Welcome A note from our Chief Executive

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

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Editor Emma Thompson 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.

Additional contributions by: Andy Slater, David Green, Jake Williams, James Benwell, Janaina Dos Anjos, Kasia Kordybacha and Natalie Burdett.

Thank you for your continued commitment, we recognise that so much of the Trust’s work is made possible with your support.

Chief Executive

Wherever 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

3 Ways To Help

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