The Government’s proposed High Speed Rail route announced yesterday (Monday) will rip through ancient woodland and devastate sensitive wildlife areas.
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said:
“Whilst some consideration may have been given to noise and visual impacts on those people who live along the proposed route, the Transport Secretary made no reference at all to the impact on the natural environment.
“The proposed route will destroy or irrevocably damage a large number of important sites, dissect the landscape and fragment isolated patches of habitat. In the context of the recent Making Space for Nature report, the very last thing we should be doing is damaging existing wildlife sites and creating new linear barriers to the movement of wildlife.”
Ahead of Monday’s announcement by the Rt Hon Philip Hammond, The Wildlife Trusts’ own analysis indicates it will impact directly on two Wildlife Trust nature reserves, four sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), 10 ancient woodland sites and 53 Local Wildlife Sites or potential Local Wildlife Sites.
Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust is one of the seven Wildlife Trusts* affected by the High Speed Rail route between London and Birmingham. Philippa Lyons, Chief Executive of the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, said:
“The new route for HS2 will be devastating for wildlife especially protected species such as bats, nationally-rare butterflies, water voles and otters in our most sensitive habitats such as ancient woodland and meadows. The route announced yesterday will irreparably damage several important wildlife sites including Calvert Jubilee nature reserve in north Buckinghamshire and the Colne Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest in south Buckinghamshire.”
The seven Wildlife Trusts affected by the proposed High Speed Rail route announced are:
• London Wildlife Trust
• Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust
• Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
• The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs, Northants & Peterborough
• Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
• Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust
• Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
Tuesday 21 December 2010
Tuesday 14 December 2010
RECORD RESPONSE TO NATURAL ENVIRONMENT WHITE PAPER DISCUSSION DOCUMENT
Over 15,000 people and organisations sent responses to a call for ideas on the Natural Environment White Paper, a record number for a Defra consultation, proving that people want to see a real positive change in the future of our natural environment.
The natural environment underpins our economic prosperity, health and wellbeing. The aim of the White Paper is to set out a clear framework for protecting and enhancing the things that nature gives us for free, which are too often taken for granted.
Thanking everyone for their responses, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said:
“I’m delighted with the overwhelming response that we have had to our call for ideas on the Natural Environment White Paper. We’ve received over 15,000 replies from individuals, NGOs and businesses, which goes to show that people really care about the natural environment and want a say in how it is managed.
“This is exactly the kind of debate that we had hoped to stimulate. A healthy environment is something that we all need, and all enjoy, so it’s vital that people get involved. We will take these ideas forward as we look to create a new vision for our natural environment and seek opportunities to enhance its value.”
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, who is delighted with the response said:
“This overwhelming response provides a clear message to the Government that people care passionately about the natural environment and want to see bold and ambitious action to support its recovery.
“The Wildlife Trusts actively encouraged people to play their part for nature by responding to the consultation and encouraging their friends and family to do the same. Thousands chose to take action and show how much they value wildlife. We know millions of people have a passion for wildlife and the natural world. It inspires us every day and provides essential services including food and flood protection. This White Paper is an opportunity to make a real difference and help lay solid foundations for the future.”
Work continues to develop the White Paper for publication in the spring. As part of this, more detail has now been published on our thinking so far on biodiversity offsetting, where society is compensated for its environmental loss, by a developer paying to create or restore an area of habitat elsewhere. We would like to encourage people to give us their views on this potential approach.
Development is needed so that communities can grow and expand, but it can damage wildlife and habitats. Greater use of offsetting is one tool we could use to help us achieve a healthy natural environment.
Caroline Spelman continued:
“Finding innovative ways to protect and enhance our wildlife habitats is vital if we are to achieve the new targets to conserve the natural environment which were set in Nagoya last month. Offsetting could deliver a range of benefits such as helping to create bigger and better areas that allow our wildlife to thrive. We would be interested in views on how we might make greater use of this approach.”
Biodiversity offsetting would not stop development or affect the rules about where development could or couldn’t take place, nor will it weaken protection for species or make it easier to build on our most valuable conservation sites, but greater use of offsetting could help compensate society for biodiversity loss.
Notes to Editors
1. The Natural Environment White Paper will be a bold and ambitious statement outlining the government’s vision for the natural environment, backed up with practical action. It represents an opportunity to change the way we think about and manage the natural environment, seeing it as a system and valuing the services it gives us. It will be published in Spring 2011 and will cover England only.
2. The discussion material on biodiversity offsetting is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/biodiversity/offsetting/index.htm
3. A detailed discussion document was published on 26 July 2010 to encourage the debate about how best we protect and enhance our natural environment, and the valuable services we derive from it. At the same time a short survey was launched, designed to draw in views from the general public.
4. These responses are currently being analysed and a summary of the key messages will be published on the Defra website prior to the publication of the White Paper.
5. More information on Defra’s biodiversity work programme can be found on the Defra website via www.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/
The natural environment underpins our economic prosperity, health and wellbeing. The aim of the White Paper is to set out a clear framework for protecting and enhancing the things that nature gives us for free, which are too often taken for granted.
Thanking everyone for their responses, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said:
“I’m delighted with the overwhelming response that we have had to our call for ideas on the Natural Environment White Paper. We’ve received over 15,000 replies from individuals, NGOs and businesses, which goes to show that people really care about the natural environment and want a say in how it is managed.
“This is exactly the kind of debate that we had hoped to stimulate. A healthy environment is something that we all need, and all enjoy, so it’s vital that people get involved. We will take these ideas forward as we look to create a new vision for our natural environment and seek opportunities to enhance its value.”
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, who is delighted with the response said:
“This overwhelming response provides a clear message to the Government that people care passionately about the natural environment and want to see bold and ambitious action to support its recovery.
“The Wildlife Trusts actively encouraged people to play their part for nature by responding to the consultation and encouraging their friends and family to do the same. Thousands chose to take action and show how much they value wildlife. We know millions of people have a passion for wildlife and the natural world. It inspires us every day and provides essential services including food and flood protection. This White Paper is an opportunity to make a real difference and help lay solid foundations for the future.”
Work continues to develop the White Paper for publication in the spring. As part of this, more detail has now been published on our thinking so far on biodiversity offsetting, where society is compensated for its environmental loss, by a developer paying to create or restore an area of habitat elsewhere. We would like to encourage people to give us their views on this potential approach.
Development is needed so that communities can grow and expand, but it can damage wildlife and habitats. Greater use of offsetting is one tool we could use to help us achieve a healthy natural environment.
Caroline Spelman continued:
“Finding innovative ways to protect and enhance our wildlife habitats is vital if we are to achieve the new targets to conserve the natural environment which were set in Nagoya last month. Offsetting could deliver a range of benefits such as helping to create bigger and better areas that allow our wildlife to thrive. We would be interested in views on how we might make greater use of this approach.”
Biodiversity offsetting would not stop development or affect the rules about where development could or couldn’t take place, nor will it weaken protection for species or make it easier to build on our most valuable conservation sites, but greater use of offsetting could help compensate society for biodiversity loss.
Notes to Editors
1. The Natural Environment White Paper will be a bold and ambitious statement outlining the government’s vision for the natural environment, backed up with practical action. It represents an opportunity to change the way we think about and manage the natural environment, seeing it as a system and valuing the services it gives us. It will be published in Spring 2011 and will cover England only.
2. The discussion material on biodiversity offsetting is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/biodiversity/offsetting/index.htm
3. A detailed discussion document was published on 26 July 2010 to encourage the debate about how best we protect and enhance our natural environment, and the valuable services we derive from it. At the same time a short survey was launched, designed to draw in views from the general public.
4. These responses are currently being analysed and a summary of the key messages will be published on the Defra website prior to the publication of the White Paper.
5. More information on Defra’s biodiversity work programme can be found on the Defra website via www.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/
Monday 6 December 2010
The Wildlife Trusts’ top Christmas tunes
The Wildlife Trusts believe Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate some of our most iconic wildlife – and the people who give their time to protect it too
And what better way to sing their praises than through a selection of the UK’s best loved Christmas Carols. Here’s a guide to The Wildlife Trusts’ top three:
• While shepherds watched their flocks by night
“While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground”
The Wildlife Trusts’ grazing flocks are a precious resource, ensuring marshes, meadows and other habitats are maintained for the benefit of wildlife.
Like all livestock, most of these animals need a watchful eye looking over them, and The Wildlife Trusts often rely on volunteers to do this. These volunteers, nicknamed ‘lookerers’ often work over the Christmas period, including Christmas and Boxing Day, ensuring the flocks are comfortable through the tough winter days.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s two shepherds will be watching over more than 1,000 - mostly Shetland - sheep this Christmas, whilst eight staff and six volunteers will be keeping their eyes on the Trust’s 100 Dartmoor, Konik and Welsh mountain ponies, as they go about their conservation-grazing work.
At Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Brockholes Nature Reserve in Lancashire, longhorn cattle on loan from Cheshire Wildlife Trust will be watched over by lookerers as they help shape the landscape of the reserve in time for its grand opening in 2011.
A flock of belted Galloways grazing Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s Hill Court Farm will be watched over by a team of volunteers over the Christmas period, whilst Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s grazing officer will be out feeding its herds of ponies, sheep and cows.
• In the bleak midwinter
“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone”
Birds and other wildlife looking for food and water over the winter can be met with bare branches, a layer of snow on the ground, and frozen ponds and puddles. Ready supplies of food and water left out in gardens can be a lifeline for them, and you can enjoy watching the wildlife that is tempted in, which is particularly visible when trees are bare and snow is on the ground.
Blue tits and great tits can often be seen in gardens where hanging feeders full of seed have been left out. Finches love snacking on seeds in wildflower patches, and also enjoy niger seed.
If you want to attract robins, leave a dish of mealworms outside for them – Robin Redbreast cannot resist this treat. Of course, they also favour the seasonal classic – a piece of juicy Christmas cake!
Don’t forget to ensure fresh water is available, as bird baths often freeze over in the cold weather. Nick Baker, naturalist and Vice President for The Wildlife Trusts, has produced short films on keeping your birds well watered and making bird feeders for the Wildlife Watch UK Youtube channel. Watch them here youtube.com/user/WildlifeWatchUK.
• The holly and the ivy
“Of all the trees that are in the wood
“The holly bears the crown”
As the UK landscape gently settles into a winter sleep, colours pale and foliage disappears. But holly defies this pattern, its scarlet berries and glossy green leaves blazing throughout winter. The evergreen plant is a useful food source for birds and other animals which can feed on the berries when other supplies have dwindled.
There are many Wildlife Trust reserves where the sight of holly can be enjoyed, including Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s The Hollies on the edge of the Stiperstones. Here, some of the UK’s most ancient holly trees can be seen. Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s Piper’s Hill and Dodderhill Common, Devon Wildlife Trust’s Bystock nature reserve, and Sheffield Wildlife Trust’s Fox Hagg are also good places to appreciate its bright colours.
Wildlife gardeners should consider growing both holly and ivy to support the creatures that visit their patch. Resist cutting back ivy, as its flowers can provide nectar to insects like queen wasps through the winter months and it offers a safe winter hideaway for butterflies and small mammals. The berries of both holly and ivy will ripen through winter and provide food for birds.
And what better way to sing their praises than through a selection of the UK’s best loved Christmas Carols. Here’s a guide to The Wildlife Trusts’ top three:
• While shepherds watched their flocks by night
“While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground”
The Wildlife Trusts’ grazing flocks are a precious resource, ensuring marshes, meadows and other habitats are maintained for the benefit of wildlife.
Like all livestock, most of these animals need a watchful eye looking over them, and The Wildlife Trusts often rely on volunteers to do this. These volunteers, nicknamed ‘lookerers’ often work over the Christmas period, including Christmas and Boxing Day, ensuring the flocks are comfortable through the tough winter days.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s two shepherds will be watching over more than 1,000 - mostly Shetland - sheep this Christmas, whilst eight staff and six volunteers will be keeping their eyes on the Trust’s 100 Dartmoor, Konik and Welsh mountain ponies, as they go about their conservation-grazing work.
At Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Brockholes Nature Reserve in Lancashire, longhorn cattle on loan from Cheshire Wildlife Trust will be watched over by lookerers as they help shape the landscape of the reserve in time for its grand opening in 2011.
A flock of belted Galloways grazing Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s Hill Court Farm will be watched over by a team of volunteers over the Christmas period, whilst Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s grazing officer will be out feeding its herds of ponies, sheep and cows.
• In the bleak midwinter
“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone”
Birds and other wildlife looking for food and water over the winter can be met with bare branches, a layer of snow on the ground, and frozen ponds and puddles. Ready supplies of food and water left out in gardens can be a lifeline for them, and you can enjoy watching the wildlife that is tempted in, which is particularly visible when trees are bare and snow is on the ground.
Blue tits and great tits can often be seen in gardens where hanging feeders full of seed have been left out. Finches love snacking on seeds in wildflower patches, and also enjoy niger seed.
If you want to attract robins, leave a dish of mealworms outside for them – Robin Redbreast cannot resist this treat. Of course, they also favour the seasonal classic – a piece of juicy Christmas cake!
Don’t forget to ensure fresh water is available, as bird baths often freeze over in the cold weather. Nick Baker, naturalist and Vice President for The Wildlife Trusts, has produced short films on keeping your birds well watered and making bird feeders for the Wildlife Watch UK Youtube channel. Watch them here youtube.com/user/WildlifeWatchUK.
• The holly and the ivy
“Of all the trees that are in the wood
“The holly bears the crown”
As the UK landscape gently settles into a winter sleep, colours pale and foliage disappears. But holly defies this pattern, its scarlet berries and glossy green leaves blazing throughout winter. The evergreen plant is a useful food source for birds and other animals which can feed on the berries when other supplies have dwindled.
There are many Wildlife Trust reserves where the sight of holly can be enjoyed, including Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s The Hollies on the edge of the Stiperstones. Here, some of the UK’s most ancient holly trees can be seen. Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s Piper’s Hill and Dodderhill Common, Devon Wildlife Trust’s Bystock nature reserve, and Sheffield Wildlife Trust’s Fox Hagg are also good places to appreciate its bright colours.
Wildlife gardeners should consider growing both holly and ivy to support the creatures that visit their patch. Resist cutting back ivy, as its flowers can provide nectar to insects like queen wasps through the winter months and it offers a safe winter hideaway for butterflies and small mammals. The berries of both holly and ivy will ripen through winter and provide food for birds.
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