Durham Wildlife - Winter 2020

WINTER 2020

WWW.DURHAMWT.COM

News Flying start for 50th Heart of Durham Shop for wildlife Trust website gets a makeover New reedbed for Rainton Meadows

National News

Wildlife Trusts launch biggest ever appeal to kickstart nature’s recovery by 2030 Safer areas at sea

National Conservation Living on the hedge

Campaigning

How wildlife changed my life

Conservation

Wildlife goes on Seascapes and water voles

Events

Winter 2020 If you would like to opt in to receiving a digital copy of Wildlife Durham instead of your printed copy, please email mail@durhamwt.co.uk with your name and membership number and we will update your preferences.

VISITOR CENTRES

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At a time when good news is a rare species, I’m pleased to say that this edition of Wildlife Durham is supporting a thriving population.

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R

egionally, significant species conservation work is just about to get underway, thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Durham Wildlife Trust is set to begin its first major marine conservation project, and new habitat is being created at Rainton Meadows. There are also positive stories about the Trust’s nature reserves, including record orchid counts. Efforts to secure more nature reserves, so Durham Wildlife Trust can celebrate having 50 sites at the end of our 50th anniversary year, are off to a great start and there’s hopefully more to come. On the national level, the Wildlife Trusts are taking the initiative and pushing the Government to back nature’s recovery.

Perhaps the most important part of this magazine – and more good news stories - are the contributions from members on how much wildlife means to them. There’s also the opportunity for others to share their love of wildlife in our writing competition.

Because our projects and initiatives take a long time to plan and resource, we know that the disruption coronavirus has caused will have knock-on effects for years to come. There will be challenging times ahead, but, with your support, the Trust can rise to the challenge. As society recovers from the pandemic, now is the time to be ambitious and make sure that nature’s recovery is part of that process.

Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve Chilton Moor, Houghton-le-Spring Tyne & Wear, DH4 6PU Tel: 0191 584 3112 The Meadows Coffee Shop Angela Watson and Team. Tel: 0191 512 8940

Jim Cokill – Director

MAGAZINE

Low Barns Nature Reserve Witton-le-Wear, Bishop Auckland County Durham, DL14 0AG Tel: 01388 488 728

Paper: FSC accredited, 100% recycled uncoated

Low Barns Coffee Shop Angela Watson and Team. Tel: 01388 488 729

Design: Edmundson Design www.edmundsondesign.com

2 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

Editorial: Kate English

Printed by: North Wolds Printers Cover Image: George Rockett

NEWS CURLEW: ADAM JONES | LAPWING: DAVID TIPLING

Flying start for 50th

By Jim Cokill – Director

There was a lot of discussion within the Trust on whether it was a good idea to launch our 50th anniversary appeal during a pandemic.

W

e all had, and continue to have, worries about the future, and the health and happiness of family and friends. Thankfully, the 50@50 appeal went ahead because real progress has been made towards the target of Durham Wildlife Trust having 50 nature reserves by the end of our 50th anniversary year in July 2022.

Nature has been a comfort to many of us over recent months, and the opportunity to secure more land for wildlife is something positive that we can all contribute towards. A better future is possible, and Durham Wildlife Trust will play its part in making that happen.

Thanks go to everyone who put suggestions forward for potential sites, and generously donated to our appeal – your support is greatly appreciated. So far, 50@50 has brought together a funding package of more than £250,000 that will bring a further 31 hectares of land into Durham Wildlife Trust management across three new sites. There are two new nature reserves in Gateshead, and a third near Sedgefield, with further details to follow in the next edition of Wildlife Durham. We have also been able to secure a further ten hectares of land at Shibdon Pond and Shibdon Meadow, with £78,000 to further improve habitats and support management on those sites.

31 hectares

of land supporting nature’s recovery

The Trust needs to be ambitious if we are going to restore nature across our region, so the target is to raise £500,000 by the start of our anniversary year, next July. Members’ donations and suggestions for sites are already making a difference, so, if you can, please continue to support our 50th anniversary appeal.

As you will see in the news section of this magazine, nationally, the Wildlife Trusts are calling for at least 30% of our land and sea to be connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030. The Trusts are pressuring the Government to create a new Wildbelt designation, where land is protected and nature can be allowed to recover. By securing more land as nature reserves, Durham Wildlife Trust can lead the way on meeting the 30% target and making the Wildbelt a reality in our region.

Return of Lapwings and Curlews to wetlands

Keep up t on our c o date ampaign : durh

amwt.co

m/fifty

£250k reached of £500k target

MANY THANKS TO ALL OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS FOR THEIR ONGOING SUPPORT

Gold Members

Northumbrian Water Northern Gas Networks Vine House Farm Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd.

Silver Members Wieberberger GlaxoSmithKline

Bronze Members

Simon Berry Optometrists Down to Earth Garden Care Spincraft Holidaycottages.co.uk WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 3

NEWS

Getting back to nature The Trust was delighted to be able to run a series of events across the summer holiday period – both in person and online – to help get people across the region back in touch with nature.

Family Wildlife Activities

Thanks to ‘Holiday Activities with Healthy Food’ funding from Weardale, Teesdale, 3 Towns and Derwent Valley Area Action Partnerships (AAPs), the Trust delivered 30 days of fun, family wildlife activities in Crook, Burnopfield, Hedleyhope Fell, Barnard Castle, Cockfield Fell, and Low Barns Nature Reserve. More than one hundred families learned to identify trees, bees, butterflies, wildflowers and birds, hunted minibeasts, and followed mammal tracks and trails. Each family received a Durham Wildlife Trust goody bag filled with ID guides, bug viewer pots, wildflower seed bombs, and healthy food. At Barnard Castle, we worked with Bright Woods Forest School CIC, where families cooked food on a campfire in Deepdale Woods.

Witches in the woods

Families connected with their inner witches and wizards, listening to folklore, myths and stories, and learning about medicinal uses for plants and trees that can be found at Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve. Wands were made and spells were chanted, however no toads or humans were harmed.

4 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

Friday Family Forest School

Every Friday in August, we lit campfires, cooked pancakes and baked apples, discovered trolls lurking under bridges, created mazes and obstacle courses, learned about trees and woodland wildlife, played games and shared stories.

Online engagement

More than six hundred people from across the world (including dial-ins from as far afield as Manhattan) tuned in to our sell-out series of free online workshops during the summer, with talks and presentations on topics such as ‘The Bees of County Durham’, ‘The Return of the Otter’, and ‘Name that Plant’. Jade, from MammalWeb, joined us for the ‘Marvellous Mammals’ talk, and Dave, from Butterfly Conservation, shared his wonderful knowledge of ‘Butterflies and Moths on the Wing’.

For details of our upcoming events visit:

durhamwt.com/events

NEWS

The majestic beauty of the elm tree long captured the imagination of artists and poets, but, during the second half of the 20th century, over 90% of the UK elm population succumbed to the fatal Dutch elm disease. The disease, caused by a fungus spread from tree to tree by beetles, still persists today, but there is some hope for the future of these deciduous giants.

B

ack in 2011, the Heart of Durham volunteers, alongside Northumbrian Water Ltd, planted 12 elm saplings, which were provided by The Conservation Foundation’s Great British Elm Project. These saplings were micro-propagated off cuttings from healthy mature elm trees which appear to have resisted Dutch elm disease, and it is hoped that the offspring will share the disease-resistance qualities. The Heart of Durham volunteers have been diligently tending and monitoring the saplings over the past nine years, and have seen an average growth of 2.9 metres over this time. A second batch of 29 saplings were planted in 2015 and have since shown an average growth of 1.1 metres.

Mature elms provide a wealth of opportunities for wildlife.

Many species of moths and spiders take shelter in the ridged bark and birds feed on the seeds, which are surrounded by papery tissues that help them to blow in the wind – a type of seed known as a samara. In the treetops (40 metres up in some cases) white-letter hairstreak butterflies flit among the leaves and lay their eggs on the tips of the branches, often between old and new growth scars. This butterfly, linked so intrinsically with the elm, suffered a dramatic population crash alongside the elm.

It is ‘so far so good’ for the two batches of elms that were planted, but the disease typically strikes older trees. Fingers crossed for a future where giant elms can once again inspire poets and painters.

MAIN PHOTO: PHILIP PRECEY

Heart of Durham volunteers growing elms Shop for wildlife Choose a gift that gives to wildlife as well as your loved ones this winter.

Our new online store features everything from nature-themed books, spotting guides and seed for your garden birds to wildlife-inspired jewellery, locally-produced home accessories, and stationery with a wild twist. Not to mention our ever-popular ‘adopt an animal’ packs. And if you’re struggling to think of the perfect present for your friends and family, why not consider a gift membership with Durham Wildlife Trust, so that they, too, can help protect wild spaces across the North East for future generations.

Browse t durham he range: wt.com/ shop www

WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 5

NEWS

New reedbed for Rainton Meadows L

ook out for the diggers at Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve this winter. The Trust is creating a one hectare new reedbed which, once established, will be a valuable new habitat and home to a host of wildlife.

Reedbeds are one of the richest wetland habitats in the country, and have declined in extent and quality across the Durham Wildlife Trust patch, but the Trust is playing its part in reversing this trend. The new reedbed will be created on an area of low-quality grassland on the edge of the largest pond at Rainton Meadows, adding to the small area of reeds already established on the pond’s margins.

Over the winter, specialist machinery will excavate topsoil and then remove lower layers of soil to create three large areas of reedbed and open water, along with scrapes and ditches. Each reedbed will be interlinked by a series of sluices to control water levels in the ponds. A rich variety of habitats will be formed to support birds such as bittern, reed bunting, reed warbler, sedge warbler, marsh tit, and water rail.

Amphibians such as common toad and frog and smooth newts, will also benefit, as will otters, dragonflies and damselflies.

A new reedbed has been an aspiration for many years and has been made possible thanks to a generous combination of funding from Biffa Award, Sunderland City Council, Heritage Concern Foundation, plus funds from Northumbrian Water.

Everything for wildlife, ecology and conservation Bat detectors Camera traps & accessories Moth traps & insect nets Field guides Binoculars & spotting scopes Hand lenses & microscopes Pond dipping nets Huge product range

Rapid shipping

Exceptional customer service

www.nhbs.com | Serving conservation since 1985 | +44 1803 865913 6 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

Trust website gets a makeover

The Trust was delighted to launch a refreshed website in August that follows the national Wildlife Trust brand. The new site is easy to navigate, has a more modern design, and includes all the content we know that our supporters enjoyed viewing from our old site – updates from our conservation team, details and video tours of our nature reserves, easy booking for events and the ever-popular Kittiwake Cam. Zoe Hull, Head of Operations, said: “The past few months have shown us just how important our online content is to our supporters. By bringing wildlife and nature into people’s homes we hope we have helped them through this difficult time. It was great to get the new website live after a lot of hard work from the team, and I’d encourage all of our members to log on and take a look around.”

Take a tour of the new website: durhamwt.com

NATIONAL NEWS

Wildlife Trusts launch biggest ever appeal to kickstart nature’s recovery by 2030 Stag beetles are one of many species in danger.

s we struggle through the worst pandemic in living memory, the importance of nature in our lives has become clearer than ever. Science shows that humanity’s basic needs – from food to happiness – can all be met with a healthy natural environment, where wildlife surrounds us.

But sadly, nature is not all around us, at least not in the abundance it should be.

Many of our most treasured species like hedgehogs, bats and basking sharks are all at risk, as well as many of the insects that pollinate our food crops.

Loss of wild places and the breaking up of those that remain into small fragments has had a disastrous effect.

Only 10% of land is protected in the UK and much of this is in poor condition.

While some areas of the seabed are officially protected, harmful activities such as bottom trawling are only banned in a handful of locations.

All is not lost, as we know how to turn things round: we need to see nature’s recovery happening across at least 30% of our land and seas by 2030. This would enable our wild places to connect and allow wildlife to move around and thrive.

The Wildlife Trusts are fighting to make this a reality through our new 30 by 30 campaign, and we recently called for a new landscape designation for England called “Wildbelt” that would put land into recovery for nature and help us reach 30%.

Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “We’ve set ourselves an ambitious goal — to raise £30 million and kickstart the process of securing at least 30% of land and sea in nature’s recovery by 2030. We will buy land to expand and join up our nature reserves; we’ll work with others to show how to bring wildlife back to their land, and we’re calling for nature’s recovery through a new package of policy measures including big new ideas like Wildbelt.”

Wildlife Trusts are fundraising to tackle, on a scale not seen before in the UK, the joint climate and ecological emergency.

Restored habitats will capture carbon, helping to tackle climate change, and bring people the health benefits associated with contact with the natural world. There are amazing projects right on your doorstep that need support to take flight.

Craig added: “The next ten years must be a time of renewal, of rewilding our lives, of green recovery. We all need nature more than ever and when we succeed in reaching 30 by 30 we’ll have wilder landscapes that store carbon and provide on-your-doorstep nature for people too. Everyone can support and help us to succeed.”

Safer areas at sea

In 2019 an independent panel was tasked by the Government to review whether Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) could be introduced to English waters.

More than 3,000 Wildlife Trust supporters responded to the panel’s consultation, backing our call for HPMA introduction. HPMAs would offer the strictest possible protections for the marine environment, giving nature the best chance of recovery.

By removing all pressure, from fishing to construction, our shallow seas, shores and diverse seabeds can become healthier, more productive and full of life once more.

wtru.st/help-our-seas

Support our campaign today to bring our wildlife back: durhamwt.com/30-30

WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 7

STAG BEETLE © TERRY WHITTAKER/2020VISION. STARFISH © LINDA PITKIN/2020VISION

A

NATIONAL CONSERVATION

Living on the hedge

By Andrew Jamieson, Surrey Wildlife Trust Illustration by Beth Knight

F

irst light and an early winter mist lies softly on the fields. Along the track the low sun is backlighting frosted cobwebs and the frozen stalks of last summer’s hogweed. Redwings and fieldfares, as well as our resident thrushes, take flight from the hedges as I approach. I have interrupted their gorging on a bounty of berries. Sloe, haw, hip and holly are all on the menu, these thorny thickets providing a rich larder for birds that have flocked from harsher climes to spend their winter with us.

Other birds take advantage of these hedges at this time of year, too. At sunset, hundreds of chattering starlings will take up their roosting stations deep within the intricate tangle of shrubs and climbers. Here they are protected from whatever the elements have in store over the long winter nights. Insects in various life stages are also holed-up. Some careful exploration and you may find dormant ladybirds tucked deep into bark crevices or the tiny eggs of the brown hairstreak butterfly lodged in the fork of a blackthorn branch. Meanwhile hidden away at ground level hedgehogs, toads, and newts are using the security of the dense vegetation for their seasonal slumber.

Brimstone One of a handful of UK butterflies that overwinter as adults, tucked away in ivy. They can even be seen flying on sunny days in winter. The caterpillars feed on alder buckthorn.

Hedgehog

Later in the year our hedge will become a riot of colour, movement and aromatic scents with bees and butterflies visiting the flowers of campion, bramble and honeysuckle. Long-tailed tits, wrens and yellowhammers will be busily raising their broods; shrews and voles will be feeding, sheltering and defending their territories. But all that has yet to unfold, and for now much of life lies waiting.

Hedgehogs will often choose the base of a thick hedgerow to site their hibernaculum to sleep away the colder months. In milder winters they may be seen out and about as late as December.

Thousands of miles of hedgerows such as this criss-cross our country in a familiar and historical patchwork landscape. Rich in wildlife, this network of green highways links the habitats and populations of so many species, all living ‘on the hedge’.

Farming on the hedge Hedgerows are a vital part of the farming landscape, providing food and shelter to countless birds, mammals and insects.

Bird food supplier and Wildlife Trust partner, Vine House Farm, provide a haven for tree sparrows and other wildlife in their hedges. Plus, with every purchase made supporting The Wildlife Trusts, the farm is helping wildlife beyond the farm gate. Find out more here: wildlifetrusts.org/vine-house-farm 8 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

Stoat These fierce predators are active all year round.

They use hedge lines to hunt small rodents and rabbits, although when food is scarce may resort to foraging for earthworms.

NATIONAL CONSERVATION

Fieldfare Winter visitors from the semi-arctic regions where they breed, these grey-blue thrushes will often arrive in mixed flocks along with redwings to feed on berries.

House sparrow Both house sparrows and tree sparrows use dense hedges for roosting spots, protection from predators and even as nest sites when favoured holes and crevices aren’t available.

Ivy This late-flowering evergreen has much to offer wildlife in autumn and winter. Autumn nectar sustains bees, juicy berries feed birds long after other fruits have been snapped up, and dense foliage provides a home for hibernating bats and insects.

Orange ladybird Dormouse Well-managed hedgerows are vital corridors for many species and none more so than the dormouse.

As well as a secure hibernation site, the hedge will provide them with many of the fruits, nuts and insects in their diet.

This distinctive ladybird is among the many insects that hibernate in leaf litter at the base of hedges. Other species of ladybird will be under bark or nestled within thick beds of lichen.

WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 9

CAMPAIGNING

Durham Wildlife Trust is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and it wants you to share your wildlife stories.

W

e are looking for stories that share your love of wildlife and how nature has shaped, or even changed your life.

It could be heartwarming and funny, or perhaps you have found solace in nature at a difficult time. Maybe you met your soul-mate in a bird hide, or stood, stunned, watching a natural spectacle. Whatever your story is, we would love you to share it.

Entries will be judged by a Durham Wildlife Trust panel and the winning entry will be printed in the next edition of Wildlife Durham. The winner and two runners up will also be featured on the Trust website. The winning author will receive a £50 book token, and the two runners up £25 book tokens. The prize winners will also receive a coveted ‘golden’ Durham Wildlife Trust pin badge!

We would like stories from members of all ages, so please let us know your name and age in your submission.

Closing date for entries is 31st January 2021.

Stories must be submitted electronically to stories@durhamwt.co.uk. They should be no longer than 500 words.

10 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

! k c u l d oo G

BITTERN © TIM STENTON

‘How wildlife changed my life’ – a story writing competition

CAMPAIGNING

Our Stories

Take inspiration for your story from hearing what it means to some of our supporters to be part of Durham Wildlife Trust.

Ian A 7-year-old budding environmentalist with a passion for all things wildlife, Matthew is a family member and regularly attends Durham Wildlife Trust events.

Paul As long-term members, Chris and Mike are active Trust supporters and regular visitors to Low Barns Nature Reserve.

Chris: “I love it when you are walking around the reserve and you suddenly come across a group of kids from primary school who are counting bugs and getting excited! I think that is an important part of what the Wildlife Trust does.”

As a long-term member of the Trust, Ian’s fondness of Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve has taken him from recreational walks to a new-found hobby in birdwatching.

“I find that the programme of events that Rainton Meadows and Durham Wildlife Trust offer, is vast, and really interesting. Because the people who run the courses are knowledgeable, I just find that it has a positive impact on people.”

“The ponds have a lot of interesting animals in and there are plenty of frogs hopping around!”

Matthew

With five years of volunteering for the Trust, Paul engages in a variety of practical conservation tasks on a weekly basis.

Mike: “I think the work that the Wildlife Trust does in conserving and creating habitats for wildlife, and joining up wildlife reserves with corridors that wildlife can move through, is just so important these days”

You can watch our supporters tell their full stories online: durhamwt.com/stories

Paul talks about the future for Durham Wildlife Trust and its 50th-year campaign.

“The scope of what the Trust does is increasing, and to maintain the reserves, volunteer numbers and membership need to increase too.”

Chris Mike

Help write the next chapter for wildlife

If you are able to, please consider increasing your regular contribution to Durham Wildlife Trust. It costs us around £7 per acre per month to manage our nature reserves. Picture your favourite place or your favourite animal safe and protected.

Could you support an acre for wildlife? How many acres could you support?

For an informal chat about membership, donations, or other gifts to the Trust, please contact Emily on 0191 584 3112 or email membership@durhamwt.co.uk.

HEDGEHOG © JON HAWKINS

Thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to our small, but mighty, charity.

WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 11

CONSERVATION

Wildlife goes on A round-up of activity around our nature reserves from the Conservation Team

T

he ‘Great Anthropause’ – the global-scale, temporary slowdown in human activity. Much has been made of this recently and its possible impact on other species. Over the last few months, the Trust has been asked if we have noticed any real difference in how species have responded across our reserves. Here’s a little taster, though we should qualify this with: we’ve never been as busy!

Laura Tedstone Living Landscapes Officer South

Phill Catton

Living Landscapes Officer North

June 15th marked the return of volunteers to reserve management activities. Emerging into woodlands awash with flora, and meadows buzzing with life, to work in small bubbles to undertake essential seasonal work. Local members and volunteers had done a great job supporting Trust staff, during lockdown, to clear litter and repair the impact of anti-social behaviour that sadly has become all too commonplace since March. Now some of the bigger jobs could start to be undertaken.

The feedback was generally about how much bolder wildlife had become. Early nesters had taken up home closer to paths, as volunteers at Low Barns observed, while they repaired the damage to site paths caused by floods at the turn of the year. Path repair at Bishop Middleham had its own rewards, with an array of butterflies and orchids benefiting from the fine weather.

Left: Derek Newby, Fencing at Low Barns Above: Bishop Middleham Quarry OPPOSITE PAGE:

12 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

Bottom left: Ringlet Butterfly and Soldier Beetles on Ragwort Bottom right: Dark Red Helleborine at Bishop Middleham Quarry by Mark Dinning

CONSERVATION

Education Den decking was completed at Rainton Meadows

With wildlife flourishing on the reserves, it was disappointing that survey and monitoring of species and habitats by volunteers had to cease during lockdown. Permission was given in June for this activity to recommence. At Bishop Middleham Quarry, volunteers undertook the annual dark red helleborine count which showed record numbers. The total this year was 2502 – 12.7% above the previous highest count, achieved in 1998.

Bishop Middleham Quarry contains a rare grassland community that is also found at Town Kelloe Bank and Raisby Hill Grassland, amongst other sites. Here, bramble and thistle and purple moor-grass control was undertaken, as they out-compete the rare Magnesian Limestone plant communities. Fencing repairs and upgrades were also implemented across many sites, to support the Trust livestock, including the above reserves and many of the Gateshead nature reserves.

Despite restrictions limiting the size of teams, more than 500 volunteer days have been spent this summer on non-native plant control across the reserves. Previous years of toil show positive results across sites, with Himalayan balsam much reduced. There were opportunities for a pause in work, for volunteers to enjoy bird song at places like Ousbrough Wood, Hawthorn Dene, Low Barns and Hesleden Dene. Including the crunchy calls of willow tits and the illusive pied flycatcher.

Pied Flycatcher by Amy Lewis

Imported charcoal (its production often costing the environment a high price) stopped coming into the UK this spring for a short period. Demand for Durham Wildlife Trust charcoal (produced as a by-product from our woodland and grassland management activities) soared. The hard and dirty work by staff and volunteers allows for funds from sales to be re-invested in the Trust’s nature conservation efforts.

Looking forward, we have exciting developments in the pipeline for Shibdon Pond and Shibdon Meadow this autumn.

It was with regret that we decided to temporarily close the boardwalk at Shibdon Pond earlier this year, but we simply felt it was no longer safe for public access. Our plan had always been to begin work on a new boardwalk in April, but with lockdown and the subsequent changes to working practices to minimise COVID-19 risks, we have had to look for other ways to deliver this important project. With the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and a local contractor, we are now back up and running, and will be starting work very soon to get this much valued trail open again. Plus, we will be installing new signage and way-markers to highlight the route between the Shibdon Pond and Shibdon Meadow reserves.

It is a given that there is always more work to do than there is time available to do it. Usually, this is down to the inevitable conflict between our ambitions, the reality of our resources, and unbendable physics of how time passes.

However, right now it feels more appropriate than ever to celebrate everything that has been achieved, as, given the circumstances, it could have easily been so much less.

Particular recognition and thanks go to the volunteers who have made all this happen, and our members who support and enable it all.

WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 13

CONSERVATION

Seascapes and water voles

Great things come to those who wait, so we were delighted to have funding granted by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for two exciting new projects that have been in development for some time now and which you may have already read about in previous editions of Wildlife Durham.

The Naturally Native Project, and the Tyne to Tees Shores and Seas - SeaScapes Partnership, are both ground-breaking in their own right, and the Trust is looking forward to commencing delivery on both in January 2021.

Tyne to Tees Shores and Seas – SeaScapes Partnership Led by the Heritage Coast, and developed from an idea put forward by Durham Wildlife Trust, this will be the UK’s first marine Landscape Partnership Scheme. The total funding awarded to the partnership from National Lottery Heritage Fund is £2.78m, with the Trust receiving £386,500 to deliver their part of this ambitious project.

Durham Wildlife Trust will be hosting the Intertidal Interaction Officer on behalf of the partnership, engaging local communities to enjoy the coast and get involved in marine conservation.

From marine giants, like the Minke whale, to migrating herring shoals, great forests of kelp, starfish, and sea slugs, the Tyne to Tees seascape supports an amazing wealth of marine and terrestrial wildlife, although few people are aware of the variety of life along the coastline or beneath the surface.

Mark Dinning

Head of Conservation

Through a range of activities and citizen science initiatives, the Durham Wildlife Trust officer will help communities learn more about the wildlife around them. From Beach Tots discovering the small world of the rock pool, to accessing the knowledge gathered by the birders who have closely monitored this stretch of coast for decades.

What happens now?

The SeaScapes scheme now has a Project Manager in post, and the Durham Wildlife Trust Intertidal Interaction Officer will be recruited before the end of 2020. This multi-million pound initiative will then run for four years, delivering around 23 projects across South Tyneside, Sunderland, Durham, and Hartlepool. Project partners, including the local councils and the National Trust, as well as Durham Wildlife Trust, will then be improving access to beaches, exploring shipwrecks and habitats beneath the waves, improving biological recording through citizen science, constructing a coastal conservation centre, tackling marine litter, and creating opportunities for local people and visitors to enjoy being by, on, and in the sea.

Naturally Native After a year of development that resulted in successfully securing more than £500,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Durham Wildlife Trust is delighted to announce the start of Naturally Native project delivery.

Durham will be working closely with the Northumberland and Tees Valley Wildlife Trusts, and acting as lead partner for the project.

Water vole numbers suffered a dramatic decline in the late 20th century and, sadly, that trend continues today.

In the North East, loss of habitat has resulted in water vole populations becoming isolated. These populations are vulnerable to local extinction, particularly when faced with the second major cause of decline – predation from non-native American mink.

14 | WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020

CONSERVATION

Naturally Native is a bold and ambitious project which will work at a truly landscape scale to reverse this trend across Durham, Northumberland, and Tees Valley. A Project Officer at each Trust will work with local landowners, communities and volunteers to control mink populations and restore degraded water vole habitat across the region. This is a last-ditch effort to save the water vole from extinction in North East England. In Durham, this means protecting the upland populations of the North Pennines, and targeting other measures on the sub-catchments of the lower Tyne, Wear, and Tees to remove mink and restore habitats, allowing water vole numbers to recover.

Findings of surveys during 2019 reflect a trend that is seen in many parts of the UK; areas which offer shelter from invading mink (such as the uplands of the North Pennines) have so far managed to hold on to their water vole populations.

However, the lowland populations continue to decline at an alarming rate with very few populations remaining today.

The Project will create a strong partnership committed to reversing the harm done to our ecosystems by non-native species, and will save an iconic species for future generations.

What happens now?

During the development year, more than 40 volunteers helped to resurvey historic water vole sites to assess the current status of the species across the region. This work will now inform restoration over the next three years. A Project Officer will be based at each of the three local Wildlife Trusts with an overall Project Manager based at Durham Wildlife Trust. Recruitment for the posts is underway and work will begin in earnest in early January.

There will be plenty of chances to get involved with both projects, with the roles of local communities and volunteers always key to Trust project delivery.

For your chance to get involved visit:

www.exploreseascapes.co.uk www.durhamwt.com/naturally-native

Connect with Nature wherever re Our programme of events will bring you and your family closer to wildlife, wherever you are. Sign-up for one of our popular online seminars to learn more about the wildlife topic that interests you.

WINTER TREES

GARDEN BIRDS

SPRING FLOWERS

EARLY BUMBLE BEES

you a

Browse our full events programme online:

durhamwt.com/events

WILDLIFE DURHAM WINTER 2020 | 15

‘Recycle’ your winter fuel payment

Donayte! toda

Roger Smith says: “When I qualified for the Winter Fuel Allowance last year, my first thought was that I didn’t need it for myself, and that I should use it to help the environment instead.

I wanted to make a difference locally, so I asked Durham Wildlife Trust if they could use it to plant some plum trees on one of their sites.

It’s not a big thing on its own but if we all do a little, it’ll add up to a lot.”

For more information please visit: durhamwt.com/winter-fuel *If you were born on or before 5 October 1954 you will receive between £100 and £300 each winter. Most payments are made automatically between November and December.

For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment

TERRY WHITTAKER/2020VISION

Donate your winter fuel payment to Durham Wildlife Trust and help to offset your carbon and fuel usage throughout the year by doing wonderful things for wildlife.*