Network Bulletin - Summer 2015

www.tcv.org.uk/scotland

netw rk bulletin Summer 2015

for TCV Scotland’s community Network

What’s happening to nature and our environment?

Feature on Find out and get involved with citizen science pages 4-7 Summer 2015

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Being Instinctively Wild If you’ve got a problem, and no one else can help – then you need to call Instinctively Wild!

Instinctively Wild (IW) is a social enterprise based in the Scottish Borders, and which also works across the Lothians. It is registered as a charity and not-for-profit company. IW specialises in using the ethos of Forest School with bushcraft skills, nature connection, John Muir Award, environmental art, practical conservation, vegetable gardening and storytelling – for an increasingly diverse portfolio of projects.

IW takes what are seemingly intractable problems in society and then uses nature to solve them. It is usually assumed that you can only use Forest School with children, but IW uses the ethos of raising self-esteem and confidence, through achievable activities, in a wide range of projects with a diverse range of client groups, aged from 4 to 84.

Pete Carthy, IW Manager, says: “What we do is not about learning about trees – it’s about learning about yourself and others through learning about trees and nature more generally. IW reconnects people through nature and to paraphrase the A-Team: If you’ve got a problem, and no one else can help – then you need to call IW, as we can fix it through nature.”

IW began life as Borders Environmental Education Services (BEES) in 2008. It was the brainwave of Pete, the Founding Director, who explains: “I always wanted to have a job in environmental education,

A dementia eco-therapy session. so I thought – why don’t I set something up myself, so I did! I was initially funded by Scotland Unltd in 2008/9, which enabled me to go part-time in my teaching career.

I put my desire to be in nature and work with people through it down to my 23 year involvement with TCV (and BTCV as was).

In particular I’ve led many conservation holidays as I just love being out in nature and leading and empowering people through it – it’s what I do!”

As a social enterprise IW relies on income generation, ie charging for projects, as Pete stresses: “We are not in the mindset of endlessly applying for funding so we can deliver projects for free – that’s not how we work. If an organisation wants us to design and deliver a project for their clients, we can do that, but we’d expect them to have the funds, or to apply for them.”

IW’s portfolio of projects is impressive, two examples being My Main Man/All Together and Natural Connections:

Pete Carthy (second left) with Concordia International Volunteers, who helped run a summer activity week.

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My Main Man/All Together is a relationship building programme for children and parents, either all men in the case of My Main Man or a mixture of mothers, stepdads, older brothers, sisters, grandparents

etc in the case of All Together. The programme is a partnership between NHS Borders (Healthy Living Network), Scottish Borders Council (Community Learning and Development & Education), and delivered

by IW. Typically, a programme takes place over four weeks, with one 4 hour session per week, and held during the school day.

Pete says: “We recently completed our twelfth such programme in the Borders. It’s been an excellent programme and very well received. With such amazing and positive feedback from participants I’m really proud of the work we have done in so many peoples’ lives.”

Natural Connections is IW’s bespoke Ecotherapy programme, using a combination of environmental art, bushcraft and storytelling, underpinned by the Forest School ethos. IW has designed programmes for a diverse client base: recovering drug and alcohol addicts, people with depression and more complex mental health issues, and more recently, people with dementia. Client organisations have included NHS Borders and also New Horizons for whom IW ran five ‘Creative Breaks’ weekends. These were miniresidential breaks covering all the themes of the Natural Connections programme.

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all pictures: instinctively wild

Children enjoying an ‘All Together’ session.

So far IW has run six Natural Connections programmes, four of which have been for clients with dementia.

Pete continues: “Essentially we are using the sensory experiences of nature to rekindle the procedural memories (‘doing’ memories), of clients with dementia. We do this by making sure that each session has several linked sensory experiences, contained through a walk, activities, and a blether around a camp fire. The dementia programme happens over an eight week block, comprising one session of two hours per week. Clients come from across the Borders and we deliver the programme in partnership with NHS Borders (Older Adults Team).

“Throughout all our sessions we have two trained leaders and several volunteers.

Our social aim is always to look after and train our volunteers. If you are charging for projects, and volunteers are helping with the income generation, then it is only fair that in return they get really good support and training. In 2011, IW received funding from LEADER and The Robertson Trust for a Volunteer Development programme, which trained twenty volunteers to Levels 2 and 3 Forest School and Bushcraft. Many of those volunteers are now running projects themselves for IW and elsewhere as project leaders. Any grants that IW applies for are generally used for volunteer training and development. Without volunteers IW

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“What we do is not about learning about trees – it’s about learning about yourself and others…” cannot run projects, as we require very high staffing ratios. For a typical client group of ten we have two paid leaders and two to three volunteers, so we can have 1:1 or 1:2 supervision, especially when we are doing tool and knife work, or lighting fires.”

Pete concludes by saying: “Everything IW does is about delivering projects to a very high standard. Attention to detail is of paramount importance, whether in relation to Health & Safety, volunteer development, or meeting clients’ needs. We are currently looking for new clients, so if you have a problem, and no one else can help – then contact Instinctively Wild.”

Youngsters getting creative in the woods.

Nursery toddlers shelter building.

Contact Pete Carthy, Founding Director & Manager Tel 07807 032491 e-mail pcarthy@instinctivelywild.co.uk

www.instinctivelywild.co.uk 3

Citizen science something for everyone Citizen science can also be fun, so there’s plenty of scope to involve children and young folk, whether at school or community events, or through youth groups and award schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Where to begin?

Citizen science is a great way to get out and about to discover your local environment.

There are many ways we can all ‘do our bit’ for the environment, from recycling our bottles and cans, to caring for a local beauty spot. And increasing numbers of people are getting involved in ‘citizen science’, the term used to describe public participation in scientific research. Of course amateur enthusiasts have been doing this for hundreds of years but there are now more ways than ever before to get involved.

The good news is that citizen science can take place anywhere, from your back garden to your local park or nature reserve. It can be something you do on your own, or better still with your community or conservation group. And you don’t have to be an expert to get involved – that’s the whole point of citizen science (a more user-friendly description might be ‘recording nature’). But once you are involved and ‘get your eye in’ it’s amazing how quickly you can become knowledgeable about your chosen field(s) of interest. So, citizen science improves your knowledge, is a friendly and sociable activity, and gets you out and about in our green places – so has health benefits too.

What’s not to like?

A good starting point is to take part in a national survey, and there are hundreds to choose from! For example, the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is massively popular and involves over half a million people each year. Being an annual survey this allows RSPB to monitor trends and helps it understand how birds are doing. And with results from so many gardens it’s able to create a snapshot of bird numbers across the UK. But if birds aren’t your thing then how about butterflies, flowers, lichens, ladybirds, dragonflies, pond life, urban trees, jelly fish, red squirrels, marine alien species (see page 9)...

As well as ‘formal’ surveys you can collect casual records at any time of what you happen across. Either way, a typical record includes the same basic information ie who (took the record), what (species), where (ideally a map grid reference,) and when (day/month/year). More information about records is available at www.brisc.org.uk/ Whatisarecord.php And, between all the formal and casual recording, there are opportunities to get involved throughout the seasons. So, there are surveys available to monitor and record just about everything under the sun, or for that matter the planets around the sun!

Taking part in citizen science activities is one of the most useful ways you can help expand our scientific knowledge.

Information gathered by volunteers is helping us understand how the environment is doing and where more action is needed.

It’s important to realise that citizen science isn’t restricted to finding and monitoring rare or unusual species – it’s also about recording the everyday and the commonplace. And citizen science isn’t just about recording wildlife – it also involves measuring things like air quality, river levels, the weather, and even observing the stars!

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Citizen science can be very child-friendly.

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What equipment do you need?

Not much! At its simplest just a keen pair of eyes, plus a notepad and pen. Anything else depends on what you’re looking for.

Binoculars are obviously a help with birds, whilst for insects a small hand lens is useful, as is a little collecting jar to pop them in to have a good look, (before releasing them again!). Small magnifying bug boxes combine the two and are great for children.

The bugs and beasties found in ponds and rock pools can be collected with a net (or even a sieve) and a plastic tray.

A BioBlitz is a great way to gather information about a specific location, and bring people together for an enjoyable day out. recording centre (for details see the BRISC website overleaf). Most national surveys and local centres let you upload your information online – it’s quick and easy.

And, as mentioned above there are many mobile phone apps allowing you to upload information on the spot.

Stumped?

To help identify what you’ve come across there are plenty of guidebooks available to suit all levels, starting with the popular Collins Gem series. And the Field Studies Council publishes a colourful and affordable (£3 – £3.80) set of foldout charts covering a wide variety of wildlife and plant species. These charts are laminated so are perfect for using outdoors. For more details visit www.fieldstudies-council.org/publications.aspx Getting a little more technical, a camera is useful to take a visual record of anything unusual, or something you can’t immediately identify. A mobile phone can do the same and there are increasing numbers of phone apps to record specimens ‘on the go’. Both cameras and phone apps increasingly come with Global Positioning System (GPS) capability to pinpoint the precise location – essential information for researchers and scientists.

With a little experience and a few good nature guides you can identify much of what you encounter, but what if you come across something that you can’t pin down?

If you can take a photo you can upload it to a website such as iSpot or iRecord, where communities of online experts will help to identify your mystery find. One of the great things about citizen science is – you’re not alone!

A concentrated BioBlitz Citizen science activities often highlight a particular species or type of species eg

birds or butterflies. Another approach is to discover as many species of plants and animals as possible within a specific area and during a set period of time, usually 24 hours. This is called a BioBlitz which can be a great activity to organise for groups who care for a particular greenspace such as a park, woodland or local nature reserve.

The information gathered can help guide the management of the site and the data can also be fed into your local biodiversity records office or national surveys.

A BioBlitz can also be great fun and show the wider community, including youngsters, of the wide variety of nature on their doorstep. Experts from one of the national conservation organisations may be able to help organise activities, or have an information stand. If you’re thinking of hosting such an event a useful publication is A Guide to Running a BioBlitz, produced by the Natural History Museum and available on its website. Visit www.nhm.ac.uk and search for bioblitz.

Take a record of what you find to send off later, or upload the data on the spot from your mobile phone or tablet.

What next?

Once you’ve got some records, what do you do with them? You can send your records to national organisations and surveys, or to your local biological

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TCV Scotland and citizen science TCV Scotland encourages citizen science in a number of ways:

The Scotland Counts project provides opportunities for individuals and communities to develop their knowledge and skills to engage in citizen science. One way to do this is to encourage groups to run their own surveys to monitor and record their local environment. A current example is the Friends of the River Kelvin (FORK) in Glasgow. Over the coming months FORK volunteers will be shown how they can get involved in different citizen science activities depending on their interests as a group. This could include looking at river levels, water quality (looking at the river invertebrates), recording species eg bees, butterflies and birds, monitoring air quality (looking at lichens), and recording litter.

And looking ahead we hope to develop similar local surveys with at least another two community projects. If you would like further details, please contact Amanda Malcolm, Senior Project Officer (Scotland Counts) at a.malcolm@tcv.org.uk Scotland Counts is supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Forestry Commission Scotland, and the Scottish Government.

Amy Styles leads an OPAL tree survey training course.

Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) is a national initiative encouraging citizen science. It has a network of Community Scientists throughout the UK who run and take part in nature events and workshops around the four nations. They also encourage people to take part in six OPAL surveys: to explore the health of our soils and trees, the quality of our air and water, the distribution of invertebrates, and the importance of hedges. Amy Styles is one of the Community Scientists and is based with TCV in Stirling. Amy has a particular focus on involving young offenders, inner city schools and marginalised rural communities, but she also works with a wide variety of community groups, outdoor centres, disability groups etc.

Amy can provide support for people who are keen to take part in citizen science, particularly the OPAL surveys, which is a great place to start. The best way for Amy to achieve this is to run training courses for group members and teachers, providing them with the skills and knowledge to organise their own surveys. Interested? Amy can be contacted at a.styles@tcv.org.uk

Inner Forth Landscape Initiative (IFLI)

Amanda Malcolm discovers biodiversity in an unlikely place.

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IFLI encourages environmental volunteering activities around the Upper Firth of Forth. Two IFLI trainees, Rebecca Cairns and Scott Gardner, have recently been based with TCV in Stirling, supported by the Coastal Communities Fund. As well as running OPAL surveys (above) with local groups, Rebecca and Scott have encouraged communities to take part in many different citizen science surveys

depending on the location and interests of the group. These have included a UK ladybird survey, BeeWatch within towns and gardens, the Scottish Seashell Survey, and even the Great Nurdle Hunt! What’s a nurdle? Find out at www.nurdlehunt.org.uk

Natural Talent Natural Talent (page 9) and Natural Networks (page 10) are TCV programmes which employ trainees to study and conserve particular aspects of the environment. The trainees involve the public in a wide range of environmental activities, including citizen science. Have a look at the trainees’ blogs on the TCV website to see what they are up to.

Identification courses As part of TCV’s training events programme we organise several wildlife identification courses each year, such as Native Tree Identification and Introduction to Fungi (see page 10). These courses are great opportunities to improve your knowledge and learn from the experts!

Volunteer recording Whilst out and about conserving their local environment, TCV’s volunteer groups are encouraged to record their local wildlife. A monthly sheet highlights 5 or 6 particular species for TCV staff and volunteers to look out for and record. This data is submitted to the relevant national survey, BRISC (see opposite), or to iRecord.

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Find out more

Free learning opportunities

TCV Scotland has produced a number of citizen science resources encouraging people to get involved:

Developing Citizen Science in Your Community FEVA* Forum Exchange Tuesday 25 August 10am – 1pm TCV Scotland, Mortonhall, Edinburgh

• Citizen Science in your Community • Citizen Science – A guide for teachers and support workers • Engaging volunteers in Citizen Science Projects • Citizen Science in the Environment – Ideas for your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award • A Guide to using social media for Citizen Science Projects

Other sources of information

These are available at www.tcv.org.uk/scotland/discover

• Biological Recording in Scotland (BRISC) – www.brisc.org.uk

Who else?

Many of the national conservation organisations have opportunities to take part in monitoring and surveys relevant to their work. These include the British Trust for Ornithology, Buglife, Bumblebee Conservation Trust , Butterfly Conservation, Froglife, Plantlife, RSPB, and the Woodland Trust, to name a few. And some of these organisations hold local training events to enhance volunteers’ identification skills and confidence, as do local biological recording centres. Visit their websites to see what’s on offer.

Citizen science is a great way for people of all ages and abilities to take part in wildlife surveys and other activities which add to our knowledge of the natural world and how it can be better conserved. This free event will show how your youth, school or community group can get involved in a range of enjoyable, accessible, and informative activities. *Forum for Environmental Volunteering Activity

• Biological Records Centre (BRC) – www.brc.ac.uk

Citizen Science in Your Community

• National Biodiversity Network (NBN Gateway) – www.nbn.org.uk

This is the topic of a free 1 day course on Tuesday 24 November, at TCV Edinburgh.

• Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) – www.opalexplorenature.org • Scotland’s Environment Web (SeWeb) – www.environment.scotland.gov.uk Wildlife identification and recording websites: • iRecord – www.brc.ac.uk/irecord • WildlifeLog – www.wildlifelog.org • iSpot – www.ispotnature.org

Introduction to OPAL Citizen Science Surveys A free day one day course on Tuesday 16 February 2016, at TCV Edinburgh.

Further details of the above events can be found at www.bit.ly.TCVScotlandTrg

frances stoakley

Join in, have fun! The great thing about citizen science is that there’s something to suit everyone – whatever your age, experience, place you live, or time you have available – you can contribute something useful to our environmental knowledge and conservation. So get involved now and develop your inner scientist!

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Ten water vole facts: LES FOSTER

KEVIN MCGARRY

Aileen McLeod, Environment Minister, with local pupils and volunteers, plus Claire Quinn (L) of Seven Lochs Wetland Park, and Cath Scott (R) of Glasgow City Council.

Boost for Glasgow’s water voles Local school pupils and volunteers are giving a helping hand to Glasgow’s population of water voles by improving their habitat in the Easterhouse housing scheme. Easterhouse may seem an unlikely place to find these semi-aquatic rodents but this area has a nationally significant population and the highest known density of water voles in the UK! Between March and October of this year, young people from Lochend Community High School and volunteers from the Seven Lochs Wetland Park are developing the Wild Flowers and Water Voles project to transform a neglected fly-tipped wasteland into a haven for wildlife, and providing an attractive entrance into the Park. The volunteers, with help from Easterhouse Community Payback Team, have landscaped a soil bund on which the pupils have sown wild flowers seeds and planted wild flower ‘plugs’.

The project was made possible with a £4000 award from Grow Wild, the UK initiative to transform local spaces using native wild flowers.

Mrs Geraldine Collins, Head teacher at Lochend Community High School, said: “We are thrilled to receive this funding from Grow Wild and it will make a huge difference to the Easterhouse area. There is a growing water vole population in this part of Easterhouse, so we will be working with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow University to ensure they are not disturbed by our project and that we are planting suitable food sources for them.”

Mrs Collins added: “The fact that we can help the endangered water voles thrive in an urban area is just fantastic and a great learning experience for the students. By

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creating a new habitat with two entrance ways, the students are playing a huge part in transforming what is essentially a barren area. It will also help teach the students about conservation and the importance of outdoor green spaces, whilst bringing the whole community together.”

On 25 June the project was officially opened by Dr Aileen McLeod, MSP, Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, who said: “I was really pleased to be here today and see for myself the great work by the Young Wildlife Team from Lochend Community High School and the Seven Lochs volunteers, supported by Grow Wild. This is a project that’s transforming derelict land for the benefit of water voles, as well as the local community. It shows that nature can thrive on all our doorsteps and how community action can transform an area. It’s exactly the sort of project I want to see and that’s why it seems really appropriate to launch here Scotland’s Bio-diversity Routemap* to guide action for biodiversity over the next five years and engage people in all parts of Scotland.”

Over the next few months additional landscaping, seeding and planting will continue with the Young Wildlife Team and Seven Lochs volunteers, with Grow Wild providing Scottish wild flower seed kits.

Their efforts should be rewarded with a colourful array of native wild flowers. And our friends from RSPB will be supporting water vole educational activities. So, things are looking blooming good for Glasgow’s thriving water voles. *www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/ Wildlife-habitats/biodiversity More info at: www.growwilduk.com and www.sevenlochs.org

1 Water voles are semi-aquatic rodents. Like other rodents such as rats and mice they have long front teeth which never stop growing but are worn away with constant nibbling.

2 Water voles are the largest voles in Britain, about the size of a large hamster.

3 Water voles are sometimes called water rats. In the popular children’s story Wind in the Willows ‘Ratty’ was actually a water vole, not a rat.

4 Water voles usually have glossy brown fur although in Scotland they are often black.

5 Water voles normally live in burrows close to watercourses, although Glasgow’s population are bucking the trend by setting up home some distance from water on grassy banks around the area.

6 Water voles do not have webbed feet like other aquatic mammals such as otters.

7 Water vole numbers have declined dramatically in recent years due to a number of factors including habitat loss and predation by the introduced American mink.

8 Water voles will consume approximately 80% of their body weight each day. They are herbivores and eat a wide variety of vegetation.

9 Water voles have up to five litters a year with up to six babies, or pups, in each litter.

10 Water voles make a distinctive ‘plopping’ sound when diving into water.

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Recording marine non-native species

By Susan Miller, Natural Talent Trainee

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piers. Other methods are more accessible to the general public and volunteers such as surveying the seashore and looking at the strandline community. So many people enjoy our coastlines it would be such a shame to see any decline in their diversity and charm. Recording non-native species can be very simple and many are easy to identify. So, why not have a look along your local beaches, shoreline, marina pontoons, and piers for them? You might be the first to identify any in your local area!

arine non-native species are species that have been introduced either accidentally or deliberately into our marine habitats. Some are harmless while others can be invasive and swamp areas of our coastline. Invasive nonnative species have the potential to change our coastal biodiversity which is renowned for its productivity, beauty and diversity.

They do this by having the potential to outcompete our native species, bring about economic damage to our aquaculture, spread disease and degrade our water quality. Left unchecked they can cause damage that is difficult or impossible to reverse. No non-native marine species have been successfully eradicated from the UK, and according to the NNSS* all non-native species (not just marine) cost the UK £1.7 billion annually.

As a Natural Talent trainee with TCV these marine aliens are the main focus for my twelve month traineeship. Natural Talent is a UK-wide programme funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation that responds to identified skills shortages in the conservation sector. Based at Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt University, and working with many people in the environmental sector, my traineeship is about learning which non-native species are in our waters, what effects they are having, and what we can do about them.

The most important aspect of my work is getting people involved in much needed

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monitoring and recording as there is currently no survey dedicated to marine non-natives. This is what makes the Natural Talent programme extremely valuable as it generates opportunities to increase the capacity of volunteers and communities to play an active role in surveying, mapping and management to increase the biodiversity value of local sites.

*Non-Native Species Secretariat: www.nonnativespecies.org

Marine invasive species can be surveyed in many ways including diving surveys and taking scrape samples from buoys and

A further flavour of the work involving Susan and the other Natural Talent trainees can be found at: blogs.tcv.org.uk/natural-talent

John McFarlane

A major chunk of my time has been spent at the University’s International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) in Stromness, Orkney, where I’ve been surveying marinas and piers for non-native species. And, as part of a small team comprising of my mentor Jo Porter, plus students Rebecca Crawford and Andrew Want, we’ve also been looking at related aspects such as biosecurity – what measures can be taken to prevent the spread of invasive species.

Other highlights have included presenting some of my findings to a Bryozoan (moss animals) conference in Thurso, and likewise to a workshop near Skye. If this all sounds very serious I’ve also had some fun and games with kids at North Berwick Seabird Centre to highlight the Check, Clean, Dry campaign promoting biosecurity for anglers and other users of the marine environment.

Susan with samples of Pacific oysters.

There are many nice and simple identification guides available for free and the Sealife Tracker phone app is easy to download, has great pictures and identification descriptions, and also allows you to submit your finds. Species to look out for in Scotland include the brown seaweed Sargassum muticum that can be found lurking at low tide. The leathery sea squirt Styela clava and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas are easy to identify due to their unique appearance. Take photographs if you see any non-natives but don’t remove any you find as this can risk spreading them and causing more damage.

If you’re really keen to help, look out for BioBlitz’s and training days highlighting non-natives and hopefully we can get to grips with these invaders on our shore.

Susan surveying for marine invasive species.

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GSK staff and their bug/bee hotel, part of the Irvine to Girvan Nectar Network.

Nurturing nature in North Ayrshire

By David Meechan, Natural Networks Trainee Since mid-January 2015 I have been a TCV Natural Networks Trainee on placement with RSPB, Scottish Wildlife Trust and North Ayrshire Council Ranger Service. Natural Networks is a TCV programme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. My focus has been on nature reserves around North Ayrshire and it is these, and other green spaces, that I’ve tried to engage local communities with. I’ve been encouraging local people to understand, value and protect their green spaces.

It has been a challenging traineeship as I’ve been working in some of the most deprived areas in Scotland. I have been actively seeking those who have a real passion for the environment and protecting wildlife. At the same time it has been interesting to reach out to those that don’t have much knowledge of their local green spaces – helping to open their eyes to what these spaces provide. As such I’ve been organising regular volunteer workdays at Ardeer and Stevenston Beach Local Nature Reserves, Eglinton Country Park, plus several SWT sites.

I’ve been working on some fantastic projects with my partner organisations. It’s also exciting as someone relatively new to the environmental sector to see various conservation charities and the local council working together for the benefit of wildlife.

This gives the strong message that we are working together rather than separately, because we are all working towards the same end – a healthy ecosystem for future generations to enjoy.

A particular highlight has been the SWT Nectar Network project with the Ayrshire Sustainability Group, a business forum consisting of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK),

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Caledonian Papermill, Nestlé, Dundonald Links and other golf courses – all joining together to create something beneficial for wildlife. This has included the Irvine to Girvan Nectar Network, a ‘corridor’ of wildflower meadows and other wildlife friendly features which provide feeding and nesting sites for pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies. The first project on the ground was at GSK’s manufacturing plant in Irvine where we created a wildflower meadow, erected bee hotels, and planted wildflowers and trees. This is a very inspiring and encouraging project that sees big business giving something back to the environment, using SWT’s expertise. It’s also fantastic because GSK staff are very keen to do more.

The standout highlight though for me is the work of one local community member and his determination to help his local nature reserves. Ian Cassidy (see opposite) has galvanised his local community into helping preserve Stevenston Beach LNR with cleanups and invasive species removal. Ian has been an inspiration for the local community and through him more and more people have signed-up to his beach cleaning events. He is also an inspiration for me to do more to help him and other local community members The amount I have learned so far from all of the partner organisations and local communities has given me amazing experiences. These have given me lessons that I shall carry forward into the future and never forget. It’s going by in a flash, but the opportunity to be a TCV Natural Networks Trainee has been everything and more than I expected it to be.

If you would like to join one of David’s volunteer workdays please contact him on 07739 447949 or email d.meechan@tcv.org.uk

DAVID MEECHAN

Brush up on your skills TCV Scotland’s popular programme of short training courses continues throughout the months ahead. Coming up…

Sighted Guide Training 4 August Brushcutters and Trimmers 10 August Woodland Management 18 August Native Tree Identification 19 August Working with Volunteers 26 August Integrating Outdoor Learning Opportunities within the Curriculum for Excellence 4 September Deaf Awareness Training 8 September First Aid at Work 22-24 September Introduction to Risk Assessment 25 September Environmental Art in the Woods 29 September Brushcutters and Trimmers 5-6 October Identifying Fungi for Beginners 6 October Practical Mental Health Techniques to Support People in the Outdoors 15 October Introduction to Fundraising 28 October For further information and booking details visit: www.bit.ly/TCVScotlandTrg

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My beach of dreams ‘If you clean it they will come!’

By Ian Cassidy

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ive years have passed since I first made the decision to settle in Stevenston, North Ayrshire. It was the fantastic beach and dune system with views towards the Isle of Arran, along with a little cottage just a few minutes’ walk away, that settled the matter for me. It was my childhood years spent on beaches on the East coast of Scotland that engendered my love and respect for the beach environment.

Stevenston Beach is designated as a Local Nature Reserve but over the years its health and condition continued to deteriorate. The winter storms of 2014 turned out to be a significant event, with several linear feet lost from the dune system and the beach was awash with all manner of litter and debris, with the latter posing a serious threat to both wildlife and visitors. My lone efforts to tackle the problem bore very little evidence of any improvement. As a keen amateur photographer I often published images capturing both the beauty and the blight on ‘my’ beach, in an attempt to bring attention to the health and welfare of the reserve.

photos: IAN CASSIDY

It was a friend on social media who sent me details of a TCV clean-up on the beach organised by David Meechan (see opposite) in February 2015. This was the turning point that galvanised me into real action. I formed the ‘Friends of Stevenston Beach’ group as part of the Ayrshire Litter Volunteer Network (ALVN) to establish regular

The usual suspects.

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Ian Cassidy keeping Stevenston Beach clear of litter.

fortnightly beach cleans and formed a relationship with the North Ayrshire Council Streetscene team for tools and equipment and the timely removal of rubbish and debris. The Ranger Service provided the advice and support to ensure the group’s activities were consistent with the council’s biodiversity plans. A double page spread in the local newspaper helped raise awareness and attract additional volunteers.

It’s thanks to the tireless work from the core members of my volunteer group that after four months of effort we have completed a beach transformation that has returned the beach and nature reserve back to a state of health not enjoyed for many years.

We have litter-picked and excavated our way to victory with 486 sacks of rubbish and removed countless other items of

debris. And we have extended our reach to the Ardeer Quarry Local Nature Reserve and other areas, which has brought the group’s number of rubbish sacks collected and removed at the time of writing to an impressive but alarming total of 556.

The fantastic results from this beach transformation are already bearing fruit, with wildlife frequenting areas of reserve previously avoided. There is an appreciation of our efforts from the local community with a reduction in both litter being dropped and instances of fly tipping. A local primary school had a bad experience due to the health and condition of the beach at their annual beach event in 2014, and so it conducted a full risk assessment before repeating the event this year. But with a clean bill of health the entire primary school held their activity day on the beach in May 2015 and my group’s efforts were rewarded with a ‘Thank You’ card from the children.

As a development from the litter clearance I’ve also started path clearance and fence removal amongst the dunes. The fencing was installed in 2000 but is now well past its shelf life having fallen into disrepair, with many parts in a dangerous state. So, I’ve started to make that good and will work with the Council to determine the next step.

The reality is that this beach transformation is only the first step on a journey that has no ending. For each wave that laps the shore there is the promise of much more litter to come. My volunteer group has turned the tidal wave of beach litter and debris from the reserve, but its future health rests with further community involvement and a sense of ownership, and finding the next generation of conservationists.

Ian promotes his group’s activities on Facebook and local community websites.

If anyone would like to join the Friends of Stevenston Beach, please contact Ian Cassidy through the Ayrshire Litter Volunteer Network at www.alvn.org.uk

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Over the coming months TCV is launching a range of new services, workshops, and events to develop more and better opportunities for people to enjoy outdoor and environmental experiences. So, coming up:

P

romoting Greenability

The Greenability programme is a series of activities organised

by TCV and organisations from the disability sector which provide opportunities for people with disabilities to experience and enjoy the great outdoors. To give staff

The Network Bulletin is produced three times annually and contains news and features on Community Network member groups, plus TCV Scotland projects, programmes and volunteers.

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and volunteers from these organisations ideas and inspiration, four free halfday workshops are being run between September and December: Forest Skills & Cooking Outdoors Monday 28 September (10am–1pm) Pollok Country Park Green Gym taster workshop Monday 28 September (2–5pm) Pollok Country Park Environmental Art Wednesday 7 October (10am–1pm) TCV Scotland, Mortonhall, Edinburgh

vimeo.com/ conservationvolunteers

Nature Play Details to be confirmed

twitter.com/tcvscotland #JoinInFeelGood

For further details and booking go to: www.bit.ly/TCVScotlandTrg

facebook.com/tcvscotland The Network Bulletin is published by TCV Scotland.

Views and opinions expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or of The Conservation Volunteers.

Editor Graham Burns E g.burns@tcv.org.uk T 0141 552 5294 ©The Conservation Volunteers 2015. Charity registered in Scotland SC039302, and England 261009. Green Gym is a Registered Trade Mark.

M

entoring Programme

Are you looking for some dedicated one to one support to help develop your work?

TCV can help! We can provide a TCV member of staff for up to six 1-2 hour meetings, to mentor you to help grow your work. We can offer support in the following areas: Community engagement and outreach • Fundraising • Project reporting and evaluation • Using the environment for health related activities

• Outdoor play and learning • Environmental recording • Practical conservation project development This service is funded by SNH and is provided free of charge.

For details please contact Julia Duncan at j.duncan@tcv.org.uk

A

lso in the pipeline from TCV Scotland... ... a series of interactive webinars, a pilot telephone advice line, and improved online resources – all of which will cover a range of topics to help and inspire those who are organising environmental volunteering activities. Topics will include: Fundraising • Looking after your Volunteers • Working with Young People • Engaging Hard to Reach Groups • Developing a Health Project • Practical Conservation Tasks and Improving Biodiversity These developments will begin in September with further details given in TCV’s monthly e-bulletin. To subscribe go to www.tcv.org.uk/scotland/ signup-for-our-newsletter

Welcome …to the groups who have recently become ‘paidup’ members of TCV’s Community Network: Cambusbarron Community Development Trust Drummuir 21 Greener Kemnay Monimail Tower Project Urban Warriors Falkirk

Where to find us TCV Scotland Head Office 24 Allan Park Stirling FK8 2QG T 01786 479697 F 01786 465359 E scotland@tcv.org.uk Castle Douglas Green Gym Dumfries & Galloway T 07764 655681 E r.dickens@tcv.org.uk c/o Highland Birchwoods Littleburn Road Munlochy Near Inverness IV8 8NN T 01463 811 967 E inverness@tcv.org.uk Unit M1 143 Charles Street Glasgow G21 2QA T 0141 552 5294 F 0141 552 0418 E glasgow@tcv.org.uk Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre Wood Street Grangemouth FK3 8LH T 01324 471600 F 01324 471600 E jupiter-nursery@tcv.org.uk St Joseph’s Academy Grassyards Road Kilmarnock KA3 7SL T 01563 544304 E scotland-education@tcv.org.uk The Granary 44 Mortonhall Gate Edinburgh EH16 6TJ T 0131 664 6170 F 0131 664 0583 E edinburgh@tcv.org.uk TCV UK Head Office Sedum House Mallard Way Doncaster DN4 8DB T 01302 388883 F 01302 311531 E information@tcv.org.uk

[NetBul-Summer-15/GB/RB]

New developments – Join in!

TCV Scotland’s community, health and environmental volunteering activities are supported by:

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