Lapwing | Summer 2023

We love sea slugs — A new home at Lunt — Manchester’s Wildest Festival

Summer wildlife spreads its wings

Senior Trust Officers

Patrons

Edwin Booth, Dame Caroline Swift

President

Chris Davies

Honorary Vice Presidents

Baroness Williams of Trafford,

Vice President

Ted Jackson MBE

Chairman

Julian Jackson

Vice Chair

Hazel Ryan

Honorary Treasurer

Nicholas Williams

Chief Executive

Tom Burditt

Director of Conservation

Tim Mitcham

Director of Marketing

Lindsey Shaw

Director of Development

Mick Weston

Director of Nature and Wellbeing

Daveen Wallis

Director of Finance

Steve Wood

Editors

Alan Wright E. awright@lancswt.org.uk

Sub Editors

Jenny Bennion, Roland Howard, Sam Siddique, Hannah Stevenson, Danielle Shaw, Lydia German & Kirsty Tyler

Trust Headquarters

The Barn, Berkeley Drive, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6BY T. 01772 324129 www.lancswt.org.uk

Design www.nectarcreative.com

Cover photography

Broad-bodied chaser by Alan Wright

Lapwing is produced for the Members and Supporters of The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. Views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Trust.

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust is a Registered Charity (No.229325) and a Registered Company (No.731548) dedicated to the protection and promotion of wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside, all lying North of the River Mersey.

Summertime, and the living isn’t always easy

This has huge benefits as it is literally dragging us outdoors where we can watch amazing nature moments in our gardens, local parks and surrounding countryside. It’s not hard to appreciate the plants and creatures growing up and flying around us when the sun is shining.

KEEPING IN TOUCH You can change the way we contact you, or update

Here comes summer. At the time of writing, we have just reached the end of a long spell of sunny days with almost no rain.

White-tailed bumblebee by Alan Wright

In your garden fledgling sparrows, starling, blue tits and blackbirds will be demanding food from parents, so keep those feeders stocked and make sure you are providing plenty of water (ideally harvested rainwater). I love watching the birds splashing in an area of bare rock hollows in our back yard that we fill with water for them.

A long sunny spell also brings problems and we have seen some fires on the drier areas of the region. We recently had a blaze on the dunes at Lytham and there have been problems in Derbyshire. It brought back terrible memories of 2018 when large fires caused chaos and devastation around Winter Hill and on Darwen Moor, wiping out wildlife that can take many years to recover. You can still find fire-scarred vegetation on Belmont Moor from five years ago.

The majority of moorland fires are caused by arson or carelessness: it’s amazing how many moorland fires have been started by portable barbecues when just a little thought (and some cold sandwiches) would have prevented the blaze from happening.

As we go to press, we are bidding a fond farewell to two valuable, loyal and long-standing friends and colleagues.

Andy Rowett is retiring after 20 years of managing the Lancashire Environment Fund and Vicki McDermott is off to a new job after 15 years in the education team, most recently as Education Manager and Designated Safeguarding Lead. Both will be missed. They have shown huge dedication and added so much to the Trust.

I have recently been told that we have our highest numbers of volunteers and volunteer hours since before Covid. This increase is driven by increases in volunteering at Lunt Meadows, Cutacre, Brockholes and Mere Sands Wood and a doubling of volunteers connected with our wellbeing programmes.

You can find out more about volunteering on pages 14 and 15.

I am always amazed when Lapwing arrives at the range of work we have been doing and colleagues, volunteers, partners and members packed this issue with amazing achievements.

The Peatlands team starred on Countryfile in spring, discussing the pioneering paludiculture trials (4-7), that’s wetter farming to me and you. I get the feeling that this project is now in the national spotlight and that’s no surprise.

Our Ponds Project is also getting a lot of recognition as we create habitats for all kinds of species across Lancashire. Rachel our new ponds officer brings us up to date on pages four and five. And there is exciting news about Lunt Meadows with the new learning centre beginning to take shape. It won’t be long before it is open (26-27).

Make sure you share your copy with friends and family and then they will get an opportunity to join this amazing movement to help us to make wildlife a top priority in people’s lives across the North West and the whole of the United Kingdom.

Tom Burditt, Chief Executive Officer

your details by speaking to our membership team: E: membership@lancswt.org.uk

"Fledgling sparrows, starling, blue tits and blackbirds will be demanding food from parents, so keep those feeders stocked and make sure you are providing plenty of water"

Large heath butterfly by Andy Hankinson

The Wildlife Trust campaigns for issues that affect you www.lancswt. org.uk

Making space for great crested newts

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust is helping to create ponds across the region, Rachel Davies dives deep into her new job as our ponds officer.

The great crested newt populations in the UK are important internationally and many of our ponds are home to these amazing creatures. However, this species has been in decline in the UK over the past 60 years - despite its legal protection and millions of pounds being spent on licences each year.

Now, The Natural England District Level Licensing (DLL) scheme hopes to address this by creating more habitat for the species in key areas. The scheme generates millions of pounds each year and 85 per cent of this goes to habitat creation, restoration, surveying and maintenance.

In 2022, we tested 77 ponds for eDNA and 12 of these showed positive for great crested newts. In spring 2023, we tested these 77 ponds once again, plus an additional 13 ponds that had reached the correct time point for testing. We are eagerly awaiting the results from this year - which should be available in July or August.

The Freshwater Habitats Trust states that 50 per cent of UK ponds were lost in the 20th century, and the majority that remain are in poor condition. As ponds can support two thirds of all freshwater species, including invertebrates, amphibians and plants, the loss of this habitat can have a significant impact.

Since 2019, your Wildlife Trust has been acting as the habitat delivery body responsible for creating and restoring ponds across Lancashire through the DLL scheme. Between 2019 and April 2023, 86 ponds have been created and 29 restored through this scheme.

Once our ponds have been in the ground for a year, we survey them to check if great crested newts are utilising the ones we have created or restored. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a great method for doing this.

Although the DLL scheme focuses on great crested newts, the creation and restoration of so many ponds will have a much larger impact on many of the species that call ponds their home.

If you are interested in supporting a pond on your land, they can be created and restored on public as well as privately-owned land, as long the land falls into a qualifying area, known as a Strategic Opportunity Area.

Ponds in qualifying areas can be restored if they are completely dry and/or silted up. Ponds still capable of supporting a newt lifecycle will not be eligible for restoration.

If you are interested in being involved in the scheme and would like to discuss a pond, please get in touch with Rachel at rdavies@lancswt.org.uk

"Between 2019 and April 2023, 86 ponds have been created and 29 restored through this scheme"

Great crested newt by John Bridges

Volunteer Curtis checks water samples

What have you spotted in your pond? Send your pictures to @LancsWildlife

What happens to great crested newts during summer?

The breeding season takes place between March to June, with April and May being the key months. During this time, a pregnant female will lay approximately 200 eggs, each of which she wraps individually in the leaves of aquatic vegetation.

In July, adult newts leave the pond and return to a terrestrial lifestyle, living in the habitats surrounding the pond- favouring rough grassland, scrub, and broad-leaved woodland.

The eggs laid during breeding season hatch within two to four weeks of being laid, so by summer most larvae will have already grown their front and back legs. They spend the first few weeks of summer continuing to feed in the pond, and when they have fully absorbed their gills, they leave the pond and begin lively on land. This usually happens in August.

Ponds support two thirds of all freshwater species found in the UK. One group of freshwater insects currently utilising our DLL ponds are dragonflies and damselflies.

Here’s the species we have spotted so far this year:

 Large red damselfly

 Azure damselfly

 Blue-tailed damselfly

 Common blue damselfly

 Broad-bodied chaser

 Four-spotted chaser

 Banded demoiselle

Large red damselfly

Pond at Hic Bibi in Chorley

Broad-bodied chaser by Dave Steel

Wetter farming working wonders

Wetter farming, or paludiculture, could be the future of sustainable, climate-friendly farming on our lowland peatlands. Jenny Bennion finds out how your Wildlife Trust is right at the forefront of this exciting innovation.

Huge areas of the once great Chat Moss peatland in Greater Manchester, and other lowland peatlands right across our region, have been lost due to drainage and conversion to agriculture. Once heralded as the revolutionary answer to feeding our burgeoning industrial populations, we now know the extreme effect that draining peatlands does to our increasingly collapsing climate.

Peatlands are naturally wet and boggy, slowly increasing their stores of carbon rich peat, as their lower layers of vegetation only partially decompose in the acidic and waterlogged conditions.

However, as soon as a peatland is drained the peat is exposed to the air, causing all that precious carbon to oxidise. Carbon plus oxygen equals carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas that is released into the atmosphere exacerbating the climate emergency.

In fact, emissions from degraded peatlands make up at least four per cent of the UK’s annual greenhouse gas inventory, similar to that of aviation. But there is a solution, by re-wetting the peat we can drastically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are released, trapping that carbon back underground again.

At our Winmarleigh carbon farm we saw a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the site of almost 90 per cent – in just one year!

However, that solution can also cause a problem. What about all of the farmers that need to make a living from their lowland peat farms? After all, let’s not forget that after the Second World War and beyond farmers were being subsidised by the government to drain peatland and turn it into farmland. This is where wetter farming, or paludiculture, comes in.

Wetter farming is the practice of re-wetting land and then growing crops which thrive in these wetter conditions. It acts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the land, whilst also keeping it financially viable for farmers and landowners. And your Wildlife Trust is right at the forefront of this exciting new development, trialling new crops and re-wetting techniques that have never been tried before.

"But there is a solution, by re-wetting the peat we can drastically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are released, trapping that carbon back underground again"

Celery growing at the Rindle paludiculture trial in Greater Manchester by Jenny Bennion

The Rindle wetter farming trail

Up until 2021, this field in Greater Manchester was growing a crop of potatoes. With ever decreasing yields and regularly waterlogged soil, the land was becoming unprofitable. Thanks to funding from Biffa Award, we were able to purchase the field and start the process of re-wetting the peat.

Historic field drains were blocked and bunding was installed to stop precious water from leaving the site. A series of irrigation channels and weirs were also created to help control water levels across the field.

Then in May 2022 planting started. Our first trial was a celery crop. To be honest, none of the farmers we were working with gave it a chance, but with no additional nutrients at all it nearly made it all the way to harvest, proving that there was hope.

This spring another celery crop has been planted, along with a trial plot of blueberries. This time the celery will be grown with some additional organic nutrients, and both crops will be farmed at two different water levels, one closer to the surface and another at 50cm below ground level.

Greenhouse gas releases across the site will be measured by our project partners, Liverpool John Moores University, to see how these different treatments affects emissions. Ideally, we are looking for that ‘sweet spot’ where crops grow well, and emissions are as low as they can be.

Irrigation channels have been created to re-wet the peat by Jenny Bennion

Bulrushes to BioPuf f ®

Food crops aren’t the only potential product of wetter farming. On another plot close to our Rindle trial, thanks to funding from the government’s Paludiculture Exploration Fund, we are working with a landowner and tenant farmer to trial a crop of bulrushes, also known as reedmace or typha.

Bulrushes are a common sight growing around the edges of ponds and other water bodies and so are well known for loving having wet feet. But they could also be a profitable crop. Their long fibrous stalks can be used to create sustainable fibreboard for construction, but in this instance we are really interested in their fluffy seed heads.

Working with an innovative company called Saltyco®, the seed heads will be harvested and used to create BioPuff ®, a next generation filling for padded jackets, instead of using synthetic fibres or goose-feather down. Saltyco® are already in talks with a number of fashion houses about using these sustainable biomaterials.

This first trial is on a five hectare area, and by 2050 re-wetting this site alone could save 2,822 tonnes CO2 equivalent – the same as over 7.2 million miles driven by an average car.

The bulrush trial is also ripe for expansion, as Saltyco® estimate that a further 100 hectares of bulrush will be required to meet BioPuff® demand, having the potential to save 56,448 tonnes CO2 equivalent – the same as 144.2 million miles driven.

Works will start to re-wet the field this winter, with planting of the bulrushes taking place in spring 2024, and the first harvest expected in 2026.

We’re sure that there are going to be trials and tribulations ahead, but this is only to be expected when you are working right at the forefront of what could be the next agricultural revolution.

We hold out great hopes for our wetter farming trials and will keep you, our wonderful supporters, up to date with how we get on.

More than a hobby for Dave...

Our Manchester peatlands provide a home or stopover for an eclectic mix of birds, and moss legend Dave Steel records them every year.

One of the most exciting of the summer sightings was a red kite. Soaring high in the sky, these stunning birds of prey can be identified by their red wings with black tips as well as their long, forked tail that has a reddish brown colour. These birds were once a rare sight in the UK but have had a strong recovery and are now seen in many locations. This is a fantastic spot as they’re not yet common birds in the North West.

Sticking with birds of prey, Dave has spotted numerous hobbies on the Manchester sites. Smaller than a kestrel, these falcons are swift birds that mainly hunt dragonflies. The peatland sites are an excellent habitat for these summer visitors, and they take full advantage of the dragonfly buffet.

Dave has recorded various small birds on the moss. One is the noisy sedge warbler, still in song in late summer. Male sedge warblers will never sing the same song twice, as they try to impress a female. Like the hobby, these warblers are also a summer visitor, and the peatlands are the perfect holiday home.

As the seasons start to change, we’re all very excited to see what else David spots.

By Alex Critchley

Bulrush seed head (Typha latifolia) byVaughn Matthews

BioPuff® by Saltyco®

Yellow wagtail by Dave Steel

Sedge warbler by Amy Lewis Hobby by Carl Partington

Red kite by Alan Wright

Padded jackets are great in winter by Saltyco®

Chip - chop a bat is on our radar

Our only flying mammals, bats have equally intrigued and scared us through the centuries, and Kait Leeming is firmly on the “loving bats” team.

It’s a late spring evening and the resident population of finches are chirruping their lullabies to the dozing squirrels. In the Mere Sands Wood car park, a diverse crew of Wildlife Trust members, visitors and some well-behaved but enthusiastic children are assembling ready for an adventurein the dark.

Armed with an array of ultrasonic detection equipment and expertly guided by Charlie Liggett, our expert from the South Lancashire Bat Group and David Edwards, one of the amazing volunteer team at Mere Sands Wood, we are off to explore the busy nightlife in this leafy retreat. We are looking for some of the most amazing little creatures we have in the UK, bats.

As we head into the woods via the south path, there it is, the first bat of the evening. This tiny, darting, fly-catcher is a common pipistrelle.

Amazingly, Charlie tells us, the biggest roost of pipistrelles in the UK is over 2,000 strong. We don’t have quite that many here at Mere Sands Wood, but they are certainly common and easily identifiable on a night like this.

Their satsuma-sized bodies and erratic but agile flight patterns make them obvious as a pipistrelle, but it is only with a bat detector in hand to hear the rapid call of these little guys that we can confidently identify them: the common pipistrelle has a high-frequency soprano call.

The whispering excitement that builds amongst the group every time a new bat is picked up on the detectors is electric. All eyes begin to scan the skies as Charlie talks to us about that particular call and what kind of bat it is likely to be. There are 18 species of bats in the UK and we are lucky to have several of those at Mere Sands Wood.

As we reach the water’s edge the call changes to a soft “plock” and we begin to scan the treeline at the other side of the mere. A Daubentons bat swoops down, scooping insects right from the surface of the water. It’s so humbling to see these majestic night-dwellers dance across the mere.

As we step deeper into the woods it’s my turn to get excited, a first for me - a whispering bat roost.

Here, where the old tower hide became unsafe for our birdwatching visitors, the long-eared bats have moved in. This spring, thanks to hardworking staff and volunteers, the former hide has been converted into a giant bat box for these elusive little critters.

With 25-30 long-eared bats now in residence and numbers growing with the season, this is an unexpected gift from a hide which may otherwise have had to be demolished. This is our end point and time to return to the classroom for our goodbyes - the woods though have one last surprise for us. One of the detectors picks up a faint “chip-chop”. We all home in on that direction and pick up the pace in the dark.

“Chip-chop” - it’s coming towards us. “Chip-chop” - louder still. Just as we reach the end of our walk, here it is overhead – a noctule bat. The largest bat in the UK at a whopping 28g, the noctule’s flight path is smoother than many of the others seen tonight. Roosting near the fallen willow at the edge of the meadow, the noctule likes to feed in open countryside, feasting on the insects that enjoy wildflowers and wild hedgerows. What a way to finish the evening.

Twenty adults, six kids, five different types of bats, and a couple of jealous mallards who were disappointed to find we weren’t there to deliver their after-dark feast. One amazing experience in the woods.

" There are 18 species of bats in the UK and we are lucky to have several of those at Mere Sands Wood."

" the noctule likes to feed in open countryside, feasting on the insects that enjoy wildflowers and wild hedgerows"

Make sure you get out on a bat walk this summer. They really somethingare special

Heading off down the path at Mere Sands Wood

Kait looking out for bats at Mere Sands Wood

Charlie shares his expertise with the walkers

Noctule by Tom Marshall

Common pipistrelle by Laurie Campbell

Restoring a natural rhythm...

The Wigan Greenheart Landscape Recovery Scheme is building on half a century of post-industrial restoration in this unique and inspiring environment, creating and restoring habitats on areas once dominated by mining and other heavy industry.

The project is one of only 22 to receive funding through the first round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme announced last year through the Defra Environmental Land Management schemes.

The project, led by Lancashire Wildlife Trust, is a partnership involving Wigan Council and Forestry England as the main partners, and Natural England as the funding delivery body. The scheme will benefit wildlife and people by creating and connecting green spaces across the borough of Wigan.

Patrick Woods, Natural England Landscape Recovery Project Liaison Officer said: “Landscape Recovery is a fantastic opportunity to work in partnership to restore nature across large areas in a more connected way by offering long-term, bespoke agreements and enabling projects to access private investment. We are really excited to be working with Wigan Greenheart, and all the round one projects, to achieve their ambition for nature recovery.”

This historically important industrial landscape, largely created through the flooding of subsided deep coal mine workings, has gradually been developed into an exciting wetland mosaic made up of open water, swamp, reedbed, tall herb fen, wet marshy grassland, meadows and wet woodland.

What makes this huge scheme covering a combined area of more than 1400 hectares truly unique? Its green setting, surrounded so closely by residential and urban developments.

The scheme features hidden gems such as the spectacular Bickershaw Country Park with numerous footpaths and meandering wetlands, and Kirkless Local Nature Reserve, an oasis for wildlife alongside relics of its industrial past. It also includes the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve sitting at the heart of the Great Manchester Wetlands Nature Improvement Area.

Wigan Greenheart already provides thriving habitats for wildlife and beautiful spaces for people to explore. This project represents an exciting opportunity to continue that work, prioritising the recovery and protection of threatened species such as the willow tit and bittern, and benefiting many other important native species including the water vole, reed bunting and great crested newt.

The grasslands will continue to be improved for a range of plants including orchids, all of which will help to conserve the pollinator species within this rich landscape.

Dr Mark Champion, Senior Landscape Recovery Officer for the Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: “This project is vitally important to protect rare and threatened species like the willow tit and bittern by transforming and connecting their habitats. The genuine excitement when you encounter these birds for the first time is pretty astonishing”.

An ambitious project to continue the transformation of vast areas of Wigan is now underway, says Roland Howard .

Creating a water course at Bickershaw

Encouraging more people to visit Wigan’s Greenheart is also a key part of this project, giving local residents and visitors more opportunities to discover, enjoy and connect with the nature on their doorstep.

There will be events, activities, learning and volunteering opportunities as part of an innovative community programme, all playing an important role in improving mental and physical health along with confidence and wellbeing. Councillor Paul Prescott, cabinet portfolio holder for environment at Wigan Council said:

“We are deeply proud of our rich industrial heritage and our pioneering efforts in helping the recovery and restoration of this unique landscape.

“Two-thirds of Wigan borough is green space, and we were hugely proud that the Flashes were nationally recognised last year as a National Nature Reserve. This scheme is an exciting opportunity to keep developing our Greenheart and provide our residents more opportunities to get closer to nature and explore those fantastic greenspaces that exist throughout the borough.”

A wildflower meadow by Karl Horne

Volunteers play their part in restoration

Blue damselfly by Jessica Fung

Silver Y moth by Jessica Fung

Cucumber spider by Jessica Fung

Rabbit rocks at Kirkless Nature Reserve

"This project is vitally important to protect rare and threatened species like the willow tit and bittern by transforming and connecting their habitats."

Visit Wigan’s nature reserve to witness how nature hasthesereclaimed areas

Meet the 2023 Lancashire Wildlife Trust Youth Council

Your Wildlife is leading the way with our young people helping us to create strategies for their own and future generations of conservationists.

What is the Youth Council?

The LWT Youth Council is a group of young people aged between 13 and 25 who live across Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside.

They are volunteers who are dedicated to improving the Trust and its offering for young people. They meet six times a year to help shape campaigns, marketing plans, events; and volunteering opportunities and ensure that the youth voice is embedded across all our work.

They are all passionate about protecting wildlife, nature, and the local environment as well as inspiring other young people to create positive change.

Our pioneering Youth Council on a work day

What are the goals of the Youth Council?

 Help us to work towards our goal of 30 per cent of land and sea in the North West being protected for nature by 2030

 Ensure that youth voices from across the Northwest are heard on environmental issues

 Ensure that young people from all backgrounds find a place to learn, grow and work together

 Ensure that young people sit at the heart of LWT

 Create a community of learning using evidence-based knowledge for positive action

 Help us to hit our goal of reaching 1 in 4 people in order to make a change for nature

 Nurture future young leaders, environmentalists, and campaigners

Chief Executive Tom Burditt said: “We are so proud of our Youth Council; they are young people who are really making a difference and are the future faces and voices of conservation and the Wildlife Trusts. They have led the way for concerned young people in their actions and words and are an example to us all.”

Rose

"I joined the Youth Council because of the unique opportunities that the council offers. I love volunteering and the experience from the council will help me pursue my dream career!"

Eshan, Vice Chair

"I joined the LWT YC to be more involved in the preservation of natural areas, especially because they're so prominent where I'm from, in Burnley."

Caitlin

"I joined the Youth Council to meet like-minded individuals and to make a difference. It is important to me that we restore our connection with nature and conserve and protect our ecosystems."

Jaz

"I joined the Youth Council to help spread the beauty of our natural world and show the joy it can bring, while hopefully inspiring more people to start taking some everyday actions to help Nature."

Phillip

"I want to be able to raise the profile of younger people in the conservation sector whilst also being able to meet like-minded folk, who all bring a variety of knowledge to the table."

Euan

"I joined the Youth Council because I wanted to strive to raise awareness for our local ecosystems and how people can come together in order to protect our environment at large."

Archie

"I would like to help improve and sustain local wildlife habitats and make LWT more accessible and appealing to people of all ages and abilities."

Abbie, Vice Chair

"There are limited volunteering opportunities for young people to make a legitimate impact and I would like to help change that, no one should be excluded because of their age."

"We are so proud of our Youth Council; they are young people who are really making a difference and are the future faces and voices of conservation and the Wildlife Trusts."

Euan gets into the heavy lifting

Members meet up at Brockholes

Nature for Health making us feel a lot better...

The two-year NHS test and learn scheme for green social prescribing has come to a close –Jenni Lea looks back at what’s been accomplished.

“We all know nature and being outdoors is good for us,” and that is why Nature for Health is proving a success.

In July 2020, the government announced a £5.5 million investment for a cross-government project aimed at preventing and tackling mental ill health through green social prescribing.

Greater Manchester was one of six regions selected to pilot a twoyear green social prescribing programme - testing and learning how we support p eople to connect with nature for their mental wellbeing through engagement with nature-based activity.

Nature for Health, managed by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, selected five organisations to manage different areas in the region. After a tough bidding process, Lancashire Wildlife Trust was successful in Bury.

We chose beautiful Philips Park, Bury’s oldest nature reserve, as the base for operations - with stunning surroundings, great facilities and a variety of established nature-based groups, all enthusiastic to be involved and welcome more people into their groups, it was a prime location.

There’s been a real range of different types of activities available, such as green woodworking, food growing, and nature photography, meaning that there’s something for everyone to get involved with.

The real success story for this programme, however, has been the collaboration with Prestwich’s Social Prescribing team who have been referring people to the sessions and much more.

Julie Bentley, Bury GP Federation NHS Social Prescriber for Prestwich said, ‘We all know nature and being outdoors is good for us. We’ve been able to offer a specialised, tailored and expert approach to ensure people are matched to appropriate green activities, as well as meeting any other needs through social prescribing support and vice versa. We have been able to introduce nature for health even to those who didn’t think they were interested.’

One of the attendees, Emily*, was referred by social prescribing and is now involved with numerous green groups. ‘Participating in the group has done more for me than taking more medication, I have learnt so much in a short time and it has helped me realise I have skills that I have forgotten. It has definitely improved my mental health and I enjoy meeting and chatting with other group members.’

The success of the test and learn project has led to the Trust being commissioned by Bury GP Federation, and by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust to run sessions for secondary care Mental Health service users.

"Participating in the group has done more for me than taking more medication, I have learnt so much in a short time and it has helped me realise I have skills that I have forgotten."

If you’re interested in knowing more about the project or what’s going on in Bury, please contact Nature and Wellbeing Senior Officer, Jenni Lea jlea@lancswt. org.uk

Natasha Goakes, Early Intervention Clinical Psychologist said, ‘Bury Early Intervention Team have loved working in partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

We care a great deal about our service users and are passionate about nature, and the same is true for the staff at LWT, so this work has been like a dream come true! We have worked closely, sharing ideas, ways forward, and suggestions for making sure our service users get the most out of nature.’

A huge thanks has to go to all of those wonderful groups who have devoted their time at Philips Park as part of the scheme:

A walk in the wildflowers

On a balmy warm May evening a group of volunteers joined Senior Conservation Officer, John Lamb and Reserves Officer, Lorna Bennett on a guided Wildflower Walk at Brockholes Nature Reserve in Preston.

During the short walk, John and Lorna helped identify 38 different species of wildflowers growing on the reserve, as well as spotting several butterfly species. Simple techniques were shared to figure out the different flower species. For example, the way to differentiate a meadow buttercup from a creeping buttercup by its leaf shape and the subtle difference in colour.

The rich floral biodiversity thriving at Brockholes is testament to the years of work of the reserves team and their hard-working dedicated volunteer team. It was wonderful that two of these volunteers, Lindsey and Brian, joined the walk. The event was a real success with volunteers feeling better able to identify more wildflowers and a greater appreciation of the rich floral species on the reserve.

 Bury Greenwood GroupGreenwood working

 Friends of Philips Park – Gardening

 Incredible Edible Prestwich and District – Food growing

 Lancashire Wildlife Trust – Practical Conservation / Nature and Wellbeing

 Prestwich and Whitefield Social Prescribing – Walks and gardening

 Tristan Poyser – Nature Photography

 Uplift Unite – Nature connection

We’re looking forward to seeing green social prescribing in Greater Manchester continue to grow and thrive over the coming years.

*Name has been changed

The volunteers help on a range of projects, reserves and local groups: and it was a wonderful opportunity for them to meet each other.

The event was kindly funded by the Wild Flower Society. The Trust will be running more events like this as a way to thank volunteers for the amazing contributions they make to the Trust.

The Trust is looking for more volunteers to achieve its ambition to create habitats where nature can thrive. There are a wide range of volunteer roles available. Please go to

www.lancswt.org.uk/

Bury Greenwood Group

Bluebells in Philips Park by Kirsty Tyler

Nature and Wellbeing Manager Rhoda Wilkinson, second left, and Jenni, right, meet with social prescribers in Bury

Festival brings nature closer to people...

There were nervous glances as a thunderstorm got closer and closer to the Manchester Festival of Nature but everything worked out well in the end says Alan Wright

A week before this year’s Manchester Festival of Nature, we were watching the weather forecast and there it was: thunder and lightning was going to splash down around 2pm.

It was a brave decision but we decided to go ahead and, just as we planned, the rain came pouring down just as we were packing up. We got drenched but we were singing in the rain after another successful MFoN.

The previous 12 hours had been bathed in sunshine and that warmth reflected the event that is Manchester’s wildest festival.

Tony Da Silva with daughter Iris and Jenny Bennion encapsulate the joy of MFoN

MFoN was funded by the Parklife Fund, Little Green Feet and RRG Toyota. If you would like to get involved in future festivals contact awright@ lancswt.org.uk

8am – The first stallholders start to arrive and the gazeboes from our friends at Niche Event Hire are set up around the Stables Café garden. Park staff are arriving and the place is coming to life.

9am – The flashing lights of our corporate friends RRG Toyota brought their electric and hydrogen cars through the park. We were also supported by Little Green Feet, who make sustainable school shoes from recycled plastic. They brought plants pots for people to paint, and it was so colourful.

11am – Team briefing as everyone is pretty much set up, but visitors are already milling around the stalls. The amazing St John Ambulance team arrives.

Noon – The Blackley Brass Band strikes up a welcome and the festival begins in earnest. Musical accompaniment is provided by the Flat Cap Trio and the Solar DJ, this is providing a melodius soundtrack to the proceedings. Wandering into MFoNmust be like walking into a beehive where everything is absolutely buzzing around you.

Activities include natural dyeing, mindfulness, forest bathing, a giant Jenga, wildlife recording, wind spinners, woodland games, willow weaving, seed bombs, scavenger hunts, den building, sphagnum squeezing and some fascinating research games from MMU.

A number of people are modelling the impressive peat poncho, a gift from the Wildlife Trusts. >>>

"Wandering into MFoN must be like walking into a beehive where everything is absolutely buzzing around you."

Our friends at RRG Toyota

The wonderful Blackley Brass Band

A wild MFON puppet show

1pm – The brass section heralds the beginning of the Pollinator Parade, with families coming to the park specially dressed as bees, wasps and other insects. We even had a stork with ridiculously long legs. We know it’s been a successful day because of the smiles on peoples’ faces –visitors, volunteers and participants.

3.30pm – The buzz continues and we estimated between 3-4,000 visitors and more than 100 participants. We started to pack up as the first roll of thunder heads our way from Manchester.

4.30pm – Everyone is away and the rain is now tumbling down like a waterfall. It’s been a warm day, so this is welcome.

The event is run by the Manchester Nature Consortium and partners include the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, City of Trees, Action for Conservation, The Conservation Volunteers, Manchester Museum, Canal and River Trust, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester City Council and Heaton Park. Many other organisations have been involved in the festival in the past and are expected to return for 2024.

MFoN is a great way to celebrate the wildlife of the city and have a good time while we are doing it. Lots of families get involved in the festival, so we are hopefully educating the Attenboroughs of the future. We are showing everyone that natureis beautiful, interesting and definitely fun.

The bat group caused a stir at the festival

Who was involved in MFoN 2023?

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, City of Trees, Action for Conservation, The Conservation Volunteers, Manchester Museum, Canal and River Trust, Lancashire Peatlands Initiative, The National Trust, The Mersey Rivers Trust, Mums for Lungs, Northern Lily CIC, Communitree Outdoor Education Ltd, A Mind Full of Trees, The South Pennines Park, Plantlife, Manchester Friends of the Earth, Manchester Metropolitan University, Calm At Work, Ceebee Gold Foundation International, Wild Awake Mindfulness, South Lancashire Bat Group, Idaraya Life CIC, Standard Practice, Lingua GM CIC, Manchester City Council and Heaton Park.

"MFoN is a great way to celebrate the wildlife of the city and have a good time while we are doing it."

Festival photographs by Paul Hayes

More than 100 people took part in the parade around the festival site at Heaton Park

Peatlands officer Adam Berry models the peat poncho

Our business is the natural world...

Here at your Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside our vision is that nature is recovering across our whole area, and in our sea, and we want to everyone to be able to enjoy increasingly abundant wildlife.

That’s not just about rare species, it’s about common things too. We passionately believe in the value of wildlife for its own sake, but also for the value it brings to us: the colour, beauty, wonder, health and wellbeing. Its something we feel everyone has a right to enjoy, no matter what their background or where they live.

Firstly, we have to conserve, restore, create and connect the habitats where our wildlife lives. We want 30 per cent of our land and sea in nature recovery by 2030: a Wildlife Trusts target which has now been adopted as the international target following the 2022 UN COP15 Convention on Biological Diversity.

Despite all we have done over the last 60 years we know wildlife is under threat where we live and across the world. We must work together with you, our supporters, with businesses, schools, community groups, funders, policy makers, planners, local authorities, government agencies, landowners, farmers, anglers and other charities, to fightfor a better and wilder future.

Just how we do this is set out in our Business Plan, and our performance against it is described in our annual report (the next one is due out in Autumn).

Of course establishing and looking after nature reserves will always be at the heart of what we do, but our wonderful nature reserves cover only 0.2 per cent of our land area; so we can only meet this goal by working with others: helping, advising, supporting and enabling change.

It is why we work as managing agents for local authorities like Wigan Council or Fylde Council on special places like the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh National Nature Reserve or the Fylde sand dunes.

You can find out more about the business plan at www.lancswt. org.uk

"Positive long-term change will only happen if we facilitate a culture, a society, in which looking after nature is something that everyone does as standard in their daily lives."

Tom with Wigan Reserves Manager Mark Champion at Wigan Flashes

It is why we work with local farmers to demonstrate and support wetter farming trials on our peatland landscapes across our region, or to develop pollinator-rich field margins and roadside verges in East Lancashire and the West Pennines.

It is why we have a team who go into schools to help them to develop nature gardens and wild areas in their (play)grounds. It is why we are engaged with the county Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and the planning system, to ensure habitats and projects are connected so wildlife can move through the landscape (increasingly important in a rapidly changing climate).

Secondly, positive long-term change will only happen if we facilitate a culture and a society in which looking after nature is something that everyone does as standard in their daily lives. Whilst there are some positive changes coming within the corporate sector having to better document, understand, and improve their impacts on the natural world; really this is about people power.

We use a target of “1 in 4 people taking meaningful actions for nature in their daily lives” because social scientific evidence estimates that if 25 per cent of people do something it creates a tipping point where everyone benefits - think the way that the whole of society embraced smoking-free public spaces, wearing seatbelts, recycling, or moving away from plastic bags.

It could mean wildlife gardening, buying sustainably-harvested seafood, getting involved in a rewilding project, writing to a local MP asking them to support improvements to our natural world, volunteering in your local park; encouraging your housing association to manage its green space better for wildflowers and insects, or taking part in No Mow May.

It means we need to continue to invest in our fabulous education, wellbeing and communications teams, and in our conservation officers who all do such a wonderful job inspiring, enabling and supporting other people so that all of us know the most impactful things we can be doing that make the most difference. To paraphrase Sir David Attenborough, we need to give people the experiences that make them care about nature, to inspire them to protect it.

Finally, the third part of our strategy is that all the above is dependent on a thriving and well-resourced Wildlife Trust. To enable us to be as good as we can be we need to build our financial resilience, especially our “unrestricted” income, to invest in the skills and training and knowledge of our staff and volunteers, to develop the most effective and efficient systems, the best data, mapping and IT.

Keeping a close eye on wildlife at Lunt Meadows

Volunteers getting down to work on the Fylde Dunes

Six-spot burnet moth

2023 Business Plan Summary

STRATEGIC GOAL

NATURE’S RECOVERY

WE WANT

30% of land and sea in nature recovery by 2030

WE WILL Create habitats where wildlife can thrive

WE MUST Ensure our nature reserves are exemplar sites

Expand the amount of nature recovery work we lead and advise on in our area Empower communities and decision makers to take action for nature through Team Wilder

Summary

EMPOWERING PEOPLE SERVICES

1 in 4 people taking action for nature by 2030

To be bigger, better and more efficient

Connect people to nature and encourage them to do more for nature

Improve skills, systems and resources to help our staff in their work

Lunt learning centre is taking shape

After many years of planning, the construction of a brand-new Learning Centre is finally underway at Lunt Meadows says Sam Siddique .

Lunt Meadows is popular with visitors and one of our more unusual reserves. It is a haven for rare wetland wildlife, contains the remains of 9,000-yearold middle stone age settlements, and the whole site has been designed to function as a flood storage reservoir in times of extreme weather, protecting homes within the Alt-Crossens catchment from a changing climate. A timber cabin design, the Learning Centre will bring much-needed facilities to Lunt Meadows, with a classroom, toilets, seating area, kitchen, and a volunteer room.

Cheryl Ashton, Project Manager for Lunt Meadows, said: “The Learning Centre has taken many years of planning. Feedback from visitors and volunteers has often included the desire for toilets and shelter on site.

“Lunt is a beautiful place with vast open skies, but this also means it is very open to the elements. With a building on site, we can make visits more comfortable for all and increase our staff presence, which in turn will allow us to improve our engagement and conservation work, while keeping an eye on the wildlife’s wellbeing.”

A lot of thought has gone into the design of the Learning Centre. The cabin has been manufactured in Carnforth by a UK company, delivered in sections and is being constructed by a local workforce.

On arrival, these sections are fitted together. An air source heat pump will generate underfloor heating. Some of the furniture and kitchen cabinets will be crafted from wood processed at our Mere Sands Wood reserve.

Wildflowers and reeds will be planted around the centre too, to create more space for wildlife and give visitors a small taster of the wider species within the rest of the reserve.

Planning and construction of the Learning Centre has faced many obstacles since the development of the idea, so we are thrilled that work has finally started.

The new centre is part of a wider programme of works to improve the visitor experience and habitats at Lunt Meadows, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Presenting Mesolithic and Modern Life Project aims to give visitors and the extended community an understanding of how humans have interacted with the landscape over thousands of years, how landscape changes affect human lives and how these choices influence our future.

It is a five-year long partnership between Lancashire Wildlife Trust, the Museum of Liverpool, the Deparment of History and Archaeology, at the University of Chester, and Soroptimist International Crosby.

The project start date was delayed until December 2020 by Covid when many of our staff were furloughed, and we were further hampered by a catastrophic flood in January 2021, when the river Alt embankment collapsed, and the site had to close for months while repairs took place.

"Planning and construction of the Learning Centre has faced many obstacles since the development of the idea, so we are thrilled that work has finally started."

The new centre at Lunt is nearing completion by Sam Siddique

Like many others, we have also been dealing with spiralling costs and material shortages in the construction industry. We applied for further funding and worked with our suppliers to adapt the centre’s design to be as cost-effective as possible, but as we would make up one shortfall, the costs would go up again.

Thankfully, we had several players who have ensured we could progress with the build, including our partnership with the Environment Agency, increased support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation and from all our donors to the Big Give Green Match Fund 2022.

We are so grateful for this support, and for our volunteers, who give their time to improve the habitats and the infrastructure we do have. Their hard work, carried out in all weathers, means that despite the lack of facilities, Lunt Meadows has remained a popular reserve for wildlife and people. The Centre will be located near the main entrance on what has, until now, been the main route for vehicles.

A new track, with a passing place, will become the new route for cars to access the car park. You can keep up to date with the building progress and other developments at Lunt Meadows by following the Merseyside Team’s Facebook page.

"We are so grateful for this support, and for our volunteers, who give their time to improve the habitats and the infrastructure we do have."

Little egret at Lunt by Alan Wright

A peek inside

Making Wythenshawe wild again

In every area of the North West there are green oases, Cris Davenport proves they can be really important with a little TLC.

Seen by many as an area of Manchester defined by major urban infrastructure such as the airport, motorway, Metrolink tramline and other major roads; in reality Wythenshawe has some of the most important wildlife sites in the city.

Stretching from Brooklands and Northenden down to Woodhouse Park, it includes 15 Sites of Biological Importance (SBI’s), which are locally valued areas with designated protection because of their wildlife diversity, as well as 19 council-owned parks and many more important greenspaces.

These greenspaces create a string of pearls through this community offering opportunities to connect with semi-ancient natural woodlands filled with bluebells, open grasslands above which kestrels hunt and where ponds are home to amphibians and insects.

Community groups, Manchester City Council and environmental charities such as your Wildlife Trust and City of Trees, have been quietly working to improve the quality of these sites, whilst also “rewilding” other areas of greenspace to make Wythenshawe even more wildlife-friendly and lessen the impact of climate change.

Do you want to make a difference for wildlife? Check out our volunteer page on the website

Loss of biodiversity and the range of wildlife in an area, is one of the biggest threats of the changing environment. A complex network of species is essential to keep an ecosystem healthy and able to survive threats such as disease - once biodiversity is lost can be very difficult to restore.

On the northern border of Wythenshawe, connected to Chorlton Water Park is Kenworthy Woods which has just been designated a Local Nature Reserve, partly to recognise this fantastic site but also in celebration of the newly declared Biodiversity Strategy for Manchester.

Hedgehog couple by Jon Hawkins

Kenworthy Woods has the River Mersey running alongside it and one of the most exciting wildlife stories has been the recent re-emergence of otters along this stretch of the river. Confirmed sightings nearby are bringing hope of repopulation of such an important and beautiful species. The council have been driving forward work to make areas of greenspace more valuable for nature. For example at Cotefield and Foxfield the team have taken some areas out of their regular grass cutting schedule and sown wildflowers to create areas of meadow in the heart of our residential areas.

These new meadows may look more unmanaged and wilder but they provide lots of flowers for pollinators such as bees and butterflies, which in time will bring in more wildlife species such as the birds and bats that feed on them.

Through the Rewilding Wythenshawe project Manchester City Council has planted over 1.3km of native hedging including reinstating existing hedges, planting sections of fruiting species to benefit people and wildlife, and planting new hedging with volunteer school children.

Hedges are proven to be an effective method of capturing pollutants and storing carbon, an important asset to our parks and greenspaces in our changing climate.

Wythenshawe Waste Warriors (WWW) is one of the key community groups taking action for the environment in Wythenshawe. WWW have and continue to work alongside us at LWT, the council and other groups to plant spring bulbs, clear encroaching scrub in valuable meadow areas and maintain paths.

“We hope that the funding for nature maintenance and recovery will continue well into the future so the great work done so far, as well as LWT's plans will create a lasting legacy in Wythenshawe and Manchester.”

As part of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, City of Trees have hosted public volunteering days in the Wythenshawe woodlands, conducting both pond and woodland management.

One of the key species which will benefit is the hedgehog. There are recent records highlighting that hedgehogs are present in many areas of Wythenshawe but we know that more action is needed for these iconic mammals, as well as other wildlife species, if they are to thrive in our communities.

"A complex network of species is essential to keep an ecosystem healthy and able to survive threats such as disease - once biodiversity is lost can be very difficult to restore."

Grace Buczkowska from WWW said:

Otter by Amy Lewis

Improving local eyesores by Cris Davenport

The volunteers with Cris (wearing red)

Making a difference in the woodlands

Delicate, vibrant, enchanting: these might not be words you normally associate with slugs, but sea slugs have no respect for normal. There are several groups that you may come across on UK shores and even the most familiar looking of these, the sea hares, are quirky. These plump brown slugs have tall ear-like rhinophores (scent-sensitive tentacles) and a hidden shell. They lay a tangle of eggs that resemble pink spaghetti and produce a ‘smoke-screen’ of violet ink if disturbed. The solar powered sea slug, on the other hand, belongs to the sap-suckers group. It eats seaweed, retaining the photosynthesising parts – the chloroplasts – in its body, where they supplement the slug’s diet with sugars, like a built-in snack bar.

The largest group of sea slugs, the nudibranchs, are the strangest and most visually stunning of all. With dozens of species to be found in our rock pools and shallow seas, they have become my delight and obsession.

Heather Buttivant is a Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteer, proud ‘nudi’ fanatic and author of the award-winning blog, cornishrockpools.com

She has published two books: Rock Pool and Beach Explorer

Sea slugs add a spectacular splash of colour to our rockpools.

Gills and frills

Nudibranchs, or ‘nudis’, as they are affectionately known by their evergrowing fan club, are shell-less sea slugs. Their name comes from the Latin, nudus branchia, meaning ‘naked gill’. Nudibranchs are a flamboyant bunch, so they turn their gills into stylish accessories.

One of our most common rocky shore nudibranchs, the sea lemon (Doris pseudoargus), is a case in point. When underwater, this bumpy yellow animal unfurls a glamorous, feathery circle of honey-yellow gills on its back. Other nudibranchs, like the bright purple Edmundsella pedata, have spiky projections called ‘cerata’, providing a large surface area through which they breathe in oxygen.

Tiny Doto spp. slugs win my prize for the craziest body shape. Their white cerata, shaped like towering jelly moulds adorned with cherry-red spots, are so high that they wobble precariously. Their heads sport two

tall rhinophores sheathed in a wide dish, as though they are trying to detect alien radio signals.

Amphorina spp. slugs inflate and deflate their cerata, Facelina spp. have ringed rhinophores like unicorn horns, while Polycera spp. slugs’ heads are fringed with colourful tentacles. Anything goes when you’re a nudibranch.

You are what you eat

If you are used to peaceable garden slugs, it can be unsettling to discover that nudibranchs are devout carnivores. While each species has a preferred diet, between them they eat sponges, barnacles, hydroids, anemones, bryozoans, sea squirts and more.

Some nudibranchs change colour. The sea lemon, for instance, turns into a ‘sea orange’ after eating orange sponges. Great grey sea slugs (Aeolidia spp.) dive in headfirst to feed among the treacherous stinging tentacles of anemones, their pale grey bodies and cerata often turning bright pink as they eat. Inside their cerata, great grey slugs retain the anemone’s stinging cells, which fire toxic harpoons at any predator that tries to bite them. Other slugs, like Geitodoris planata, have acid glands that burn attackers.

Most incredible of all are the Calma slugs. The vivid blue and yellow Calma glaucoides feeds on clingfish eggs, while its relation, Calma gobioophaga has

cerata the shape of goby eggs, allowing it to evade the male goby’s efforts to guard its brood. The fish eggs are so efficiently digested that Calma slugs have no anus and never poo.

Slug safari

For the best chance of finding sea slugs, join an organised event or Shoresearch survey, where experts will be on hand to help you discover more. Look for pale spirals of sea slug spawn on rocks and favourite foods, but even the brightest slugs can be well camouflaged. If possible, place your nudibranch in water and watch it magically puff up. Be gentle as sea slugs are delicate. Always put the nudibranch back where it came from, leave everything as you found it and watch the tides.

Finding your first nudibranch is like discovering a sparkling gem. Their exquisite colours and eye-catching shapes make them true treasures of the rock pools.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: AEOLIDIA PAPILLOSA © ALEX HYDE, NATUREPL; FACELINA AURICULATA © ALEX MUSTARD/2020VISION; POLYCERA QUADRILENATA © ALEX MUSTARD, NATUREPL

Walks with Hugh were an education

With great sadness, we must announce the passing of Hugh Sloan, one of our longest standing volunteers.

As an ex-geography and geology teacher to A level, the Welcome Centre was the perfect role for Hugh to share his extensive knowledge of the site and also his love of geography and geology with those visitors that wanted to know a little more.

Many of our staff, members, visitors and volunteers will have met Hugh, spoken to him when visiting or worked or volunteered alongside him at Brockholes.

Hugh joined us at Brockholes in the January of 2011, as part of the initial round of volunteer recruitment ready for when Brockholes opened in April 2011. He signed up alongside his wife Pam, and they have both been with us ever since.

Hugh has done a number of volunteering roles at Brockholes over the years including volunteering in our office on administrative tasks, stewarding the car park and leading guided walks, but it was the Visitor Engagement role in the Welcome Centre that he settled on.

Pam and Hugh have been volunteering together on our busy Sunday afternoon slot for many years.

Hugh was the deputy head at a large secondary school for many years. He went on to lecture at Edge Hill University and was involved in the Education Masters course. He often led specialist guided walks on geographical topics for visiting universities.

He was still out on the reserve in late March, with Pam, doing what he loved, leading a field trip of geography students from Edge Hill.

Hugh died peacefully from cancer in May in Chorley Hospital. Our thoughts are with Pam and their family.

"As an ex-geography and geology teacher to A level, the Welcome Centre was the perfect role for Hugh to share his extensive knowledge of the site and also his love of geography and geology with those visitors that wanted to know a little more."

Civic reception for environmental volunteers

As part of the official celebrations for the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, the Chair of Lancashire County Council, County Councillor Peter Britcliffe, hosted a Big Coronation Tea at County Hall in Preston.

In recognition of His Majesty having championed environmental issues throughout his life, people who have worked voluntarily on environmental projects throughout Lancashire were invited through the organisations where they volunteer.

I was honoured to be one of the six volunteers from LWT invited to attend to represent our large, diverse and dedicated team of volunteers. It was quite challenging actually going to the Reception. Driving across Preston is not an experience that I enjoy.

I’d never been to County Hall before and was unsure what was going to happen or if there would be anyone else that I recognised.

It also felt quite daunting to be representing the Trust and fellow volunteers. However, as soon as I stepped out of the lift, I was put at ease by a warm welcome from hosts. The reception room was decked out in red, white and blue and tea, coffee and wine was on hand. I immediately saw a familiar face, another volunteer from Brockholes, so all was well. It was impressive to see the range of people who voluntarily work together to address the environment and conservation issues that affect our communities.

I enjoyed hearing about other people’s experiences from litter picking to wildlife rescue and realise the huge level of commitment from volunteers across the county.

The formal welcome and address acknowledged the impact volunteers make in our local communities and appreciation of our contributions. It reminded me that my contribution in LWT is valuable for others and a real benefit to nature as well as fulfilling for myself. This was further illustrated in a talk about natural flood management and the role of volunteers on the Wyre from Thomas Myerscough, a general manager from Wyre Rivers Trust.

We had a lovely buffet tea and an opportunity to speak with councillors and officers. It was a relaxed and enjoyable celebration of His Majesty’s Coronation but, primarily a civic “thank you” to all volunteers who, quietly and diligently, work to benefit nature across Lancashire.

Jess Byrne, Nature & Wellbeing Volunteer

An impression of Hugh’s favourite reserve, Brockholes, by Gary Rimmer

Volunteers at the Coronation Tea

A network of natural wildlife havens

We have been so pleased to see so many of you kindly donating for our “My Wild Garden” Awards, says Lucy Coxhead .

Your garden, balcony or yard, no matter how big or small, can support local wildlife and together we can make a huge difference.

Every garden is a little nature reserve, and your actions at home are helping to link urban and green spaces together with habitats across our three counties - collectively fighting for our struggling wildlife.

Our Wild Garden Awards are a slice of one of our nature reserves. For a small donation, you can display one in your garden. Every single one is unique and harvested locally from trees that have been sensitively managed for wildlife on our reserves.

Each slice is then lovingly stamped by one of our volunteers, Eddie, who has been busily sanding and branding these in his garage workshop.

Eddie, our volunteer helping to create Wild Garden Awards with Lucy, his granddaughter and our Fundraising Officer.

Wondering how you can get your own slice to celebrate your wild garden? Visit www.lancswt.org.uk/ my-wild-garden for more information.

Creating a Wild Garden Award-worthy space doesn’t even have to involve lots of time and money; the good news for the lazy gardeners among us is that letting nature take its own course can often be the best way. One of our wild gardeners, Clare, said: “I love the idea of having something to display that shows my garden is a nature reserve and is meant to look how it does. It is not neglected; it is wild and thriving.”

A wild garden can also work wonders for our own wellbeing. One of our supporters, David, said: “During Covid I spent more and more time in the garden. The pleasure I gained from seeing all the different wildlife was immeasurable and encouraged me to do more to attract wildlife to my garden.” We love hearing and seeing what you, our wonderful supporters, are doing at home, and thank you for making your garden a safe space for wildlife.

A day with the grebes

We invited some of our newest members to the Trust to join us for a welcome day at Brockholes.

After some cakes and crafts, our members were treated to a guided walk around Brockholes, discovering a mosaic of habitats and marvelling at its transformation from a former quarry. The lake was a delight as we watched great crested grebes diving in the sun, heard the "pee-wit" of soaring lapwings and were dazzled by damselflies.

We walked along the reed beds and listened to the delights of willow warblers – a sure sign that summer has arrived.

Jim, Alan and David, some of our most dedicated volunteers, shared their expert knowledge and gave a perfect introduction to this special reserve for our newest supporters. We hope we inspired new members to grab their reserve guides and explore more of the wildlife havens we protect and look after. Thanks to all your support.

We love being able to hold these events and meet you all in person, so keep your eyes peeled for future invites winging their way to you from time to time.

"We love hearing and seeing what you, our wonderful supporters, are doing at home, and thank you for making your garden a safe space for wildlife."

Working together for wildlife

The Lancashire Wildlife's partnership with sustainable home creators, Northstone, reached out to the local community of Wigan this May to create a wonderful and wild garden to be explored.

In partnership with Northstone, we designed, built and planted a new garden space at the incredible charity CAST situated within Applecast Farm, in Wigan. The garden will sit in the grounds of the incredible Eco Centre as an exemplar wildlife haven.

The space created will benefit the local community and provide a therapeutic environment, whilst also providing bees, butterflies and other pollinators with food throughout the year. With native UK plants carefully chosen, a rockery, a bug hotel and a couple of fruit trees we cannot wait to see the garden come to life this summer.

The combined efforts of Lancashire Wildlife Trust, CAST and Northstone made this concept a reality and all teams worked together on the planting day. Everyone had the unique pleasure of creating and planting a new habitat as an addition to the natural landscape of the site. Along with visitors to the farm, the garden is for disadvantaged or disaffected young people and local families to enjoy and provides a therapeutic environment for people of all disabilities and additional needs.

Berni Barry, Head of Planning and Sustainability said:

“Our team loved every minute spent building Applecast’s stunning new garden alongside their team and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust. The sun shone all day and it was so rewarding to see the space take shape. Increasing biodiversity is a major part of the work on our sites, and it’s such a pleasure to carry that through to other community spaces. The end result is a beautiful, biodiverse wildflower garden that will draw in pollinators and wildlife, but is also the perfect space for people to spend time and unwind.

“The mission was to bring people and nature closer together, increasing understanding of how everyone can help enhance habitats with the right plants and small design choices.

"Increasing biodiversity is a major part of the work on our sites, and it’s such a pleasure to carry that through to other community spaces."

The Northstone team at Applecast

Digging a day out of the office

Planting a native garden in Wigan

CORPORATE MEMBERS

GOLD

– Beechfields

– Close Brothers

– Eric Wright Group

– Gresham Office Furniture

– Little Green Feet – JBI Ltd

– Mace

– Northstone

– Siemens

– Standby Productions

The Veterinary Green Discussion Forum returns to Brockholes

We were delighted to welcome The Veterinary Green Discussion Forum hosted by The Webinar Vet back to our Brockholes Nature Reserve.

The two-day event was packed full of inspiring talks and discussions around all things sustainability. It was a brilliant opportunity to collaborate, network and inspire each other to make changes in our own businesses, and in the veterinary profession.

Our own Merseyside Reserves Officer Mike Cunningham and Red Squirrel Project Officer Molly Frost were also invited to share their insights on the efforts of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust projects in this area of discussion.

Not only did the attendees fill the visitor village with keen discussions, but they also joined Partnership Officer Megan Kelsall and Fundraising Officer Lucy Coxhead on a guided walk of the Brockholes Reserve and an enthusiastic group joined our Reserve Officer Lorna Bennett in some conservation maintenance on site.

MEG’s beautiful ambition for eco - homes

We are thrilled that Making Energy Greener are joining our own green network of corporate members.

MEG are addressing fuel poverty and reducing carbon by delivering deep retrofit and energy-efficient measures to properties across the UK. Committed to a carbon-neutral future with a passion for tackling fuel poverty, MEG believes that making every home an ‘eco-home’ is a beautiful ambition and we couldn't agree more.

Stowe Family Law have made a commitment this year to support

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust as a Bronze member and we are looking forward to working closer with the team in their efforts for sustainability.

We are also joined by our friends in Bacup ‘Little Green Feet’ a new line created by two ambitious team members from footwear importer JBI Ltd. Deborah and Claire have created a back-to-school collection made from recycled materials, with cute characters, Ellie the Bee and Sam the Spider, the start of the fantastic new brand Little Green Feet.

Little Green Feet have a passion for educating future generations on how to ensure the world is a better place and our range is a great way for children to get involved and have fun safeguarding our planet. Each pair of shoes comes with a packet of wildflower seeds which can be grown at home for children to see the benefits for our wildlife and a donation will go straight to Lancashire Wildlife Trust to help restore habitats and protect wildlife.

– Volker Stevin

– VP plc

SILVER

– Decordia Ltd

– Fort Vale Engineering Ltd

– Making Energy Greener

– MJ Wilkinson Plant Hire

– Nurturing Hope

BRONZE

– Stowe Family Law

– Weinerberger

LOCAL BUSINESS MEMBERS

– Hoofs & Paws

– Worthington Sharpe Ltd

Also special thanks to other businesses that have generated income, taken part in Welly Workouts or given in kind materials and help to projects this last quarter: Siemens, Wildlife Travel, Morgan Sindell Construction, EricWright Constuction, VercoGlobal, Laing.

At Lancashire Wildlife Trust we believe that business charity partnerships should be mutually beneficial and based on shared values. Our partnerships are bespoke not “one size fits all” packages. It’s important to us that we get things right at the start to make sustainable long-term relationships.

We believe that your company can benefit greatly from a partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust as we help your business and your staff to connect more with nature and thrive from the health and well being that happens from connecting with their outdoor environment.

If your company is interested in being a corporate member go to www.lancswt.org.uk/ how-you-can-help/business

A murmuration of vets at Brockholes

Get out and meet some wildlife

It has been a glorious summer with lots of opportunities to get out and about and have wild adventures, says Alan Wright .

The hot days of May and June meant early mornings as I took the dog out before it became too warm for the fur coat brigade.

Getting out before 6am means there are fewer people around, so fewer disturbances for wildlife. I saw inquisitive roe deer every day as I wandered along the Goit in Brinscall. Sometimes, I wonder if deer meet up and say: “I spotted two humans today.”

Then I spotted a fledgling magpie for the first time in my life, it was quickly joined by two others. Then there was the huge bee-type fly, which turned out to be a great pied hoverfly, resting on a nettle leaf.

One morning the path was filled with froglets and toadlets wandering from the lodge inland, where they will be fending for themselves in the long, now wet, grass in the woods. I had to tread carefully.

Bluebells fill our woodland in summer

We always get bluebells late because the village is quite high up and they hung around until the last week in May. Heading back to my garden, I fed the birds, with a blackbird almost sitting on my shoulder demanding raisins and more than a dozen young starlings squawking for food. They were joined this year, by jackdaws, nesting in a nearby chimney, blue tits, great tits and the usual house sparrows and dunnocks.

In spring, I also saw a goldcrest in our tree for the first time since we moved in. I was delighted. I went to our nature reserves, up to Middleton near Heysham, where I was greeted by a family of swans, including eight cygnets.

We also found a bee orchid, which was a thrill. At Heysham Nature Reserve there were more happy damselflies than I have ever seen on the dipping pond.

Brockholes has been stunning but I missed the otter. It was out there in Number One Pit, but decided not to surface for me. I had to make do with one of my favourite birds, a great crested grebe, nesting in full view of all the diners in the Kestrel Kitchen.

This year 30 Days Wild was fantastic and it was wonderful to hear about all the sightings of the 7,000 people that took part in Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

We are hoping that the people taking part in 30 Days Wild will continue to try to have a wild moment every day of the year. While you can watch the spiders running along your floor and the birds from your kitchen window, getting outdoors is the best way to see wild things. If you plant a wild garden or have a window box you are likely to attract dozens of different kinds of insects, which will interest bees and bats.

Or get a bird feeder or bird table, the money you spend on feed will be paid back by cheeky sparrows, tits and blackbirds having a wild party.

Wildlife is out there just waiting to show off to us, so we should get outdoors and, even better, look at ways we can help nature to flourish.

"While you can watch the spiders running along your floor and the birds from your kitchen window, getting outdoors is the best way to see wild things."

Brown hare by Graham Roberts

Mute swans over Brockholes

Six spot burnet moth at Brockholes

Great pied hoverfly by Alan Wright Bee orchid at Middleton Nature Reserve

Roe deer hidden in wood by Alan Wright

dragonflies & damselflies 6 places to see

ragonflies and damselflies are some of our most enchanting insects. They’re large, often colourful, and have a fascinating, flickering flight. They dart above the water, starting and stopping like little clockwork toys as they hunt or patrol their territory. Both dragonflies and damselflies belong to an order of insects called Odonata, which means ‘toothed jaw’ – named for their serrated mandibles. Damselflies are generally slender, with their eyes on either side of the head, never touching. Dragonflies are usually bigger, bulkier and have much larger eyes that normally touch each other.

You can find them on all kinds of wetlands, from garden ponds to canals, chalk streams to bogs – and sometimes far from any water. They’re best looked for on still, sunny days in spring and summer, when they’re warm enough to fly. Here are six of our favourite nature reserves for spotting them…

See the spectacle for yourself

1 Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

This stunning wetland has been restored for wildlife over recent decades and is now home to many dragonflies and damselflies. You could see emerald damselflies, emperor dragonflies, or even the rare white-faced darter – they were reintroduced in 2010 and are now thriving. Where: Near Witherslack, LA11 6SN

2 Carlton Marshes, Suffolk Wildlife Trust

This nature reserve is a mosaic of marshes, meadows, pools, and scrub. An impressive 28 species of dragonfly have been recorded here, more than anywhere else in the UK. This includes the Norfolk hawker – a dazzling dragonfly with emerald eyes.

Where: Lowestoft, NR33 8HU

3 Amwell, Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust

One of the best places in the region to see dragonflies and damselflies, with 21 breeding species, including red-eyed damselflies. The dragonfly trail features a boardwalk for close encounters with these enchanting insects. Where: Ware, SG12 9SS

4 Magor Marsh, Gwent Wildlife Trust

This beautiful area of fenland in the Gwent Levels is ideal for dragonflies and damselflies, including four-spotted chasers and hairy dragonflies. It’s also home to banded demoiselles and ruddy darters, who share the waterways with water voles. Where: Magor, NP26 3DN

5 Higher Hyde Heath, Dorset Wildlife Trust

Exploring the ponds, woodland, and heathland can reward with a variety of species, including downy emeralds and golden-ringed dragonflies – females of which are the longest dragonfly in the UK.

Where: Wareham, BH20 7NY

6 Windmill Farm, Cornwall Wildlife Trust

The ponds of this scenic nature reserve are great for dragonflies and damselflies, including red-veined darters, migrants from continental Europe. Windmill Farm also has a good reputation for attracting rarer migrant visitors, like the lesser emperor.

Where: The Lizard, TR12 7LH

Did you spot any dragons or damsels?

We’d love to know how your search went. Please tweet us your best photos! @wildlifetrusts

What is that noisy robin telling you?

How and Why Animals Communicate by Nicolas

Mathevon

(Princeton University Press)

The best thing about mornings in spring and summer is the song of the blackbird, letting rip from the top of a nearby telegraph pole.

In my mind, the blackbird is shouting out: “The sun is shining, it’s going to be an amazing day. Get out of bed!” But it’s not that simple. He could be calling out to mates, defending territory or sounding out a warning.

If you want to dig deeper into the most recent learning about how animals communicate then try this new book "The Voice of Nature" by Nicholas

Mathevon.

Mathevon is Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences with a worldwide experience of this subject and he transports us from the Amazon jungle to the Arctic to reveal amazing animal vocalisations. He also brings these chirps, squawks and barks into our own gardens for birds like the wren and the blackbird.

“As I write these lines in my house in a rather quiet neighbourhood, a common Eurasian blackbird sings loudly a few metres away from me (“tooodeee-too-tooo-deeee”). Every two or three minutes, a car drives along the street. Its noise does not completely cover the blackbird’s vocalisations... Another car. The blackbird is silent perhaps discouraged?”

I remember waking up during lockdown thinking that the blackbirds were singing even louder than usual. Does Mathevon back up my conclusion that the birds were noisier without the constant hum of humanity? Can we have a national No Car Day?

There is certainly an interesting strand that looks at tone of voice. While we probably recognise bird alarm calls are there other subtleties that we are missing.

Mathevon describes an experiment he carried out with pet dogs, playing them a call in a neutral tone and then one that could be described as baby talk – “who’s a good boy” “hello cutie”.

The dogs did not respond to the former, but went crazy when they heard the baby talk. The Voice of Nature is written at a level that will appeal to everyone because of the wide ranging examples that the author uses to colour some of the more intricate descriptions of sounds made by creatures.

I love this book, it is introducing me to the calls of exotic creatures while firmly bringing things back home to creatures like the blackbird, blackcap and wren that I know so well.

Alan Wright

"The Voice of Nature is written at a level that will appeal to everyone because of the wide ranging examples that the author uses."

Robins defends its territory with song by Peter Smith

A blackbird’s uplifting morning song by Konrad Wothe

YOUR LAPWING TEAM...

DR TOM BURDITT Chief Executive

EMMA BARTLETT Volunteer Manager

JENNY BENNION

Peatlands Communications Officer

IZZY COOK

Youth Voice Officer

..........................................................

LUCY COXHEAD

Membership Recruitment Officer

CRIS DAVENPORT Manchester Officer

ROLAND HOWARD Wigan Communications Officer

JENNY JOHNSON Head of Marketing and Income Generation

MEGAN KELSALL Partnerships Officer

JENNI LEA Nature and Wellbeing Senior Officer

Tales of the Western Woods

The 2023 issue of Wildlife in North Lancashire is now available with Tales from the Western Woods, Yellow Slug-marine and wildlife gardening, being some of the interesting topics.

SARAH LEECH

Commercial Volunteering & Events Coordinator

KAIT LEEMING

Assistant Catering and Retail Manager

SAM SIDDIQUE

Lunt Meadows Communications and Engagement Officer

MATTHEW SWIFT Marketing Officer

KIRSTY TYLER

The Bay Nature & Wellbeing Communications Officer

ALICE WOOD Marketing Support Officer

ALAN WRIGHT

Head of Campaigns and Communications

ROB ZLOCH

Magazine Editor, North Lancashire Wildlife Group

ALEX CRITCHLEY Trainee Comms Officer

The magazine has 40 reports and articles and with over 300 colour wildlife photographs to illustrate them and is a wonderful celebration of wildlife in North Lancashire and the surrounding areas. It includes reports by Wildlife Trust officers, reports on taxonomic groups, field reports and a range of miscellaneous wildlife articles.

The full contents page and images along with contact details can be found at www.nlwg.org.uk

NLWG, is holding its Summer Wildlife Fair on Sunday, July 23, at Fairfield Orchard in Lancaster. There will be static displays on various themes including heathland, woodland, coastal, leaf litter and pond life. There will also be activities for children. There will also be walks looking for insects, wildflowers and spiders.

Blooms, birds and beautiful bugs

Alice Wood focuses in on the season’s top photographs from our reserves and beyond.

This spring we have seen a plethora of wildlife across Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, emerging from hibernation and returning to their preferred habitats, ready for the warmer summer months to begin. It has been a wonderful season for wildlife - and for our photography competition!

© Michaela Movill

The photography competition continues to be sponsored by in focus, the binoculars specialist, who very kindly offer a £100 voucher as the prize each month.

Based in the Lookout hide at Brockholes Nature Reserve, in focus have a wide selection of binoculars and scopes to help you keep a closer eye on the incredible wildlife we are blessed with on our reserves.

The theme for February was ‘winter birds’ and our winner captured it perfectly. Les Price claimed first place with her incredible little stonechat. Leslie managed to capture this lovely little bird with such incredible detail, highlighting the incredible colours of its plumage as it perched atop a frosted post.

The top spot in March went to John Cobham with his fantastic frog. From the expression on the frog’s face to the flawless colour match between the markings on the frog and frogspawn floating on the surface of the pond, this photograph perfectly encapsulated the ‘signs of spring’ theme.

This stunning little nuthatch was spotted by Leah Taylor, nesting in a tree. The timing of this image is incredible, capturing the nuthatch peering from its nest at the awaiting photographer below, wonderful!

April’s photography competition saw the return of our fantastic bugs, under the theme of ‘a bugs life’. First place went to Michaela Moville and her black beetle. We loved the way that Michaela captured her close-up of this tiny beetle enjoying a delicious looking leaf and the clarity of the beetle against the blurred background was very impressive.

This magnificent common green shield bug was snapped by Stephen Timothy. His ability to capture the details of this small green bug with such clarity is wonderful to see, alongside the contrast between the green hues of the bug and the white of the flower.

Kerrilee Barrett was the winner of May’s competition with her fantastic image titled ‘Childhood Memories’. This photograph captures the incredible vibrancy of the buttercup and as the title suggests, transports you back to your childhood memories of running through fields full of buttercups. The way that the image was taken from below was a fantastic touch, filling the frame with a wonderful yellow glow.

As always if you feel inspired to get out in the natural world and capture some wildlife shots after viewing our recent entries, why not enter our competition? Take a look at this month’s theme and submit your entries to photocomp@lancswt.org.uk

© John Cobham

With the return of wildlife big and small to our nature reserves, our incredible photographers have captured some incredible images!

© Leah Taylor

© Stephen Timothy

© Kerrilee Barrett

What ’s On

We have a whole host of fantastic events for you to attend this summer, right across our region. Whether you fancy discovering wildflowers, searching out minibeasts on the beach or taking part in one of our craft activities – there's something for everyone!

Head to lancswt.org.uk/ events for more information, booking details and even more events for you to enjoy.

Den Village Challenge

28th July

Brockholes Nature Reserve

Toddle Together

Every Thursday

Brockholes Nature Reserve Free!

Join us for a one hour walk around the reserve on buggy friendly paths aimed at toddlers and preschoolers.

Guided Nature Walk

Every Monday

Moss Bank Park Free!

Come and take part in our weekly volunteer-led nature walk around Moss Bank Park and the surrounding area and learn about some fabulous wildlife.

Beach Art

26th July

Meet at North Beach Car Park, Lytham St Anne’s Free!

It's National Marine Week and we're celebrating all things marine & coastal. Get your creative juices flowing, grab your bucket & spade and join us on the beach to create some "fin-tastic" marine-themed sand sculptures.

Rockpool Ramble

27th July

Blackpool Sea Wall

(opposite The Solaris Centre), South Promenade Free!

Take part in our Rockpool Ramble and explore the weird and wonderful creatures that live inside the artificial rockpools created on Blackpool’s sea wall.

£9.00 per child

Take on our Den Building Challenge this summer!Will you and your family take on the challenge? Work together to build a magical den village deep within our woodlands, this activity is certain to be fun for the whole family.

Brockholes

Artisan Markets

5th and 6th August and 30th September and 1st October

Brockholes Nature Reserve Free!

Join us for a wonderful weekend of artisan market fun and support our fabulous local businesses.

Wildlife Adventure

26th and 27th July

Brockholes and Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserves

£9 per child

Calling all nature enthusiasts!

Join us for our action-packed Wildlife Adventurer event. Get ready for an afternoon filled with mini beast hunting, pond dipping and wildlife crafts. Perfect for families, this event is sure to be a blast!

Mere Sands Wood Artisan Markets

2nd and 3rd September

Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve Free!

Join us for a wonderful weekend of artisan market fun and support our fabulous local businesses.

Mini Beast Hunting in the Sand Dunes

1st August

Meet at North Promenade Car Park, Lytham St Anne’s Free!

Join us on a minibeast adventure in the sand dunes as we use bug hunting equipment to find the many mini-creatures that call the dunes home.

Sea Watch

2nd August

Meet at the glitterball, Blackpool Free!

Join us underneath the Glitterball in Blackpool to spot marine life in the Irish Sea!

Nature Connection Wild Workshop

1st September

Brockholes Nature Reserve

£60 per person

Discover how nature connection can help us develop a more meaningful and emotional relationship with nature.

Mere Sands Wood Family Bat Walk

8th September

Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve

£15 per adult and £10 per child

Join us for one of our most popular events of the year, as we embark upon a wonderful adventure in search of these magnificent creatures.

Woodland Tools Wild Workshop

8th September

Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve

£60 per person

Learn how to safely use and maintain a range of woodland tools.

Skies and Pies with The Starsmith

19th October

Brockholes Nature Reserve

£22.50 per person

Join us for an exciting talk by local astrophotographer, Lee Hunt, where he’ll take you on a virtual journey through the night skies of Lancashire, from our planetary neighbours to distant galaxies.

Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography

Image by Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION