping us to create and protect valuable habitats for nature and connecting the wider community to nature. I’m excited to be a part of the Trust’s work, and support partnerships to achieve improvements for nature and for local communities
Reintroduction is a hot topic in conservation. It’s essentially bringing a species back to an area from which it has been lost. In my opinion, reintroduction should be a last resort. We should be working hard to hold on to what we’ve got without letting it get to that stage. We should have a government doing an awful lot more to stop wildlife from being lost, and to help threatened species recover.
But our wildlife is in a sorry state. It’s been said many times that we are one of the most nature depleted countries in the world – when I look around now and think about what we’ve lost since I was a young lad walking the fields of mid Wales, I can believe it. Curlews, lapwings, yellowhammers, linnets; pools full of frogs, toads, and newts – so many have now disappeared. It’s not too late to save these species, but for others, last resorts are all we have left.
Where species have gone extinct from an area because of human activity, I think reintroducing them is very much justified. Especially so when species have a hugely positive impact on the environment, bringing benefits for a whole host of other plants and animals. Take beavers, for example. They create and maintain incredible wetland habitats, providing ideal conditions for many species, from water plants to amphibians to fish. This habitat creation is more important than ever as hot, dry summers become more frequent.
Thanks to reintroductions, there are now wild beavers back in Scotland, with a few in England too. But Wales is lagging behind. Beavers are back in Wales, but legally only
in enclosures. I was privileged enough to be there when they arrived. It was an amazing feeling to be a small part of this event, but imagine how much better it would be to see them in the wild.
I’ve been quite shocked at the opposition to reintroducing beavers. I think a lot of it comes from a lack of understanding of beaver behaviour, and how many benefits they bring. Yes, there may be one or two areas of conflict, but there are plenty of measures to mitigate this. It’s already been done successfully in countries across Europe, where people now live happily alongside beavers. Any mention of reintroducing lynx raises even more opposition in some places, but I also think there’s a place for lynx in the UK. We have big problems with overgrazing as a result of high deer populations, and lynx could help with that. I’d be very interested to see them return and what effect they would have.
I’m obviously concerned about wildlife across the whole of the UK, but as a Welshman what I would really love to see is the reintroduction of both beavers and golden eagles to Wales. We had an escaped golden eagle set up home here for over 10 years and it had a fantastic reception from the local community, including farmers. Some were overawed by the beauty and the sheer size of her. It would be fantastic to see golden eagles back in Wales for good.
Find out all about Wildlife Trust reintroduction projects: wildlifetrusts.org/reintroductions
The Wildlife Trusts have been invovled in many successful reintroduction projects across the UK, including the return of beavers. We’ve also helped bring back water voles, pine martens, dragonflies, and butterflies to parts of the UK from which they’ve been lost.
Iolo Williams is a Welsh ornithologist, conservationist, and popular wildlife presenter, known for programmes including BBC’s Springwatch and Wild Wales. He has been supportive of the Wildlife Trusts for a long time and in 2021 took on the role of vice president of The Wildlife Trusts.
ore than 100,000 people have signed The Wildlife Trusts’ open letter to the UK Government about HS2, after our latest report into the project highlighted major errors in HS2 Ltd’s calculations – meaning more nature will be lost along the line than was agreed by the Government, and attempts to repair the damage the scheme is causing will be inadequate. The letter urges the Government to oblige HS2 Ltd to accurately recalculate its figures, providing a more realistic picture of the scale of the damage.
Our new report, HS2 double jeopardy, was the result of an almost year-long audit of HS2’s official nature loss calculations. The report revealed a number of errors and causes for concern, including inconsistent mapping and modelling, wild spaces and habitats being undervalued, and huge numbers of trees entirely missing from the calculations.
HS2 Ltd promised that nature would not lose out when much-loved natural areas and important habitats were destroyed to make way for construction of the high-speed rail line. Our report found that HS2 Ltd’s ‘accounting tool’ for
Re-map existing habitats along Phases 1 and 2a, correcting mapping errors, applying the correct nature values to habitats, and ensuring no habitats are excluded.
Immediately pause all construction and enabling works and halt the passage of the Phase 2b Hybrid Bill while these latest audit findings are assessed by the Government.
assessing impacts on nature is untested, out of date and fundamentally flawed.
Construction on HS2 has already caused irreparable damage to precious wildlife sites; it’s vital that HS2 Ltd and the Government listen to our concerns and act accordingly. Now is the time to reflect on the failings of the scheme so far and rethink the next steps, to prevent further excessive damage to our natural world. The Government needs to learn from HS2 to ensure that future ‘green’ infrastructure truly can support nature’s recovery rather than exacerbating its loss.
Find out more at wildlifetrusts.org/hs2
Recalculate the total impacts to nature, by using an up to date and proven methodology, such as one directly comparable to the government’s current Biodiversity Metric 3.1. If changes to the methodology are made these should be transparent and evidence based. It is critical that HS2 Ltd ensure all data is made publicly available at the point the figures are released to facilitate transparency and enable independent scrutiny.
Change the scheme’s design and delivery to limit the adverse impacts and enhance biodiversity in a way that is commensurate with the scale of the damage i.e. by achieving a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain for replaceable habitats for each phase of the scheme. Once impacts have first been avoided, limited and compensated for, Biodiversity Net Gain is an approach to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was before the development took place by ‘delivering more for nature than is lost’.
Grow a garden full of food that both you and your wild neighbours can enjoy.
Traditionally, fruit and veg growers view wildlife as something that should be prevented from eating the food we grow for ourselves. We net berries to protect them from birds, remove ‘cabbage white’ caterpillars from our brassicas. We lay traps for things like earwigs and expose soil grubs so that birds might feast on them before they can do any damage. Some growers haven’t got the memo about insect declines and still use harmful bug sprays.
But what if we learned to share, or even deliberately planted crops that could be used by us and wildlife? I realise I may be in the minority here, but one of my favourite things about growing food is sharing it. I’m happy to share my soft fruit with the birds – my cherry trees produce more than I would know what to do with, and there are enough blackberries, raspberries and tayberries to go around. I laugh at the caterpillars eating my brassicas and I always leave some to flower, along with some ‘spare’ parsnips and onions, so there’s food for pollinators
in spring. If I cut only half of my herbs such as mint, oregano, chives and thyme, I can encourage flowers to grow for bees and butterflies, and if I avoid cutting back the mildewed leaves of my courgettes I provide food for 22-spot ladybirds.
There is a line between providing food for wildlife and having your crop destroyed, and only you can decide where that line sits. For me, there’s not really a line. I’m happy for other species to enjoy the food I grow and I go out of my way to provide a little bit more for them. I may have a reduced crop, but I never lose a crop – one of the great things about gardening for wildlife is knowing the ecosystem will take care of itself. This means there’s always something for everyone.
Get more tips for helping nature at home from wildlifetrusts.org/gardening
Kate Bradbury is passionate about wildlife-friendly gardening and the author of Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything in association with The Wildlife Trusts.
Brassicas
Varieties like broccoli and kale will flower after harvesting, providing food for early spring mining bees. Many varieties can be sown or planted out in summer – plant in rich soil and firm well.
Courgettes
Buy ready-grown plants and plant into rich soil in early summer, and keep well watered. 22-spot ladybirds are very polite, leaving the fruit for you and eating only the leaf mildew.
Oregano
Plant from spring to autumn in pots or the ground. Leave some unharvested so it flowers for butterflies and bees.
Raspberries
Buy canes in spring or autumn and plant in rich, moist soil. The blackbirds will leave you some, I promise!
Broad beans
Avoid removing aphids and you’ll provide food not just for them but for the ladybirds, lacewings and hoverfly larva that eat them. Sow direct in autumn or spring. Stake taller varieties.
Rosemary
Flowering in spring, rosemary provides nectar and pollen for queen bumblebees. Plant at any time of year in moist but well-drained soil.
Carrots
Sow direct in pots or the ground from spring to late summer. Leave some to flower for pollinators.
Nasturtiums
Sow from spring to summer for a crop of fiery leaves and sweet flowers. Leave a crop for ‘cabbage white’ butterflies to feast on – you can move caterpillars from brassicas onto nasturtium leaves to protect them.
We interviewed long-term volunteer and bird enthusiast John Tidmarsh to tell us about his Wild Life!
How long have you been interested in wildlife?
I was born in Gloucestershire so have always loved the countryside but my interest in wildlife, and birds in particular, didn’t really start until my early 20’s with an almost religious conversion. We were on a canal holiday and just before lunch I was steering the boat through Elsemere in Cheshire while everyone else was below. We passed under a tree branch and there, three feet over my head was a kingfisher! So beautiful! All of a sudden I started seeing lapwing and herons on the banks and I was hooked!
When we got home, I bought my first pair of binoculars and started in earnest. There is nothing quite as exciting as starting birdwatching from scratch. I can still remember by first goldfinch (Stanmore Common, who knew Britain had birds as beautiful as that!) and my first swallow (Aviemore).
Where has the love of wildlife taken you?
I have been very fortunate in going to many beautiful places. I have seen roadrunners in America, duck billed platypus in Australia, penguins in the Antarctic and polar bears in the Arctic. While all these experiences were wonderful, it has to be said that the UK has some amazing wildlife. You can’t beat sitting on a Scottish cliff and have a puffin sit beside you literally only three feet away (yes really happened, he stayed there for nearly half an hour using me as protection against the gulls), watching sanderling in winter plumage running along the edge of the sea or simply hearing a robin singing.
We only live on an estate but for several months this year we have had four blackcaps in the garden, a very rare event and I can’t tell you the pleasure that has given us.
After leaving British Rail, where I worked for thirty years in IT, I joined the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and worked there for ten years in membership. Just before retiring, Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust got in touch as they had just switched to the same data base system that we used in Nottinghamshire. I volunteered to visit for the day to give some advice which somehow led me to coming to Birmingham every Monday for the next ten years! I not only enjoyed helping but very much, but also liked the contact with all the staff with their huge knowledge of nature.
All that stopped three years ago when the pandemic hit but the supportive team found me a laptop and since then I have been able to support the Trust from home! In some ways this is more convenient but I really miss the personal contact so it’s great to come to the office from time to time.
Wildlife everywhere seems to be under such a threat. People who love watching it on the small screen often don’t seem to notice it outside in their own garden. I feel that encouraging people to take a personal interest in what is around them would not only help protect the environment but also provide much personal pleasure and relaxation.
The Wildlife Trusts provide a vital way of trying to protect the local area and get people involved.
You can’t beat sitting on a Scottish cliff and have a puffin sit beside you literally only three feet away
We have partnered with Unity to give our supporters a chance to win up to £25,000 every week with our weekly lottery. Every entry directly supports our work. The draw takes place every Friday and each entry costs just £1. You will be allocated a 6-digit lottery number which is yours for as long as you play.
A Random Number Generator is used to pick a winning number sequence and a range of prizes is available for matching 3, 4, 5 or 6 digits.
Match… Win…
3 digits 5 entries into the next draw
4 digits £25
5 digits £1,000
6 digits £25,000 plus we’ll receive an additional £2,500!
For every £1 you spend, at least 50p comes directly to us. You can pay for as many weekly entries as you like, but please make sure that you play within your limits.
Pay monthly, quarterly, biannually or annually.
The lucky winners are selected at random each Friday and all winners are notified - so there's no need for you to claim.
£1/week - 1 chance to win - at least 50p towards vital local wildlife work
£2/week - 2 chances to win - at least £1 towards vital local wildlife work
£3/week - 3 chances to win - at least £1.50 towards vital local wildlife work
Play
bbcwildlife.org.uk/lottery
The likelihood of winning a prize is 1 in 63. The promoter of this Unity Lottery is Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, Centre of the Earth, 42 Norman Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B18 7EP. Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by Birmingham City Council under account number 3454. A minimum of 50% of the total lottery proceeds go to supporting the work carried out by Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, 18.4% on prizes and 31.6% on expenses and administration of the lottery.Send us your questions, photos, stories or exciting wildlife encounters and we’ll share our favourites!
Email comms@bbcwildlife.org.uk
In partnership with MuchLoved, we have launched a dedicated ‘Memory Wall’ on our website, allowing you to leave a personal dedication to a loved one. You can add photographs and a message, as well as making a donation towards our work, if you are able to.
As an alternative, you can choose to set up a Tribute, which is a personalised site that allows friends and family to share photos and memories of your loved one.
To access these, simply visit bbcwildlife.org.uk/In-Memory or email
InMemory@bbcwildlife.org.uk
MuchLoved is a registered charity, number 1118590, who also provide practical advice when you’re going through a time of loss. In addition to providing the Memory Wall and Tribute pages, they handle card payments (where made) and Gift Aid on our behalf for these services.
This year, our Annual General Meeting will take place online, on 14 October. Your formal invitation will be sent to you with your autumn magazine and all of the relevant documents will be available on our website at bbcwildlife.org.uk/AGM
Our annual fundraising week is back this October and November, and we need your help to make it our biggest and best yet. For more information on how you can take part, simply visit our website at bbcwildlife.org. uk/WildWalkWeek, where you can find links to fundraising materials, set up your own JustGiving sponsorship page or, for a limited time only, pre-register your interest in our first ever Fire Walk! A Fire Walk is an opportunity to test your mettle by walking along a path of hot coals in your bare feet and, if you pre-register your interest online, you can save 10% off the minimum fundraising requirement.
The meeting will be held on Zoom and you won’t need an account to join us. We are running a separate Member Appreciation Day to thank you for your support, so this AGM will be for formal business only.
Your support is hugely valued, however if you can afford even a small increase in your membership donation, it will go a long way in supporting us with our vision for a Wilder Birmingham and the Black Country. Please contact us at membership@bbcwildlife.org.uk or call 0121 523 0094 to discuss any small increase you can afford. Thank you.
On Saturday 9th September, we’re holding a free Fun Day for our members, to thank you for your support and to give you a chance to meet some of the team. Edgbaston Park Hotel have kindly donated room hire and have agreed to host the day for us, which will take place from 10am until 3pm.
The team will be delivering a range of activities suitable for everyone, from guided wildlife spotting walks, top tips on taking stunning wildlife photographs to craft workshops using local, natural materials.
Find out more about all the activities available and book your free place at bbcwildlife.org.uk/member-day or call us on 0121 523 0094
We’d love to see you there!
Our annual fundraiser is back!
Take a wild walk between Friday 27th October and Sunday 5th November to help our work for nature's recovery.
For suggested routes, guidance on setting up your own JustGiving sponsorship page and more, visit
bbcwildlife.org.uk/WildWalkWeek
Would you walk barefoot over hot coals to help nature’s recovery?
Pre-register online for early-bird tickets to save 10% to our first ever fire walking challenge!
The event takes place at the start of Wild Walk Week on Friday 27 October, and we’ll release the details of location during the summer.
