Conservation: challenge and opportunity

Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Head of People and Wildlife, David North gives a personal view of what the challenges ahead might be for our wildlife and natural environment post Brexit and how we can take action.

Few people would disagree that today is a time of great changes. For both agriculture and nature conservation the future is less certain today than for a generation. Though no one knows for sure what the impact of Brexit will be on agriculture and nature conservation undoubtedly, there will be new challenges and opportunities.

Many of us will have come across the term SWOT analysis which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Now perhaps is a good time to apply this tool to wildlife conservation. Though what follows is purely my personal take on some of the challenges and opportunities facing wildlife conservation -  if this in any way stimulates further thinking about how we can best protect wildlife in changing times then it will have served a useful purpose.

Some of the 1,400 NWT volunteers Elizabeth Dack

Strengths:  The biggest strength we have as a movement is surely a groundswell of public support.  It’s said that more than 7 million people in the UK belong to conservation organisations and both the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts have more members than any political party in the UK. 

Weaknesses:  The continuing loss of habitats and wildlife so clearly demonstrated in many studies, including the recent State of Nature reports, shows clearly that despite many conservation success stories in protecting special sites as nature reserves, and some notable species success stories, such as otters and red kites, that the loss of wildlife in the wider countryside has continued in every decade since the 1940s. Our biggest weakness has been our lack of success in protecting formerly widespread and common species in the wider countryside.

Photo: David Tipling

Opportunities:  In recent times each year £3 billion pounds of funding has gone to support agriculture in the UK through the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy.  Some of these funded schemes, such as Higher Level Stewardship (HLS), have brought about environmental and wildlife benefits and also provided vital financial support to conservation bodies including Norfolk Wildlife Trust, RSPB and National Trust. However, they have largely failed to prevent continuing degradation of our countryside for wildlife. As we take back national control of agricultural support payments there is a huge opportunity to see some of these funds targeted more effectively at helping farmers and conservation organisations to restore wildlife habitats on a landscape scale.  Given that more than 70% of our countryside is farmed if we are to stand any chance of reversing the destruction of vital wildlife habitats and the declines we see across so many formerly common species then the future structure of agricultural subsidies will be crucial. The government has promised a 25 year vision for nature and this needs to clearly identify how in new ways agricultural support funding will better enable farmers and nature conservation bodies to work together to create a more diverse, more wildlife-friendly, richer and more beautiful countryside for both people and wildlife.

Kingfisher by David North

Threats:  It seems to me that the biggest threat is the low priority given to wildlife and the countryside in political discussions about our future.  This was clear during the last election when environmental issues were barely mentioned by politicians or the media.  The threat is that a healthy and wildlife rich ecology, rather than being seen as the bedrock on which our future health and wealth depends is seen as a minority interest of a few awkward activists and naturalists.  We (and in this ‘we’ I include readers of this Blog and NWT members!) know that healthy, properly functioning ecosystems provide us with clean air, clean water, natural  pollution control, help mitigate climate change, provide free natural flood controls, keep our soils healthy, enable  pollinators to ensure our crops thrive and contribute massively to human happiness, health and wellbeing.  But do our politicians and decision makers really understand and act on this?

So if any of this rings true what can we do?  The Government is promising, for the first time in a generation, an Agriculture Bill (the last major Agriculture Bill was in 1947).  We can make sure our elected MPs know that we want to ensure that any Bill that determines how agriculture support will be provided in future absolutely ensures that the health and beauty of the countryside, and the value of restoring healthy functioning ecosystems rich in wildlife delivering the ‘ecosystem services’ such as pollination, healthy soils, and clean water is high on the priority list. The Wildlife Trusts nationally are working with other major environmental bodies to ensure that conservation organisations speak with one voice to ensure that the environmental protections currently provided through the EU Habitats Directive, EU Birds directive and other European environment laws are not lost when we leave the EU.  You can find out more at www.greeneruk.org 

NWT Foxley Wood by Richard Osbourne

However, as was shown when the plans to sell off public forests were reversed, public opinion is a powerful voice when it comes to politics.  I believe that decisions made in the next few years will be crucial to the kind of future environment our children will inherit.  We can all play a part in ensuring that new opportunities for reversing the declines in nature are taken and threats of weakened laws to protect wildlife averted. But we can only ensure this if we make sure as individuals that our voices are heard. And heard loud and clear by the people who will be taking decisions which will affect our countryside and wildlife for a generation.  If you care about the future of our countryside and wildlife please make sure your voice is heard. Wildlife doesn’t have a voice in the decisions which will determine its future. We need to be its voice.

Reminiscence and the Wild

 Eilish Rothney, Trinity Broads Warden

I recently had the wonderful experience of attending an evening performance at the new NWT Cley Marshes Simon Aspinall Wildlife Education Centre. The theatre group performed “Wanderlust” an assortment of tales and stories gathered from individuals around Norfolk. The evening held me spell bound as I heard tales of illness, tragedy and triumph woven together as a tapestry of life.

A common theme was people’s encounters with wildlife, wild spaces and the rural landscape. Breathing spaces for the soul, we often underestimate how the countryside and all its wonders capture our imagination, lift our spirits and invigorate our health. Research has shown that even looking at a picture of the countryside can help recovery from illness, so, how much more will even a gentle walk through some of NWT’s nature reserves do our health and well-being. So let’s get out there, even if the weather isn’t at its best, we can still make the most of our special places.

Check out the NWT website for information on reserves, guided walks, volunteering and of course other events and performances at the Simon Aspinall Wildlife Education Centre.

Here’s a couple of picks of my favourite places:

Filby Broad by Eilish Rothney

Filby Broad by Dickie Lay

 

Bat and moth evening with Norfolk Wildlife Services

Barry Madden, NWT volunteer

Smokey lines of straggly cloud silhouetted against an horizon of red and orange pastel hues; ragged streams of gulls silently and purposefully moving westwards towards their roost on the mud wastes of the Wash; shadow forms of rabbits hopping across the open grassland in the quickening dusk; and the fetid smell of rotting flesh emanating from stinkhorn fungi attracting flies to carry its spores to pastures new. 

Just a few impressions from an evening spent with NWT colleagues at the Mars Foods factory in King's Lynn helping to run a bat and moth evening for staff. First off we were given a tour of the site, extending over several acres, by Dave a most enthusiastic champion of all things wild and natural. He is working hard to develop the whole area into a wildlife haven and our job was to help spread some of this joy to other employees of the company.

But first some context. Mars Foods occupies a site on the Hardwick Industrial Estate in Kings Lynn, an industrial complex like many others scattered around our county and on first impressions the very antithesis of a wildlife friendly landscape. But let's look a bit closer. Behind the facade of iron fencing, beyond the tarmac car parks full of our expensive tin cans and rows of utilitarian warehouses lies another hidden world. A world that cannot be seen from the road; a world that by its very nature and because of its very location can remain largely undisturbed and peaceful. And it is here that enlightened staff, with advice and guidance from Norfolk Wildlife Services (NWS), are giving nature a helping hand, shaping what already exists into something better; creating something new from neglected tracts of otherwise sterile space. 
 
The space in question comprises small areas of mixed woodland and bramble scrub, tall boundary hedging and a large tract of open grassland some of which is being left un-mown to encourage wild flowers to flourish. The northern edge of the site is bordered by a small river, itself edged with mature trees, offering another dimension for wildlife to thrive. Log piles have been deposited in sheltered nooks, a pond has been dug, nest boxes positioned and a walkway created so that staff have somewhere to stroll during their breaks. It really is very simple, but so very effective.

Our primary concern this evening was to guide a small party of staff members on a bat hunt around the more wooded parts of the site. To this end we furnished each participant with a bat detector device that picks up the echo location calls of bats and converts them to electrical output that we humans can hear. Each species of bat emits signals at a particular frequency and by setting the dial on the bat detector to frequencies favoured by the common, more likely, inhabitants of the area their chatter can easily be picked up. It wasn't long before we were picking up the chipping calls of pipistrelles hunting around the top of a high hedge. At least three of these tiny winged mammals were present hunting mosquitoes and other flying insects of the night. On more than one occasion we were able to listen to the so called ‘terminal  buzz’, a series of increasingly rapid signals made as the bat zeros in on its prey. These emissions, very much akin to someone blowing a raspberry, are proof that ample food is present here and the bats were feeding well.
 
On one occasion we also picked up the slower more rhythmic call of a noctule bat, a much larger species sadly in steep decline over much of the country nowadays. Its presence here is therefore all the more welcome.

On then to the moth trap which tonight seemed to provide an irresistible lure for numerous crane flies that festooned the dew laden grass. Moths were few at this season and unfortunately we didn't have time to wait for the main emergence. However both large and lesser yellow underwings appeared as well as a few square spot rustics and a snout. A small taste late in the year of what the site could produce. Further trapping events are planned and will certainly produce many more species.

A most enjoyable and informative evening. The management and staff of Mars Foods must be congratulated for their excellent efforts in sympathetically managing this site for the benefit of people and wildlife. It doesn't take much you know; just an appreciation of the positive impact working with nature can bring to the workplace, a realisation that we are part of the natural world and not aliens within. Most importantly the boundless energy of committed individuals such as Dave to make it happen. NWT and NWS are proud to be part of this activity.

NWS can help your company too. For further details visit their page on this website.


Read Barry's own blog at http://easternbushchat.blogspot.co.uk 

Draco gogogoensis - your questions answered

There has been a notable increase in the numbers of dragons spotted in Norfolk recently and our Wildlife Information Service has been busy with many enquiries. Here's our top dragon related questions and answers!

What do dragons eat?

Dragons used to only eat naughty people and goats, but this lead to a lot of obesity and health problems so many now eat vegetables and fruit as well as part of a balanced diet. Chinese lions also like lettuce, but they are not dragons. 

What is the Latin name for dragon?

Draco gogogoensis

Dragons are more common in Norfolk than
bitterns, photo by Nick Goodrum

Are they rare?

There are only around 205 dragons in Norfolk, so they are rarer than stone curlews, but commoner than bitterns. Historical records indicate they were probably never very common.

How do you survey for dragons?

Dragons are quite hard to spot as they can camouflage themselves like a chameleon to blend in. Formerly surveyors would tie a goat or human bait to a post, but this creates health and safety issues, so instead normally we use salad, sometimes with a light olive oil dressing.

Are they protected?

Dragons, like bats, are fully protected against disturbance, but unlike bats they will eat you if woken up. Bear this in mind when shouting "wake up stupid dragon" whilst trying to force feed one an ice cream.

Are dragons the oldest living things in Norfolk?

Maybe - some trees, such as ash coppice, in Norfolk could be 1,000 years old. Some soil fungi and plants like bracken, spreading underground, could be much older.

Why aren't dragons very common?

Dragons have probably declined because of habitat loss and persecution by game keepers, who falsely believed that they ate pheasants. In fact they ate peasants which shows one of the perils of predictive text and why feudalism no longer exists in Norfolk.

Do dragons smoke?

Well they do say there is no dragon fire without smoke so maybe they do. We believe Norfolk dragons choose not to smoke to help reducing CO2 emissions and global warming.

Have you got a dragon or a great crested newt?
Photo by Vernon Conie

There is a baby dragon with a crest living in my pond - what can I do?

Dragons don't normally live in ponds - you may find this is a great crested newt. If it is a dragon you will need a licence from Unnatural England to relocate it and you need to provide suitable replacement habitat e.g. cave or ruined castle.

Do I need a tetanus jab if I get bitten by a dragon?

Yes, as real dragons don't use toothbrushes and their mouths are very unhygienic.

  

If you have a question about Norfolk's wildlife, get in touch with our Wildlife Information Service on 01603 598 333.

Provided by Chris Smith of Norfolk Wildlife Services who provide ecological advice and wildlife surveys, and who gift aid all profits back to Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Norfolk Wildlife Services studying rare adders

Chris Smith, Norfolk Wildlife Services

Scientists are studying rare adders at Cawston Heath so that their heathland hibernation habitats can be better managed.

Adder, photo by Karl Charters

Dan Cadwallader from Norfolk Wildlife Services, the ecological science company of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said: "They aren't the cuddliest of creatures, but I am hoping to start in the autumn for a Phd around adder at UEA."  

The company is photographing adders to trace their hibernation places, which are often on sunny banks, rabbit holes and tree stumps. "The hard part is not getting bitten as this is very emotionally disturbing for the snakes. We will be treating any nest of vipers found, well with some proverbial caution."   

The company's staff, who are specially trained, will be equipped with stout boots and specialist snake gauntlets for the photography work, and using digital cameras to record scale patterns, which are unique to each snake.

The animals have been asleep since October 2013, so they are still sleepy as they wake up in the cool spring weather. Generally when they are active, the tramp of feet will cause they to slip away. However we would recommend that anyone with a nosey dog that likes to sniff things to be kept on a lead on the Trust's heathland reserves.  If dogs do get bitten, which is often on the muzzle or nose, consult a vet immediately to get the dog monitored and have pain relief.  The snake venom is designed to hunt mice, rats and lizards, so for anything larger the effect is similar to wasp stings - very painful, but with a similar issue of anaphylactic shock.

Norfolk Wildlife Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norfolk Wildlife Trust and we gift aid our profits back to the Trust at the end of the year to benefit the county's wildlife and wild habitats directly.