Suffolk wildlife trust annual review 2016 2017

REDSHANK: ADOBE STOCK

Carlton Marshes has been a major focus for the Trust this year

A celebration of the year April 2016 to March 2017

Living Landscapes Living Gardens Living Seas

Thank you for your support This year has seen Suffolk Wildlife Trust thinking bigger than ever before, with our plans taking shape for a spectacular Living Landscape within the Broads National Park.

We are able to have ambition on this scale because of the year-on-year commitment of our members. Your enthusiastic support provides confidence to our strategic planning and financial management, enabling the Trust to seize opportunities at a time when other sources of funding remain uncertain.

You will note from this report, that our conservation work throughout the county is producing exciting and heartening results.

Community activities and advisory services continue to greatly influence both urban and rural environments.

The professionalism, enthusiasm and dedication of our highly valued staff, together with our passionate, skilful and hardworking volunteers, contribute to making your Trust a truly local nature charity.

We are hugely grateful for your support and the wildlife successes reported here are a tribute to everyone who helps Suffolk Wildlife Trust make such a difference.

Ian Brown, Chairman

Our vision for the Broads

BRENDT FISCHER ALAMY

It was with great excitement in October 2016 that we announced our opportunity to create a 1,000 acre wetland on the edge of Lowestoft in the Broads National Park.

There were many surprise arrivals at Carlton Marshes this year. Purple heron was one of them

Buying over 400 acres of land will enable us to link up three established Trust nature reserves and restore marshes that were ploughed up for arable farming in the 1970s.

It is by far the largest project the Trust has ever attempted and our supporters responded to our £1million fundraising appeal with unprecedented generosity. By the end of the financial year we passed the halfway point, with donations totalling over £½million.

As a first step in realising this vision for Suffolk’s stretch of the Broads National Park, we spent over £1.2million buying the 185 acre block of land known as Share Marsh. We are grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which stepped in to secure the additional 209 acres of Peto’s Marsh to give us time to raise the necessary funds to buy this land from

them in 2018. This is the most significant support for land purchase that the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has ever given and reflects the national significance of this opportunity for nature conservation.

Thanks to a Development Grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund we commissioned a range of surveys to help us develop detailed plans to transform the arable landscape of Peto’s and Share Marsh into a wonderful mosaic of marshes, pools, open water, reedbed and fen.

Alongside this, we have developed exciting plans for a new visitor centre to enable more people to enjoy this special landscape and its wildlife. We expect our detailed application to be considered by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s national Board of Trustees in early 2018.

Financial summary Our review of the year reports on Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s activities and finances for the financial year April 2016 to March 2017.

SWT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2017

Incoming resources

£000s Members’ subscriptions & donations 1113 Legacies 1168 Fundraising & grants 1428 SWT Trading company income 379 Other 168 Investment income 83 Investment re-evaluation 240 Total incoming resources 4579

Resources expended

£000s Nature reserves & conservation 1601 Fundraising & grants 144 Learning activities 368 Membership 235 SWT Trading company costs 271 Support, management & admin 124 Total resources expended 2743 Net incoming resources Fund balances brought forward Fund balances carried forward

1836 14167 16003

Analysis of group net assets between funds Fixed assets Nature reserves 8243 Nature reserves purchased this year 1327 Other tangible assets 1072 Net current assets* 5361

16003

Income £000s 1428 1113

1168

379

Members’ subscriptions & donations

Legacies

Fundraising SWT Trading & grants

168 Other

323

Investments

Expenditure £000s 1601

1327

368 144 Buying nature reserves

Nature Fundraising reserves & conservation

Learning activities

235 Membership

271

SWT Trading

124 Management & admin

* Including designated, unrestricted & restricted

funds and legacy gifts set aside for significant projects

Trustee’s statement

These are the summarised accounts. For a full understanding of the financial affairs of Suffolk Wildlife Trust you can view the full audited annual accounts on our website or request a copy from Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Brooke House, Ashbocking, Ipswich IP6 9JY. The annual accounts have been audited by Larking Gowen Ipswich Ltd and received an unqualified opinion. They were approved by Trustees on 20 July 2017 and will be submitted to the Charity Commission and Registrar of Companies.

The Trustee’s target level of free reserves, equating to 3-6 months establishment and core staff costs, currently equates to £537k.

Funds above this level are designated to specific projects, particularly the acquisition of land as nature reserves.

James Alexander, Hon Treasurer

Auditor’s statement

In our opinion these summarised accounts are consistent with the full statutory accounts on which we have reported with an unqualified opinion. Approved 20 July 2017.

With the additional land, our Broadland nature reserves will stretch as far as the eye can see

Thank you

We are grateful to the many individuals, Charitable Trusts, grant-making bodies and statutory organisations that fund our work. Thanks to their support, we can maintain our existing activities and create new opportunities.

JOHN FERGUSON

Carlton Marshes

Wildlife successes on reserves We care for nearly 8,000 acres of nature reserve across Suffolk, precious strongholds for wildlife and tranquil places for everyone to visit. Our investment over many years, in restoring sites and taking action for species, is now bearing fruit at reserves across the county.

Marsh harrier bred successfully for the first time at Redgrave & Lopham Fen and Trimley Marshes, as well as at the traditional breeding sites at Carlton Marshes and Hen Reedbeds.

At Hazlewood Marshes, islands created after the 2013 tidal surge on what are now intertidal mudflats, attracted seven pairs of oystercatcher, six pairs of redshank plus single pairs of lapwing and avocet. The reserve is now an important fish nursery for the Alde-Ore with bass, common goby, flounder, pipefish, sand goby, sand smelt and grey mullet recorded in the inter-tidal areas. This rich food resource drew in up to 25 spoonbills – unprecedented numbers of this glamorous bird.

In the Broads, the benefits of land purchases and habitat creation over the last decade are becoming evident. At Oulton Marshes over 500 wigeon now winter on what was formerly dry grassland, whilst fen raft spider – once confined to Redgrave & Lopham Fen – now thrives across Castle and Carlton Marshes.

ALAMY

Hazlewood Marshes

Hazlewood Marshes is an important fish nursery for species like sand goby

Carlton Marshes

Marsh pea is returning in the Broads

In West Suffolk, Lackford Lakes achieved two breeding firsts – tree sparrow and swift – both using nest boxes and the latter drawn in by taped calls.

At Bradfield Woods dormouse populations continue to increase, in what is now the most successful dormouse translocation in the UK – new monitoring research is supported by the People's Trust for Endangered Species.

Also thriving in the woods are naturally recolonising butterfly species, silver washed fritillary, purple emperor and white admiral.

Our surveys revealed a number of rare species on reserves including the Pashford pot beetle, thought to be extinct in the UK since it was lost from Suffolk in the 1990s.

Following restoration work at Thelnetham Fen, five stonewort species were recorded including nationally scarce species. Another rare stonewort was found at Black Bourn Valley reserve,Tolypella intricate, a Red Data Book species and a first for Suffolk. This appeared where ponds have been recently restored and highlights the importance of these wetlands in the farmed landscape.

Silver washed fritillary are thriving at Bradfield Woods

Making an

Purple emperor Pashford pot beetle recolonising Bradfield Woods

Our nature reserves across Suffolk are supported by grant funding from Natural England

Bradfield Woods

STEVE AYLWARD

As breeding redshank and lapwing are in decline across lowland England, we are delighted to report nesting successes. At Trimley Marshes the anti-predator fence is proving effective, with increasing numbers of breeding waders, including 13 pairs of redshank, 20 pairs of lapwing and five pairs of oystercatcher. Dingle Marshes also held good numbers with six pairs of redshank and three pairs of lapwing.

On the fen meadows restored at Carlton & Oulton Marshes, rare marsh pea is expanding its range. The scrape supported two pairs of nesting redshank, three pairs of lapwing and an extraordinary range of passage birds – great white egret, crane, spoonbill, glossy ibis, avocet, marsh warbler and wood sandpiper to name a few. The reserve is also Suffolk’s best location for grasshopper warbler with 13 breeding territories.

STEVE AYLWARD

Suffolk is well known for its wetlands, along our coast and river valleys, and in the scenic waterscapes of the Broads. These special habitats harbour some of Suffolk’s most iconic species so it is no coincidence that they are a focus for the Trust.

rediscovered in Suffolk

A gift to us all Buying land to extend our nature reserves is one of the most powerful ways we can secure a better future for wildlife – but it is a huge financial undertaking, only made possible by legacy gifts.

We would like to thank everyone who remembered Suffolk Wildlife Trust in their Will this year. Over the course of the year, we received legacy gifts totalling £709,000 and were also made aware of a further £459,000, which we will receive in the coming months.

impact countywide Redshank Spoonbill Marsh harrier breeding at Dingle Marshes

25 at Hazlewood Marshes

breeding at Redgrave & Lopham Fen and Trimley Marshes

Legacy gifts are recorded in our Book of Remembrance in grateful thanks for the generosity of those who remember the Trust in their Wills.

Kathleen Bagen Clifford Barham Frederick Burgess Primrose Elliott Marjorie Frooms Florence Hall John Lane Trevor Moore Jean Pappworth

Mabel Parish John Rogers Ian Rose Judith Ryland Stephen Malenoir-Vickers Dame Anne Warburton Norman Warren Lady Robina Wigan

Inspiring others We champion wildlife beyond our nature reserves through targeted efforts for species and habitats with landowners and community groups and through the planning process.

Ipswich Hedgehog Officer, Ali North

We launched two new community initiatives this year – Save Our Suffolk Swifts, in partnership with Suffolk Ornithologists Group, to raise awareness of swifts and encourage local action for their conservation, and our Ipswich Hedgehog project. With the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society we are working to make Ipswich the most

We have lodged our biodiversity concerns over Sizewell C

hedgehog-friendly town in the UK. The project is inspiring groups of residents to come together to make their streets and gardens better and more connected for hedgehogs.

To maximise the impact of our efforts for the county’s wildlife, we focus our involvement in planning applications on large development schemes to highlight where the proposals are likely to be ecologically damaging and to seek significant gains for wildlife. Over the last year, we screened 1,028 planning applications and made formal responses to 345. We commented on major residential developments along the A14 corridor; Ipswich Northern Fringe (1,900 new dwellings); Haverhill (2,500 dwellings) and Sudbury (1,100 dwellings), to ensure that opportunities for greenspace were maximised and conflicts with protected species and important habitats were avoided.

We were consulted 21 times on Local Plans and Neighbourhood Plans as well as national infrastructure projects such as the East Anglia Three Offshore Windfarm. Our comprehensive response to the Sizewell C Stage 2 Consultation set out our detailed biodiversity concerns over this proposed development.

JOHN FERGUSON

JOHN FERGUSON

Our Water for Wildlife team, with the support of landowners and funding from the Environment Agency, has undertaken or has planned a range of river restoration projects on the rivers Deben, Alde, Blyth, Rat, Black Bourn, Lark and Little Ouse. We also advised 45 community groups on caring for 311 acres of green spaces, as well as giving advice on species surveying and identification.

JOHN FERGUSON

In Suffolk’s farmed landscape we give free advice to landowners to undertake action for our priority species. One of our experienced site managers now focuses on encouraging our farming neighbours to take up land management options for wildlife, bringing benefits to our reserves as well as the countryside beyond.

Experiencing the natural world

JOHN FERGUSON

With our network of reserves, centres and Wildlife Group activities, the Trust’s commitment to learning in nature is unparalleled in Suffolk. Our team of Wild Learning Officers are dedicated to finding new and exciting ways to enthuse children and young people and nurture their interest in the natural world.

With the support of the David Cock Foundation we developed a Wild Classroom at Arger Fen for school groups and families

Across the county, themed events, holiday activities and weekend clubs have attracted more families than ever to discover nature and make it a regular part of their lives.

Over the year, we directly involved 19,155 children and nearly 7,000 adults in learning inspired by nature. This included welcoming 11,200 children to our centres for school visits, Forest Schools and Wild Beach sessions.

The Heritage Lottery Fund’s support for our Closer to Nature in Ipswich project has created new opportunities for young people to discover wildlife in the town’s diverse network of parks and green spaces and to see these rich habitats through the eyes of some of the county’s expert naturalists.

inspiring the next generation

Thank you to our business supporters Platinum

EDF Energy UK Power Networks

Gold

Abellio Greater Anglia Group Anglian Water Aspall Cyder Ltd Bauder Ltd BT plc Cemex UK Climax Molybdenum Michael Howard Homes Muntons plc Realise Futures Made by the Forge Waveney River Centre

Silver

Barnes Construction Birketts LLP ForFarmers CenterParcs Culford School Dalehead Foods Essex & Suffolk Water Harwich Haven Authority Ipswich Building Society Notcutts Online Lighting Sam Kimpton

Bronze

Alan Boswell Insurance Ltd Aldeburgh Golf Club Binder Birds Eye Ltd Breheny Civil Engineering Ltd Brooks & Wood BTS Group Ltd Collier & Catchpole Ltd Flempton Golf Club Ipswich Golf Club Landscape Partnership Larking Gowen Nicholas Jacob Architects Ransomes Dock Ltd Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd SW Cross & Sons Seckford Wines Ltd Strutt & Parker Suffolk Life Tarmac Ufford Park Ltd White Stuff Ipswich

Using plankton nets at one of our Wild Beach family days

Grant funders Adnams Dedham Vale AONB Sustainable Development Fund Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB Sustainable Development Fund WREN Waste Recycling Environmental

Making a difference for people as well as wildlife

19,155 7,000 45 children welcomed to our centres

adults inspired by learning in nature

community groups advised

1,028 345 planning applications screened

formal planning responses

Thank you to all our volunteers Volunteers, young and old, are the backbone of Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Volunteers look after nature reserves, welcome visitors, give conservation advice, work with young people, deliver our magazine and raise the Trust’s profile locally.

Collectively, we estimate our amazing volunteers gave 12,000 days of support to the

Trust during 2016/17. They give their time, hard work, innovation and ingenuity to ensure we are able to keep doing more every year.

It is this unstinting support from volunteers and members that makes Suffolk Wildlife Trust such a force for nature.

1,400 volunteers give their time

Terry Peake

JOHN FERGUSON

Terry has been a volunteer for Suffolk Wildlife Trust since 1975, much of the time as volunteer warden for Blaxhall Common nature reserve. With his monthly volunteer team he has played a vital role in restoring the Sandlings heathland habitat.

Nightjar and woodlark now breed every year and more recently silver-studded blue butterflies were successfully re-introduced.

If that wasn’t enough, Terry has also made a valuable contribution to the Trust’s learning activities at Foxburrow Farm. Terry is one of the most community-minded individuals in Suffolk and how he finds both the energy and time to do so much is nothing short of extraordinary.

Terry Peake was named Volunteer of the Year at our 2016 AGM

Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Brooke House Ashbocking, Ipswich IP6 9JY 01473 890089 info@suffolkwildlifetrust.org suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Thank you

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