Lapwing Winter 2017

Winter 2017

WILD ABOUT HARRY NATURE CENTRE LANDS AT MERE SANDS WOOD www.lancswt.org.uk

A HELPING HAND FOR THE WILLOW TITS

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE IRISH SEA

Protecting Wildlife for the Future

Senior Trust Officers Patrons Edwin Booth, Lord Clitheroe, Dame Caroline Swift

Once the visit was confirmed there was huge excitement and everyone wanted to get involved.

Lots of them did and what an amazing day we had.

President Chris Davies Chairman Steve Garland Honorary Secretary Duncan Craig Honorary Treasurer John Drury Chief Executive Anne Selby Group Finance Director Ed Livesey Director of Conservation Tim Mitcham Director of Marketing Lindsey Poole Director of Development Mick Weston Director of Nature and Wellbeing Daveen Wallis Editor Alan Wright E. awright@lancswt.org.uk Sub Editors Alison Whitham, Julie Colvin, Ellie Sherlock, Molly Toal Trust Headquarters The Barn, Berkeley Drive, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6BY T. 01772 324129 www.lancswt.org.uk

Prince Harry chats with LWT Chief Execuitve Officer Anne Selby on the boardwalk

Design www.nectarcreative.com Print www.bdprints.co.uk Cover photography

By Paul Heyes 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.

MAKING HARRY HAPPY WAS A BOOST TO US ALL It’s been an amazing year for your Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

The cherry on the cake was the visit by His Royal Highness Prince Harry. One of my favourite moments was when Prince Harry was made aware of a young person who had felt overwhelmed by the day. She feared she had missed the opportunity to meet him.

HRH about-turned and met the young lady and her grandma. She skipped down the hill to the woodland and told the rest of the Myplace group all about it.

When we get a Royal visit it is a real boost to the Trust, the reserve and to everyone involved. It does immense credit to everyone involved in Myplace and Brockholes and to everyone at your Trust who organised this visit.

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We have had at least three messages from Prince Harry’s staff to thank us for making things run smoothly.

One read: “The visit was not only a success, but it was also a thoroughly enjoyable occasion. We are delighted with the day and hope that you are as well. Thank you all once again for your careful planning and efforts to ensure that everything went smoothly.”

Of course these events do not organise themselves and this took weeks of “careful planning”. This started with a joint approach with Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, our partners on Myplace, which has a primary aim of getting young people with mental issues to benefit from being out in the wild.

Once the visit was confirmed there was huge excitement and everyone wanted to get involved. Lots of them did and what an amazing day we had. HRH arrived, had a meal, put on his wellies and headed for the woods. Even the weather was good.

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ON A WET AND WINDY AUTUMN MORNING, THE FIELD STUDIES CENTRE ARRIVED AT MERE SANDS WOOD, ON THE BACK OF THREE LORRIES (16-19). THIS IS JUST STAGE ONE OF GIVING THAT WONDERFUL NATURE RESERVE A MUCH NEEDED FACELIFT. Myplace has grown hugely over the past six months and the NHS Care Trust is getting many referrals from GPs for their patients to go onto the project.

Another project that is causing a stir is Carbon Landscape (pages 28-29), which launched in August. A number of the region’s high fliers attended and have pledged to back our aim to restore nature to huge areas of industrial degradation. And talking of pledges, dozens of people have signed our cards to support the #MarineMudness and Marine Conservation Zones campaigns in the Irish Sea (30-31).

On a wet and windy autumn morning, the Field Studies Centre arrived at Mere Sands Wood, on the back of three lorries (16-19).

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This is just stage one of giving that wonderful nature reserve a muchneeded facelift.

Hopefully the weather will be kinder over winter but please think of wildlife.

We are keen to ensure the UK’s most endangered small bird, the willow tit, continues to increase in our region.

You can help by donating to the Willow Tit Appeal (12-15). Many more of our activities can be found inside this winter Lapwing, but let me assure you, next year your Wildlife Trust will be even busier.

I do hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy, successful 2018.

Anne Selby 3

HARRY HELPS TO SPOTLIGHT HEALTH ISSUES

Myplace is a collaboration between The Wildlife Trust and Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust. The Care Trust’s Chief Operating Officer Sue Moore has given us the key points of the partnership: 1. Using a changing approach to dealing with mental health issues – so that formative years aren’t spoiled.

2. Destigmatising mental illness.

Flags were readied and bunting raised as His Royal Highness Prince Harry came to Brockholes. Prince Harry was visiting your nature reserve to learn more about the Myplace project which is encouraging young people to get into the wild.

This is proving to offer huge health benefits.

This National Lottery funded project is a partnership between the Trust and Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which is pioneering nature as a holistic therapy.

HRH went into the Viking Wood at Brockholes and met Myplace staff and participants as they took part in deadhedging, bushcraft and mindfulness.

He also chatted to young people involved in cooking bread and marshmallows over a fire.

Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Officer Anne Selby said: “This visit has put the spotlight on our innovative project with the NHS. Prince Harry is clearly passionate about the subject of mental health and was so natural with the young people.

“Prince Harry showed real compassion to the participants who have struggled with mental health issues. He noticed one of the attendees looked overwhelmed, he circled back to reassure her and listened for a moment.

“He is on a real mission for mental health issues to be destigimatised.

The biggest prize is for this sort of approach to be normalised and part of the system nationally. That’s the challenge. It was really great that senior delegates from the project’s funders, Our Bright Future, Big Lottery Fund and The Government Panel which distributes European Funding, were there. It was really good for them to see the practical side of Myplace.”

3. Breaking down the barriers, allowing young people to access good learning, teaching positive ways to address stress and the like.

4. An alternative way of looking at the issues surrounding mental health.

5. Wider reach achieved so that more people have access to developing important life skills.

Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of

Big Lottery Fund said, “It is great to see that National Lottery funding for Myplace is creating opportunities for young people to get outdoors and access support for their mental health and wellbeing. We are proud to see their work and its impact being recognised today.”

The idea behind Ecotherapy is that participants feel the benefit from making a positive difference to their physical environment and this results in benefits to both physical and mental health.

LWT Health and Skills Project Manager Mike Winstanley said: “Our Myplace project works with young people in Lancashire to reconnect them with nature, building confidence whilst encouraging them to talk about their own mental health without stigma.

Some of the young people have been speaking to HRH today about their own journey, describing how Myplace has helped them to recover from their own mental health conditions. I know it meant a lot to the young people to meet the Prince. They were excited to show off the project and the activities they are involved in.”

1. By 2020, 1,000 young people aged between 13 and 25, considered most at risk will be empowered to shape and deliver environmental enhancements in their communities.

Sue Moore, Chief Operating Officer at

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our partnership with the Wildlife Trust is so special because it goes such a long way in destigmatising mental health and giving the young people the space and confidence to talk about it with others. We really believe that spending time in the outdoors can make a huge difference and minimise the impact that their mental health could have on their adult lives. HRH has made a huge impression on the young people today and I’m sure they will remember this experience for a very long time.”

Myplace project aims:

2. By 2020, 1,000 young people will feel healthier and we will be able to demonstrate the cost benefit for all that take part in activity, highlighting an alternative way to treat health issues.

3. By 2020, 1,200 members of the wider community will be actively involved in making decisions and taking practical action to manage their local spaces leading to increased community cohesion, resilience and mentoring opportunities.

Prince Harry meets LWT Director of Nature and Wellbeing Daveen Wallis, Health and Skills Project Manager Mike Winstanley and Education Manager Tim Burrows

4. By 2020, 120 greenspaces will be improved, located within urban neighbourhoods, demonstrating benefits for both people and the natural environment. The project will generate £120,000 worth of capital improvements for local community greenspaces.

We really believe that spending time in the outdoors can make a huge difference and minimise the impact that their mental health could have on their adult lives.

Prince Harry leaves Brockholes

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Prince Harry and Myplace Senior Project Officer Rhoda Wilkinson speak to young people around the fire

WHEN HARRY MET RHODA Myplace Senior Project Officer Rhoda Wilkinson describes her meeting with Prince Harry in the Viking Wood at Brockholes: “Whilst His Royal Highness was in the woodland he talked with the group of young people rebuilding the dead-hedge about how and why they were doing it. They also discussed the living hedge that the young people are due to plant.

“Prince Harry was reminiscing about hedgelaying being an activity he had often done with his dad whilst growing up, commenting that Prince Charles still wore the same gardening trousers he’d been wearing for the last 30 years... patches and all.

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“The young people were talking with him about the benefits of working outside, and he agreed that it was a part of life that he had much preferred while growing up.

“During the mindfulness session, we discussed the variety that there is in nature and the importance of being able to slow down and notice some of the details in life. I had a conversation with Prince Harry about the difficulties for young people growing up in the digital age where it is hard to escape the internet and find moments of quiet amongst the constant background noise of social media.

Prince Harry chats to Myplace participants watched by Project Officer Andy Mather

“He reflected that when he had been a teen there was still dial up internet and that he had been lucky to experience a world with and without social media, and the importance of ensuring that young people also got the opportunity to step away from those pressures at times and learned how to make this time for themselves.

“Around the fire he was talking with the young people about a whole variety of things, again reflecting on how important the opportunities to get outside and sleeping out under the stars have been.

“While he said he’d lit plenty of fires and spent more time out than inside, he’d never toasted a marshmallow. He also confessed to not having a sweet tooth.

“The whole group conversation around the fire was very much around the importance of changes to mental health provision in Britain. Several of the young people commented that they didn’t feel mental health was taken as seriously as physical health in schools and society.

HRH agreed and commented on the harm and impact poor mental health could have for today’s society and the importance of the work of projects like Myplace.”

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After the woodland visit Prince Harry spoke to Health and Skills Manager Mike Winstanley. Mike said that His Royal Highness was impressed with the enthusiasm of our young people in advocating the project.

He mentioned “two red-haired young ladies” who were particularly keen to talk about the impact on their own journey. He was pleased to hear that Hannah was now our Our Bright Future Youth Forum representative and that Lucy had recently been appointed as a new Trainee Placement on the Myplace project.

@lancswildlife

Around the fire he was talking with the young people about a whole variety of things, again reflecting on how important the opportunities to get outside and sleeping out under the stars have been.

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STILL OPTIMISTIC AFTER 25 YEARS IN CONSERVATION I have worked for the Wildlife Trust for 25 years and it is interesting to look back to see how conservation thinking and the growth of the Wildlife Trust partnership of 47 Trusts has progressed in that time.

The vital Little Woolden Moss

When I started we had about 3,000 members in Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside and today we are fast approaching 30,000. The income from membership is vital in allowing the management of nature reserves, campaigning, education work and much more. This is reflected nationally, with total Wildlife Trust membership now being well over 800,000. We are now the largest deliverers of conservation volunteering in the country. This is a lot of people power for practical work but also significant people power when we lobby Government for better protection for wildlife.

Conservation thinking has also moved on. In 2010 Sir John Lawton (born in Leyland) published a report showing how current thinking was not enough to protect nature and stop the continual decline. He challenged the Government and the conservation bodies to do bigger, better, more connected nature conservation. This encouraged us to start looking at “landscapes”, such as the peatlands.

Love it or hate it but Natural Capital accounting and analysis of ecosystems services has gained credibility. Looking at all the services nature and a healthy environment provide, water, air, food, soil, health and well-being and trying to put a value on them so they are not invisible when being threatened. The Wildlife Trusts work in education, health and wellbeing is groundbreaking.

More recently, the proposals from the Government for a 25-year Environment Plan which aims to leave the environment in a better condition for future generations are exciting. Instead of just hanging on to what is left, we are talking about net gain, restoration of nature and doing more for our beleaguered wildlife. As Chair of the Greater Manchester Local Nature partnership, I have been leading a pilot for the Government to inform the 25-year plan and we do hope that we will now see some real action.

On a less positive note, it is still the case that political parties still pay lip service to the natural environment, it still slips down the agenda at elections.

We are still seeing appalling declines in many species and the incremental losses continue. Climate Change is starting to be felt in many populations, some species will adapt and some will not. Brexit is perhaps the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity we have ever faced. Much of the legislation which protects wildlife comes from EU law and we are desperately trying to ensure that this legislation is transferred over into English law and the enforcement measures that go with it.

From an agricultural point of view, Brexit provides the opportunity to develop a new approach to our land management and is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Finding a model that works for wildlife and finds a balance with farming and rural communities is a huge challenge of our time.

WE ARE NOW THE LARGEST DELIVERERS OF CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERING IN THE COUNTRY. THIS IS A LOT OF PEOPLE POWER FOR PRACTICAL WORK BUT ALSO SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE POWER WHEN WE LOBBY GOVERNMENT FOR BETTER PROTECTION FOR WILDLIFE.

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Anne Selby with David Milliband and former LWT chairman Ted Jackson

Social media was not around when I started working for the Trust and it is a blessing and a curse. It allows us to communicate with members, with the wider public and it allows us to lobby speedily on issues. On the down side, it can be readily manipulated by singleinterest groups with an axe to grind.

A recent example was a concerted attack by a mainly European, animal welfare group on our red squirrel work. Essentially, they demanded that we stop controlling greys and allow the red squirrels to die (basically red squirrel ecocide) because the group are offended by targeted grey control.

This is a case of extreme animal welfare groups targeting conservation practices and demanding that our conservation activities be subsumed to their world view. The campaign was ruthless, inaccurate and tried to smear all Wildlife Trusts. Some members were alarmed by this and we were deeply concerned about being misrepresented in such a vicious way and spent a great deal of valuable conservation time and resource on responding to concerns.

Anne with Bury North MP James Frith at Summerseat

SO, AFTER 25 YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THINKING ABOUT CONSERVATION AND I AM VERY PROUD TO HAVE SERVED THE TRUST OVER THIS PERIOD, WORKING WITH FANTASTIC STAFF, VOLUNTEERS AND TRUSTEES. Sadly, following this we came under further attack from anti-fracking groups, who launched a social media campaign to position the Trust as a pro-fracking organisation and demanding we call for an outright ban on fracking.

The Trust has opposed the fracking applications locally and we will remain the voice for wildlife, but focusing on one single subject is not what we are here to do and not what you, our members, support us to do.

It is critical that as a conservation organisation we are working for the best outcome for wildlife. We review thousands of applications each year and carefully assess on a case by case basis, the threat to our local wildlife.

Where this threat exists, we will always voice our objections in the strongest possible terms and fight to protect our natural world.

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If not properly responded to, these kinds of attacks can severely damage the reputation of the charity and I would always ask members to check with us before believing some of the more outrageous and irresponsible social media stories such as these. It is very hard to know whether to treat these things seriously or accept they are probably tomorrow’s electronic chip paper.

So, after 25 years there have been some significant changes in thinking about conservation and I am very proud to have served the Trust over this period, working with fantastic staff, volunteers and trustees. Thank you all for coming on the journey with us and thank you for having faith in the future for the environment, because that is what I believe we are about as a Wildlife Trust. Conservationists have to be optimists.

It is critical that as a conservation organisation we are working for the best outcome for wildlife.

Anne Selby

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ERIN HAS BEEN AS BUSY AS A BEE One of the nicest jobs you have when you work in the membership team is meeting people who are genuinely excited to learn more about wildlife, writes Membership Officer Clare Sweeney.

It’s even more enjoyable when you get to reward a young person for their enthusiasm and the icing on the cake is when a parent is there every step of the way. This is what happened with our Kestrel Girl this year.

In spring, we were contacted by a mum whose eldest daughter, Erin Coulborn, wanted to know about our awards schemes. We run a Hedgehog Award where you can enjoy eight fun wildlife activities, collect stickers and earn a certificate. The next award, for slightly older participants, is our Kestrel Award.

This is where you have four tasks to complete including create it, do it, record it and shout about it.

Our budding conservationist decided that the Kestrel Award was the challenge for her and the species she decided to specialise in was our important pollinator, the humble bee.

Now Erin had already created a wonderful bee friendly garden at home and so for the creative part of the challenge she rolled up her sleeves and baked up a delicious home-made bee-inspired cake.

Then she sailed through her something to do part of the award by making a bee hotel. When it came to recording, Erin really pulled out all the stops.

She spent a good few hours spotting and writing down all the species of bee that she found in her garden.

She wrote down the time, date and location of her recording session and sent the results in, so we could share them with our resident bee expert, Ben.

Erin searches for insects

It was lovely to meet Erin and her family at an open day at Brockholes in September and say hello face to face. We also met her grandparents, her little sister Amelie and her mum, Lisa. After all Erin’s hard work it was wonderful to be invited to Emmanuel Holcombe Primary School in Ramsbottom

by Erin’s head teacher, Mrs Wardle, to present our Kestrel Girl with her Certificate.

It sounds like a lot of fun, but this recording part of the award hones skills that future wildlife experts rely on to understand which species need looking after and where conservation efforts need to go.

Finally Erin shouted all about her experience in the article below:

‘

Hi I’m Erin. I have done great things for nature, for instance I have planted a bee friendly garden, with lavender, campanula and iberis. I have also made a bee hotel out of half of an old 2 litre bottle and bamboo canes for part of my Kestrel Award.

We have a bird feeder and a bird bath. We don’t drop litter or stand/squish bugs and don’t pick flowers or trees because they are best to be growing. We live in Ramsbottom right next to Redisher Woods and Holcombe Moors so me and my family like spending our time out and about instead of being stuck in a Trafford Centre buying stuff we don’t use. We go for walks and we spot wildlife because nature is beautiful!

’

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Erin’s bee-inspired cake

There is no stopping Erin. She is already plotting her next wildlife adventure.

Next year she plans to take on our Nature Ranger Award.

For more information about any of our awards, or any other membership enquires, do get in touch via email or telephone membership@lancswt.org.uk or 01772 318376.

We’re only a small team but Clare, Jenny and Sarah in the membership team are always happy to hear from you and we’ll do our best to answer any questions you might have.

Erin with an insect home she made

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“Willow tits have declined because of climate change and habitat loss, particularly losing that connectivity between sites. Dead wood within woodlands is vital willow tit habitat and it is risked when people want to tidy these areas”.

Willow tit by Peter Smith

Willow tit feeds its young at Wigan Flashes by Peter Smith

WILLOW TITS BOUNCING BACK – LET’S KEEP IT GOING Britain’s most endangered small bird has staged a remarkable revival in the North West. Willow tit numbers have stabilised and then increased in Wigan, Bolton and Chorley according to surveys by your Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

Figures show that 206 pairs have been spotted in these areas, which shows the population is stable when compared to the 2006 survey. This is very different to the story elsewhere in the country.

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There are ma ny ways to help the willow tit whic h you can find on the Th e Lancashire Wildlife Trust website www.lancsw t.org.uk – you can also d onate to our appeal.

Willow tits love scrubby areas, humans do not

Wildlife Trust Wigan Reserves Manager Mark Champion said: “With 2,000 pairs in the whole of the UK, our willow tits represent more than 10 per cent of the UK population. Numbers have been in freefall for this beautiful bird so this is really good news. Willow tits have declined 97 per cent since 1980.

The Trust has been working on conservation of willow tits since 1999.

It has saved many areas of willow scrub on its reserves and helped to stop development of these areas.

The Trust has even found new areas to plant with the scrub species highlighted by recent research.

“The largest concentration of willow tits in the region is in the Great Manchester Wetlands, centred on Wigan and then stretching out to Bolton and Salford. Those branches also reach the Yarrow and Lostock valleys in South Lancashire.”

Mark said: “Willow tits have declined because of climate change and habitat loss, particularly losing that connectivity between sites. Dead wood within woodlands is vital willow tit habitat and it is risked when people want to tidy these areas.

Those linked networks are vitally important to this bird. They have quite large territories with hundreds of metres between each pair in an area.

It has actually been calculated to be, on average, 250 metres between each pair.

“Well meaning woodland improvements are often as bad for willow tits as retail car parks and warehouses, removing the woodland completely. Even small housing developments can break the link between willow scrub areas so vital to willow tits.

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“It has to be dense thicket with lots of structure and bramble.

This is an unloved habitat – no one hugs a willow.”

To make matters worse willow tits have predators like the great spotted woodpecker and the grey squirrel.

They are also pushed out of their territories by great tit and blue tit.

Grey willow and elder are important trees, although a mix is important and birch and alder produce important seed crops in winter to help the species through this period.

Part of the recovery work by the Wildlife Trust and its volunteers has been creating nesting logs for the birds.

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A tree can be cut into logs, which are then attached to other trees. The logs rot and the willow tit can then dig into the rotten wood to create a nest.

This has proved to be a success with many of the logs provided by the Wildlife Trust becoming homes to willow tits.

The term endangered is often used to discuss animals far away from the UK but the willow tit’s peril is on the same level as many larger creatures.

Mark said: “We can mention the willow tit in the same breath as the tiger or the giant panda. They really are in danger of extinction unless we do something about it.”

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WILLOW TIT FILM JUST MAKES YOU BLUE Your editor Alan Wright takes his trusty video camera in search of willow tits and finds one of the problems facing our most endangered small bird.

To help our Willow Tit Appeal it is important to get plenty of pictures and some film to show people this beautiful bird.

Fortunately, Preston wildlife photographer Peter Smith comes up with the goods and has taken lots of wonderful pictures of cute willow tits at your Wigan Flashes reserve.

However, we don’t have any video of these remarkable birds.

Wigan Projects Manager Mark Champion is the man leading the project to create a network of habitats for willow tits in the region. Mark informed me that there was a willow tit nest with easy access on your Kirkless nature reserve on the outskirts of Wigan.

Kirkless is a surprising reserve, accessed by a path on a housing estate and then onto a site which was once the world’s largest iron and steel works.

Remnants of the industry remain with derelict buildings and the giant rabbit rocks. The rocks are waste from the bottom of kilns in a cylindrical shape.

They are passed every day by dog walkers and are perfect homes for rabbits, who can’t be bothered burrowing.

We walked through a lovely meadow area and onto the path to find a rotten tree stump. This has obviously been pecked into to create a hole just big enough for small birds to nest.

I set up the video camera and started to film. I did this quickly to create as little disturbance as possible before moving about 30 yards away.

Mark and I spent the next hour speaking to a variety of people – all interested to hear what we were doing and what we were filming.

The enthusiasm of Wiganers about this endangered bird is heartening.

Half an hour into the filming a couple of things were concerning Mark: “I can’t hear willow tits and I am sure we would have heard them by now if they were in the area. And I can see some blue tit activity which is not good.”

Blue tits will happily take over willow tit nests and their territories. Willow tits will create a number of nests in rotten wood every year before they find a perfect spot where the usurpers cannot find them.

THIS IS ONE OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY THE UK’S MOST ENDANGERED SMALL BIRD. THE SCRUFFY, SCRUBBY HOMES ARE SEEN AS EASY GAINS FOR DEVELOPERS AND SOME CONSERVATIONISTS. 14

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Supporting our appeal will ensure that willow tits have a fighting chance and with number now steady or slowly rising it proves your Wildlife Trust is doing something right.

Let’s keep it going.

Willow tits make nests in many areas of Wigan by Peter Smith

I played the film back and there was the blue tit, hopping in and out of the nest created by the willow tits. It was a lovely thing to see but disappointing that the willow tits had been kicked out.

This is one of the problems faced by the UK’s most endangered small bird.

The scruffy, scrubby homes are seen as easy gains for developers and some conservationists.

Supporting our appeal will ensure that willow tits have a fighting chance and with numbers now steady or slowly rising it proves your Wildlife Trust is doing something right. Let’s keep it going.

Ellie Harrison, right, visited our willow tits for Countryfile

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Rotten tree stumps make perfect nests

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RESERVE GETS LIFT WITH A BRAND NEW BUILDING

RARE FUNGUS SPOTTED ON RESERVE While the work on providing new buildings for visitors to Mere Sands Wood is underway, the reserve continues to be one of Lancashire’s best for flora and fauna.

And a new fungus for the reserve is exciting experts – the piggyback rosegill was spotted during a fungal foray.

Reserve Manager Lindsay Beaton said: “It was spotted by one of the participants on the fungal foray who asked the leader and fungi expert Dave Higginson: “What’s that?”

Easy does it - the first part of the Field Studies Centre lands by Molly Toal

A cold and rainy October morning was hardly the start we needed for a brand new era at Mere Sands Wood in Rufford, as we awaited the arrival of the new Field Studies Centre on the back of three trucks.

This didn’t dampen the spirits of the staff and volunteers who came to see the event though. There was a real sense of excitement in the car park that morning. Quite a few of the onlookers arrived before the sun had even risen, such was the anticipation surrounding the new Field Studies Centre.

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Even the willow tits that frequent the birdfeeders outside the visitor centre flew over to have a look. This day had been three years in the making; many of the volunteers stated that there was no chance they were going to miss the new building’s arrival.

The volunteers have been a real asset at all stages of this project, helping in any way they could.

Mere Sands Wood’s Reserve Manager, Lindsay Beaton, was very excited that, after years of planning, the Field Studies Centre was finally being fitted. She said: “It has been a great effort to prepare the site, with volunteers doing the site clearance, taking photos recording the works and even acting as banksmen to direct the lorries into the car park.

“Tony Boocock, a local builder and birder did all the groundworks, going above and beyond. He even worked until 9pm when needed. Visitor Centre Officer John Darlington also brought his years of experience in the building trade to manage the project.”

After surviving the trip along the M6, followed by some excellent manoeuvring by the drivers to avoid tree branches, hedges and ditches, the three trucks arrived at Mere Sands Wood just as the weather improved.

A crane was waiting to hoist the building over the car park and slot it together in its permanent location.

Mere Sands W ood is a popular re serve for volunteers wh o enjoy social and health be nefits from working there . To volunteer for the Wildlife Trust go to www.lancsw t.org.uk/ volunteer

The last bit is lowered into place

Everyone held their breath as the first section was gently lifted off the truck and glided through the sky, avoiding some very tall lamp posts with ease before it was placed to the right of the existing Visitor Centre.

The team putting the cabin together were very efficient and each of the three sections looked huge as they were carried by the crane. Portakabin provided the building and the skills at a very reasonable price which your Wildlife Trust could afford, thanks to the support of a number of different funding streams. >>>

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“Dave had only seen it once before in a lifetime of fungal hunting.”

In fact, the British Mycological Society has only 82 records of the piggyback rosegill since 1877.

The piggyback rosegill got its name because it grows on other fungi.

The specimen at Mere Sands Wood was growing on another fungus the clouded agaric.

John Darlington and Lindsay Beaton outside the new centre

SWEET TREAT FOR DAVE There was a treat waiting for Dave Fawcett when he was awarded The Lancashire Wildlife Trust Young Volunteer of the Year.

His fellow volunteers had baked him this wonderful cake.Wildlife Trust volunteers make a huge difference to helping wildlife find homes in the region but they also make a lot of new friends on work parties.

If you are interested in volunteering go to our website for details

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This is a recycled, refurbished building, with a very long lifespan. The refurbishment process means it is double insulated, so very energy efficient.

Two parts of the new centre are in place

>>> Wildlife Trust members, the Friends of Mere Sands Wood and the thousands of nature lovers who regularly visit the reserve helped to fund the new Field Studies Centre, as did organisations including the Greenbank Trust, Lancashire Environmental Fund and West Lancashire Borough Council Community Infrastructure Levy.

By early afternoon all three pieces of the building had been expertly slotted together and secured in place.

It looked impressive. Lindsay and her volunteers wasted no time in examining the inside of the new Centre and they were thrilled. This new building has created a lot of space, and even came ready-fitted with three toilets.

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Lindsay said: “This is a recycled, refurbished building, with a very long lifespan. The refurbishment process means it is double-insulated, so very energy efficient.”

The new Field Studies Centre means we now have a designated space to provide educational opportunities to people visiting the area. Groups of children and adults will be able to engage with and learn more about the natural world on the reserve. The team at Mere Sands Wood have put in so much time and effort to get this project underway and they are not finished yet.

In the next few months, the focus will be on the busy winter work plan of conservation tasks to keep the site in top condition. Once spring arrives, the next step will be to sow wildflowers in the space between the two centres, making the site even more attractive to both people and wildlife.

The wonderful and dedicated volunteers will also be cladding the building in wood cut from pine trees felled on the site, which will look fantastic, especially as this is one of the first areas that most people see when they visit the reserve.

Once spring arrives, the next step will be to sow wildflowers in the space between the two centres, making the site even more attractive to both people and wildlife.

Lindsay Beaton and Sue Stephens in the new centre

The Field Studies Centre is the first step of our plan to dramatically improve facilities for visitors to what is already a brilliant reserve. Everyone at Mere Sands Wood is now looking forward to Phase 2 of this overall improvement to the site.

Lindsay has plans to bring in another building that can be used as a café and a community space for people to meet friends, relax and sample local produce.

Since everyone is so thrilled with this first building, we may see a second one of a similar style appear in the future.

Or maybe we’ll get something completely different that is as equally impressive.

Watch this space....

By Molly Toal, Assistant Communications Officer

Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

LITTLE THINGS GET NATIONAL FAME We all know about the bittern, kingfisher and water rails that inhabit Mere Sands Wood but what about the life that is just too small to see?

If you can get hold of October’s British Wildlife magazine there is a fascinating piece on The Microbial Diversity of Mere Sands Wood, by David M Wilkinson, Angela L Creevy and Jane Fisher. It states that: “The reserve’s wetlands are now similar to those that would have existed before the original Martin Mere was drained in the 17th Century.”

Reserve Manager Lindsay Beaton said: “It is about what the species diversity and numbers of microbes present can tell us about soil and water conditions.”

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THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO IS TO FIND THEIR LOCAL SWIFT COLONY, LOG IT TO YOUR LOCAL RECORDS CENTRE, AND PUT UP A SWIFT BOX.

Swift chicks in a box by Peter Smith

Young swifts staring out a box set up by wildlife photographer Peter Smtih.

Left, Louise with her swift box

THE QUEEN OF SWIFT CONSERVATION Louise Bentley, from Bolton, is on a crusade to help

swifts after numbers declined by 25 per cent in recent years. She spoke to Emma Ackerley...

“I became interested in swifts four or five years ago now, after a talk by Edward Mayer on swift conservation. I didn’t even know what a swift was, and now it’s taken over my life. I just sort of got hooked on swifts, and since I retired last year from the police force, I’ve had more time. My husband Jim helps me make and fit all the boxes, he’s really supportive.

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“I started going out and looking for swift colonies in Bury. They were on local authority housing estates, which is great, but the sad thing is, I noticed they were only nesting on the houses that were occupied, and they were no longer owned by the local authorities since they’d done the new roofing programmes. So it was really disappointing, and it’s not just Bolton and Bury, it’s up and down the country.

“The swifts tend to like sort of pre-war semi-detached houses, with old wooden soffits and fascia boards, but people are having their properties renovated and when the swifts come back from Africa, everything’s sealed shut because the UPVC (unplasticized polyvinyl chloride) is blocking them. They’re so faithful to their colonies you see so they literally don’t know where to go. That’s what really upset me, they do this amazing journey to breed here, and because we’ve changed our houses, they’re losing out.

A swift flies from a swift box by Peter Smith

“The marvelous thing about swifts, is that you can do something to help them.

They come every summer for 12 weeks, and we can do something to help them by putting up boxes. You have to be patient as it can take a few years till they find the boxes. So what I use is a mini-amplifier/speaker that I play close to the entrance, on a timer at dawn and dusk.

“We never had swifts nesting on this estate before, and the nearest colony is about a mile away. They’re so fast and they get so excited when they’ve found a nest space, they come and visit several times a day, swooping past the box and screeching. If you blink, you’ll miss them”.

Lancashirewildlifetrust

“Around two years ago now when we started playing the calls, I came back from my morning run one day, and I was just having a drink of water in the back garden, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a pair of swifts swooping to the box and away again.

After that, they came every day, it took them a while to work out how to get in, as they’re used to nesting in the eaves of houses, not boxes, but once they worked it out they loved it.

“One thing anybody can do is to find their local swift colony, log it to your local records centre, and put up a swift box. The best bit about swifts is the perfect time to see them, is on a warm dry summers evening, half an hour before dusk; they’ll be screeching around rooftops. These records can provide vital information for development plans, then local authorities and contractors know to compensate, such as putting in swift bricks.

@lancswildlife

If you w ou further in ld like formatio on swift n con supersw ser vation contac t ifts@ou tlook.co for advic m e, swift boxes an other bo d xes can b e obtain from Elite e d B o xes on 0 38892, w 77524 hich are all produ ced from rec ycled old mate rials.

“If people are really enthusiastic I’d invest in these mini-speakers, and play them every year until your whole colony is there, and all the holes are occupied.”

Here at Lancashire Wildlife Trust we love swifts and hirundines (swallow, sand and house martins). Some of our work has involved installing artificial sand martin boxes at Brockholes Nature Reserve, as well as requesting swift box mitigation on local planning applications. However, we’re keen to try out Louise’s technique of using swift vocalisations to attract colonies.

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DO WE REALLY NEED TO FEED THE BIRDS? I am often asked “do we really need to feed the birds?”, says Nicholas Watts of Vine House Farm, which gives five per cent of its profits to the Wildlife Trusts.

“As someone who sells bird food I am bound to say yes, but I am only selling bird food because people asked me to when they came to see all the birds that I was feeding on the farm.

Why was I feeding so many birds?

Because they were hungry and when you look across farmland today you can see there really isn’t much food available.

In the 1970s I was doing bird surveys for the Lincolnshire Bird Club and the British Trust for Ornithology but none of the birds I was surveying were on Vine House Farm. So in 1982, I decided to record the birds that were breeding on the farm. I have done this survey every year since, but by 1992 I realised that there had been a big drop in numbers - skylarks had declined by 60% and corn buntings by 90% in just 10 years.

This worried me, so I started feeding birds in the farmyard during the winter months and I was soon feeding a lot up to 800, nearly all of them were buntings and finches. All these birds created such a spectacle that I wanted other people to see it, so I organised an open day to benefit Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Two or three people asked me if I could sell them some bird food. I hesitated, but I did sell them some.

The next year the same spectacle repeated itself, so I organised another open day, and gave all the proceeds to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Again people asked me to sell them some bird food, and there I was selling bird food without even trying.

From the situation in the farmyard it would appear that birds needed feeding during the winter months. Birds don’t get together to socialise; they were simply at our farm to eat food. These open days continued for another 10 years at least and even though the birds had a surplus of food all through the winter, numbers were still dropping off. They left our farm in the spring not because I stopped feeding them, but because they needed to return to all the various habitats where they liked to breed or where they were bred.

However there are problems out there in the countryside as every crop gets sprayed several times, either for weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides) or diseases (fungicides). Herbicides kill unwanted plants, and if we kill these plants there is nowhere for the insects to live, fungicides kill off foliar diseases, which some insects live on and insecticides kill the insects that could be living on the crop. If this happens in every crop there becomes a shortage of insects on farm land.

BIRDS CAN’T TAKE WATER TO THEIR NESTLINGS SO THE WATER HAS TO BE INCLUDED IN MOIST FOOD, SUCH AS MEALWORMS, INSECTS OR UNRIPE SEEDS. 22

www.lancswt.org.uk

The 10 y partners ear Vine Hou hip with s raised £1 e Farm has .25 millio n for the Wild life Trusts support your loca . To l wildlife while yo u www.vin shop visit ehousefa rm. co.uk

Robins enjoying mealworms

You will get many different small birds if you put out the right food

Birds can’t take water to their nestlings so the water has to be included in moist food, such as mealworms, insects or unripe seeds. With farmers spraying every crop several times it is gradually reducing the insect population.

Every moving car is also a fly swatter and there are 20 million vehicles on our roads every day. Fifty years ago we would have had numerous flies in the house. Insects are still declining not a very good situation for our small birds. If we don’t feed them they will also decline.

By making food available during the summer we are feeding the adults and the chicks that have fledged.

A line of bird feeders at Vine House Farm

The nestlings need moist food and we can help to rear them by feeding live mealworms. Studies have shown that by feeding live mealworms we can help rear 50% more birds in our gardens.

I go on the theory that any animal or bird that has a surplus of food will increase in numbers and you only have to look at ourselves, the human population, to realise that.

About 10 years ago tree sparrows appeared on Vine House Farm, so I started to feed them. I also erected nest boxes and tree sparrow numbers have built up. I feed them with red millet throughout the year and I now have 175 nest boxes, 150 of them were occupied this year and about 1100 young tree sparrows were reared.

Our tree sparrows at Vine House Farm are also an example of a population increase when there is a surplus of food. If we want to see a lot of birds, we have to breed a lot of birds, feeding them all through the year will help to increase numbers.

Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

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BROCKHOLES GETS A ROYAL ASCENT

Head of Marketing Lindsey Poole led the organisation of the Royal visit and ensured everything was perfect on the day – she even scoured Preston to find Union Flags to wave.

Communications Manager Alan Wright was on best behaviour on the day because his mum, Elsie, had turned up to see Harry.

There was panic as Brockholes Catering Manager Mark Bellas realised his tie was stained. A clean tie was flown into the reserve so Mark looked impeccable.

While Prince Harry had his wellingtons ready for his muddy, woodland wander many of the media pack were wearing their Sunday best shoes – time for a clean chaps.

Carbon Landscape Access and Events Officer Lydia Dayes was caught on camera taking a selfie of herself with Prince Harry behind.

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Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

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Every Tuesday & Friday

NATURE TOTS – (THE HIVE)

Pre-schoolers outdoor play for ages 15 months to 5 years, get outdoors with your tot and experience wildlife and nature based activities. Sessions will not run from 19th Dec-2nd Jan, back on 5th in 2018.

10am – 11:45am

James Hall on 01204 663 754 or email jhall@lancswt.org.uk to pre-book.

We’ve got some brilliant events coming over the Winter season, find out how you can get involved in helping local wildlife below.

Time

Phone

Email

Cost

SEA WATCH

Join us in our search for seals, porpoises and dolphins passing by, as well as plenty of sea birds to admire. Timed around the month’s highest tides, the event is run with the Sea Watch Foundation, which we will be recording and submitting data too.

Please bring binoculars if you have them, although we have plenty spares.

Event requires climbing 3 flights of stairs, so may not be suitable for those with mobility issues. Dogs allowed on leads.

Location

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12:30pm – 2:30pm Emily Parr on 07734 301 320 or eparr@lancswt.org.uk Free, no need to book just turn up.

Rossall Point Observation Tower, Outer Promenade, Fleetwood, Lancashire, FY7 8PG

www.lancswt.org.uk

Thursday December 7& 14, January 18 & 25, February 15 & 22

Sunday December 17, February 10, March 4

PRACTICAL CONSERVATION DAY: WARTON CRAG NATURE RESERVE

SAND DUNES GUIDED WALK

Warton Crag Nature Reserve is one of our nationally important areas of limestone habitat, supporting some of Britain’s rarest butterflies. We need your help with some practical management of the landscape conducting coppicing to ensure the woodlands are kept open for the butterflies to thrive come Spring. Activity not suitable for young children, bring stout outdoor wear and lunch.

The Hive, Moss Bank Park, Bolton, BL1 6NB

NATURE TOTS – ANIMALS THAT BUILD & FOOTPRINTS (HEYSHAM)

© Julie Norman

Thursday December 7

£4.00 per child

Fri January 26 & Wed February 21

If you’re a young supporter, why not join one of our Wildlife Watch groups - the children’s branch of the Wildlife Trust for ages 8-13 years old.

KEY EVENT INFORMATION

Thursday December 7 & 14

TREE PLANTING WITH THE BICKERSHAW PROJECT

This event is led by our partners Manchester City of Trees, and will involve community planting of new sapling trees of a range of species, to help improve wildlife habitats on a former coal mine.

9:30am – 3pm

Stephen Ryde 01524 855030 or sryder@lancswt.org.uk

Free, please contact Stephen to let us know you are coming.

Hamish Jeffreson at hjeffreson@lancswt.org.uk

Meet at Large Quarry Car Park, Warton Crag, Crag Rd, Warton, Lancashire, LA5 9RB

Free

10am – 2/3pm

Join us for a nature tot session that aims to get pre-schoolers in touch with nature and wildlife. All sessions include exploring, singing, crafts and eating a healthy snack to finish.

10am – 11:45am

01524 855030 or 07717 366812 heyshamevents@lancswt.org.uk

Come along and discover the wonders of the sand dunes with our passionate and informative volunteers. The Fylde Sand Dunes Project works to enhance coastal conservation interest, public knowledge and appreciation for local wildlife. LWT works in partnership with Fylde and Blackpool Councils to deliver the project. Wear appropriate footwear, not suitable for those with mobility difficulties.

10am – 12pm

Kate Owen on 07860 954 290 or kowen@lancswt.org.uk

Free, no need to pre-book, simply turn up on the day.

North Beach Car Park, Clifton Drive North, Lytham Saint Anne’s, Lancashire, FY8 2TR (Please note this is a pay and display car park)

£2.00 per child

Meet in the classroom next to the car park at Heysham Nature Reserve, Money Close Lane, Heysham, Lancashire, LA3 2UW.

A Bickershaw Former Colliery site, exact location contact Hamish

© Julie Norman

February 15, 16 & 17

MARINE CREATURES OF MORECAMBE BAY

Come along and learn about the incredible creatures that live in our rockpools, under the sand and mud around Morecambe Bay and beneath the waves of the Irish Sea. An interactive workshop to watch how cockles burrow into the sand and get up close and personal to barnacles and mussels feeding under the microscope.

10am – 3pm drop in, no need to book

01524 855030 or 07717 366812 heyshamevents@lancswt.org.uk

Minimum donation £2.00 per family

This drop-in interactive workshop is held in the classroom next to the car park at Heysham Nature Reserve, Money Close Lane, Heysham, Lancashire, LA3 2UW.

© Kathryn Philips

Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

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Wil Watch dlife Groups are

enviro our n clubs f mental or kids

First Saturday of each month

Second Saturday of each month

Last Saturday of each month

MERE SANDS WOOD WATCH CLUB

CUERDEN WILDLIFE EXPLORERS

LYTHAM WATCH GROUP

Come and join your local watch club, we’ll be discovering what birds like to eat, learning how to den build and hunt for minibeasts over the coming months. Children of any age welcome, but those under 8 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

2pm – 4pm Sue Stephens on 01772 455008 or watch@lancswt.org.uk

£1.00 per child.

Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve, Holmeswood Road, Rufford, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L40 1TG

Join in the fun helping to build bird feeders for overwintering birds and beautiful seasonal decorations.

Suitable for children aged 8-13 years old. Younger children must be accompanied. Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing and foot wear.

2pm – 4pm Liz Webley 07910 476274 or cuerdenwatch@lancswt.org.uk

£2.00 per session please ring to pre-book.

Cuerden Valley Park, Berkeley Drive, Bamber Bridge, Preston, PR5 6BY

Second Saturday of each month

Second Sunday of each month

HEYSHAM HEDGEHOGS WATCH GROUP

BOLTON SEVEN ACRES SWIFTS WATCH CLUB

Get your kids back in touch with nature by coming along to this amazing group. Suitable for aged 8-13 years old, younger children must be accompanied. Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing and foot wear.

10:00am – 12pm

Emma Garston on 01524 855030 or 07717 366812 or egarston@lancswt.org.uk

£1.00 per session please ring to pre-book.

Heysham Nature Reserve, Morecambe LA3 2XA

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We’ll be walking along our valley on the Nature Reserve to find and collect seasonal plants followed by Christmas crafts for December. Suitable for children aged 8-13 years old, children under 8 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Wear appropriate outdoor wear.

10am – 12pm

Joanne Moore at 01204 663754 or swiftwatchgroup@hotmail.co.uk

£1.00 per session, please ring to pre-book.

Environmental Resource Centre, 499 -511 Bury Road, Bolton, BL2 6DH

This watch group has been running for the last 5 years at the ecopod in Lytham. This watch group won Highly Commended at the Wildlife Watch Awards in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

It is fabulous local young person’s naturalist group.

10:30am – noon

Julie Norman on 01253 741955 or ecopod@parkview4u.org.uk

£3.00 per child, pre book or turn up on the day.

At Queen Elizabeth II Park View Playing Fields, Lytham Saint Annes, FY8 4JE

WINTER & CHRISTMAS EVENTS at brockholes

Contact us at info@brockholes.org or call 01772 872000.

Every day Dec 5-17 (excluding Mondays as closed) 10am-2:00pm

Santa’s Post Box

Come and write your letter to Santa at Brockholes before heading off on a winter walk to Santa’s Post Box! Make sure that you find the secret North Pole Stamp on route or your letter won’t make it to Lapland. Once you’ve posted your letter, join us for a warming hot chocolate by the fire in our Reedbed Restaurant. Santa will reply to your letter (we’ve checked!).

Advanced tickets via online booking are £5.00, on the day are £6.00

Every Saturday & Sunday throughout December (not inc. Christmas weekend) 9.30am

Saturday December 9 & 10 10:00am-3:00pm

Christmas Wreath Making

Come along and have a go at making your own Christmas Wreath from natural materials. It’s a great festive activity for all the family to enjoy together. No need to book, just come along on the day.

Wreaths are £6.00 each. We may get messy, so wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty! Children must be accompanied by an adult. No need to book, just turn up.

Thursday December 14 Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start

Breakfast with Santa

Join us for a magical morning with Santa. Children and grown-ups can enjoy a full cooked breakfast followed by a very special visit from Santa who will present each child with a gift. Veggie options available. All children require a ticket regardless of age and must be accompanied by an adult. If you have any specific dietary requirements, please email us at events@brockholes.org quoting your booking reference.

Advanced adult ticket prices starting at £8.95

Lancashire Sings Christmas

Join us by the fire for one of the highlights of our Christmas programme, the annual Christmas Carol service on our floating Visitor Village.

The service will link up with a broadcast on Radio Lancashire and will feature many well-known carols. A perfect start to your Christmas festivities!

No booking is required, but the event is always very popular so do get here early. The event is free of charge with refreshments available to purchase on the night. Car parking is also free of charge for the evening.

All events are at Brockholes Nature Reserve, Preston New Road, Preston PR5 0AG Visit Brockholes.org for the full events schedule and to book tickets Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

Car parking charges apply unless otherwise started.

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THE CARBON LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING THE WAY IN WHICH WE APPROACH LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITIES IN WIGAN, SALFORD AND WARRINGTON. TWENTY TWO INTERLINKED PROJECTS WILL PROVIDE A FORWARD THINKING AND EFFECTIVE PROGRAMME THAT WILL HAVE LASTING BENEFITS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND WILDLIFE.

LANCASHIRE A JOURNEY INTO THE WILD In Spring 2018, Carnegie will publish a new book written by the Trust’s Senior Conservation Officer, John Lamb, highlighting Lancashire’s important, biggest and most accessible natural places to discover our native flora and fauna.

The team enjoying the facilities at Lancashire Mining Museum in Astley

THE GREEN TRANSFORMATION STARTS HERE An ambitious project has been launched to transform your landscape in Salford, Wigan and Warrington. The Carbon Landscape will restore nature to areas transformed by industries like coal-mining, peat extraction and iron and steel production.

While work has already been going on for decades to create green spaces, the Carbon Landscape aims to connect these areas and get people involved in the restoration work.

The Carbon Landscape Restoration Officer Anna Hetterley said: “The heritage that this project focuses on is the natural and man-made heritage left behind after the closure of the Lancashire Coalfields and other extractive industries, such as peat and clay extraction. Collectively, we refer to this landscape as the Carbon Landscape.

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www.lancswt.org.uk

Anne Selby joins the Carbon Landscape team at the launch

“The Carbon Landscape is changing the way in which we approach landscapes and communities in Wigan, Salford and Warrington. Twenty-two interlinked projects will provide a forward-thinking and effective programme that will have lasting benefits for local communities and wildlife.

“Whilst this area undoubtedly has a rich heritage, both natural and man-made, the opportunities that this landscape can provide within a heavily urbanised area are largely missed.

The Carbon Landscape will enhance and connect up the restoration of this landscape, altered by industry, creating and improving nationally significant habitats and reconnecting local people with the heritage and wealth of opportunities for enjoyment and learning on their doorstep.”

The £3.2m Heritage Lottery-funded project aims to restore more than 130 hectares of habitat, train over 1,000 volunteers, enthuse 4,500 members of the public and offer free education to 40 schools. The projects include the Carbon Trail, a route linking wild space in between urban areas; Carbon Volunteers, getting people involved in improving the landscape and the Mossland Gateway to improve pedestrian and cyclist access to Chat Moss.

Other plans include activities for all ages, an educational programme for schools, physical and online interpretation of the landscape and wildlife monitoring.

There will be improvements on sites like Wigan Flashes, Hey Brook in Wigan, Risley Moss, Woolsten Eyes and Paddington Meadows in Warrington.

Lancashirewildlifetrust

The Carbon Landscape is part of the Great Manchester Wetlands, a partnership of local authorities, statutory organisations, environmental charities and community groups.

It was established in 2011 to deliver improvements to nature and wildlife of some 40,000 ha for the benefit of local communities.

Partners include, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, City of Trees, the Environment Agency, Greater Manchester Ecology Unit, the Mersey Rivers Trust, Inspiring Health Lifestyles, Natural England, Salford City Council, Wigan Borough Council, the University of Manchester and Woolsten Eyes Conservation Group.

@lancswildlife

Since 2009 John has explored the county’s well known sites and lesser-known spots, off the beaten track. He has catalogued places, habitat by habitat: from the uplands down the river valleys; through ancient woodland and grassland; finding ancient lakes, tarns and ponds, being bogged-down in lowland mossland; negotiating grikes in limestone pavement; and walking the entire coastline.

Full of fascinating facts, figures and insights, complemented by colour images, and produced to a very high standard, the book is both informative and beautiful.

To take advantage of a special reduction on the cover price, and have your name included in the List of Subscribers at the back of the book, register your interest by emailing admin@carnegiepublishing.com or telephone 01524 840111.

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HUNDREDS PLEDGE TO HELP THE IRISH SEA

Handfuls of cotton bud sticks collected in just an hour by Kate Owen

Volunteers clean St Annes beach and dunes every Thursday by Emma Whitlock

A drive to save the Irish Sea and its inhabitants has caught the imagination of hundreds of people living in the North West.

And people of all ages have pledged to do their own thing to help our local bit of the ocean as part of The Sea and Me challenge.

They have signed The North West Wildlife Trusts’ pledge and promised to do their best to support their work in protecting the precious and wildlife-rich Irish Sea and its coast. Many people promised to help by eating the right thing - “I will not eat any non-sustainable fish” and “Stop eating fish especially tuna and shrimp”.

Others said they will pro-actively keep the environment cleaner so waste is not littering the landscape or the sea “We will pick up a piece of litter by the end of the holiday”, “Reuse and recycle waste properly at home”, “Take all litter home and pick up other people’s”, “Cut down on reusable plastic use”, “Love the sea and recycle”, “Retrieve all discarded fishing line”, “Pick up at least one piece of litter a day”, “Make sure mum and dad recycle more” and “Do not throw rubbish on our beach.”

One pledgee spelled the problem out on the card: “Don’t throw plastic bags into the ocean because whales are swallowing them and dying. So pick up litter around the ocean.”

Some people are definitely hands on with “I will clean all the rubbish off the beach”, “Don’t crash my boat and cause an oil spill” and “I will stop using products with microbeads in them.”

The Wildlife Trust’s North West Senior Marine Conservation Officer Emily Baxter said: “The pledges have helped us raise awareness of the problems we face in and around the Irish Sea. “It’s gratifying to hear that so many people realise the impact that litter, particularly plastic, is having on wildlife.

The message is definitely hitting home with people that we can all make a difference and stop damaging habitats which are so important for wildlife.

OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS IN THE IRISH SEA, GREY SEALS HAVE BRED ON WALNEY, HUMPBACK WHALES AND GREEN TURTLES HAVE BEEN SPOTTED AND A POD OF 100 BOTTLE NOSED DOLPHINS WERE SEEN IN LIVERPOOL BAY.

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“A huge range of people are signing the pledges from grannies and granddads to tiny children all keen to help us create Marine Conservation Zones where wild things can flourish.

It’s good to see teenagers and parents getting on board in our campaign to put pressure on the Government to help us create a network of protected areas and corridors in between.”

Some of the pledges reflected that support – “To learn more about the creatures of the sea and how I can help protect them”, “Love the animals, spread the news”, “I will never again use a plastic bottle for my water drink, that I take out with me on trips.

We must keep the sea clean for sea life” and “Spread the message to protect the ocean.”

Lancashirewildlifetrust

Pledges have been made on events all along the North West Coast, including events at Southport, St Annes, Blackpool, Fleetwood, Heysham and into Cumbria.

Emily said: “The numbers of people that have been to our events this summer is amazing and they are from all over the North West and the United Kingdom.

Many of our events involve discovering the wide variety of creatures that live in the Irish Sea. Once our visitors realise just how important the sea is to everyone they are all keen to support our work.”

Over the past couple of years in the Irish Sea, grey seals have bred on Walney, humpback whales and green turtles have been spotted and a pod of 100 bottle-nosed dolphins were seen in Liverpool Bay.

@lancswildlife

You can jo “Sea and M in the e Challeng by attendin e” g an event or going the website www.irish sea.org You can also tweet a ple dge @LivingSe asNW usin g the hashta g #TheSeaA ndMe

The Irish Sea has everything from tiny microorganisms to one of the world’s largest fish, the basking shark. It has the oldest living creature on earth, the ocean quahog, a shellfish that can live to more than 500 years. It is also a food source for hundreds of thousands of birds especially when geese and waders arrive from colder countries to spend winter in Morecambe Bay.

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HEAD’S FOREST SCHOOL VISION

Thanks to Roderick Hamm for the brilliant cartoons

This year, your Wildlife Trust expanded its successful Forest School project across into Liverpool from Manchester, and with the fantastic news of a further £116,000 secured for the new year from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Marketing Officer Emma Ackerley, caught up with one of the head teachers in Knowsley whose school is currently benefitting from our fantastic Forest School project.

Headteacher, Marcella Armstrong from St Margaret Mary Juniors in Knowsley is a woman with a vision. For the last two and a half years she has been working hard to improve her school’s outdoor learning facilities. Recently, the school has been given the opportunity to be involved in Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Forest School project.

She has managed to design and construct an entire Forest School area, inclusive of a fully-functioning cabin classroom, a tipi, a prayer and memorial garden, and is now working on a mini replica of the Shakespearian Globe Theatre.

Marcella said “My vision has been inspired by a dream to provide children with fantastic outdoor educational, recreational, and environmental areas.

I truly believe that learning principles are equally as beneficial both inside and outside of the classroom.

“St Margaret Mary’s is in an area of low aspiration and has its fair share of social problems. The outside improvements will offer the children a deeper appreciation of culture, raise aspirations of the school’s curriculum and will have a positive effect on their health and wellbeing.

“The prayer and memorial garden was constructed to incorporate the Catholic symbolism of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so hence the three paths joining at the central water feature representing the Circle of Life.

THE OUTSIDE IMPROVEMENTS WILL OFFER THE CHILDREN A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF CULTURE, RAISE ASPIRATIONS OF THE SCHOOL’S CURRICULUM AND WILL HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON THEIR HEALTH AND WELLBEING.

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Children love getting outdoors by Emma Ackerley

A wigwam

“We wanted the area to be an area of peace and tranquility, and somewhere for any child to go and think. The memorial section is particularly focused on the Hillsborough event, in which many people tragically lost their lives.”

Simon Lyon, a contractor that completed the construction said “There were a couple of people in the area that had relatives who passed at Hillsborough, so I gave them the opportunity to get involved planting 96 individual flower boxes, one representing every person that died.

Any of the children, adults, staff or visitors are now free to go in there, sit and reflect.”

Flowers planted by the children

Marcella Armstrong with contractor Simon Lyon

“We wanted the area to be an area of peace and tranquility, and somewhere for any child to go and think. The memorial section is particularly focused on the Hillsborough event, in which many people tragically lost their lives.”

Marcella added “We’re also building a miniature Shakespearian Globe Theatre which would offer, amongst many things, theatrical learning, presentation and confidence building for the children.

“I’m delighted that this alliance with Forest School has been forged with Lancashire Wildlife Trust who have been delivering sessions since the start of June at Springfield Park with our pupils.

Lancashirewildlifetrust

“Later in the year, our facilities will be put to good use as we bring Forest School into the school grounds as staff are trained up as Forest School leaders as part of Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s project.”

St Margaret Mary’s is just one of 24 schools Lancashire Wildlife Trust works with to deliver a programme of Forest Schools. Reconnecting urbanised children back with nature and enhancing teachers’ career professional development in the sciences.

@lancswildlife

To find out more about our p ro ject supported by players of People’s Po stcode Lott ery, contact Em ma Ackerle y at eackerley@ lancswt.org .uk or visit www.lanc swt.org.uk / forest-sch oolsliverpool

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RICK’S PASSING A GREAT LOSS TO THE TRUST As we went to press we received the sad news that Rick Hall, a stalwart of our volunteer speaker team was no longer with us.

Rick worked for most of his life in IT but when diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, he took early retirement and dedicated more of his time to his longstanding interest in wildlife.

At the same time we had just begun to work on Brockholes. Rick was already a Trust member and when he expressed an interest in volunteering, Clare Kenny, Corporate Membership Officer asked him if he was comfortable talking to large or small groups of people.

Rick said “What do you want me to talk about?” He was one of the first people to present the vision of Brockholes to members of the public and Rick became the founding father of your speaker team. As well as talking about Brockholes, he began to create different presentations including one about the Red Squirrel Project.

Soon Rick was doing two talks a week and as his popularity snowballed, he needed help and the speaker team grew.

Clare Kenny said Rick was knowledgeable and willing to help. She added: “He was very unassuming he had the ability to open your eyes and make you think.”

Rick was passionate about birds, moths and while working for the Trust he developed an interest in bees.

Rick attended courses to increase his knowledge and put together a presentation on the Plight of the Humble Bumble Bee. He also had a fantastic sense of humour, one that made his talks and his company great fun and he could also be rather mischievous.

When the BBC changed the screen that appears between programmes (so that you know what channel you are on), to one with a digital bee, Rick sent a copy to Bee experts in Lancashire challenging them to identify it. Our resident Bee expert, Ben Hargreaves, was foxed by what he thought was an out of focus shot before he realised he was being gently pranked!

The time that Rick dedicated to wildlife has left a wonderful legacy. The speaker team he began and ran as a one-man band has gone from strength to strength.

In 2013 he won Volunteer of the Year at our Volunteer Conference.

There are now 15 informative presentations reaching thousands of people each year. Rick’s wife, Sue, says Rick’s involvement was a two-way street and he got a lot out of speaking to people about the wonders of nature.

LANCASHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST SPEAKER TEAM

3. Since then, the new speakers and Rick have increased the number of presentations, and the database of clients has also steadily risen. Phil Dykes, David Beattie and Louis Bentley have joined the team in recent times as we continue to receive a growing number of enquiries.

Fact Sheet

4. Some statistics showing the growth of the Speaker Team are shown below:

1. Initial Speaker presentations made by Rick alone, started in 2009 and supported by Clare Kenny, Corporate Membership Officer. The main talks were “The Work of the Wildlife Trust” and “Gardening for Wildlife”, and Rick would be busy presenting a couple of these every month.

2. By 2012, demand for talks had increased. Rick agreed that he needed extra support, so Clare recruited four new speakers - John Ball, Brian Ashworth, Malcolm Alderton and Barry Simons. Clare then left LWT, and Catherine Haddon assumed the role of the Speakers’ Manager. At that time, Rick, who had previously handled all enquiry correspondence, wanted to focus on preparing new presentations. He created “The Plight of the Humble Bee”.That’s when I climbed on board as the Speaker Team Co-ordinator in July 2012.

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Year

Talks Presented

Total Audience

Net Donations

2013 60

1750

£1400

2014 51

1700

£1500

2015 50

1800

£1550

2016 76

2240

£1830

2017

2500 (est)

£2200 (est)

85

2018 28 booked to date

REMEMBERING...

Leaving a gift in your will, no matter what size, makes a difference and helps protect wildlife for the future. The gifts we receive are spent locally, in areas that have the greatest need. They allow us to manage important habitat and protect precious local wildlife, right across our region for generations to come. They are vital in order to continue the work we do. Thank you for thinking of us.

We’d like to acknowledge the generosity of our kind supporters who, after taking care of their loved ones chose to leave a gift in their will recently to The Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Anne May James Barry Bottomley Olive Byrne Maurice Levy

5. We currently have nine speakers and a collection of 13 subject talks in total. Soon this will increase to 15 talks, with the addition of two marine presentations by Christine Glaze.

We would also like to thank everyone for their kind donations made in memory of loved ones: Shelagh Biggs Bryan Olver Olive Kenyon Trevor Bennett Edward Washington Christopher Woodroofe Kathryn Robinson John Weaver

Terry Jolly Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

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Expect regular visits from robins, sparrows and tits and don’t be surprised if some colourful characters, like woodpeckers, chaffinches and waxwings pop in for dinner.

Robin by Darin Smith

Roe deer by Peter Hunter

COLD FORECAST AHEAD FOR OUR WILDLIFE The weather forecasters are telling us that this winter is going to be a lot harsher than the previous mild years. Life does get tough for our wildlife when there is snow on the ground and it’s not easy coping with the colder nights and days.

This is why we are seeing huge murmurations of starlings, clatterings of jackdaws and murders of crows, as our wonderful birds join together for some winter warmth.

It’s probably the same as us putting on our woolly jumpers and fleeces but, obviously, most of us aren’t trying to sleep through this period outdoors. Roe deer spend the warmer months alone or in pairs, then around October they start to join up into groups making them easier to spot.

Another reason that our wildlife form larger groups is for safety in numbers and with predators a lot more desperate for food this is a good plan.

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It is a good time to get out with your binoculars and camera as the leaves have now fallen from the trees and we can all get a good view for some distance.

We are working tirelessly on your nature reserves to provide perfect habitats for wildlife all year round. And our bird tables are stocked daily by staff and volunteers.

Early morning dog walks will generally be rewarded with a sighting of deer moving away from you, not always quickly, but keeping a close eye on you too.

A deer will stare at you for some minutes before wandering off behind a thicket.

You should do the same, providing healthy, energy food for the birds (not bread) so they come back again and again. Hopefully they will be feeding their young there in spring if they like the surroundings and the lunch on offer. Try to clear snow away from feeding areas and ensure water dishes are not iced over, birds need a drink too.

Our main bird species will have been swelled by visitors from the Continent looking for some winter warmth – blackbirds and swallows will increase in your garden. In fact this is the time of year to get maximum benefit from your feeders as birds come in from the woods and fields seeking food.

Expect regular visits from robins, sparrows and tits and don’t be surprised if some colourful characters, like woodpeckers, chaffinches and waxwings pop in for dinner.

Blackbird feeds in the snow by Alan Wright

Early morning dog walks will generally be rewarded with a sighting of deer moving away from you, not always quickly, but keeping a close eye on you too.

Also keep parts of your garden scruffy – that pile of leaves may just be a winter home to a hedgehog or other mammals.

And it will certainly be harbouring lots of insects ready to come out and help you to pollinate your garden in spring.

Your garden is as important as our nature reserves, so please keep a careful watch on your own wild visitors and make sure they get plenty to eat over Christmas and into the new year.

Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

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PUB SHOWS INCREDIBLE SUPPORT FOR WILDLIFE

CORPORATE MEMBERS

There’s nothing like a lovely local pub but what about a pub that is supporting wildlife too?

Gold – B&D Print – Eagle & Child (Eat Pennine) – United Utilities

The Eagle and Child, in Ramsbottom, has raised £1,836.40 to support your Wildlife Trust, by asking its customers to donate £1 from their bill. The scheme ran for six months.

Landlord Glen Duckett said: “This is about more than just donating to charity, this is about supporting work we believe in.

With our work with Incredible Edible Ramsbottom and the Stables at Heaton Park, there’s a real synergy between the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and us.

I really want to thank our customers for helping us raise this money and support a cause that will really make a difference in our area.”

The passion for food growing and sustainability shines through the second you step into the Eagle and Child’s walled garden. You are greeted by an array of fresh herbs and vegetables, which are used in the pub’s seasonal recipes, and happy noises from some charismatic rescue chickens.

Director of Marketing for the Trust, Lindsey Poole said: “This is the kind of partnership dreams are made of. Glen and his team are inspirational in the way they do business and to have them support us is wonderful.

“The Trust has been working on community and school food growing projects for over 20 years, and we strongly believe that teaching sustainable living is vital for the future of our natural world. The money raised will provide us with really vital funds to continue our work and we would like to say a huge thank you to The Eagle and Child and their customers.”

Partnerships Officer for the Trust, Debbie Rowlinson said: “I love working with Glen and his team and with being a Ramsbottom local there’s a certain feeling of pride. Partnerships like this one make a huge difference to the Trust, not only through raising funds but also through raising awareness of the work we do.”

The pub has also recently launched several beautiful owl-themed boutique style guest bedrooms that offer stunning views, amazing artwork and awardwinning food. If you would like to know how your business can get involved with a scheme like this, then get in touch with Debbie Rowlinson, Partnerships Officer dedwards@lancswt.org.uk

You can fin d out more ab out the Eagle and C hild by www.eagle visiting -andchild.com/

The KKP team at Summerseat

KKP TEAM DAY TO HELP NATURE Staff from Knight, Kavanagh and Page spent ANOTHER day clearing foliage from the ponds at Summerseat Nature Reserve.

Lead volunteer at Summerseat Noell Leather did some work for KKP and persuaded them to visit Summerseat. KKP Principal Consultant Chris MacFarlane said: “As part of our company and staff development we look to regularly organise company development/environment days.

Through knowing Noell we have visited Summerseat Reserve a number of times over the year.

“Being able to help Noell and her volunteers, as well as giving something back to the local area, is a fantastic opportunity for us; with the added benefit for staff to socialise and work together outside of an office environment.”

Silver – Beaverbrooks – Fort Vale – Hanson – La Farge Tarmac – M J Wilkinson – RBS

CARBON SUCCESS Our wonderful friends at EcoSpeed have donated £54,874 to our Natural Carbon Capture scheme.

It means the greenest same-day couriers we know have contributed to restoring mossland habitat with a carbon absorption value of 1827 tonnes of carbon.

Manchester-based EcoSpeed donate a percentage of turnover every month. The money donated will help to acquire, restore and protect the last one per cent of mosslands in the North West, helping to balance out unavoidable C02 emissions.

Certificate of

Glen, Amy and Julie from the Eagle and Child with LWT’s fundraising officer Debbie Rowlinson

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EcoSpeed

has to date contributed £54,874

to the Natural Carbon Capture Scheme run by The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside.

This is calculated to be equivalent to restoring mossland habitat with a carbon absorption value of 1827 tonnes of carbon.

The money donated to this scheme will help to acquire, restore and protect the last 1% of mosslands in the North West, helping to balance out unavoidable C02 emissions.

Join us: lancswt.org.uk

Lancashirewildlifetrust

With much appreciated fundraising support from: – Riverford Organic Vegetable Boxes – Siemens – Morgan Sindell – John Lewis (Trafford Centre) – Selfridges Manchester – Sally Salon Services 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.

Natural Carbon Capture This is to certify that

KKP is the largest independent UK management consultancy in the sector, delivering high quality services in sport, leisure and culture. Since 1990, it has grown to become a major multi-disciplinary practice providing a comprehensive range of services to clients in national and local government and the commercial sector. KKP is based in Bury but works nationally and internationally.

Bronze – Derek Fox Timbers – Dugdale Nutrution – ENI Liverpool – KnotweedExtraction – Manchester Airport – Nestles Waste – Responsible Mailing – South Ribble Borough Council – Sykes Cottages – Weinerbergers

Equivalent

to 1827 tonnes of CO2

Protecting Wildlife for the Future

@lancswildlife

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

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A BOOK WITH BACKBONE

RESPECTING OUR SUPPORTERS

The Vertebrates of Lancashire is the latest of an invaluable series of ‘atlas’ publications from the Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Society.

This 140 page softback book covers the geographical area of Lancashire and North Merseyside plus the marine mammals that have been seen in our coastal waters. Covering mammals, amphibians, reptiles and freshwater fish, this guidebook is full of fascinating information for each species and explains their distribution and abundance over time.

Lindsey Poole – Director of Marketing I’m sure you will have seen in the news over the past six months there are a lot of changes on the horizon for charities and businesses alike.

Many of the more common and ‘iconic’ species distributions are illustrated through clear distribution maps. The colour photographs are excellent, making this a great book to dip into and inform walks and trips around the area. Copies can be obtained from Brockholes and from the Natural History Book Service at £12 plus postage.

The Vertebrates of Lancashire, Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Society.

Publication No:122 2017 ISBN: 978-1-9997312-1-2

Members at Lunt Meadows by Alan Wright

The introduction of the new Fundraising Regulator has seen a re-vamp in third sector behaviour and the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) next Spring will see a change in how organisations are allowed to gather data from supporters and customers and how they can use that data. But the introduction of these rules has left many smaller charities confused and even scared to go about their daily business.

That seems simple enough, but many organisations are seeing such a small response rate to these requests, we estimated that would leave us only being allowed to communicate with around three per cent of you. The point of our communications with our members has always been to keep you informed of the work you are supporting, in fact your member e-news and Lapwing magazine are part of your membership package.

At one point in the process of untangling these complex new rules, there was a moment of dread as it seemed we would no longer be allowed to speak to any of our members or supporters without asking you all to opt-in.

Fortunately, as we untangled the new regulations further it became clear that we will still be able to send you these. You can contact us at any time to change or stop any communications you receive from us.

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As a Trust we have always believed in respecting our supporters and each campaign we run is very carefully planned and delivered in a way that keeps our supporters at the heart.

We do not take an aggressive approach to fundraising, we don’t buy in data nor do we sell it. We store all of our supporter information on a secure database because we feel that’s the least we can do for our supporters.

We will keep in touch with you to tell you about our work and from time to time we will get in touch to let you know if there are ways you can help further; such as petitions or fundraising appeals.

We do not want to stop giving you the option to support urgent issues, but it will be your choice to do so.

Our membership team Jenny, Sarah, Clare and Fiona

The problem seems to be that many people feel opting-in to receiving communications from any organisation is essentially giving them the green light to bombard you with information.

This is absolutely not the case. Any respectful organisation should treat your data carefully and considerately as we take great care to do.

Those of you who are newer to the Trust will have been asked to opt-in to various methods at the point joined us.

There is a Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Mail Preference Service (MPS) you can register with if you feel you are receiving too much communication from organisations you do not wish to hear from.

WE DO NOT TAKE AN AGGRESSIVE APPROACH TO FUNDRAISING, WE DON’T BUY IN DATA NOR SELL IT. WE STORE ALL SUPPORTER INFORMATION ON A SECURE DATABASE, THAT’S THE LEAST WE CAN DO.

If you are a long term member, we will continue to contact you via the methods we always have.

Lancashirewildlifetrust

If at any point you want to change how we contact you, then please get in touch with the membership team who can update your details for you.

@lancswildlife

Your support to the Trust has a huge impact on nature conservation, we really couldn’t do it without you! So please do allow us to continue to share our work with you.

If you would like to change your preferences, or you have any questions then please contact the membership team membership@lancswt.org.uk 01772 324129

43

PLAYING THE LOTTERY IS GREAT FOR WILDIFE This month we are celebrating the support we have received from the Herritage Lottery Fund.

If you play or have played the National Lottery, then you have not only helped wildlife nationally but you have made a huge difference locally.

In the past five years other projects to benefit from HLF funding have included:

One of the recent projects that has benefited from Heritage Lottery Funding is our amazing Kingfisher Trail.

It is a 14-mile recreational route which connects the rural West Pennine Moors to the urban communities of Bolton, Bury and Salford.

– Lunt meadows – This is a partnership with Liverpool Museum supporting volunteering opportunities to record wildlife and manage the amazing flood alleviation site in Merseyside for wildlife.

The route is one of the best wildlife corridors in the North West and has a fantastic range of nature reserves including Upper Bradshaw Valley, Darcy Lever Gravel Pits and Clifton Country Park.

Stephen Cartwright, Kingfisher Trail Project Officer, said “The Kingfisher Trail is an amazing recreation route which has something to offer everyone.

The length of the Trail and the sheer scale of themes to understand, explore and interpret has made this a very challenging project! However, the interest and active involvement of local people has been overwhelming and so inspiring to be a part of.”

On a visit to the trail, Nathan Lee, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said “It was great to meet everyone and to hear about the significant impact this project has had in developing volunteering and the volunteers themselves. The trail is being made more accessible and its history better shared with local residents. The strengths of the project really came across and I could not think of a better project to highlight what Heritage Lottery Fund is all about.”

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– The Biodiverse Society - Engage more volunteers in recording wildlife on Local Wildlife Sites and providing more support to local naturalist groups, while reaching out to new audiences.

– The Chat Moss Vision – The purchase and restoration of Little Woolden Moss and a volunteer and community outreach programme.

– The Carbon Landscape - Focusing on the carbon heritage of the Great Manchester Wetlands, landscape improvements that aid resilience and connectivity, opportunities for engagement of local people, and access improvements across the landscape.

Other projects to benefit from the Heritage Lottery Fund were Coal to Cloth in East Lancashire, Lightshaw Meadows in Wigan, Volunteering, Herbal Heritage, IMPACT for young people, Seven Acres Chimneys to Trees in Bolton and the North West Marine Trainees scheme which has seen a large percentage of the trainees going into employment including jobs here at your Wildlife Trust.

The Biodiverse Society team out and about

A number of bids are in preparation and we have plans to apply for other projects in the coming years. Director of Nature and Wellbeing Daveen Wallis said: “HLF has made a huge difference to Lancashire Wildlife Trust, our natural heritage, volunteers and the people who have come into contact with our projects and reserves. We are very thankful to this funding which matches the vast majority of our work and is often the perfect fit for our aspirations.

Volunteers on the Kingfisher Trail

“The biggest impact for me is shown by the stories that have been generated by the people we will have supported and quite literally changed the lives of.

This type of outcome is invaluable and without this we could not achieve our work to protect and enhance wildlife for all to enjoy. “

Paul Dennett and Tony Lloyd plant sphagnum watched by Anne Selby and Louise Morrissey on Little Woolden Moss

HLF HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO LANCASHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST, OUR NATURAL HERITAGE, VOLUNTEERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME INTO CONTACT WITH OUR PROJECTS AND RESERVES. Lancashirewildlifetrust

@lancswildlife

45

GREAT DAYS OUT

Brew with a view

Share your experiences

Tweet us a photo of your favourite wi ld café or cake using @wildlifetrusts #LoveWildlife

Check out ten brilliant Wildlife Trust visitor centres where you can drink tea, eat cake and enjoy wildlife all at the same time

7

Scottish Wildlife Trust Montrose Basin Visitor Centre Sip a Fairtrade tea or coffee and marvel at the spectacle of thousands of pink-footed geese wintering on the Scottish coast, all from the comfort of the visitor centre.

Map ref: NO 700 564, DD10 9TA

8

The WT of South & West Wales Glasshouse Café, The Welsh Wildlife Centre Offering amazing views of Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve, Glasshouse Café boasts a home-made menu as diverse as the wildlife you can spot from the windows, including the mouth-watering Pembrokeshire Pie. Map ref: SN 188 450, SA43 2TB

9

RICHARD OSBOURNE. INSET: CHIPPY WOOD

The cafe adds calories. m The marsh removes the

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Badgers Tea Room, Brandon Marsh Nature Centre From the famous full breakfast to a range of teas, coffees and cakes, there’s plenty to snack on as you admire the birds visiting the feeders outside.

Map ref: SP 386 761, CV3 3GW

10

Essex Wildlife Trust Skylark Tearoom, Abberton Reservoir Visitor Centre This thriving tearoom is the perfect place to warm up with a homemade soup and enjoy the best birdwatching that winter has to offer, including close views of hunting barn owls.

Map ref: TL 962 177, CO2 0EU

The view from Cley Marshes visitor centre – one of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s finest achievements

T

here is nothing like a bracing walk in the wild winter, with frostbitten landscapes, huge flocks of birds and fallen, frozen leaves crunching under your feet.

But after all that adventure, you’ll need to warm up. Here are ten outstanding nature reserve cafes where you can treat yourself to a well-earned cuppa, luxurious hot chocolate or a cheeky slice of homemade cake.

Not only that, but you can carry on watching the wildlife while you’re tucking in.

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1

Lancashire Wildlife Trust Reedbed Restaurant, Brockholes Plenty of restaurants offer lakeside views, but few can claim to float on one! Step aboard Brockholes’ floating village and enjoy a homemade breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea with stunning panoramic views.

Map ref: SD 588 306, PR5 0AG

2

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Gibraltar Point Visitor Centre Grab a drink and immerse yourself in the wildness of the Lincolnshire

coast, with expansive windows and a rooftop viewing deck offering panoramic views across the dunes and out to sea.

Map ref: TF 556 580, PE24 4SU

3

London Wildlife Trust The Coal House, Woodberry Wetlands Nestled on the shore of a reservoir, this lovingly restored nineteenth century building is the perfect place to escape the bustle of the city for a delicious breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Map ref: TQ 325 875, N16 5HQ

4

Northumberland Wildlife Trust The Lookout Café, Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre This new eco-friendly building includes a café with incredible views over the lake and Druridge Bay beyond. Enjoy a coffee and freshlybaked scone as you gaze out over the beautiful Northumberland coast.

Map ref: NU 285 023, NE65 0JR

5

Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley Marshes With panoramic views across Cley Marshes, the eco-friendly visitor Lancashirewildlifetrust

There are more than 100 Wildlife Trust visitor centres.

7 Find them at wildlifetrusts.org/ visitorcentres

centre is the perfect place to enjoy a homemade scone, a coffee and flocks of brent geese, too.

Map ref: TG 054 440, NR25 7SA

4

6

Nottinghamshire WT Idle Valley Rural Learning Centre Watch ducks dabble on the lake as you tuck into a delicious homemade cake.

Try a classic with a spin, like chocolate and courgette cake, or their signature Idle Fat Rascal.

Map ref: SK 689 829, DN22 8RQ

@lancswildlife

1 6 8

2

5

9 3 10

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Nuthatch by Alan Price

www.lancswt.org.uk

@lancswildlife

Lancashirewildlifetrust

Thank you for all of your support in 2017