News from Suffolk Wildlife Trust January 2016

SuffolkWildlife

Living Landscapes Living Gardens Living Seas

2 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

Suffolk Wildlife is published bySuffolk Wildlife Trust, Brooke House,Ashbocking IP6 9JY01473 890089 info@suffolkwildlifetrust.orgwww.suffolkwildlifetrust.orgSWT CENTRES Bradfield Woods 01449 737996Carlton Marshes 01502 564250Foxburrow Farm 01394 380113Knettishall Heath 07717 156601Lackford Lakes 01284 728706Redgrave & Lopham Fen 01379 688333EDITOR Matt GawDESIGN & ARTWORK Clare SheehanADVERTISING Today Magazines,Framlingham 01728 622030PRINTING Five Castles Press, Ipswich

PATRON Lord TollemachePRESIDENT Lord Blakenham VICE PRESIDENTS David Barker MBE, Sir KennethCarlisle, Lord Deben, Bernard Tickner, Peter WilsonTRUSTEES Ian Brown (Chairman), Nigel Farthing(Vice Chairman), Robin Drayton (Treasurer), James Robinson (Hon Secretary), David Alborough,John Cousins, Denise Goldsmith, Pip Goodwin,Peter Holborn, Simon Roberts

Suffolk Wildlife Trust is one of a national networkof Wildlife Trusts dedicated to safeguarding thefuture of wildlife for the benefit of all

Suffolk Wildlife Trust is a registered charity no262777 and a company limited by guarantee no695346

YOUR MAGAZINE SUFFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST

TOM MARSH

ALL

KAT

HY LANGBRIID

GE

ALA

MY

JON EVA

NS

JOHN FER

GUSO

N

JANUARY 2016

On thecoverOtterRobin ChittendenFLPA

News from Suffolk Wildlife Trust January 2016SuffolkWildlife

Living Landscapes Living Gardens Living Seas

P12

P16

P18

P9

Water vole

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 3

fulfilled a long held dream last summer andvisited Transylvania in Romania. The attractionwas walking through a landscape where bear,wolf and lynx still roamed even if my chances ofseeing one were infinitesimally small. I wasthrilled to come across a bear print in the soft

mud alongside a stream but, in the end, it was notthese huge beasts that left the greatest impact.

It was the flower-rich meadows disappearinginto the horizon without a fence in sight. Even in thedry heat of mid-summer they were a mass of colour– purple sages, yellow mulleins, pink century, bluechicory and the creamy white of wild carrot

alongside many other unfamiliar flowers. Every footstep created a ripple ofgrasshoppers – an overabundance of food for red-backed shrikes, which stoodsentinel on every bush and bramble clump. And butterflies beyond counting:marbled whites, fritillaries, swallowtails, giant chocolate-coloured ringlets,coppers, purple emperors and silver-studded blues by the hundreds sippingfrom tiny wet hollows and dancing in clouds when disturbed. These grasslandspulsated with life. The acclaimed author Simon Barnes, who writes in this issueof Suffolk Wildlife, calls this – bio-abundance. A sheer, exciting mass of wildlife– an all-too rare experience.

In Romania it was notable how habitats merged – dark woods of oak,hornbeam and lime blended into sweeping valley grasslands dotted by ancientoaks or, more often, with wild pear and plum trees. Shepherds followed theirflocks of sheep and goats accompanied by fierce looking dogs. But thesegrasslands were not the tightly grazed sheep fields we are accustomed to seein England. Here they were tussocky, rich in flowers with pockets of thornyscrub. Where scrub had grown too high or dense the shepherds cut it downenabling goats to browse the prickly regrowth and create a future successionof scrub.

It is not just the extent of habitat that enables wildlife to thrive but the mergingof woodland, grassland and scrub. These untidy and complex edges are whereinsects thrive and food chains begin and why we encourage such mosaics onour nature reserves. Sometimes it is not possible – our smallest flower-richmeadows are so tiny and precious that there is little space for bramble andscrub. The solution is to make our reserves bigger to create more space.

Our latest acquisition in the Black Bourn Valley is such a purchase. Now200 acres of river, wet meadow, dry grassland, scrub and woodland blend intoeach other offering complexity and variety upon which nature depends. Ourplans are for a rougher and wilder valley where insects and small mammalsthrive and benefit a cascade of species from yellowhammer to barn owl.

Thank you for making this possible – not just along the Black Bourn but,through your membership, across our reserves.

Julian RoughtonChief executive

YOUR MEMBERSHIP

DAISY HAWKINS

Our plans atBlack Bourn fora rougher, wildervalley will helpsmall mammalsto thrive

The Trust benefits from the mostincredible support, with manymembers’ commitmentstretching over decades. Pleasekeep in touch so we can ensureyou get the most out of yourmembership.

We can tailor your membershipto suit your family. If yourchildren are aged betwen 6-14they’d enjoy our Wildlife Watchmagazine. Likewise do let usknow if your children have growntoo old for the magazine.

Samantha GrangeOur MembershipManager would loveto hear from you.Please call on 01473 890089

DAVID KJAER

IWelcome

he spoonbill has to beone of the mostdistinctive of wetlandbirds and would be aparticular highlight ofany visit to the coast, so

the appearance of up to 17 birds atHazlewood Marshes late last yearwas quite exceptional.

However, this appears to be

CONSERVATION NEWS

DAV

ID T

IPLI

NG

Flight of thespoonbill

reflecting the national picture wherespoonbill numbers are increasing inthe UK and there is even a smallbreeding population in Norfolk. Theyare drawn to Hazlewood Marshes bythe opportunity to feed on smallfish and crustaceans and can remainquite faithful to good feeding sitesso there is every chance they willbecome more frequent visitors to

The transformation atHazlewood from grazingmarsh to a mix of inter-tidal habitats is providingkey habitat for spoonbillT

Trimley Marshes sites managerAndrew Excell said brood successesfrom new scrapes matched or exceededthose on established lagoons.

“We saw that displaying waderswere less interrupted in their territorialflights and there was less mobbing ofunseen ground-based predators inlonger grass near nests, so we presumethere were fewer predators around.Some lapwings placed nests wherethey’d never attempt in previous years– out in open grassland.”

“Any dead birds on the marshes haveremained untouched for weeks, whereasin the past these have disappearedwithin a day. There are no foxes to removethe carcasses, which is a good sign.”

A project to improve the chances ofbreeding wading birds like lapwing andredshank at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’sTrimley Marshes reserve is proving tobe a success.

Over a mile of 1.5metre fencing,funded by a grant of £21,836 awardedby The Veolia Environmental Trust, wasinstalled at the site near Felixstowe atthe beginning of 2015 to prevent groundpredation by foxes and badgers.

In the first breeding season sincethe fence was installed, fledglingnumbers have been up on the previoustwo years. A total of 15 lapwingfledglings, more than eight redshankfledglings and an oystercatcher fledginghave all been recorded.

The creation of Higher LevelStewardship-funded shallow scrapeswithin the fencing also has helped toattract breeding birds, as well aspassage birds such as spotted redshank,greenshank, green sandpiper, whimbrel,ruff and spoonbill.

Fledgling success

STEV

E AY

LWARD &

DAV

ID KJA

ER

Some lapwingsplaced nestswhere they’dnever attempt inprevious years

the reserve. There is no doubt thatthe transformation at Hazlewoodfrom grazing marsh to a mix ofinter-tidal habitats is continuing tosurprise and delight visitors.

However, re-instating access tothe hide has proved to be challengingand we are actively trying to resolvethis and looking at other ways inwhich visitors can enjoy the reserve.

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 5

DAV

ID KJA

ER

Lapwing andlapwing chick

CONSERVATION NEWS

6 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

RO

BIN

CH

ITTE

ND

EN

Seeds collected at Suffolk Wildlife Trust'swoodland nature reserves will bepreserved in the Kew Garden's MillenniumSeed Bank as part of a national project toprotect the UK’s trees.

Late last year a small team ofvolunteers from the Trust began a threeyear project to collect seed from 15different native tree and shrub speciesfrom several Suffolk Wildlife Trustwoodland nature reserves.

The Trust is a partner in the UKNational Tree Seed Project, which hasbeen set up by Kew’s Millennium SeedBank, and made possible with fundinggenerated by players of People’s

Postcode Lottery.Tree seeds collected as part of the

project will be safely banked in theunderground vaults of Kew’s MillenniumSeed Bank – forming the UK’s firstnational collection of tree seeds. Thesecan then play a vital role in conservationwork to protect UK trees and woodlands,including against pests and diseases suchas ash dieback.

Common alder, silver and downy birch,crab apple and honeysuckle are amongthe species to be collected from BradfieldWoods near Bury St Edmunds, while smallleaved lime seed from Groton, wild servicefrom Arger Fen and holly from Captain’s

Our trees forever preserved

Tree seeds taken fromthe Trust's woodlandswill be stored inKew's Wellcome TrustMillennium Building inWakehurst Place,West Sussex

The Trust isa partner inthe UKNationalTree SeedProject

SWT

hank you to everyone who respondedso generously to our request forhelp to buy the 70 acres of riversideland next to Grove Farm naturereserve. With your commitment, weare delighted to have completed the

land purchase and so link the farm into the rivervalley. Now 218 acres in size and renamed ‘BlackBourn Valley nature reserve’, our ownership willenable us to work with nature to create a wilder,wetter river corridor which will support morewetland wildlife.

Later in the year, when conditions are drierunderfoot, we will press on with work toimprove the trails and car parking, to open upthis lovely piece of Suffolk for everyone to enjoy– watch this space!

TBlack BournValley

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 7

The newoctagonbird hide

Wood will also be collected. A metal tagwill mark each tree that is part of thescheme.

Alison Looser, who led the Trust’s teamof expert volunteers, said: “We’ve got abig task ahead of us. Kew need in theregion of 10,000 seeds from each of thespecies they have identified.

“Obviously we do not want to strip thetrees of their seeds, so we will take thenext three years to collect all of oursamples.”

Clare Trivedi, UK National Tree SeedProject Co-ordinator, said the project was“really important” for the future of ourtrees, wildlife and landscape.B

LICKW

INKEL

/CAIRNES

ALA

MY

Norton PrimarySchool held a ‘WellyDay’ event to raisemoney for Black

Bourn Valley

Thankyou!

Your chance to go wild

8 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

CONSERVATION NEWS

Why not make this the yearyou engage more with thenatural world?

By signing up for aWildlearning course, you canlearn more about the workof the Trust and our reserves,get out in the fresh air, meetnew friends and learn a newskill. Courses are specificallyfor adults and take place atour five education centres,nature reserves and villagehalls, so there is bound to beone in your area.

DER

EK MIDDLE

TON FLP

A

Staff and volunteers at Lackford Lakesrecorded the reserve’s first ever greatcrested newt while cutting sedge andgrass. The discovery of the species,which is exacting in its requirementsand is Britain’s most highlyprotected amphibian, highlights thecleanliness of the water at the site.

Will Cranstoun, West Suffolksites manager, said the find nearBernard’s Pool demonstrates howthe former gravel quarry offers a

variety of diverse wildlife habitatsafter just twenty of years ofnaturalisation.

“It goes to show that if youcreate the right habitat wildlifewill eventually move in;sometimes in arelatively short time.”

It is hoped the femalenewt, could already havebred on the site.

First great crested newt at Lackford

Come and learn in arelaxed and fun atmospherewith supportive,knowledgeable tutors.

There’s a great variety onoffer this spring: introductionto wildlife photography atCaptain’s Wood for thebluebells, with more wildlifephotography throughout theyear including speciesmasterclasses.

Brush up your birdingknowledge with resident &migrant bird ID by song and

sight or learn how to lookafter hedgehogs on ourbasic and intermediatehedgehog care workshops atLackford Lakes. Weave awillow plant wigwam orattend a jam masterclass atRedgrave & Lopham Fen.Learn botanical & wildlifepainting at Carlton Marshesreserve. You can even learnhow to identify tumuli &Neolithic flints and watch aflint-knapping demo atKnettishall Heath.

What’s onCheck out what's available bybrowsing our ‘What’s On’brochure or our website. To book, or pay online, visitsuffolkwildlifetrust.org/learningor telephone 01473 890089

JOHN FER

GUSO

N

Greatcrested newt

have adistinctive

orangeunderbelly

Thank youWe are grateful to the families of thefollowing friends of the Trust who haverecently remembered us in their Willor through an In Memoriam donation

John SnellingJohn WilliamsDesmond WinneyJudith Mahala Wood

Jane Mary AllainAlan CummingArthur DeathJean HannafordMichael Moore

BANHAM ZOO

An unusualpartnership Camels, giraffes and zebras at BanhamZoo have all been making the most offlora and fauna cleared fromKnettishall Heath.

As part of a joint venture with thezoo, the Trust is donating browse – thegeneral term used to describe parts ofthe woody growth of trees and shrubs– to feed a variety of exotic species.

This allows animals to show natural,species-related behaviour in captivity,improving the educational value of theexhibit.

In previous years small saplingscleared to create and maintain morenatural heathland for native wildlifehave been burned on the reserve.

The Trust will also be providinglarger branches and trees forenclosures that will provide stimulationand enrichment for the animals.

Giraffes, camels and zebrasat Banham Zoo have all beenfeeding on browse clearedfrom Knettishall Heath

SAM GAY

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 9

tailored to specific wildlife interests anddisplayed them to members of the publicover a number of years at an exhibitionheld at Redgrave & Lopham Fen.

The number of entrants reached aplateau by about 2007/8, reflecting abroader and much more profound trendin how and why people were choosing toenter photographic competitions. By theend of the ‘noughties’ significanttechnological advancements meantspecialist camera equipment had becomemore affordable. Indeed the majority ofpeople were now carrying around amobile device with an inbuilt camera formost of the time which meant, at thetouch of a few buttons, photographscould be shared on vast social networksacross the entire planet. Capturingwildlife through a lens had becomeavailable to a much wider audience

ince its conception nearly twodecades ago, the Trust’sPhotography Competition hasbeen about captivating peopleand inspiring them to take actionfor the natural world. Perhaps

more importantly, the quality of the entrieshas been nothing short of exceptional.

Humble beginningsOf course, the competition wasn’t alwaysso keenly fought. In its infancy the Trust’scompetition received a modest numberof entries each year, purely becauseaccess to specialist equipment and thegeneral affordability of photographicprocessing and display was a limitingfactor.

To increase its popularity, Trust staffintroduced a judging panel of wildlifephotographers and created new categories

S

Pictureperfect

PHOTOGRAPHYCOMPETITION

wherever they lived; an audience whowere also being inspired by a prolificincrease in wildlife programmes.

Recent growthThe past three years has seen the Trustliaise with The Royal PhotographicSociety, local photographic clubs, otherphotography competition organisers andwildlife photographers to reflect theneeds of this wider audience while alsoaccommodating the needs of thespecialist photographic community.

This has culminated in a brand newcompetition logo and website with easyto use online access to entry andsubmission of images. Support frompartners and local businesses haveprovided sponsorship to coveradministrative costs and more than£2,500 worth of prizes.

Mind the gapWinner from the

invertebratescategory by

Gary Richardson

1

PhotographyCOMPETiTiON

Michael Strand findsout how the winners ofthe 2015 PhotographyCompetition got theirshots and what toexpect in 2016

PHOTOGRAPHYCOMPETITION

CourtingWinner from the SWT nature reservecategory byLee Acaster

BreakthroughWinner from the

plant & fungi category byLee Acaster

DandelionWinner from the 12-18 years oldcategory byRosanna Williams

CricketWinner from thepeople & wildlifecategory by JosefFitzGerald-Patrick

Kissing finchesWinner from the bird category byKathy Langbridge

5

4

8

7

10 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

Judge’s

winner

& public

winner!

2

The competition is aboutcaptivating people andinspiring them to take actionfor the natural world

likeable species or landscape.This year’s competition willrun from Easter to Novemberonce again, so keep an eye onour website for new prizes,categories and judges andget snapping – everyone’sphotographs are welcome.

Having listened to our localphotographic community werecognise the need to continueto have an overall judge’swinner as well. Even the bestshot in the world of a dungbeetle would struggle to winagainst a more common and

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Gary Richardson said: “I’m a DJ at the weekends so enjoyspending time during the week taking photographs,particularly of insects. This was taken at Captain’s Wood whenI was actually on the look out for hoverflies”.

Kathy Langbridge set up a pop-up hide and feeding station at afarm near Hadleigh. She said: “the greenfinches were particularlydominant fighting for the sunflower seeds. The 'kissers' wereactually squabbling so I was delighted with the shot!”

First time entrant Peter Sims made sure he was in camouflageand downwind to get his shot of rutting fallow deer using a longlens. He said: "I did feel a bit vulnerable after the experience,but it really is a wonderful sight and a fantastic part of nature."

Lee Acaster said he captured this misty morning at FramlinghamMere after deciding it was too late to go to the coast. He said:"It was only after I had taken the photograph and looked at theTrust’s competition that I realised Framingham Mere wasmanaged as a nature reserve by Suffolk Wildlife Trust!"

Lee Acaster braved the elements to take his atmosphericpoppy picture. He said: "I had been chasing around Suffolkfor two weeks searching for poppy fields at sunrise. On thismorning I’d been standing in the rain for two hours when theclouds parted and a chink of light burst from the sky."

Ieuan Roden, aged nine, took his shot after spotting a bug hedidn't recognise. He said: " I’ve been taking pictures for threeyears ever since I won my camera as a prize in a magazinephoto competition. My advice to other young photographers isto just get out there and take some pictures!"

Josef FitzGerald-Patrick was indoors when he spotted a bug onthe window. He said: “When I came outside my brother poppedinto view and I thought together they looked pretty cool. I’vebeen taking photographs seriously for about two years havelearnt most of what I know from two photography books.”

Rosanna Williams, 16, entered the competition for the first time.She said: "I got a camera for Christmas from my Mum so I’vebeen taking photos for just short of one year! My advice to otheryoung people is to take a closer look at every day life as there’sbeauty in everything. I found this dandelion down by the river.”

Jessica Faye Davies said: "I had wandered to the top of thegarden where the pond was, when I noticed a snakestruggling to get something in its mouth. I ran back into thehouse and grabbed my camera in time to get this shot. I wasvery, very excited. My mum was horrified!"

Acorn weevilWinner from the Under 12 category byIeuan Roden

Circle of pond lifeWinner from the garden wildlifecategory byJessica Faye Davies

9

6

Bloody encounterWinner from the mammal, reptile &amphibian categoryby Peter Sims

3

The winning shots

So, what next

12 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

o island is an island. Just asyour hip-bone’s connectedto your thigh-bone, so we inSuffolk – we in Britain – we inEurope – we in the northernhemisphere – are connected

with everything else. Our climate, our clouds,our ideas, our politics, our decisions, ourgames, our people, our seeds, our birds, ourinsects, our everything are part of the worldand have their effect all over the world.

None of the above stops at theWaveney. In a sense, what you do aboutyour garden is an international decision. Sois the way you vote in the local council. Wecan’t disconnect. It’s a physical impossibility.Suffolk Wildlife Trust is an organisationwith a global remit. What they decide todo in Ashbocking will change the world.

Suffolkinternational

SCIE

NC

E PH

OTO

LIB

RARY

/ALA

MY

What’s the difference betweenlooking after Bradfield Woodsand caring for the rainforest?Author and journalist SimonBarnes explains how savingSuffolk is also saving the world

GLOBAL SUFFOLK

N

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 13

Your global gardenLet’s go back to that garden. Let’s say youdecide to concrete over the front gardenfor off-road parking and to devote theback to a perfectly sterile stripy lawn. Thatdecision directly affects Southern Europeand Africa. Your decision means that therewill be fewer insects in the air in the summer.So there will be less food for swallows.

So the swallows will be less able tomake their fearsome twice-yearly journeyfrom Suffolk to Africa and back, and lessable to raise young birds capable ofperforming the same double-epic voyage.Perhaps your decision will reduce thepopulation by, say, half a swallow. So whena million Brits make the same decision,Africa is half a million swallows light. That’sjust one of the ways in which we can

change the world. But we can makechanges in a good way if we choose.

It follows that Suffolk Wildlife Trust isplaying its part in a global campaign tolook after the wild places and wild speciesthat still survive on this troubled planet.Its physical location may be bounded bythe Stour, the Waveney and the North Seabut not its physical responsibilities.

It’s not that Suffolk is aiming to conquerthe world – even if that’s an attractiveidea – rather that Suffolk cannot escapethe world outside even if it wanted to.

A world birdAll this is best understood by looking at thebirds; but then most things in the wild worldare most easily grasped that way. Birds arethe most obvious of non-human animals.

I remember a time in Africa when theclear blue sky changed in a few minutesto black, lightning scribbled across the sky,thunder rumbled, the world held its breath– and then I heard a sound I have heard amillion times in the skies of Suffolk. Herewere the European swifts, screaming theirheads off as swifts do and surfing in onthe weather-front, completing theimpossible journey once again.

The swifts were joining up the world,joining up the people who live in places along way apart, people they depend onfor not destroying their food supply andthe places where they nest. So manymiles, so many people: a line of fire joiningthe skies of Suffolk with those of Africaand joining the people up as well.

Is a swift a Suffolk bird that happens

home for a while to a party of 17 spoonbills.One of them was colour-ringed and camefrom Holland; probably the rest did as well.As the climate changes spoonbills arebecoming an increasing part of Suffolklife: dropping in from across the North Seaand making a home here: another waythat Suffolk links up with the world.

Here’s how to link up with the world ina bad way: shoot the birds as they pass.In the Mediterranean, birds on their wayto Suffolk – and many other places – areroutinely and often illegally shot. Malta isperhaps the champion here: punchingway above its weight when it comes todestruction.

Turtle doves are the most conspicuouslosers. The Trust can’t, alas, send an army

14 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

to winter in Africa? Or is it an African birdthat spends a few – no more than three –brief months with us? In truth that’s asmeaningful a question as asking whethera zebra has white stripes on a blackbackground or the other way round. It’spointless even to ask.

A swift is a world bird. Like all otherbirds. Ponder on this: when a newlyhatched swift leaves its nest in Suffolk, itwill be the last time it perches on anythingsolid for three years. It will travel to Africaand back every year, sleep on the wing,feed on the wing and when the timecomes, it will even mate on the wing. Theair is the most widely distributed habitatin the world and it belongs to the worldand it is responsibility of the world.

Save our swiftsThe Trust is doing what it can to look afterthe swifts that spend their summers withus. It’s a programme called SOS, for SaveOur Swifts. The main thrust of this isnesting sites. Swifts like dark places, cavesfor preference, but they are adaptableand resourceful and have shifted to theroof-spaces in buildings.

Unsympathetic building can destroytraditional sites, and telling swifts aboutnew sites is not straightforward. But it canbe done: swifts will nest in purpose-builtboxes and can be summoned down toinspect them by playing recordings ofswiftian screams. A classic example ofsuccess is All Saints church at Worlingham,which has 40 nest boxes, two of themwith cameras, and here they entice theswifts in with sound. Worlingham is alsoWorld-lingham.

But the Trust’s job doesn’t end there.Swifts need food. Swifts survive in cleanair packed with tiny flying and floatingcreatures: aerial plankton. So the Trustlobbies and advises and promotes clearair and insect-rich land beneath: cleanindustry, good agriculture, goodgardening. What a Suffolk farmer doeswith the field margins and the hedgesaffects Africa.

That’s birds for you. As you’ve probablynoticed, most of them can fly and aredamn good at it. If you get a place right,the chances are that the birds best suitedto that place will drop in.

Linking up with the worldSo let’s remember the tidal surge: thatdramatic event of winter 2013. Thissmashed up the Trust’s HazlewoodMarshes reserve and changed it beyondrecognition. It’s no longer a freshwatermarsh: it’s a salty area that now liesbetween the tides. And recently it was

STEVEN ROUND

GLOBAL SUFFOLK

A wildlife-rich placeis like throwing apebble into a pond: it sendsconcentric ripples across the surface

The Trust’s work to createwildlife corridors for

dormice, mirrors Indianelephant corridors

Turtle doves are the mostconspicuous losers, often being shot on their way over Malta

have established elephant corridors: sothe connectivity between dormice andelephants was seized on with greatdelight, and all kinds of experience,expertise and support came from theconnection. It’s all about thinking beyondthe usual boundaries: an awareness thatresponsibility and influence doesn’t stopat Beccles.

We’re in this togetherThe more you have to do with conservation,the more you realise that we’re all in ittogether. You can’t just look after yourown garden, or your own county. Whetheryou like it or not, all conservation is aboutlooking after the entire planet: the onegiant ecosystem that sustains us all: thatgives us human life and does the same toall our fellow-animals.

Everything affects everything. Yourcar’s emissions affect the bamboo forestsof China: your decision to use pesticidesin your garden is a blow for wildlife acrossthe world. Thus there is a link betweenthe badgers of Suffolk and the jaguars inthe jungles of Belize, just as there is onebetween the dormice of Bradfield Woodand the elephants of Assam. That’s true ona mystical level if you like: but it’s also truein a practical way.

Conservation organisations like theTrust talk to each other and share theiraims and their personnel and theirknowledge. And it’s also a fact that thepeople who support these organisationsfrequently make the same leap of theimagination. People who get the idea of

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 15

CHRIS JAMES

ALA

MY

The more youhave to do withconservation, themore you realisethat we’re all in ittogether

ARTE

RRA PICTU

RE LIBRARY

ALA

MY

to conquer Malta, but it can add its voiceto the protests. And it can also do what itcan with the birds that get through: locatetheir nests sites, liaise with otherconservation organisations and help land-owners to grow the seed-plants that turtledoves like. Some people have predictedthat the turtle dove will go extinct in thiscountry in the next ten years. The Trust ispart of the army of people and organisationstrying to stop that happening.

Wildlife corridorsSuffolk’s global impact is most obviouswith birds, which are highly mobile andlink nation with nation. But there areother, less tangible ways in which Suffolk’sinfluence stretches way beyond itsborders. For a start, there is the spill-overfactor. Wildlife doesn’t worry about lineson a map. A wildlife-rich place is likethrowing a pebble into a pond: it sendsconcentric ripples across the surface.

It’s all about connections. A good dealof the Trust’s work involves corridors:joining up good bits of habitat so that thewildlife can commute from one to theother. It’s a principle operated byconservation organisations across theworld. The Trust has established corridorsbetween woods that are now used bydormice.

This led to a series of conversationsand a rather fine evening at The Cut inHalesworth in partnership with the WorldLand Trust, an organisation based inSuffolk that works for conservation inmany developing countries. In India they

conservation will often spread theirsupport, moral and financial, across localand international organisations. It makessense to be a member of Suffolk WildlifeTrust and to support, say, the World LandTrust: to strike a blow – a double-whammy– for both dormice and elephants.

Thinking big and smallThe buddleia bush in your garden will inseason be full of butterflies. Side by sideyou may find a painted lady that makesan improbable journey from North Africa,and a peacock that finds the world in yourgarden plenty big enough. By growingyour buddleia you do a service to both theworld and your own small bit of it at thesame time. So let those two butterfliesstand for the right way to do conservationand the right way to understand the world.

The problems of the planet – theextinction crisis, the ecological holocaust– are too vast for us to consider withclarity. Look too hard at them and youfeel like giving up. So it’s better toconcentrate on what you can do: and todo it well. That can involve looking afterwhat’s on your own doorstep; but it alsoinvolves an understanding that everygood deed for nature affects the entiretyof the wild world.

It’s about thinking big and thinkingsmall at the same time: realising thateverything you do for wildlife is bydefinition a global decision. Looking afterBradfield Woods and looking after therainforest are essentially the same job.Saving Suffolk is also saving the world. n

Is a swift a Suffolk birdthat happens to winter inAfrica? Or is it an Africanbird that spends a fewbrief months with us?

STEV

E YO

UNG ALA

MY

16 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

PAU

L SA

WER

BARN OWL

1 2 31. Members of SOLD (Special Objectives for theLocal Disabled) in south Lowestoft werecommissioned by the Trust to make 100 owlboxes 2. Breeding pairs soon made use of theboxes 3. A female owl incubating eggs – thesight we had been waiting for 4. Fledglings fromthe nest boxes were ringed 5. & 6. Communityengagement was vital to this project – forinstalling of the boxes and monitoring them 7. Steve Piotrowski at Suffolk County Council'sGreenest County Award

The sight of a barn owlghosting over Suffolk’sfields as it hunts forprey remains a trulymagical wildlifeexperience. StevePiotrowkski explains

how the prospects of this much-lovedbird have dramatically improved

The downs and ups of the

barnowl

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 17

hen the SuffolkCommunity BarnOwl Project(SCBOP) waslaunched in 2005,it was clear that

barn owls were in trouble, not only inSuffolk, but throughout the UK.

The best estimate for the county’spopulation stood at around 68 breedingpairs as a combination of tree removal –due to disease or to preventovershadowing crops – and more modernbarns that left the birds struggling tofind suitable nesting opportunities.

From humble beginningsThe project to provide habitat andconserve the barn owl started under theauspices of the Suffolk OrnithologistsGroup and had very humble beginnings.

Our aim was to fix 90 boxes in fiveyears before progressing to the nextstage. However, we had completelyunder estimated the enthusiasm oflandowners, farmers and the communityat large and, following the issue of ourfirst press release, we were inundatedwith requests for barn owl boxes.

By the end of our first year we hadeither fixed or inherited 250 boxes.Suffolk Wildlife Trust was asked to takeover as principal partner and thankfullyprovided the resources to take usthough our busiest period (2007 to2014). The Trust remains committed tobarn owl conservation to this day.

By providing an extendedconnected network of good habitat andnesting opportunities, we have givenbarn owls the fighting chance they needto thrive. The project involves the wholecommunity and the boxes are made bylocal organisations and monitored byan army of expert volunteers each year.Raising awareness, creating nestingopportunities and managing suitablenearby habitat is having a positiveeffect on barn owl populations acrossSuffolk. This is a project of which allSuffolk people can call their own.

type of habitat – rough, tussocky grasswith a deep litter layer or thatch at itsbase – that they can move through intunnels and that provides their ownsource of food and breeding habitat.

Currently, much of the county’sgrassland is ‘managed’ by too muchgrazing or frequent cutting. The project is committed to offer advice toprovide the grassland that barn owlsfavour across the county – with thebenefits extending well beyond barnowls and voles. This habitat is scarceand precious, holding up entireecosystems.

A county of plenty?Could it be that Suffolk barn owls areable to diversify more than those foundelsewhere? When food is plentiful, barnowls will continue to take food to thenest and form larders. Early seasonlarders were scarce this year, but thosethat were found showed a good selectionof long-tailed field mouse, bank vole,common shrew, pygmy shrew and thefar less common, water shrew.

Future generationsThis truly is a community project withevery Suffolk parish being involved.

For the future, we are looking atsustainability, but not only for theboxes, some of which are already inneed of replacing due to wear and tear,but also for people. To survive theproject needs new younger recruits.This will ensure that barn owls areenjoyed and cared for by our childrenand our children’s children for manygenerations to come. n

W

Steve Piotrowski, Project Director, SuffolkCommunity Barn Owl Project – 01986893311 or spiotrowski@btinternet.com

4 5 76

To date SCBOP has advised on thefixing of more than 1,800 barn owl nestboxes throughout Suffolk, on naturereserves, farmland and on communityspaces like village greens and schoolgrounds. Indeed, the project, which hasseen breeding pairs increase to over400 pairs, has been so successful thatrequests for boxes now come fromNorfolk and Essex. In 2015 SCBOPreceived Suffolk County Council’sGreenest County Award in theLandscape and Diversity category.

Bucking the trendBarn owls live a topsy-turvy life andpopulations are subject to dramaticfluctuations linked to short-tailed volepopulation, the barn owl’s favourite prey,which peaks and troughs every 3-4 years.

In 2015 we have seen a relativelyhigh number of adult pairs occupyingthe boxes, although brood sizes aresmall. This has come as a result of acrash in the vole population.

This year has been a disastrous yearfor barn owls throughout much ofEngland with little or no breeding at alltaking place in normally good barn owlcounties such as Lincolnshire. However,Suffolk has somewhat bucked the trendin Eastern England at least, with boxoccupancy, particularly on the coastand in the main river catchments, beingrelatively good.

But the shortage of voles has meantthat barn owls have to hunt harder andlonger, so this summer many have beenspotted quartering fields and meadowsin daylight, which is not a commonsight in Suffolk.

Although seeing barn owls hunt inthe middle of the day is a breath-takingexperience for us, it is often not goodnews for barn owls; usually meaningtheir food is in short supply.

What do barn owls need?In short, to sustain good barn owlnumbers there must be enough prey.Short-tailed voles need a particular

This is a projectwhich all Suffolkpeople can calltheir own

PHOTOS: MICHAEL STRAND, PAUL SAWER, JON EVANS, C MCINTYRE

18 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

The acquisition ofKnettishall Heath early in2012 was both one of themost exciting momentsfor the Trust and one ofthe most daunting. SteveAylward and Samantha Gaylook at the achievementsof the last three years andthe challenges that remain

JOH

N F

ERG

USO

N

people lived, why they chose to visitKnettishall and what they knew about theheath. We knew that heathlandrestoration and grazing can sometimesbe quite contentious and therefore it wasessential to understand people’s viewsand concerns and how to make sure thata management plan for the heath couldbe drawn up that would have theirsupport.

One of the most obvious things aboutKnettishall heath when the Trust first tookon the management was just howcompartmentalised the reserve was. Thesite was criss-crossed with fencesseparating grazed areas from woodlandand un-grazed heath, and for visitors, awalk around the heath involved

KNETTISHALL HEATH

he purchase of KnettishallHeath was seen by the Trustas a golden opportunity toengage with the thousands ofpeople who visit the site eachyear but also to restore a

nationally important area of Breck heath.The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)

together with the support of Trustmembers made this possible, providingessential funding for the acquisition of theheath and a people and wildlife ranger.

A vision for KnettishallThe first thing the Trust had to do was tocommission a visitor survey. We knew lotsof people visited the heath but there wasonly anecdotal evidence of where most

T

The story of acommunityheath

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 19

This linking up of the heath willbe a hugely significant momentand the first time since the 1940sthe site will be a single entity

negotiating many gates. Therefore ourvision centred on the idea of creating oneextensive grazing compartment thatwould take in a number of woodlandareas. Some of these wooded areaswould be retained, some converted towood pasture and some clear-felled torestore open heath. This would allow thedevelopment of a much more complexhabitat mosaic with intermingledheathland, grassland and woodland areas.

The species outcomes driving thesedecisions included the opportunity torestore the especially unique ‘patternedground’ habitat where stripes of acidicand calcareous grassland sit side-by-sideand rare plants such as dropwort, purplemilk vetch and rare spring sedge are

found. However, one of the mostambitious aims of the project is bringingback nightjar as a breeding species.

The challengesSuch ambitions are not without theirchallenges. The creation of a largeextensive grazing enclosure linking all theareas of open heath would require boththe roads that cross the heath to havecattle grids installed, something that hasnot happened in Suffolk in living memory.Similarly, the ambition to restore and linkthe remaining areas of heath would meanclearing several hectares of youngsecondary woodland and treat largeareas of bracken. A public inquiry wasultimately required to make a decision on

whether the grids could be installed andit was a great relief when the Departmentof Transport Inspector gave the greenlight.

The delivery of such an extensiveprogramme of work would not bepossible without major funding and tothat end a grant from WREN has made itpossible to plan on a scale that could onlyotherwise have been dreamt of.

However, none of this would bepossible without the support andunderstanding of the people whoregularly visit Knettishall and therefore ahuge amount of effort has been investedin talking to visitors, local communitiesand the various user groups, the biggestbeing the dog walking visitors.

The vision for Knettishall heath will takemany years to be fully realised but as itdevelops wildlife will respond

20 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

KNETTISHALL HEATH

Schools can nowspend six weeksexploring the heathand woodlands

A heath visited by generationsAs we became a part of the KnettishallHeath community we forged our group;‘Hounds of the Heath’ with the localtraining club; Dog Learning Zone. Houndsof the Heath was created as a fun andinformative group for local dog walkersenabling us to get together regularly,explore the reserve together, whilstsharing ideas ranging from best practicearound wildlife to doggy training tips.Now numbering over 200 members,many of the group have becomevolunteer wardens and helped us toestablish the new trails that will go handin hand with the habitat restoration overthe coming years.

As part of our work to engage withthe diverse local community, one of ourfirst aims was to quickly establish anevents and education programme. Wedecided to set up family drop in days andinformation points on site, and to investtime in an outreach programmedelivering talks and visiting local parishes.

This, along with our visitor survey,enabled us to have an in depth viewabout the sheer amount of people thathave visited the heath for generations anda diverse mix of interests. It also allowedvisitors to drop in and meet us and findout about our aims, and not least to sharetheir wealth of knowledge about the site.These titbits of information ranged fromhistoric nightjar breeding sites, stories ofsummer (and winter!) river swimmers,families spending lazy summerafternoons at a picnic or wrapping up onmagical autumn mornings to walkgenerations of the family pet.

Other memories gave us an insightinto the extent of the once openheathland with views described from HutHill (the bronze age round barrow) downto the river valley, through where thereare now trees.

An increased understandingAfter our first year, as our understandingof both visitor interests and the reserveitself grew, we were able to tailor ourevents further to include seasonal themesand work with experts. Weekends arenow full of wild learning courses, guidedwalks and events including fungi forays,bat walks at dusk and butterfly and mothdays. The school holidays are similarlyfocused on family sessions encouragingchildren and adults to explore together inactivities such as river dipping, shelterbuilding, wild art and mini-beast hunting.

One of our other most popularintroductions was the set-up of our youthgroups; junior rangers (6-12 year olds)

and young wardens (12-16 year olds),which offer a range of fun and practicalsessions whilst crucially aiming to inspirethe next generation of reserve rangers.

As the Trust became established atthe heath, interest grew from educationalbodies, and we were soon able toimplement our current educationalprogrammes that we deliver to schoolsand groups at our other educationcentres. Schools, brownies, scouts andplenty more soon enjoyed bespoke visitsincluding learning about the habitats,sustainability, geography and otherfocuses of the curriculum. In 2013 wewere also able to add Forest Schools tothe list of programmes we can offer at theheath; inviting schools out to spend 6weeks exploring the woodlands here.

This summer, after 3½ years, we were ableto celebrate all that we have achievedwith the funding from HLF with theKnettishall Fair in August. This large eventencompassed stallholders, craftdemonstrations, guided walks and familyactivities attracting over 300 visitors.

Benefits to other habitatsWhile restoring the heath has been theobvious priority it has been by no meansthe only habitat that has been enhanced.Decades of insensitive management hadturned the Little Ouse River into a dullchannel that was little more than adrainage ditch. Restoring the riverhas brought it back to life creatingriffles, pools and meanders andwildlife has responded with surveys

For each of the 80,000annual visitors,Knettishall has its ownpersonal meaning

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 21

The critical role of volunteersthe heath for butterflies, bats,moths, reptiles and evenarchaeological remains helpingto grow our understanding ofthis amazing place anddemonstrating that the moreyou look, the more you tend tofind – there is still an awful lotto learn.

Heathland habitats by theirvery nature never stand still andvolunteers will play a criticalrole in helping to maintain thehabitat mosaic at KnettishallHeath long into the future.

There is no doubt that what hasbeen achieved so far atKnettishall Heath could not havehappened without the supportof a great many volunteers whohave been with us every step ofthe journey. Local people havebeen involved in every aspectof the work ranging fromlivestock checks, habitat work-parties and building the riverdipping platform, to helpingwith school visits, events andthe young wardens programme.

Volunteers have surveyed

showing that there is a greater diversityof invertebrates, plants and fish thanbefore. Out on the heath, volunteers havehelped clear trees and scrub whilecontractors have been brought in to treatthe bracken. One major project that hasbeen completed was the clear-felling ofseven acres of conifer plantation. This notonly required the trees to be felled but allthe stumps and topsoil to be removed toallow heathland to become re-establishedon the nutrient poor sub-soil.

Looking ahead By early 2016 the cattle grids will beinstalled and the remaining internal androadside fencing will have been removedwhile a major phase of woodlandmanagement and turf stripping will alsohave been completed. This linking up ofthe heath will be a hugely significantmoment and the first time since the 1940swhen the site can be properly consideredas more a single entity. New trails andinterpretation have been developedespecially for dog walkers and it is hopedthat by reducing disturbance on the openheath and encouraging dog walkers touse the woodland paths during the birdnesting season, nightjars and otherground nesting birds may be drawn tonest on the Heath.

The vision for Knettishall Heath willtake many years to be fully realised but asit develops wildlife will respond. Changewill be tracked by on-going surveys ofkey species and a long-term vegetationmonitoring programme. Most importantlyhowever, Knettishall Heath has to remaina wonderful place to visit. For each of the80,000 annual visitors, Knettishall has itsown personal meaning and ensuring thatpeople continue to value and care about theheath is the only really important thing. n

BELOW: Hounds ofthe Heath has over200 members

MATT

HEW

ROBER

TS

TOM MARSH

ALL

MATT

HEW

ROBER

TS

Volunteers play acritical role inhelping to maintainthe habitat mosaicof the heath

KEN GILLESPIE ALAMY

It is hoped thatnightjar can beencouraged tobreed on the site

MATT

HEW

ROBER

TS

NEIL ALD

RIDGE

22 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

UK NEWS

I used to love reading to my children at bedtime. The song about Mike TV’s fate in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a favourite. In it Dahl vents his wrath on

the hated television: “They sit and stare and stare and sit until they’re hypnotised by it”. The intensity grows until he shouts “It rots the senses in the head! It kills imagination dead!”

What would Roald Dahl think now? Not only does the average child watch 17 hours of TV a week; they spend 20 hours online.

People have probably always looked at the next generation’s lifestyle with horror, so as I join the ranks of parents struggling with screen addiction I try desperately to be objective. The facts are that children only roam 300 yards from the house, not six miles as my grandparents’ generation did, and 30% have never climbed a tree.

That we are not designed for this is borne out by shocking evidence of the near incurability of serious obesity, and terrifying graphs of mental health admissions for children and young people. We need love, support and companionship, but the need to be close to nature is in our DNA too.

Your Wildlife Trust is working with as many children as it can to reverse these trends: in schools, in parks, in wild places. A ‘wild’ childhood is good for health, wellbeing and nature. We want every child to be wild. Your support as a member is critical in helping us to reach this ambition. Thank you.

Pre-election campaign won’t result in legislation yet, but it has borne fruit

Worcestershire rivers to improve

TER

RY W

HIT

TAKE

R/2

020V

ISIO

N

JAC

K PE

RKS

Welcome

Stephanie Hilborne OBE

You may remember our pre-election campaign for a Nature and Wellbeing Act. More than 10,000 people and a range of organisations supported a joint Wildlife Trust and RSPB e-action, creating a combined and passionate voice for nature’s recovery. Thank you.

Every MP in England was asked to support the Act. We believe that this helped ensure there was reference to

nature, and the need for its recovery, in the current government’s manifesto as well as those of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties.

The Conservatives have promised to produce a 25-year plan for nature’s recovery. This falls short of an Act, but it gives the Government the opportunity to produce a far-reaching plan. The Wildlife Trusts will be watching all the way, and

Abundant wildlife is the best indicator of a healthy local environment

Fish such as chubb will benefi t from cleaner, more varied water fl ows

What next for Nature Act

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust has secured £80,000 for catchment-scale plans to improve water quality and wildlife habitats in Bromsgrove, Redditch and the Teme Valley. The Trust, which has years of experience in river restoration, will

work with local authorities and communities to install sustainable drainage, protect river banks, create fi sh refuges, monitor wildlife and establish wetlands. The funds come thanks to the Catchment Based Approach project.

Learn more: wildlifetrusts.org/naturewellbeingact

23SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

Latest UK-wide news and issues:wildlifetrusts.org/news

Customers and Wildlife Trust staff

appreciate VHF

Vine House Farm donates £1mIn 2011 the scientifi cally robust National Ecosystem

Assessment said society will be wealthier if we rebuild ecosystems degraded during the 20th century

Didyou know?

Back on the Meon

Worcestershire rivers to improve 100th chick for Rutland’s ospreys

LEIC

S &

RUTL

AN

D W

T

LYN

DSE

Y YO

UN

G

Ted Smith1920-2015

SAR

AH

PIT

T

will contribute to its development. We will keep you informed of any opportunities for input.

We continue to talk to MPs from all parties, pointing out that nature’s recovery is vital not only for its own sake, but because of what it contributes to our lives, our society and our economy. More than 25 organisations think the same, and continue to support our campaign.

A huge thanks to award-winning bird food producer Vine House Farm, whose donations to The Wildlife Trusts have just passed the £1,000,000 mark. This incredible sum is the result of a partnership which began in 2007. Since then, the award-winning family business in Lincolnshire has donated fi ve per cent of each bird food sale to each customer’s local Wildlife Trust.

VHF founder Nicholas Watts has been a pioneer of wildlife-friendly farming since the 1980s. Thanks to his generosity we have been able to protect and restore more areas for nature, and to inspire more people to experience wildlife fi rst-hand.

n More on wildlifetrusts.org/blog/vinehousefarm

Have river,will breed

It’s the UK’s biggest water vole reintroduction – and it’s working. This summer 190 animals were released on the River Meon in Hampshire. They join 450 released at Titchfi eld Haven in 2013 and 600 further upstream in 2014. Volunteer monitoring shows the voles are

breeding at all three sites, sometimes more than a mile upstream.

The project is led by the South Downs National Park Authority, the EA, Natural England and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It has turned around the factors that wiped the voles out in the

JAM

IE H

ALL

This summer the Rutland Osprey project – a partnership between Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust and Anglian Water – saw its hundredth chick fl edge. Four generations of Rutland birds were at the reserve for the fi rst time and 15 young birds fl edged from eight nests.

Ted was an inspiration to

generations of conservationists

Ted Smith CBE, founder of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and a leading light in the Wildlife Trusts movement, has died. He saw the need to conserve our country’s coast, heaths, meadows and woodland as early as the 1940s, and was widely recognised for his services to conservation. In 2012 he was presented with The Wildlife Trusts’ Centenary Award by Sir David Attenborough.

Meon Valley: habitat loss, pollution and predation by non-native American mink. The improvements will benefi t the whole river ecosystem.

“The voles haven’t been able to return naturally to the Meon, so they need a little extra help,” said the Trust’s Ali Morse.

The chick prepares for its fi rst fl ight

GREAT DAYS OUT

24 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

10 places to see

1 Farlington MarshesHants & IOW WT

A coastal grazing marsh and lagoon that attracts thousands of brent geese in winter, and large numbers of shoveler, wigeon, pintail and teal. You can also see short-eared owls and peregrines.Where is it? Between Cosham and Havant S of A27. Grid SU 685045.

2West WilliamstonWT of S&W Wales

Tidal creeks and saltmarsh, limestone outcrops and woodland. Expect curlew, little grebe, grey heron, shelduck,

mute swan, cormorant and oystercatcher. The woodland has tawny owls, wrens and polecats.Where is it? W of West Williamston, S Pembrokeshire.Grid SN 033058

3 South WalneyCumbria WT

A shingle island with pools and intertidal areas, and lots of waders and wildfowl. Many of the 250 bird species recorded are stopping to rest and refuel: Wheatear, redstart, willow warbler and goldcrest.Where is it? S of Barrow in Furness. Grid SD 225620

4 Fingringhoe WickEssex Wildlife Trust

One of the fi nest saltmarsh panoramas in the region, and just extended with a sea wall breach. It’s a haven for knot, dunlin, grey/golden plover, avocet and godwits. Raptors, wildfowl and divers too. Where is it? Visitor centre is on S Green Rd, Fingringhoe, CO5 7DN. Grid TM 048193.

5 Welwick SaltmarshYorkshire WT

Marsh with extensive tidal creeks. Look for short-eared owl, merlin and marsh harrier, and hundreds of curlew, grey

plover, knot and dunlin feeding on the mudfl ats. Walking is restricted to a path so binoculars are essential. The saltmarsh itself is dangerous.Where is it? N bank of the Humber: Side Lane, Welwick, Patrington, Hull HU12 0UX.Grid TA 338191.

6Simpson’s SaltingsSuff olk Wildlife Trust

Simpson’s Saltings is a wild and remote part of the Suff olk coast but quite extraordinary at any time of year and well worth the walk. Enjoy views across to Orford Ness and an ever-changing landscape of

Salt marshesand estuaries

Saltmarshes are special!

250-300 species of invertebrates

occur on saltmarshes – 150 of them

uniquely

A cubic metre of mud or sand fl at can

hold over 1000 worms, plus huge numbers

of molluscs

This is why these areas are so attractive to more

than 1.5 million overwintering and roosting birds in the UK

Marshes easily absorb wave and storm energy, making

them natural coastal defences

They also may be an important carbon store,

and have a role in reducing climate change

Good times to visit: winter for geese and

waders, spring for thrift, summer for sea

lavender

STEP

HEN

TRO

TTER

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 25

shingle and marsh. Where is it? 1 mile north of Shingle Street . Grid TM 377447.

7 Dawlish Inner WarrenDevon Wildlife Trust

A long spit of sand curving across the mouth of the river Exe. Thousands of dunlins, curlews, ringed plovers, black-tailed godwits and shelduck gather to feed in the mud, moving gradually closer to the bird hide before the rising waters drive them off .Where is it? 1 mile E of Dawlish, post code EX7 ONF. Grid SX 981787.

8Ribble EstuaryLancs Wildlife Trust

A hotspot for wintering wildfowl: more than 250,000 overwintering ducks, geese, swans and waders are an astonishing sight. The Wildlife Trusts are working to get the estuary designated as a Marine Conservation Zone.Where is it? NE of Southport, off the A565. Grid SD 375240.

9 Rye HarbourSussex Wildlife Trust

An internationally important wetland of shingle, saltmarsh, saline lagoons, grazing marsh, freshwater gravel pits and reedbeds. 280+ bird species recorded; most famous are the breeding colonies of little, common and Sandwich terns.Where is it? 20 miles SW of Ashford on A259. Post code TN31 7TX. Grid TQ 942189.

10 Salthouse Marshes Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Shingle ridge (on the Norfolk coast path), reed-fringed dykes, marshland and shallow pools. There’s a huge variety of birds on the sea, shingle and inland marshes, plus common and grey seals.Where is it? Between Weybourne and Cley. Use Salthouse Beach car park. Grid TG 083443.

For our full listing of

places to see saltmarshes

and estuaries:wtru.st/

saltmarshes-estuaries

5

6

7

8

9

10

4

3

2

1

Where to fi nd these places

Simpson’s Saltings is one of the country’s most important coastal sites for its wealth of uncommon

coastal and saltmarsh plants

Saltmarshes develop over mud fl ats, where pioneer salt-tolerant plants gradually establish when fl ows are slow. Regular tides deposit more mud and the marsh gradually accumulates around roots and stems. Many UK saltmarshes are eroding due to rising seas and increasing storms.

Saltmarshes

Saltmarsh creeks fl ow from the sea upwards to the land

MAT

THEW

RO

BER

TSA ONE-MINUTE GUIDE TO

Access details for each site: wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/reserves

26 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

PURPLE EMPERORPEOPLE & WILDLIFE

JOH

N F

ERG

USO

N

Dirty? Scary?Dangerous?For most children today, messing around outside comes a distant second to screens and sofas. Our Every Child Wild campaign aims to change that

26 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

27SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

schools who visit this reserve each year to rummage under logs, witness a swarm of honey-making bees or spot millipedes and toads for the first time. In doing so they are experiencing something that modern childhood has all but lost.

The real value of finding a beetle, or climbing a tree, is that children are developing a connection to nature, a love for it. And they instinctively know it’s important to them.

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust run regular Forest School sessions with inner-city primary children at Brocks Hill Country Park – a beautiful setting and a playground of discovery and adventure. Once a week these five to ten year-olds leave the traffic and concrete that defines their lives and spend an afternoon in a small clearing surrounded by ash, silver birch and rowan trees.

I sit with Ali, a year six pupil who has recently moved to England from Pakistan. Beaming from ear to ear, he finds a little birch sapling. He decides to build a twig fence around it.

A group at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Lackford Lakes reserve learn how to build a raft

LThe children collect sticks, leaves, feathers: wild jewels to remember their visit

ondon Wildlife Trust’s Camley Street Nature Park is a little oasis of greenery just behind King’s Cross station – a much-needed break from whizzing trains and towering

construction work. It’s also an outdoor classroom with an impressive range of resources: quaint pockets of urban woodland, beehives, a pond-dipping platform, mighty bug hotels and a home-grown produce area.

A group of children from Devonshire House School are sitting comfortably on a large insect-decorated mat.

“Who’s been here before?” asks the Trust’s Helen Burton. No hands make it to the air. This might be the first time some of these children have ventured into a wild green space within London.

Helen takes the class around the reserve, and they identify the four elements all wildlife needs: food, water, shelter and air. They quickly understand the concept of different habitats, and have dramatic success with their bug hunt, turning up a woodlouse-eating spider and an impressive female stag beetle. As they prepare to leave, the children collect petals, feathers and leaves, decorating their memory sticks in wild jewels to remember this special visit.

Devonshire House is just one of many

Wildlife Watch leader Emma Websdale explores how the UK’s Wildlife Trusts are engaging children with nature

Wet and wild: The Wildlife Trusts reached 400,000 children last year through events like those held at Lackford Lakes

27SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

28 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

PEOPLE & WILDLIFE

Everychild wild

Research shows that experience of nature has huge benefi ts for children. This is London Wildlife Trust’s Camley Street, a few hundred yards from Kings Cross

EMM

A W

EBSD

ALE

My mother’s too scared to leave the house. This is the only time I get to come outside

“I want to keep it protected forever!” he proclaims. We decide to name the little sapling after him. “You could come back to see it with your mum and dad,” I suggest.

“I can’t,” he replies. “My father works all of the time and my mother is too scared to leave the house as she gets bullied for being Pakistani. This is the only time I get to come outside.”

Later, as I talk to one of the teachers, she wells up. “See Sebastian over there?” she points to a young lad running around with a magnifying glass. “I’ve been teaching him for years and I’ve never heard him talk until today.” With uncanny timing, he runs up to us. “Miss! Miss! Look at this tiny snail I’ve found!” Being with nature has helped build his confi dence and ability to express himself.

Sofi a, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is another pupil who has changed dramatically, smiling ferociously as she focuses on fi nding as many mini-beasts as she can. For her and Sebastian this is just their second outdoor visit.

I’ve watched ten school visits this year. In every one the children loved submerging themselves in nature. From year tens concentrating as they observed

tadpoles developing in their classroom, to nursery children making mud pies in their outdoor mud kitchen, wherever nature was happiness and confi dence fl ourished.

The Wildlife Trusts will have reached more than 400,000 children this year, but there are 800,000 children in every school year. If nature makes children happier and healthier, then shouldn’t we be doing more of it? An overwhelming body of evidence (see opposite page) suggests we should.

“Contact with nature should not be the preserve of the privileged,” says Sir David Attenborough. “It is critical to the personal development of our children. We will be physically, mentally and spiritually impoverished if they are deprived of contact with the natural world.”

Let’s create a future generation which loves wildlife – and which, when it grows up, will cherish and conserve it. n

NB: Children’s names have been changed

How can we ensure future generationsgrow up with a love of wildlife?

We believe children need to connect with, love and care for nature – it’s good for them, and it’s good for nature, too. Our Every Child Wild campaign will raise awareness of the gap between children and the natural world and what we can do about this.

Together we must fi nd the solutions: who else will look after our wildlife tomorrow?

How you can help Take a child you care for somewhere wild to play and explore Join your local children’s nature club with your Wildlife Trust – make friends, discover wildlife and get muddy! Tell us what you think needs to happen at #everychildwild Continue to support your Wildlife Trust’s work with local schools and children through your membership

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 29

11,000

Nature versus modern childhood

ACCESS TO NATURE WALKING TO SCHOOL 5

WASPS v DALEKS 6

50% 90%

Fewer than 10% of children play in natural areas. When today’s

adults were children the figure was 40%

SCREEN TIME 4

Today’s 11-15 year-olds spend around 7.5 hours a day

looking at screens

7 and 8 year-olds

1971 80%

1991 10%

of children can identify

a Dalek

of children can’t tell a bee from a

wasp

10% 40%

n A study of 20,000 people showed they felt happier in green areas than in urban ones.n Nature close to home increases a child’s ability to cope with stressful events, and

improves cognitive function.

REFERENCES: 1 Derbyshire, 2007. 3 Department of Health, 2011. 3, 7 Health and social care information centre, 2013, In Bragg, et al., 2014. 4, 5 Moss, 2012. 6 National Trust, 2008. 8 Wells, 2000; Wells and Evans, 2003, in Bragg, et al., 2014. MacKerron et al., mappiness.org, 2013.

2015300 yards

1915Six miles

CHILDREN’S ROAMING RANGE,

1915-2015 1

21% of boys exercise an hour or more a day

79% of boys take less than an hour of exercise a day

PHYSICAL EXERCISE 3Government recommends that children should exercise for an

hour a day

GREEN v GREY 8

What The Wildlife Trusts are doing to help248271,331300,00011,000

150,000193,922

Wildlife Watch groups nationwide, giving 10,669 children experiences of nature each year

people visit a Wildlife Trust nature reserve as part of a school, college or society. There are over 15,000 of these visits every year, the vast majority by young people

pupils and students spent time with The Wildlife Trusts in 2014

events a year are run by The Wildlife Trusts – the vast majority family focused

junior members of The Wildlife Trusts

people a year (mostly children) attend Wildlife Trust forest schools, workshops and activities

OUR OUTDOOR LEADERS456 environmental educators1,487 volunteers devoted to Wildlife Watch and other children’s work

84% of girls take less than an hour of exercise a day

16% of girls exercise an hour or more

OBESITY7

28%

Percentage

of UK children who are

overweight or obese

MAT

T CO

LE

LIVING SEAS

30 SUFFOLK WILDLIFE

England’s network of Marine Conservation Zones is taking shape. But, as Maya Plass points out, it can’t properly protect all the wildlife in our seas until it’s ecologically complete

More MCZs please

The little-known white-beaked dolphin ranges widely, but has only two special areas where it breeds and feeds. They should be protected

I

Maya Plass s a marine ecologist and guest presenter on BBC Springwatch, Maya runs Learn to Sea in South Devon

We only have 27 designated Marine Conservation Zones, and that is simply not enough

was recently asked, “Why do you particularly love the British coastline?” Where to begin? Common dolphins leaping towards a boat of Lundy day-trippers. Frolicking with seals off the Farne Islands. Staring in awe at tiny

nudibranchs while diving in Devon. Finding Montagu crabs with impressed school children. I could go on.

We have an incredible variety of coastline and creatures in our waters. But we’re not just lucky to have all of this. We actually need healthy, diverse seas for our commercial fisheries, our tourism, our economy, our sense of identity, even our health and happiness.

We need to ensure our children continue to enjoy all of these benefits. And that means setting aside enough parts of the sea to safeguard all our marine life.

The UK’s marine plants and animals are not just a vast collection of weird or

wonderful species. They are all joined together by invisible threads through the food they eat, the nutrients they rely on and the habitats they live in or visit. If these threads became visible we would see what a wonderfully complex and connected ecosystem they share.

So to conserve the highly mobile

white-beaked dolphins, for example, takes more than just protecting the open water they swim in. We need to protect the fish, crustaceans and molluscs that they feed on – and the habitats which are essential for their survival too.

Moreover, we need more than one

patch of a particular habitat. Should an oil spill occur, we have then still got a similar, healthy, protected habitat not too far away which could, in time, re-seed the damaged area.

This vitally important patchwork of habitats around the British Isles, protecting a huge array of species, is what we call an ‘ecologically coherent network of Marine Conservation Zones’. At the moment there are 27 designated areas, and that is simply not enough. We need to follow the recommendations of scientists and fill in the gaps.

And the protection must be more than a shaded area on a map. It must mean protection from activities which would damage the quality of the sites. We need to monitor the sites so that we can measure how well we are protecting them. And we need to explain to others why our seas are so very important. n

SUFFOLK WILDLIFE 31

More MCZs please�

England’s missing MCZsSo far the Government has approved 27 Marine Conservation Zones in English waters. A second tranche is expected late in 2015.

This map shows some of the biggest gaps that still remain:

1. Irish Sea mud habitats2. Off shore Wales3. White-beaked dolphin areas4. English Channel seagrass

4

2

1 3IT’S A DEVOLVED PROCESSThis map shows potential Marine Conservation Zones in English and Secretary of State waters, where the process of designating protected areas is partially complete. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own processes. Full update on wildlifetrusts.org/MPA.

Help us complete the network of Marine Conservation Zones: sign up to our mailinglist. You can also get up-to-date information on progress towards a complete network: http://wtru.st/ACTION4OURSEAS

Marine Protected Areas can only work if they are:

1. Big enough

5. Actively protected

3. Representative2. Close enough

4. Numerous enough

■ Add your voice: 3

Their legacy to Suffolk

Registered charity no 262777

suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Brooke HouseAshbocking, Ipswich IP6 9JY01473 890089 info@suffolkwildlifetrust.orgsuffolkwildlifetrust.org

eizing opportunities to buy or enlarge our nature reserves is one of the most powerful ways

in which we secure a better future for wildlife.

Over the last decade we have added 2,500 acres of habitat to

our nature reserves, creating the bigger, wilder and more joined-up countryside nature needs. In all we have spent over £5million buying land for wildlife at some of Suff olk’s most inspirational wildlife sites.

This was only possible because of the extraordinary

Their legacy to Suffolk

eizing opportunities our nature reserves, creating the

Their legacy to Suffolk

To fi nd out more about how a gift in your Will could help Su� olk’s wildlife, please contact Christine Luxton on 01473 890089

S generosity of Trust members and friends who have given to our land projects or remembered Suff olk Wildlife Trust in their Will. Their generosity has protected some of the county’s outstanding natural places, for people to cherish for generations to come.

STEV

E AY

LWA

RD