Volunteer News, June 2023

Volunteer News The latest news and highlights for the Volunteers of Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust

In each issue we will feature a 'Spotlight' on one of our volunteers.

In this issue, we look into Abbey's Passion for Conservation and Connection Abbey Clarke's dedication to environmental stewardship shines through her seven months of volunteering with the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). From coppicing and hedge creation to scrub removal and litter picking, Abbey's practical contributions have made a tangible difference in preserving natural habitats.

Through her journey, she has explored numerous nature reserves, encountered captivating wildlife, and gained valuable experience. Abbey's commitment to volunteering extends beyond personal enjoyment, as she plans to continue her involvement with the LRWT even when she returns to university in September.

Abbey's volunteer journey has taken her to a diverse range of nature reserves, including Ulverscroft, Priors Coppice, Cossington Meadows, and more. Exploring these remarkable locations has not only allowed her to contribute to their conservation but has also deepened her connection with the natural world. Abbey expressed her enthusiasm, stating, "I enjoy getting to meet people and catch up, seeing a lot of wildlife that I rarely see or had never seen before, as well as get more experience and help the environment in any way I can."

Engaging in practical activities such as billhook use for crafting stakes and acquiring first aid training, Abbey has not only gained valuable skills but has also witnessed the positive impact of her efforts. She has encountered a wide array of wildlife, expanding her knowledge and fostering a deeper appreciation for the delicate balance of nature. Even as she prepares to return to university, Abbey remains committed to volunteering during her holidays, emphasizing her dedication to making a lasting environmental impact.

Abbey Clarke's volunteer journey with the LRWT exemplifies the power of individual contributions to conservation. Her experiences highlight the importance of hands-on engagement with nature, the joy of encountering diverse wildlife, and the personal growth that comes from active involvement. Abbey's unwavering dedication serves as an inspiration to others, encouraging them to join the movement for environmental preservation and create a positive impact on the world around them.

Remembering Tony Hawkins, a dedicated Wildlife Supporter Written by Jenny Still

Tony Hawkins, who recently passed away at the age of 84 following a long illness, gave many years to LRWT as a volunteer at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. Whilst all volunteers are important, this quiet, modest man dedicated his spare time to nature and conservation long before that, even when pursuing a career elsewhere and raising a family.

Tony never advertised his achievements, of which I suspect even the LRWT was previously unaware. As a young man Tony and his wife Shirley, also subsequently a LRWT volunteer, were involved in the inception of the first Wildlife Trust at Slimbridge where they attended meetings led by Sir Peter Scott and which were attended also by a young David Attenborough and a very young Chris Packham, who Tony described as ”always asking questions and still asking questions when the others had all gone home”.

With his wife Shirley, Tony also ran a Young Ornithologists group. As a Life Fellow of the RSPB he chaired his local groups wherever he lived but later on his main love was for LRWT, and particularly Rutland Water Nature Reserve, because of the importance in what it was achieving for nature and conservation. He and his wife attended almost every Birdfair held at Rutland Water since its inception, travelling from wherever they were living in the UK at the time.

The move to Uppingham on retirement was aimed specifically at enabling them tovolunteer here. They then volunteered at Birdfair every year for 12 years. Tony joined Shirley on her Visitor Centres shifts although his primary involvement and main love was with the Osprey Project. He did regular osprey monitoring shifts in Waderscrape hide during the summer months and worked on the osprey habitat maintenance team in the winter.

I was privileged to be his partner in Waderscrape for 6 years of Wednesday evening shifts, which Tony did through the extreme heats of mid-summer and the freezing cold evenings of March and April despite his advancing years. As a beginner, when in my ignorance I thought every large bird was an osprey, he tolerated all of my inaccurate shouts of ”osprey!” with the same good humour, patience and tolerance that I suspect he showed to his young proteges many years earlier, quietly sharing knowledge and never dampening enthusiasm: better to shout and risk being wrong than to be afraid to shout and miss an osprey, or any other wildlife on this amazing place for nature. He taught that when you see one thing in nature, you start to see and understand many other things too. It is an approach I have aspired to emulate, especially with visitors for whom it is a new experience.

Tony continued to give his time and knowledge until age and poor health intervened. LRWT remained important to them both, with Rutland Water Nature Reserve providing support through its community outreach Dementia Support Group.

Jenny Still On behalf of Shirley Hawkins

Membership and Support message to volunteers We extend a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated volunteers at The Old Mill Leicester support/membership office. Jean, Betty, and Stephen, your commitment and countless hours of assistance are deeply appreciated.

Your cheerful presence and helpfulness contribute significantly to our various volunteering tasks, such as data input, renewals, door drop survey species information, post handling, new members events, surveys, data cleansing, and compiling membership packs.

Without your invaluable contributions, managing these tasks would be challenging. We are immensely grateful for your exceptional work.

Sincere thanks from Jo, Jo, Jordan, Julie, and Helen.

John is pictured – sitting on his chair alongside our volunteer, Linda Clark)

Remembering John Shone We have some very sad news with the recent passing of John Shone, our drystone wall, hedge-laying and stick-dressing contractor.

Many of our volunteers had the pleasure of meeting John over the years as he was a familiar face at our events and really enjoyed visiting the reserve and our Volunteer Training Centre outside of the work he was delivering for us.

The feedback we received from the courses that John led on our behalf was incredible. He was a brilliant storyteller and always went into great detail about the history of these heritage-based crafts and the importance of keeping them going for future generations.

We will really miss John, he was a very likable character and particularly enjoyed telling people about his encounters with King Charles III over the years and how he told ‘Charlie Boy’ how to lay a hedge properly and how King Charles respected his knowledge and techniques.

Jo pictured at a volunteer Parkrun

Introduction from new Head of Fundraising Hi, my name is Jo and I’ve recently started at LRWT as the Head of Fundraising. I’ve worked previously for education and medical charities, and love being able to inspire people to get involved and really feel that they can make a difference. LRWT is doing some incredible work with the help of its amazing volunteers and members, and I’m really looking forward to helping us make the most of every opportunity here in Leicestershire and Rutland.

LRWT Staff Restructure Our organisation has recently gone through a restructure and some of our roles/titles have now changed. We will talk more about these changes in our next issue, but for now, here is a list of all staff including our job titles.

Staff names in bold highlight Senior Management Matthew Carter - Chief Executive Karen Pollard - HR Manager (interim) Joe Davis - Head of Reserve Management Tim Sexton - Senior Species and Recording Officer Fran Payne - Senior Reserve Office Rutland Andy Neilson - Senior Reserve Officer West Sarah Bedford - Senior Reserve Officer East Matt Heaver - Reserve Officer Sophia Attwood-Clarke - Reserve Officer Chris Hill - Reserves Office Katie Jobbins - Assistant Reserve Officer Juliette Colaco - Assistant Reserve Officer David Shipman - Trainee Reserve Officer AJ Meakin - Trainee Reserve Officer Katie Goddard - Trainee Reserve Officer Oliver Slessor – Contract Bird Ringer Helen O’Brien - Head of Nature Recovery (interim) Rhiannon O’Connell - Project Manager (Landscapes) Isabel Raval - Project Officer Uta Hamzaoui - Seasonal Surveyor Jordan Squire - Seasonal Surveyor Jo Brailsford-Finnis - Head of Fundraising Jo Taylor - Supporter Development Team Leader Julie Burnside - Membership Assistant Helen Ball - Membership Assistant Jordan Linthwaite - Communications & Engagement Officer Georgina Boonham - Finance & Support Services Manager Praveen Nair - Accounts & Reporting Officer Jeein Hong - Finance Officer Maddy Gage - Senior Office Assistant Azrin Alimahomed - HR Officer Laura Brady - Engagement Manager Martha Rose - Senior Education Officer Rachel Ibbotson - Education Officer Libby Smith - Visitor & Events Assistant George Smith - Information Officer Helen Fairhead - Volunteer & Events Co-ordinator Fee Worton - Community Organiser Matt Scase – Administrative Assistant

Get ready to 'Glow Up' this Summer We need your help in reporting glow-worm sightings in Leicestershire and Rutland this summer. Glow worms are beetles known for their bioluminescence, emitting a bright green light from their abdomen to attract mates.

30 Days Wild Begins!

Embark on the enchanting 30 Days Wild challenge, starting June 1st.

Each day, indulge in a wild quest, from bird songs to alfresco dining, wildflower spotting to outdoor exercise. Experience the transformative power of nature on your well-being. Join us on this extraordinary adventure, one wild challenge at a time.

Unleash your wild spirit today!

VTC Art Meet Our Art Meet group has started at the Volunteer Training Centre and meet on the last Friday of the month from 10am until midday.

This is a very casual drop in for anyone who fancies a cuppa and a catch up with other volunteers, whilst bringing along their hobby. This could be anything from knitting, crochet, painting, drawing, model making….there really is no restriction and if you wanted to pop into the centre and grab a book from our wildlife library and sit within our Lagoon Room with a cuppa, then please feel free to do so!

Their peak season is May to August. Glow worm populations in the UK have rapidly declined, primarily due to habitat loss, light pollution, and climate change.

Recovery is challenging as female glow worms do not fly far. To better understand their status, we encourage you to report any sightings, including location (preferably using What3Words), number of glowing females, and habitat description. Please record any sightings to info@lrwt.org.uk or use Naturespot.

For more information about this project please speak to Tim Sexton and Sarah Bedford.

Elusive Reptiles

By Sarah Bedford

These last few weeks has seen many outings to Ketton Quarry, where the practical volunteers started work on the big task of repairing and replacing fencing along the valley area. In the future, it will make the area suitable for sheep to graze again; a big thank you to all those who have persevered with tedious staple removal, it is very much appreciated!

All of those work parties also involved some time spent wandering through the geology area at the reserve, in the hope of spotting a reptile basking on the rocks in some spring sunshine; the only problem was no one told the sun! Poor weather meant that very few sightings were enjoyed and I feel a certain amount of doubt set in, as the presence of adders at the site achieved a near mythical status.

The Members’ Walk at the quarry at the end of April, already once postponed for bad weather, continued with the same frustrating theme. Lots of grey clouds and drizzle netted us zero adders and only one butterfly! We refused to let it dampen anyone’s spirits, thanks to a fascinating run down on the ecology and habitat enjoyed by these elusive creatures, given by Conservation Officer, Andy.

Some of our team have been lucky enough to spot both male and female adders at Ketton (thanks to TRO, Katie Goddard for the fantastic male adder photo) and I am certain those work party forays will eventually reveal the adders to be seen there. Until then, we will have to console ourselves with the sight of numerous cheeky little lizards at Bloody Oaks Quarry seen basking during one of work parties there at the end of March.

Lagoon 1 Osprey nest platform; a new lease of life

By Fran Payne

Early Spring marked the beginning of our mission to revive the worn-out Osprey nest platforms. These platforms had never been utilized by breeding birds before, but they were strategically placed, hoping that one day a male Osprey would adopt it as his territory and attract a female companion.

While Tim Mackrill focused on off-site nests, our Rutland Water team was assigned the task of making the platform at the rear of lagoon 1 (visible from AWBC) more enticing to Ospreys.

Over the winter, we dedicated two weeks to willow coppicing and pollarding, creating an open space that would offer the birds a pleasant view from their prospective bedroom window. Who wouldn't appreciate that?

The next step was to transport a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP) to the existing nest pole.

Thankfully, Euan McLaren Tree Services came to our rescue! But, as is often the case, things didn't go smoothly. It took us the better part of the morning to navigate the platform along the bund from Lapwing hide to the telegraph pole, maneuvering through brambles, willow thickets, and remnants of old ridge and furrow, all while contending with high water levels. Nevertheless, we eventually reached our destination.

Once Euan had secured the platform in place, he had to remove the dilapidated structure and modify the top of the telegraph pole to accommodate the new platform. With the fresh platform firmly in position, it was now my turn to play the role of the chief Osprey and begin nest building.

Matt and Katie stood on the ground, diligently passing up bundles of sticks as the nest gradually took shape.

And I'm pleased to say, it now vaguely resembles an Osprey nest! From here on, it's up to the birds to claim it as their new home.

Two new nesting rafts launched on Lagoon 3

By Tim Sexton

Following on from the success of a new design of tern raft, used on Lagoon 2 (built and launched during the winter of 2021/22), two additional rafts have been supported through Anglian Water Capital money to replace aging wooden on polystyrene rafts on Lagoon 3.

The new raft design consists of two floating pontoons (similar to those used in marinas), bolted together with a metal framework - which also supports the clear Perspex sides. They are then dressed with gravel to simulate the common tern’s natural coastal nesting habitat. A team of staff and volunteers helped to construct the two rafts throughout April, and they were finally launched from Greenbank in the second week of May. There have been various floating nest platforms used at Rutland Water over the last 20 or so years and combined they have seen over 1,000 Black-headed Gull and Common Tern chicks raised from them.

The two new rafts on Lagoon 3, which can be viewed from both Shoveler and Buzzard Hide, should support around 40 pairs of Common Tern and the high sides will put the chicks out of reach from all but the most determined of predators.

The design will also enable us to ring the chicks in the summer, which will help us to understand more about the young bird’s movements after fledging and their longevity. A new colour ringing scheme starting this year for Terns, similar to the existing Black-headed Gull scheme, will make reading rings in the field easier and hopefully encourage more sightings of ringed birds to be reported.

Charnwood Forest Project Update

By Isabel Raval

It has been a busy few months for the Charnwood Forest Project! After a couple of months off, at the beginning of March, we restarted the training sessions for the Wildlife Recording part of the project. Since then, sessions have covered the identification of twigs, bryophytes, lichens, mammals, and an introduction to birdwatching.

Our aim is to encourage more people living in and visiting the area to become regular wildlife recorders, and the project has a goal of 10,000 new records being made on NatureSpot from within the Charnwood Forest Regional Park. If you would like to help us achieve this – whether your wildlife interest is generalist or specialist – use the project tag ‘Charnwood Forest LPS’ when you upload your records onto NatureSpot.

At the end of March new and experienced volunteers gathered together for induction days led by County Recorder for butterflies, Richard Jeffery, to prepare for the upcoming butterfly surveys. The season got off to a somewhat dreary start during April, but records across the three transect sites have so far included Brimstone, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Green Hairstreak, and various Blues and Whites. Let us hope for a continuation of more compliant weather over the next few months for our persevering volunteers.

We have just held two induction days at the end of May to prepare volunteers and seasonal staff alike for the Grasslands Project surveys. These will be carried out throughout June and into July before the hay cuts start, at a mix of reserve and private sites across the Charnwood Forest Regional Park. The sites were first surveyed in the summer of 2021 to collect baseline botanical data, and after the implementation of some changes in management, we are returning this year to monitor whether any differences in the flora can be found.

One ‘new’ management technique has been to train volunteers to use scythes, a traditional skill that has lost favour in the UK. We plan on holding another scything course in mid-July so that more volunteers can help us mow some of the sites in the project that are difficult to manage with machinery.

Joe Davis Chris Hill The volunteers have been assisting me in removing unnecessary fencing at Mountsorrel and Rothley Marshes. When we acquired the reserve in the early 2000s, extensive two-strand barbed wire was installed to prevent cattle from wandering.

However, due to various issues with fly grazing, it was decided not to graze the Rothley Lodge section of the reserve.

Consequently, it made sense to remove the old fencing, which had fallen into disrepair.

Regrettably, a group of young individuals from Sileby has been causing havoc at Cossington Meadows, as well as Mountsorrel and Rothley Marshes. They have engaged in destructive behavior, including throwing bagged dog mess, chasing cattle, smashing interpretation boards, releasing tern rafts, leaving litter, and even setting fire to fences. Most concerning of all, their actions have disturbed a pair of barn owls and a pair of oystercatchers.

To address the situation, both myself and the volunteers had to intervene. We had to rescue the tern raft and secure it using chains (as it was challenging to cut a metal chain with a knife) to prevent it from being used as a diving platform.

With the assistance of the police, I hope to curb the amount of antisocial behavior occurring on our reserves.

A quick update from me. With spring in full flow our Reserves are flourishing and this mixed weather is great for wildlife. The team have been busy managing woodlands, and grasslands, planting trees and laying hedges and good watering really helps.

An example of the great effort the team have put in volunteers, staff and public courses we have manage to lay 544 metres of hedge this winter at Rutland Water alone. A superb effort.

Going forward my role in the Trust will be changing,. I will be the Head of Reserve Management. So I will be leading the Reserves Team across the two counties, not just at Rutland Water. We are approaching a really exciting time within the Conservation movement and the Trust will be looking to be at the forefront of this work in our counties. I look forward to meeting more of you as I get to know the Reserves and people in the coming months and see what great work you all achieve.

Thanks for your continued support and dedication.

Springing into fencing

By Matthew Heaver

Spring has truly arrived in recent days, bringing with it the delightful sounds of singing Cuckoo Sedge Warblers and Whitethroats echoing through the VTC yard. I've been fortunate enough to conduct my Breeding Bird Survey in Hambleton Wood and witness the emergence of vibrant Bluebells. As Spring unfolds, our focus with the volunteers has shifted from habitat management to infrastructure repairs. I had the pleasure of working alongside our dedicated volunteers to replace worn-out fencing near both visitor centres.

Our first task was to replace the tired-looking fencing surrounding the Lyndon visitor centre, which had endured years of use as impromptu seating. The volunteers enthusiastically tackled the job, facing the challenge of fitting straight rails around corners. It involved some head-scratching moments, but with their bright minds, we managed to hone our carpentry and joinery skills in the process. Reports from the following weekend indicate that our new fence is still being used as a bench, but you can't win them all!

Additionally, we had to replace a section of collapsed fencing at the entrance to the Egleton reserve, near the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre. One of my volunteer teams swiftly replaced a straining post, so I "suggested" they take on the task of digging in another one! Meanwhile, I worked alongside Katie, our Assistant Reserve Officer, to replace another strainer at the far end of the fence line. It may have sounded straightforward, but we hadn't anticipated the high water table, which transformed our post hole into a muddy pond! Nevertheless, our perseverance paid off, and by the end of the day, visitors to the reserve were greeted by a beautifully crafted chestnut post and wire fence. Well done to everyone involved!

The Latest News from Lyndon Visitor Centre

By Laura, Libby and George

Lyndon is becoming increasingly busy as the weather warms up and the reserve is full of summer migrants, the meadows are filled with buttercups, orchids will soon be appearing, butterflies are abundant, the hedges are a froth of blossom and lined with wild garlic and of course the ospreys have returned!

As we go to print, the nest at Manton Bay has three healthy chicks - We are enjoying watching them grow on the NestCam

The volunteers at Waderscrape Hide are being kept very busy on their monitoring shifts! From 6am through to 8pm they will be in the hide come rain or shine keeping an eye on the birds and then imparting their knowledge to the visitors.

Visitors will always return full of praise for the knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm of the volunteers.

At the Visitor Centre the Habitat Team has been improving the front of the Centre with smart new post and rail fencing which looks fantastic. New picnic tables have been installed too - thank you to everyone involved.

Volunteer Paul Bennett led another successful event with the ‘Early Morning Bird Walk’ – highlights included Grasshopper, Garden and Sedge Warblers, and Cuckoo – once again we had excellent feedback from those attending – thank you, Paul, for giving your time to run the event.

Thanks too to all our Visitor Centre volunteers both at Lyndon and AWBC too – it can be a bit of a juggling act dealing with queries, concerns, and quandaries from the visitors – through each four-hour shift you are unstinting in your professionalism and you always keep smiling through!

Thank you, as always for all your time and support – we really couldn’t do it all without you!

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Community Unites for Nature - a Next Door Nature update

By Fee Worton

It’s been a busy time for Nextdoor Nature as we move into full-on spring!! Hooray!!

We’ve been working in partnership with Belgrave Community Gardening Project, Leicester City Council, Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, Belgrave Library, and the Police to pull together a plan of action to develop a green corridor that starts at the library and will see an increase in biodiversity across the Belgrave area of the city.

This is the brainchild of the Lead Volunteer at the community garden, Alison Gage, and is bringing the whole community together to take action for nature where they live. As people take pride in their renewed involvement in their community, and the area becomes visibly more attractive, we hope it will see increased footfall which will result in decreased antisocial behaviour. A win-win!!

At the end of April some of you kindly folk joined up with their volunteers to help plant some wildflower seeds at Cossington Recreation Ground, making a healthy start to the planting season. Students from Leicester College joined us to film the activity, capture the progress, interview participants and all for a film they’re making that LRWT can use to inspire others to do similar where they live. Russell Parry and Lyndsey-Anne Heald, whom some of you know well, also came to share their take on the plant diversity of the area to help us see things from a different perspective. It was a really inspiring day and garnered lots of welcome attention to the project which will hopefully lead to more volunteers supporting the community gardening project.

Talking of Russell and Lyndsey-Anne – we’ve also been working together to develop an urban botany walk that they will lead as part of Walk Leicester, in partnership with Leicester City Council. Walk Leicester is a month-long walking festival, in conjunction with National Walking Month.

However, should you have missed out this time, we’re in the midst of pulling together a similar walk for a city festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend, we’ll keep you posted!

There’s lots of other action taking place in various different forms and at various different stages of which there’ll be more information over the coming months. But for now, I’d like to thank you for your support so far. The results of new and positive relationships across the city, with communities we’ve never before invited into the conversation surrounding nature's recovery, are speaking for themselves and resulting in action for nature now!

Message from Helen Fairhead Volunteer & Events Coordinator The majority of our work cannot be delivered without our dedicated team of volunteers supporting us.

We have a team of volunteers who are currently making bird bags for our Bird Ringing team. When we called out for volunteer support for this work, our Nextdoor Nature gardening project in Belgrave and our Dawn Chorus event, you came forward and you supported us and we are very grateful for this. The photo to the right is of our volunteer June Bartlett, just one of our volunteers who have been busy producing our bird bags. Many thanks to our volunteer Candice Barker who supplied the material and pattern for the bags.

Our dedicated volunteer, Jeff Davis, recently led a group of 30 enthusiastic participants on our annual Dawn Chorus event in May, along with our Species and Recording Officer, Tim Sexton. The event wouldn't have been possible without the support of our amazing team of volunteers who helped with preparations and guided the walk. Waking up at 4am with a smile is no small feat, but our volunteers do it because they are passionate about supporting nature in every possible way.

We are immensely grateful for their dedication and want to express our heartfelt thanks.

In addition, our volunteer Pete Gillett regularly works at the Visitor Centre in Egleton and has gone the extra mile by creating an informative 'did you know' fact sheet for new volunteers. Pete recognized the importance of providing historical context and interesting facts to enhance our visitor's experience and we truly appreciate his initiative.

We also want to acknowledge our incredible early bird Osprey Volunteers. From 6am until 9pm, every single day during Osprey Season, they gather data on these majestic birds and warmly welcome visitors to the Osprey Hide at Waderscrape in Manton Bay. Their commitment is truly commendable.

While this is just a small shout-out to a few individuals, we recognize the tremendous amount of work that happens behind the scenes to support our Trust. As we celebrate National Volunteers' Week from 1st to 7th June, we'll be posting thank you messages across social media to express our gratitude.

Once again, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your support, time, and the energy you bring to help nature's recovery. Enjoy the remaining days of spring and we eagerly anticipate providing you with further updates in the summer. 😊🌸

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