Wild Warwickshire Magazine Spring 2020

The member magazine for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust | Spring 2020 Celebrating Warwickshire Years How to attract THE SECRET LIVES OF SWIFTS Masters of the air need our help NATURE’S RECOVERY New habitats to protect our wildlife Entice butterflies and moths Magazine Name | Summer 2019 1 whatever size your patch 1 Magazine Name | Summer 2019

WELCOME 10 To the spring edition of your member magazine 2020 is the Trust’s 50th year, a landmark we’ll be celebrating with special events all year. With your support, we’ve restored beautiful wild spaces and created habitat for countless wonderful species. You, our members and volunteers, are the very fabric of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and we celebrate one of your number on page 18. On page 12, you can read about our plans for the next 50 years, and our new approach to Nature Recovery Networks. The Trust’s progress since that first small group of passionate volunteers stood up for wildlife has been awe-inspiring, but it has played out against a global backdrop of species decline, climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, which we delve into on page 16. HS2 was given the go-ahead by Government in mid-February, and locally, over 8.1 hectares of ancient woodland will be lost across South Cubbington, Crackley North, Roughknowles, Broadwells Wood, Sych Wood and North Wood. Our nature reserves within 5 kilometres of the route include Leam Valley, Tocil Wood and Bubbenhall Wood along with several Local Wildlife Sites. We won’t solve the climate crisis by making the biodiversity crisis worse, so throughout our 50th year, we will strengthen our call to stop and rethink HS2. Extraordinary times call for strong leadership, and we need new trustees to help us lead the charity. If you’re interested, go to page 28 to read about Visitor Centre volunteer Rita, and page 29 to hear how you could follow in her footsteps by volunteering as a trustee. We look at gardening for butterflies and moths in your back garden on page 20. Further afield, nature conversation is a matter of life and death and the deaths of those defending conservation zones are now comparable to some warzones. The deaths of Homero Gómez González & Raúl Hernández Romero as they worked at a butterfly sanctuary in Mexico in recent months remind us that some pay the ultimate price to protect wildlife and wild places. Ed Green, Chief Executive Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Get in touch Cover: Orange-tip by Wild Warwickshire is the membership Warwickshire WildlifeTrust is the leading WildWarwickshire MagazineTeam Andy Sands magazine for Warwickshire WildlifeTrust local charity dedicated to conserving, Editor Douglas Nairn naturepl.com protecting and enhancing your local wildlife. Design Yorkshire WildlifeTrust Design Studio Email [email protected] We manage over 65 nature reserves in Consultant Editor: Sophie Stafford Wild Warwickshire magazine was printed by Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. We Consultant Designer: Tina Smith Hobson Seacourt Printers on 100% recycled materials at a Telephone 024 7630 2912 are supported by over 24,000 members and factory powered by 100% renewables, using zero over 500 volunteers. water and chemicals, and generating zero landfill. Address Brandon Marsh Nature Centre, Seacourt is a Net Positive printer that makes a Brandon Lane, Coventry, CV3 3GW facebook.com/WarwickshireWT/ positive contribution to the environment and society. Website warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk twitter.com/wkwt Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is a company instagram.com/warwickshirewt/ limited by guarantee. Registered in England, number 00585247. Registered charity, number 209200. VAT Number 670318740. 2 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

INSIDE... 4 Swifts 8 Wild thoughts 9 Deep blue 10 6 places to hear birdsong 12 Nature Recovery Networks 16 Climate change 18 Our longest standing member? 19 With your support 20 Gardening for moths & butterflies 22 Help for hedgehogs 23 Events 24 50 ways to fundraise 25 Legacies 26 Wild news 28 Rita’s story 29 New trustees needed 30 50 years 31 30 Days Wild 3 ways to get involved with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Volunteer Could you donate your Donate Your generous donations will Leave a legacyIf you’ve had skills and time to look after wildlife? You go towards our conservation work in your a lifetime’s pleasure from nature, help local area warwickshirewildlifetrust. can choose from indoor and outdoor org.uk/donate ensure its future by leaving us a gift in tasks warwickshirewildlifetrust.org. your will warwickshirewildlifetrust. uk/volunteer org.uk/legacy Warwickshire Wildlife Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 3 Trust thanks the players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Swifts epitomise British summertime with their screaming flight. But as fewer of these miraculous birds return to our skies each year, Sarah Gibson reveals how we can help them The secret swiftslives of COMMON SWIFT: ROBIN CHITTENDEN/NATUREPL.COM Swifts are not the quietest birds. There was a pair nesting in the eaves flies, spiders, beetles, moths; even Nor are they given to skulking of the house next door. They would dragonflies, whirled into the sky, carried in the undergrowth. They live storm down the narrow gap between on the wind. Swifts drink and bathe, sleep their entire lives in the open air, the buildings with a rush of wings, and and even mate on the wing. They fly closer scything past on crescent wings, often perform a handbrake turn to enter their to the sun than any other bird, feeding and making piercing screeches. Yet, like many nest hole. Blink and you’d miss them. resting at altitude. people, I never used to notice them. Sitting in the garden on fine, still evenings, I watched them gliding through the air, Swifts spend most of their lives in Africa, There had been swallows nesting in snapping up insects, until the light drained but they journey thousands of miles to a barn near my old home in the Welsh from the sky and the first bats emerged. breed in a vast swathe across the world, borders. I’d see them swooping over the from the westernmost fringes of Europe, stable door, beaks stuffed with insects Life on the wing eastward to China. Around the globe there for their chicks. Later, I’d watch the Swifts are incredibly aerial birds, living are estimated to be somewhere between fledglings practise flying in the safety entirely on the wing for years at a time, 95 million and 165 million of them sailing of the barn. When I moved to a nearby rarely touching ground for even a moment. across the skies, justifying their English market town, I missed that closeness… They catch all their food in the air: aphids, name of ‘common swift’. until I discovered swifts. You may wonder why these well- 4 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

NATURE CLOSE TO HOME Sarah Gibson works for Shropshire Wildlife Trust. She’s met swift experts across Europe, raises local awareness of the birds’ plight and revels in the aerial skill of these awesome birds. travelled birds come to the UK when so extended feeding forays by the in walls, under roof eaves or inside many of our summer days are rain-soaked, parent birds during incubation pantiles (S-shaped roof tiles). Gathering making it difficult, you might think, to and brooding can cause the materials takes time – all the feathers, catch the insects they need to feed their nest to fail. Swift embryos, wisps of grass, tree seeds and flower young. The answer must be that, apart by contrast, are resistant to sepals must be found on the wing, from the occasional particularly bad cooling, except at the start of blowing about in the air. Inevitably, scraps year, it works for them – and has done incubation. Chicks can become of plastic are now often found woven into for millions of years. In fact, our northern torpid (a state of lowered metabolism) the nest, a shallow dish glued together summers have a great advantage for to conserve energy, enabling the parent with saliva. swifts – long daylight hours, which allow birds to feed elsewhere, until the weather Finding a nest hole is the most crucial them to forage for 16 hours a day at the improves. Once they are a few weeks old thing a swift has to do. Most individuals season’s peak. and have fat reserves, swift chicks can do not breed until their fourth year, but survive several days without nourishment, the young birds still make the migration Swifts have several unusual adaptations greatly enhancing their chances of journey and start looking for a safe, dark that enable them to cope with our bad fledging in variable weather conditions. hole. Once they have found one, the weather. The eggs and chicks of most young birds pair up and start to bring small birds are vulnerable to chilling, so Swifts make their nests in crevices Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 5

How to distinguish swifts Swifts are not hirundines (the family of birds that includes swallows and martins), but they have a similar appearance and lifestyle, so are often confused with them Common swift Slender, scythe- shaped wings Apus apus Uniform dark brown all over Swallow Pale throat patch White Hirundo rustica underparts Glossy blue Swifts like high, deep crevices to upperparts nest, but as many old buildings have been lost and roof spaces filled, their numbers have declined Long, deeply Red face in feathers and other nest materials. with a massive and alarming 57% decline forked tail and throat The apparent joie de vivre of young in numbers in the UK recorded between Glossy 1995 and 2017. House martin blue-black swifts is breathtaking. You hear them upperparts before you see them, screeching over the For thousands of years, swifts have Delichon urbicum rooftops in gangs of seven or eight, racing lived alongside us, because the homes circuits around buildings. As the poet and other buildings we constructed for Black tail short and Ted Hughes put it: ourselves have also suited them. Today clearly forked though, we make it much harder for these With a bowing birds to survive. Fewer insects is likely Bright white P ower-thrust to left, then to right, rump then a flicker they Renovation of old Tilt into a slide, a tremble for balance, buildings almost Underparts white Then a lashing down disappearance always results in Behind elms. access to swift nest They’ve made it again, holes being blocked W hich means the globe’s still Sand martin working, the Creation’s Still waking refreshed, our summer’s Riparia riparia Still all to come - ILLUSTRATIONS: CHRIS SHIELDS Sandy brown above White belly This anxiety about whether or not ‘our’ and throat swifts will return each May is something most swift-watchers can relate to, but concerns have escalated since Ted Hughes’s poem was published over 40 years ago, Shallow Brown breast-band fork in tail separating throat from belly As traditional nest sites 6 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 become scarce, you can help by fitting a wooden nest box to your home

NATURE CLOSE TO HOME Swifts migrate between the UK and their wintering grounds south of the Sahara. They are the UK’s fastest birds in level flight, reaching speeds of up to 69.3 mph to be a factor – many other insectivorous campaigning directly with GET INVOLVED SWIFT AT EAVES: NICK UPTON, NEST BOX: NICK UPTON, SWIFTS IN FLIGHT: GRAHAM CATLEY birds are also in decline – but swifts are local authorities and working with planners also up against a catastrophic loss of to get the installation of swift nesting bricks Five ways nesting cavities. Renovation of old buildings (a brick with a hole behind which a nest box to help swifts almost always results in access to their is fixed) written into local planning policy holes being blocked, while new housing and building conditions. 1 Ensure nesting holes are kept tends to be sealed completely against open when carrying out roof nature. Modern building materials, such as North Wales Wildlife Trust is particularly renovations or insulation plastic soffits (part of the eaves), offer little active on behalf of swifts. potential for future weathering and gaps Ben Stammers, the Trust’s People and 2 Put up a swift box on your opening up. We need to accommodate Wildlife Officer, is passionate about the house. Make sure it’s at least five nesting swifts – and urgently. birds and, since 2014, has raised funds to metres high install more than 300 nestboxes on schools, Meet the swift champions houses, university buildings, a community 3 Stop using garden chemicals to Thankfully, an inspirational movement of pub, a doctor’s surgery, a theatre and a support a healthy insect population swift champions is coming to the rescue chapel in the area. More than 60 people across the UK. Around 90 small groups are have been trained as surveyors and, so far, 4 K eep records of swifts entering taking action locally. They run surveys to 500 swift records have been submitted to holes in buildings and tell your find swift breeding sites, work to prevent their database. Dozens of talks, walks and local record centre nesting holes from being blocked, install other events have engaged more than 1,000 nestboxes, share information and help raise local people. 5 Find out more about swifts and awareness through walks and talks – all how you can help protect them at with the support of their communities. Ben sums up what it means to him: warwickshirewildlifetrust. “Seeing joy in people’s faces when they org.uk/wildlife-explorer/birds/ Several of these groups work with their watch swifts on their own patch is so swallows-swift-martins-and- regional Wildlife Trusts, which are perfectly uplifting. I hope swifts can become an nightjar/swift positioned to assist grassroots action, such inspiration for how we can share our living as nestbox schemes in church belfries and space with wildlife, to the benefit of us all. Swifts & Us: The life of the public buildings. The Wildlife Trusts also If we can’t find ways to help a species as bird that sleeps in the sky by advocate the use of swift nest bricks – and fascinating and charismatic as the swift – Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s nature-friendly green spaces – in new and one so dependent on us – what hope Sarah Gibson will be published housing developments. Several Trusts are is there?” I feel sure that’s a sentiment we by William Collins this spring. can all agree with. Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 7

WILD THOUGHTS Melissa Harrison Discover your secret garden When I lived in central London I had my allow ourselves to get. A LITTLE BIT WILD very own Secret Garden: a tiny pocket Creating a life that’s connected to park a couple of streets away. That’s Find your even what I called it, as its real name nature doesn’t have to mean moving to connection was long and humdrum and totally failed to capture deep countryside, going on long hikes in how magical the place felt to me. An overgrown and largely overlooked half-acre created from technical clothing, getting in the car and Create an ongoing the abandoned grounds of a long-gone Victorian villa, there was a pond, a single redwood, an old driving to a national park or learning long relationship with your statue and winding paths lost under ivy, brambles and bindweed. I found frog spawn in spring, and lists of Latin names for birds (though you special place in a way sometimes a heron visited. Long-tailed tits chirruped in the branches overhead and when it snowed neat can do all those things if you like!). Nor is that works for you – lines of fox prints led to a den deep beneath the brambles. For years my Secret Garden was a refuge connecting to nature something we should drawing, meditating, from the city and a source of inspiration, even becoming a key location in my first novel, Clay. experience as a duty – one more thing to fit writing or even going for For the two decades I spent in the capital I relied on contact with nature to help make urban into an already busy life. a run. Be inspired by our life not just survivable, but enjoyable. Finding special places like my Secret Garden proved transformative, All it requires is a little curiosity about the 30 Days Wild Challenge! keeping me connected to weather, wildlife and the ancient cycle of the seasons – all things modern wilder world around you – whether warwickshirewildlife life can ameliorate or sometimes erase. Even in my twenties I instinctively knew I needed nature, and that’s your garden, park, local beauty spot trust.org.uk/ now the science is bearing it out: spending time in wild places eases stress, regulates our emotions, or nearest Wildlife Trust reserve – as well as 30DaysWild boosts our immune systems and improves both physical and mental health. None of that should an ongoing interest in what’s living there, come as a surprise, given that we evolved in nature, rather than separately from it. We fare less well in and a willingness to find out what it looks, myriad ways the further removed we sounds, feels and smells like during all four seasons of the year. To connect with a special place in this way taps into age-old instincts, answering deep, subconscious, but often unmet needs. Melissa Over time, your attention will be repaid Harrison is tenfold, it deepens and enriches your a nature writer daily life, filling it with wonder. and novelist, and editor of We’re looking forward to the release the anthologies of The Secret Garden in cinemas this Spring, Summer, spring. Find your own secret space in Autumn and Warwickshire, Coventry or Solihull. Visit Winter, produced warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/ in support of The nature-reserves Wildlife Trusts. 8 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

RESERVES Deep blue On a cold January morning, three avid divers from the Marlin Sub-Aqua Club took their first tentative steps into the Blue Pool at Bishop’s Hill Nature Reserve, one of theTrust’s recently acquired sites nestled in the midst of the Feldon Living Landscape around Southam. T heir aim was to uncover what other artefact that emphasises just how The Blue Pool is located in the was beneath the surface of dangerous the pool can be and why north east of the nature reserve the ex-quarry pool, including nobody should enter it – a submerged, and is a remnant of the Bishop’s Bowl artefacts from the area’s jagged piece of metal railway track. lake complex that was hewn out of industrial past and any wildlife that the landscape through cement could survive the 6 degrees centigrade The divers also collected a lot of quarrying. From the 1850s to the water temperature! the litter that’s been discarded over 1970s, over 100 years of industrial the years, and even encountered activity has created the hill that gives As the divers explored the pool, they some molluscs and small fish species the reserve its name. The diversity of found a network of shelves, dropping including perch.TheTrust would like terrain, combined with poor limestone to an overall depth of 33 feet. Amongst to thank the Sub-Aqua Club for their waste quarrying material has given the detritus at the bottom of the pool efforts.This venture has continued rise to a nutrient-poor but wildflower- were a motorbike, an old pram and a our great partnership, and provided diverse area that supports a host of depressing array of litter.There was one the club with somewhere new to special wildlife. The rare and fragile explore. It has also given us a safer, butterflies found here include the more thorough method for cleaning Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and our nature reserve and removed litter Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus malvae). hazards to wildlife. Small blue The underwater mapping undertaken, and subsequent understanding of VAUGHAN MATTHEWS the lie of the quarry bed allows us to consider how we might improve the quarry for wildlife. Possible improvements include reed rafts and the introduction of features like woody debris to allow a wider diversity of wildlife to call the pool home. MIKE CROSS Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 9

6 places to hear Spring singers S pring is a time of change. For our feathered friends, thoughts turn from survival to more amorous pursuits. As birds across the UK search for a mate, the landscape fills with song, the chorus growing as summer visitors arrive from farther south. Almost any garden, park or nature reserve can offer a seasonal symphony, perhaps with the warble of blackcaps, the melodic voice of the blackbird and the flourishing finale of chaffinches. But to hear some of our most celebrated singers, you may have to venture slightly farther afield. This spring, why not seek out the incomparable song of the nightingale, the cascading chorus of a wood warbler or the simple but splendid call of the cuckoo. 10 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

WOOD WARBLER BY ANDY ROUSE/2020VISION 1 Hear the symphony 2 45 for yourself 36 1 Ayr Gorge, Scottish Wildlife Trust In spring this wooded ravine comes alive with bird song, including warblers like chiffchaff and blackcap. Listen for the strange song of the dipper along the river. Where: Failford, KA5 5TF 2 Gilfach, Radnorshire Wildlife Trust In late spring the oak woodland echoes with the beautiful song of the wood warbler, an accelerating cascade often likened to the sound of a spinning coin. Where: Rhayader, Powys LD6 5LF 3 Catcott Complex, Somerset Wildlife Trust Ditches and reedbeds resound with the chattering of reed and sedge warblers and the explosive bursts of Cetti’s warbler song.You might also hear the insect-like reel of a grasshopper warbler. Where: Near Burtle,TA7 8NQ 4 Bubbenhall, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust A fantastic spot to hear the early chorus. Woodland warblers, woodpeckers, gulls and the elusive cuckoo provide a cacophony of springtime sound across the meadows. Where: Near Coventry, CV8 3BH 5 Grafham Water, Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants Follow the NightingaleTrail for your chance to hear the iconic song of this secretive summer visitor. Where: Grafham, PE28 0BH 6 Woods Mill, Sussex Wildlife Trust Listen for the beautiful song of the nightingale. There’s also the rare chance to hear the soft purr of the turtle dove, which sadly is the UK’s fastest declining bird. Where: Near Henfield, BN5 9SD A chorus close to home Flick to page 23 for details of our Bird ID Walk with expert ornithologist Ed Drewitt and get involved today! Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 11

NATURE RECOVERY NETWORKS NReactuovreery Networks Warwickshire WildlifeTrust is celebrating its 50th year in 2020. Since the charity was founded in 1970,Trust staff have worked with members and volunteers to safeguard sites for rare and vulnerable wildlife across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. T ogether we have established 67 magnificent nature reserves, protecting spectacular bluebells in Ryton Wood, stunning dawn choruses at Leam Valley and effervescent orchids at Draycote Meadows. Over the last few decades, these sites have been secured thanks to the generosity of our members and carefully managed for wildlife and people by a movement of over 500 dedicated volunteers. Our nature reserves are home to some of the rarest species in the county and provide a vital haven for wildlife in a landscape that faces many challenges as a result of human activity. Without them, our natural world would be devastated. But it’s not enough Around the world, the decline of various animal, bird, insect and plant populations are occurring at alarming rates, contributing to the world’s sixth mass extinction. Distressingly, the UK is now regarded as one of the most nature depleted countries on earth. 12 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

CHRIS LAWRENCE NATURE RECOVERY NETWORKS AMY LEWISThe third State of Nature Report - published in 2019 - highlighted the continual decline of insect numbers. It also revealed the degradation of our rivers and soils, which form the very foundations our ecosystems are built upon. Intensive farming, housing and infrastructure development along with pollution are pushing native wildlife to the brink. Factor in additional issues like the proposed route of HS2 and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather events as a result of climate change, and you can see that our wildlife is facing unprecedented pressures on a scale never witnessed before. Sadly, the situation in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull mirrors these global challenges. Despite the success of our work over the last 50 years, wildlife in the area is still in decline and it is now widely recognised that whilst nature reserves provide refuge for much of our wildlife, they do not do enough on their own to prevent wildlife decline overall. If we are to reverse the decline of species, we must think bigger and do better over the next 50 years. The price of inaction could be losing our iconic wildlife for good. Tackling the emergency Despite the grave situation, all is not lost, and we actually know how to solve this problem! We need to increase the amount of good quality habitat for wildlife, and if we can strategically target where Our nature reserves are home to some of the rarest species in the county and provide a vital haven for wildlife Decline in overwinter stubbles has impacted granivores Small blue butterfly Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 13

NATURE RECOVERY NETWORKS Newbold Quarry nature reserve TERRY WHITTAKER/2020 VISION Water vole we do that, then we can link up existing wildlife sites to create bigger, better and more joined up areas for 14 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 wildlife and people. These new connections in the landscape will help to establish a Nature Recovery Network giving wildlife more space to feed, breed and build a home. What started with a handful of dedicated volunteers has grown to 67 nature reserves covering over 1,000 hectares. These connected areas are also vital in helping wildlife adapt to climate change by allowing them to move through our landscape, finding new areas to live. For the past twenty years our Habitat Biodiversity Audit team have been carrying out surveys across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull, pinpointing existing wildlife habitats. At least 60% of this information is recent (less than five years old), and in this time we have also surveyed the species

RAYMOND MARJROWSKI NATURE RECOVERY NETWORKS Kingfisher LOUISE BARRACK The next 50 years Celebrating From now on, we’re looking to acquire sites of lower value for wildlife in key locations with the intention of enhancing those Warwickshire Years habitats. We will also be providing more advice to landowners to help them make space for nature. That will increase the overall area of land managed for wildlife in our region. This strategy will be focused in key areas so that newly created habitat directly complements existing wildlife and habitats of more than 500 Local Wildlife Sites sites. By creating bigger, better areas we will be able to better connect covering about 5% of the land area. So, we now know where the best sites are for wildlife and how to our landscape. We have achieved a huge amount over the last 50 years connect them to each other. and the next 50 will be even more important for the future of wildlife in As we reflect on a successful first 50 years, it’s incredible to think that what started with a handful our area. As we celebrate our birthday in 2020, we have big plans for the of dedicated volunteers has grown to 67 nature reserves covering over 1,000 hectares. Where future. When the next generation celebrate our 100 year anniversary in traditionally we have prioritised new nature reserves based on their existing wildlife value, in the future 2070, we want them to be able to pinpoint the year nature’s recovery got we will take an exciting new approach – one that brings countless opportunities. back on track. Our work over the last 50 years has been vital MARTIN FELSTEAD in safeguarding the rarest species and the most iconic wildlife sites. Now, as we look to the future, it is clear that to reverse wildlife decline we must adapt our land acquisition strategy and become even more ambitious. To find out more about our plans Building a living landscape full of wildlife-friendly corridors for the next 50 years, visit our website warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/nature- recovery-network Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 15

Natural Carbon Solutions by Joanna Richards Peatland W e face a climate emergency. Extreme Peatlands cover just 3% of the weather events are on the increase earth’s surface, but store more carbon and the impacts of a warming than any other habitat on land (more climate are becoming evident on than twice the carbon of all the world’s our beloved wildlife, with some UK species being pushed to the furthest limits of their natural ranges. forests put together). But when To tackle a crisis of this scale, it is imperative every damaged, as in the UK, they release tool in the box is used, and this includes the natural solutions offered by our planet. Over half of all carbon carbon, contributing to climate emissions released into the atmosphere by humans change – so their restoration are re-absorbed by the Earth’s natural systems. And is essential. yet, many of these systems are broken, the habitats providing them damaged and degraded. Restoring Woodland these systems would allow even more carbon to be absorbed – and The Wildlife Trusts are playing a As they grow, trees absorb carbon leading role in helping this happen. from the atmosphere, storing it in their trunk, boughs and roots and as At sea, the Trusts fought for the Marine Act 2009: organic ma er in woodland soils. So, properly implemented it restores our most important new woodland creation – through carbon absorber and the wildlife that lives within it, natural regeneration, for example – including kelp and phytoplankton. On land, 9% of helps to combat climate change. the UK’s surface is a huge carbon store with carbon locked up in wet peat. Carbon is also stored in Seagrass organic rich soils, especially those under grasslands meadows and woodlands. For decades, The Wildlife Trusts have pioneered peatland restoration and sustainably managed woodlands and grassland meadows. This work continues, thanks to our supporters, helping in the fight against climate change. Saltmarsh These aquatic flowering plants are responsible for around 10% of all carbon Like peatlands and grasslands, stored in the ocean, despite covering less intertidal saltmarsh provides an than 0.2% of the ocean floor. They store important carbon store in its soils. carbon 35 times faster than rainforests, Saltmarshes also act as a buffer against but estimates suggest that globally we coastal erosion – although this and rising sea levels are leading to the loss are losing an area of seagrass the of this habitat, with only 15% of its size of two football pitches every hour. historical range remaining. ILLUSTRATION: HILLIARD DESIGN 16 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

NATURAL CARBON SOLUTIONS Urban Urban greenspaces help make cities be er in a world that’s ge ing ho er. Young street trees take up carbon dioxide and urban woodlands help control the local climate by providing shade and reducing the street temperature. Pleasant green spaces can also encourage people to walk and cycle rather than jump in a car! Grassland Healthy grassland soaks up carbon and stores it in its roots and the soil. Grasslands that are undisturbed by arable agriculture and protected from soil erosion through sustainable management are important stores. Yet in Cheshire, we’ve lost 99% of our semi-natural grasslands and they continue to be at risk. Seaweed and kelp forests Kelp grows incredibly quickly, sucking up carbon as it does so. These underwater forests provide critical short-term carbon stores. When they die, bits of kelp sink into the deep sea, where they remain for a long time. Marine Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 17 sediments Phytoplankton – miniscule marine algae – absorb carbon as they grow. When they die, some of the carbon they’ve taken up sinks to the ocean floor, where it can remain for thousands of years.

IN FOCUS: MEMBERS Who is our longest standing member? It could be Mary - an incredible 47 years with the Trust! Mary is one of our amazing members Celebrating and part of a growing group, which numbered more than 24,000 in 2019. Warwickshire Years I’ve been a member since 1973, so I must have been one of the first as the charity was only founded three years earlier! My time with the Trust began when I was introduced to their reserves by my colleague, Duncan, from Warwick University, which was then still known as Coventry College of Education. Duncan did his PhD thesis on succession at Ufton Fields, and we used to take students there to carry out field work. We also used to take them to Tocil Wood, and at the time the Trust only had a handful of reserves. I did some botanical and land use surveys and was on an education group. My mother and I helped the Trust to buy Hampton Wood, and saw it transformed from inaccessible woodland, overgrown with brambles, into a well- managed diverse habitat, flora-rich hazel coppice and marsh land, full of primroses and bluebells in spring. In the last 25 years I have seen the Trust grow enormously. Now there are over 65 reserves across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. There is much more public awareness of the need for conservation, and I have seen the continued development of Brandon Marsh and Parkridge visitor centres, more training of volunteers and public campaign work. The staff at the Trust do excellent work through their education projects, community involvement and gaining support from local industry. I just want to say a big thank you for all they’re doing to support local wildlife! Belonging to the Trust is such a delight, and allows me to meet like-minded people with a passion for nature. My membership gives me access to so many wonderful places and is an investment in caring for vital habitats for wildlife and protecting them for future generations to enjoy. If you know someone who loves wildlife and spending time outside, why not introduce them to Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and encourage them to become a member? You can direct them to our website warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk 18 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

WITH YOUR SUPPORT You’ve been helping us to protect wildlife and wild places for 50 years! We would love to hear your story Could you help us spread the word? Contact us on [email protected] W e hope you’ve enjoyed you, our fantastic members who make five decades, get in touch and share your reading Mary’s story as the Trust what it is today! So, whether stories. They could even feature in this much as we have. It’s you’ve been a member for five days or very magazine, or on our website. been lovely to reflect on what’s happened since she joined us in Thank you 1973, and just how much change she has I2n4u2,0st00ht1o0e9rm,fieyraesotcmuhtbihmoeevrelesp!refodr personally witnessed. Thank you Mary for sharing your story and being such a HELEN SCARSBROOK supportive member for nearly 50 years! Could you share your story with us? We’d love to hear your experience of the Trust, what inspired you to join, and any special wildlife encounters you’ve had, like our volunteer Jim here ringing an owlet!Perhaps you have a special connection to a certain reserve, or count yourself as one of our incredible volunteers? Whatever it was that sparked your relationship with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, we would love to hear from you. As we celebrate our 50th year, we will be gathering stories to help us paint a comprehensive picture of the charity’s development over the decades from Reserve guide – coming soon SAVE THE DATE New members receive a free reserves guide on joining, This year, the Trust is holding its with details all of our amazing reserves and how Annual General Meeting on Saturday to access them. We are currently in the process of redesigning the guide and updating it to include some the 20th of June. of our newest additions. Please bear with us whilst we work on this, and feel free to get in touch if you haven’t Further details will follow in due course, received your copy, on [email protected] and members will be advised of the DOUG NAIRN location, timings and schedule of events on the day via e-newsletter, on our social media channels and through our website. Please watch out for updates, and get in touch if you have any questions for us, on [email protected] Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 19

mGarodtenhinsgafonr d Grow nectar-rich flowers ILLUSTRATION: HANNAH BAILEY, PHOTO: SARAH CUTTLE butterflies Make sure something is in flower By day and by night, gardens large and small can from March through to November, provide a haven for Britain’s beleaguered butterflies starting with primroses, bluebells and moths. Kate Bradbury suggests nine ways to and forget-me-not in spring, then support all the stages of their life cycles. alliums, lavender and scabious in late summer, and late-flowering Plant some climbers Verbena bonariensis, sedums and rudbeckias in autumn. Bare fences and walls are a wasted opportunity to help butterflies. Cover them with plants and provide nectar-rich flowers and shelter for species, such as brimstones, to hibernate. If you grow hops, comma butterflies may lay their eggs on its leaves. Add a window box Provide caterpillar foodplants If you don’t have a garden Butterflies need the right plants to lay or your space is small, eggs in your garden. Grow cuckooflower grow nectar-rich flowers for caterpillars of the orange-tip butterfly, in pots, window boxes or nettles for peacocks, small tortoiseshells hanging baskets. Choose and red admirals, and holly and ivy for the low-growing primrose holly blue. and lavender for pots, and nasturtiums for baskets. 20 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE Butterflies and moths have suffered huge declines As adults, most butterflies and moths drink Kate Bradbury in recent years. This is largely due to habitat loss, nectar, but their caterpillars eat leaves and other is passionate but agricultural pesticides and climate change have plant material. To make them truly welcome in our about wildlife- made life even more challenging for many species. gardens, we need to support all stages of their life friendly gardening Happily, there’s plenty we can do to help them on cycle by growing nectar-rich flowers for the adults and the author of our own patch, no matter its size. The UK’s gardens and foodplants for the caterpillars. We also need to Wildlife Gardening take up more space than all of its nature reserves put accommodate the stage in between caterpillar and for Everyone and together, so if we all gardened with butterflies and adult – the chrysalis (butterfly) or cocoon (moth). Everything in moths in mind, we could help slow, or even reverse, Many species spend the winter in this vulnerable association with some of these declines. stage so leave a little patch to grow a bit wild for The Wildlife them. Making space for butterflies and moths to feed, Trusts. We tend to feel more fondly about butterflies than breed and hibernate in our gardens will make all the moths, which can be viewed with ambivalence as difference to these struggling pollinators. they fly at night and a few species eat our clothes. But not all moths fly at night – the six-spot burnet Discover more ways to welcome moths and and hummingbird hawkmoth can be spotted during butterflies into your garden on our website: the day – and many of them are just as beautiful as warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/actions/how- their day-flying cousins. Only about five of our 2,500 attract-butterflies-your-garden species eat clothes and moth caterpillars are an important source of food for nesting birds, hedgehogs and amphibians. So by gardening for moths, we can also help other wildlife. Avoid cutting down Plant a mixed native hedge Grow night-scented plants plants in autumn If you have space, plant a native tree Plant groups of common jasmine, Some butterflies, such as or two. Many moths lay their eggs on evening primrose, honeysuckle and orange-tips, overwinter as the leaves of willow, dog rose, birch night-scented stock together, so that chrysalises, which makes and hawthorn. Grow a climber, such moths can find them more easily. them vulnerable to tidying. as honeysuckle, through the hedge to Leave plants intact over make it even more moth-friendly. winter and clear them in spring instead. Always check for chrysalises just in case! Leave some weeds Many moths lay their eggs on the leaves of nettles, brambles, dock and dandelions. Even leaving weeds at the back of borders, where you can’t see them, will make a difference. Don’t be too tidy While some moths breed in long grass, many caterpillars and pupae spend winter hibernating in grass or among leaf litter and other plant debris. Leave things where they are in autumn and winter, and tidy up in spring instead. Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 21

SPECIES FOCUS sgeaavvroccoeunhluusentpTnsoothlfmceooatenruenrgrprkssnrn,s!iawictglkohhloyts Helping our hedgehogs Help for Hedgehogs started in 2013, aiming to raise awareness of falling national hedgehog numbers. In 2015, a new Hedgehog Improvement Area written for developers and local policies have been (HIA) was funded by the British Hedgehog altered. Partnering with local authorities, particularly Preservation Society (BHPS) in Solihull, and Rugby Borough Council, has created diverse another one in Rugby in 2016. The project greenspaces for hedgehogs. empowered communities to save local hedgehogs, and has left a legacy after seven years. The 35 volunteers who form the Over 26,000 people have engaged in hedgehog Warwickshire Hedgehog Helpers conservation through talks, walks, workshops, surveying and practical local activities. Over 12,500 have donated over 1800 hours school children learned how to track hedgehogs and free educational packs were designed for local schools. Nationally, hedgehogs are still struggling, with declines of up to 30% in urban areas and 50% rurally The 35 volunteers who form the Warwickshire since 2000. But community projects are making an Hedgehog Helpers have donated over 1800 hours to impact, with urban numbers on the up. Wide-scale raising awareness, planting hedges and surveying. awareness and a legacy of community engagement They will now join the Warwickshire Mammal Group has given local hedgehogs a fighting chance. to help with overnight tracking. Planning for the future For further information, including Base holes in fences at new developments now allow the educational packs, head to hedgehogs to travel freely, national guidance was warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/hedgehogs PAULA IRISH WKWT LOUISE BARRACK 22 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

EVENTS DIARY WHAT’S ON We have some great events Celebrating and training sessions lined up to celebrate our 50th year! Warwickshire Years Some events have received funding, so we’re passing these savings onto you. indoors playing computer Book your place online now warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/events games. Teenagers hone their stealth, survival and adventure MARCH TOM MARSHALL skills in the wilderness. No parents allowed! Quiz Night Spoon Carving 13th March 8pm-11pm Griff & Coton Club, CV10 7JQ 30th - 31st May 10am-4pm (£1pp. 18+) Brandon Marsh Put your brain to the test in a (£25pp. Adults only) team of up to seven with this Two-day course teaching themed quiz. Money payable you the craft of making on the night. wooden spoons using traditional hand tools. APRIL JUNE Bishop’s Hill Taster falcons living and thriving in our Search for bats in the Session towns and cities. evening skies Wildlife Videography 6th April 10am-1pm Mad About Bats MAY 13th June 10am-4pm Bishop’s Hill Nature Reserve Brandon Marsh (Free. Open to 8-18 year olds) 22nd April 7:30pm-9pm Bird ID Walk (£50pp. Adults only) A practical conservation Bubbenhall Wood and Professional wildlife session for the whole family, Meadow (Free. Suitable for 6th May 10am-12:30pm cameraman Simon Watts at our stunning new reserve children aged 4+) Parkridge (£25pp. 18+) explores the skills needed near Harbury. Learn all about bats on this Join expert Ornithologist for wildlife videography, fun family night out! We’ll use Ed Drewitt to boost your subtly different to his Peregrine Watch 2020 bat detectors, listen to some identification skills of our photography course. ultrasonic calls and watch common feathered friends. 18th April 10am-3pm (see out for our furry friends flying Hay Rake Making back cover for further dates) above our heads. Wildlife Photography Regents Grove, Leamington Saturday 6th June Spa (Free. Open to all ages) 16th May 10am-1pm 10am-4:30pm Come along for a closer view Brandon Marsh (£30pp. Brandon Marsh (£5pp. 18+) of the stunning peregrine Adult members only) A green woodworking day Join professional wildlife where you will use a range of We also offer talks cameraman Simon Watts traditional wood working tools for a session exploring the to produce a hay rake that you Looking for guest speakers? Our special skills needed for wildlife can take home with you. 2020 talk outlines our first 50 years - from photography. a few passionate activists caring for two reserves, Annual General Meeting to 24,000 members supporting 67 reserves. We Wilderness Skills Day ask for donations of £90 to cover costs and to Saturday 20th June fund our conservation work. Book online now at 27th May 10:30am-3pm Details including location and warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/takepart/talks Bubbenhall Wood and timings are due to be confirmed Meadow shortly, so please keep an (Free. 11-17 year olds) eye on our digital channels for The perfect antidote to sitting further information! Don’t miss out! Follow us on social media wkwt warwickshirewt warwickshirewt Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 23

FUNDRAISE 2020 is a special year as we celebrate our 50th birthday! Fundraise for us this year and help us to continue our work for wildlife and people in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. Here are some ideas to get you started, and you can find the full list of 50 on warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/celebrating-50-years Events Environmental From the sofa Host a birthday party Use the ideas Recycle We belong to several schemes Shop online Select us as your below to fundraise as much as possible with whereby you recycle and we receive charity of choice on Easyfundraising and your friends. a donation. More information at Amazon Smile and raise funds without warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/recycle it costing you extra. Head to Coffee morning or afternoon tea warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/fundraise/ Get social for a good cause. Book sale Everyone loves a book and fundraise-online to find out more. remember - reusing is also great for the Craft Fair Donate the profits from charging environment! Get a takeaway Just Eat is part of stall holders to attend. This is also a great Easyfundraising so your curry can opportunity for people to support local Bags for wildlife Reuse your bags and donate raise us money. independent makers. the 5ps you would have spent to us. Adopt a Species Learn more about the Bingo The quintessentially British game! Split Tap into unused funds Invest in reusable UK’s animals and help fund our work. entrance between prize money and water bottles and donate the money you save Available from our visitor centre shops and at a donation. by not buying bottled water. warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/shop They make great presents for wildlife Attend one of our events All profits go into Work and school enthusiasts of all ages! funding our work! From Nature Tots to bird ID courses for adults there is something Raffle Call in those favours, ring round and £50 for 50 years Save your change all year, for everyone. For a full list head to collect as many prizes as you can – then start and once you have £50 donate it to us. warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/events selling your tickets to everyone you know. where you can book online. Check our fundraising guide to make sure you Lasting actions heed the rules. Get out there Join us Our members are the lifeblood of the Dress down/non-uniform day Relax and charity. Join today, and if you are already a Walk Join an organised sponsored walk in wear whatever you want (within reason!) member please make sure you renew. aid of us or organise your own with friends. for charity. Invite a friend Get everyone Be a helpful friend Wash the dishes, Tombola Old-school fun, and the instant win you know to join us here hang the washing on the line, and don’t means you don’t need a gambling licence. warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/join forget to collect a donation. Bake up a storm Everyone loves to eat cake, Leave a gift in your will And create Danceathon Throw some shapes, cut a rug, especially for a good cause. Run a full bake a lasting legacy. Find out more at burn calories and raise funds. sale or simply take a cake into the office and warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/will ask for donations Collection Apply for your permit from for a slice. Vol-au- the council, then choose your spot and talk to vents’anyone? your local community and raise vital funds for the charity. diucfccfaWhpoenamrweer’svpiniuttelythpe.cwptColeooamatraynstelsloytyh5foo0euu? Wear our pin badges with pride Buy yours from shops and cafés across the region, from our visitor centres or online at warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/shop 24 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

OBITUARY Francis ‘Frank’ Almond (1947 – 2019) T he Trust is sad to announce House of Lords Select Committee on the passing of Frank Almond, Science and Technology in Development. a valued and experienced He left ITDG in 1995 to join WWF-UK as a member of our council of Director, where he oversaw conservation, trustees since 2017. education and sustainable development programmes around the world. Frank trained as a Chemical Engineer, beginning his career with the British In later years, Frank used that Steel Corporation before moving to the experience as a sustainable development Intermediate Technology Development consultant working with businesses, Group (ITDG), the precursor to overseas overseas governments and non- development agency Practical Action. governmental agencies. He volunteered As Chief Executive, Frank advised the for 11 years as a trustee for the Voluntary Service Overseas and supported HRH the ‘I have seen at first-hand how resilient Prince of Wales on sustainability issues nature is, and how it can bounce back as a member of his environmental given the right habitat and conditions. advisory team. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust gives nature that chance, through its reserves and its In recent months he had been helping wider outreach.’ Frank Almond the Marketing and Communications team with communications strategy, and always gave freely of his considerable experience. Frank passed away peacefully on Christmas morning 2019, with his wife Barbara by his side. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Legacies New partnership Yet again, theTrust received legacies We’re partnering with McClure from many generous people in 2019. Solicitors, a legal firm specialising in Estate Planning. Herbert Haywood Christine M Kitchen Their advice, support William T Skinner and legal services are Susan M Preedy provided by a friendly Harry D Hunter and supportive team who make the whole In addition to these new legacies, we also received final experience smooth distributions from the estates of two other generous legators and simple. - Joan Ierston and Robert W Sallis. Massive thanks to these incredibly generous people, who have each left a lasting Watch this space for impression on the Trust and enabled our future work to updates throughout protect wildlife and wild places for future generations. 2020, as we celebrate our 50th year with this brand new partnership! Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 25

UK NEWS A bottlenose dolphin leaps clear of the water in the Moray Firth UK UPDATE BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN: JOHN MACPHERSON/2020VISION A big splash for UK seas - our 2019 marine review Together,The WildlifeTrusts form the UK’s saw a huge victory last summer, with 2019 IN NUMBERS largest marine conservation organisation. the designation of 41 new Marine Our Living Seas teams are the eyes and ears Conservation Zones. n Over 5,000 volunteers of the UK’s coast.Throughout 2019, with supported coastal Wildlife Trusts the help of over 5,000 volunteers, they did 2019 also saw a welcome boost for with beach cleans, surveys and wonderful things for the wildlife in our seas. some of our struggling seabirds. On Handa shore-based events. Island, Scottish Wildlife Trust counted Careful monitoring revealed some 8,207 razorbills, the highest number since n More than 200 sharks, skates fantastic good news stories around our 2006, though the population is sadly still and rays were tagged as part shores, from bumper breeding seasons to in trouble. In North Wales, Sandwich of Ulster Wildlife’s SeaDeep amazing discoveries. terns had a bumper year, with 800 chicks project, helping us monitor these fledging compared to just 180 in 2018. vulnerable animals. A new citizen science project logged 320 sightings of cetaceans off Yorkshire’s east Sadly, it wasn’t all good news. Several n Two giant gobies were among coast, including minke whales, bottlenose Wildlife Trusts reported an increase in 1,310 species recorded in just dolphins and harbor porpoises. There was disturbance. Jet skis, kayakers, boats and 24 hours as Devon Wildlife good news for seals too, with Cumbria drones have all been recorded causing Trust’s Wembury Marine Centre Wildlife Trust counting a site record of distress to marine wildlife like dolphins, celebrated its 25th anniversary. 483 grey seals at South Walney, including seals and seabirds. seven pups. Elsewhere, an individual seal, n 27 tonnes of litter and fishing gear nicknamed Tulip Belle, was discovered Plastics, ocean litter and discarded collected by fisherman for Yorkshire commuting between the Isle of Man fishing gear also continue to devastate Wildlife Trust’s Fishing 4 Litter. and Cornwall. marine wildlife, though Wildlife Trusts around our shores cleared up huge Get involved Lara Howe, Manx Wildlife Trust’s marine amounts of litter, including 2.5 tonnes We need to put nature into officer, says: “It shows that seals will swim picked up by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. recovery on land and at sea. Join us on great distances for food and a place to pup, our campaign for a wilder future: highlighting the importance of a network of All of this was made possible by the wildlifetrusts.org/wilder-future Marine Protected Areas around the UK, so fantastic support of all our volunteers that wherever marine wildlife goes there and members. For more amazing stories are healthy seas to support them.” head to wildlifetrusts.org/marine- review-19 Our fight to secure this network 26 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

NEWS UK UPDATE UK HIGHLIGHTS 100 miles wilder Discover how The Wildlife Trusts are Space for nature should be at the heart proposals for housing, road and rail and helping wildlife 1 2 of our planning and farming systems. stay within environmental limits for This is the only way we can create a nature, carbon and water. across the UK 3 Nature Recovery Network, enabling REDSHANK: TOM MARSHALL Special habitats are under threat, 1 Inspirational youth wildlife to thrive across including ancient woodland and the landscape and grazing marsh, which supports rare Over the last year, over 2,800 bringing nature and declining wading birds like curlew young people aged 11-25 rolled up into our daily and redshank. their sleeves to help nature thrive lives. But in their local area. The Grassroots current The Wildlife Trusts have created an Challenge project, led by Ulster alternative vision for this land: 100 miles Wildlife, gave young people the proposals for developing of wilder landscape in which people can opportunity to unleash their passion, the land between Oxford live, work and enjoy nature. By protecting creativity and potential to make a real and Cambridge do not and connecting the wildest places, we difference to their environment and have nature at their heart. can introduce a new way of planning that community. ulsterwildlife.org/news/ Without proper assessment, has nature and people’s wellbeing at the inspirational-youth government cannot know centre. Find out more wildlifetrusts. whether the area could org/100-miles-wilder 2 Attenborough appeal support the current Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust New leader for Craig Bennett says: “The Wildlife launched an appeal to raise £1 million Trusts are an extraordinary grassroots to safeguard Attenborough Nature The Wildlife Trusts movement that is uniquely placed to Reserve, a wild oasis at the edge work with local communities to make of Nottingham that’s home to large The Wildlife Trusts are delighted to this happen and ensure a wilder future, numbers of wildfowl. The appeal was welcome Craig Bennett as their new and I could not be more pleased to have supported by Sir David Attenborough Chief Executive Officer. been asked to lead them at this and raised over £900,000 in the first incredibly important moment.” month. nottinghamshirewildlife. One of the UK’s leading environmental wildlifetrusts.org/new-leader org/lifelineappeal campaigners, Craig joins The Wildlife Trusts from Friends of the Earth, where he 3 Spooky sighting was Chief Executive. A ghost slug was discovered in In a conservation career spanning over the gardens of Devon Wildlife Trust’s 20 years, Craig has led a movement to end Cricklepit Mill. The origins of this peat cutting on important moorlands, helped mysterious species are uncertain, secured better wildlife legislation throughThe but it’s thought to be a native of Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and, Ukraine. Since ghost slugs were more recently, led successful campaigns to first discovered in the UK in 2007, highlight climate change and to protect and there have been a scattering of restore bee populations. sightings, mainly from South Wales. It’s a predator of earthworms and may cause problems for our native worms if it becomes established. devonwildlifetrust.org/news/ghost An insect apocalypse GHOST SLUG: PHIL SANSUM MARSH FRITILLARY: ROSS HODDINOTT/2020VISION, A new report, Insect Declines and Why They Matter, commissioned by an alliance of Wildlife Trusts in the south west, concluded that drastic declines in insect numbers look set to have far-reaching consequences for both wildlife and people. The report concludes: “if insect declines are not halted, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems will collapse, with profound consequences for human wellbeing.” wildlifetrusts.org/urgent-action-insects Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 27

IN FOCUS: VOLUNTEERS Our wonderful volunteer Rita Rita started volunteering with the Trust in the early nineties and has been a key member of the team at Brandon Marsh, welcoming members to the nature reserve ever since. Visitor Centre Manager Erin Green sat down with her one Saturday to talk birds, tea and royalty... Could you tell us about the MBE you received for your volunteering? I received the letter when my granddaughter was staying with me. She saw me open it, well up and just put it away in a book without telling her what it was. So because she’d seen this official letter she told her dad she thought I was in trouble! It was funny really; it was 25 years to the day since my husband had died. What changes have you What is the most memorable thing That’s a lovely detail. noticed at the charity and you’ve spotted at Brandon Marsh? Yeah it is. So once you accept it, the at Brandon Marsh? I’ve seen most things since I’ve been here. award is announced in the New Year’s It’s been an ongoing change. I’m a birder, not a twitcher, but if there’s Honours. You can take three people with When I started we didn’t have staff, you anything rare then I go and have a look! I you, so I took my son Kevin, Sheila and just did it on your own. Obviously in our saw the bittern recently, which was lovely. Sophie, but they didn’t give us a meal, 50th year, things are different now! I’d been only water or apple juice! And you’re put going to a bird watching class in Rugby, What do you think will have the biggest in a queue and they tell you everything then visited Brandon Marsh and never impact on wildlife in years to come? looked back. Before the Carlton hide was Humans? The amount of building and “You do get to meet built, Teal and East Marsh were the furthest pollution is something we’ve got to get you could go. There was also a lookout to grips with, if it’s not already too late. such a variety of where Ted’s hide is now (the Ted Jury hide). And climate change is bound to have an effect. Whilst I’ve been a birder for thirty- people and it’s a nice What do you enjoy about volunteering, odd years, some birds have declined but and what would you say to anyone others have increased. When I first started thing to do” considering it? birding you had to go to mid-Wales or the I love meeting nice people, and being West Country to see a buzzard, but now that’s going to happen. It was Princess nice to them too hopefully. Unless I get a they’re everywhere. Anne that day and I was ready to tell her better offer on a Saturday! I say become about my work in the community. But a member, because you can visit some because it was a Thursday and I should’ve beautiful places. And I’d recommend been volunteering, she said “I hope volunteering, because you do get to meet you’ve left a good team in charge whilst such a variety of people and it’s a nice you’re here”! It was personal; it really thing to do, I think. blew me away that did. And unlimited cups of tea… Rita is just one of our many Oh yeah, you get your wages in tea – incredible volunteers, each with a cup in the morning and one in their own unique stories and experiences the afternoon! at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. If you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit our dedicated page warwickshirewildlifetrust. org.uk/takepart/volunteer 28 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

TRUSTEES WANTED! Could you lead Warwickshire Wildlife Trust? We need new trustees! We support a diverse range of local wildlife and habitats, and we also recognise the wtcrauurwrsrtie.conkrMtgsthe.ureiukrtes/twtthereiuelsdstlaietfees importance of diversity in our staff, volunteers and members. The Trust is looking for new volunteer trustees, and these roles are open to everyone – particularly those with diverse backgrounds, abilities and identities.* Key duties include governance of the Trust, setting and overseeing of strategic direction, maintaining financial stability, accountability to members and the Charities Commission and upholding the conduct and culture of the organisation. It is then up to our amazing staff to run the Trust’s operations. I am currently one of 11 trustees, attending five Council meetings per year. Trustees are also expected to support staff in developing key objectives and act as public ambassadors for the Trust. No previous experience as a trustee is necessary, but an interest in wildlife and the natural environment and a wish to connect people with nature is essential. We are especially looking for people with experience in: n Marketing n Land management/agriculture n Campaigning n Fundraising n Company Secretary (legal background helpful but not essential) But this list isn’t exhaustive. We need people who are committed representatives of the Trust, and who are passionate about helping us build on the progress made in our first 50 years. “I’ve been a member for 35 years, a volunteer for ten, and bringing the children since 1984 –so the Trust is a fixture in our lives. Becoming a trustee was the logical progression and I’ve enjoyed it.’ Helen, trustee CrishCMnairPo(rlifignoher tM)Smpeereildemetiannng(cfDoernammtreeer) For an informal discussion or to find out more about any of these roles, please contact me at the email below. Thank you! Crishni Waring Chair of trustees [email protected] * Trustees must, by law, be at least 18 years old . Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020 29

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS A Wilder Future for Warwickshire TheTrust has started a new project as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, connecting long-standing members and volunteers with newYoung Adult Ambassadors. Supported by the National Lottery young adults with shared interests and Heritage Fund, the aim of the established volunteers and members who project is to share stories of past can share their stories of how they fought success to bring about long- for nature in the past. lasting change in the future. The Trust is particularly seeking a young 18-35 year olds are being encouraged adult archivist volunteer to get involved in to sign up as volunteers, to receive a the 50th anniversary celebrations. The role range of free training over the next two involves working alongside our current years. Training will be centred around archivist volunteers, communicating the grassroots conservation in the first year, information they have carefully collected covering wildlife surveying and practical and collated about the Trust’s history in habitat management. In the second year creative ways. of the project, training will focus on raising awareness and motivating others to make For more information on becoming a difference, covering topics such as campaigning, storytelling and using social a Young Adult Ambassador or media to influence. sharing stories, photographs and Through the programme, volunteers will also get the chance to meet other memories about the Trust, head to warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/ WilderFutureforWarwickshire COLIN MARSAY 30 Wild Warwickshire | Spring 2020

#3rA0e1arD– 3ed0aJyyuynsoefWuoirld#3?0DaysWild eNvaaentrwuw…drifdsselidoohonllatrdiefarsCeeek3edoteay0svhmotniuheudsseeryrJamtuclyooyhhnovuasedriele.n?laoetgfnyhgaen wwiladrlwifeictkrushstirse.owrgil/d3l0ifdeatyrusswti.oldrg.uk

Picture: Steve Melville Peregrine Watch 2020 Join us at Regents Grove, Leamington Spa to see these incredible urban warriors! When? n 18th & 25th April n 16th & 30th May n 7th & 13th June Call in any time from 10am to 3pm - it’s free, just bring your binoculars! Can’t attend these dates? You can view our live webcams and donate to the Peregrine Appeal by visiting our Peregrine Watch webpage. warwickshirewildifetrust.org.uk/peregrine Supported by: