Natu ral World News from across the UK Winter 2016 Where next? Inside: our vision for nature after the vote to leave the EU

Tony Juniper Our president’s thoughts on a post-Brexit UK

Treasures of the Irish Sea Help our campaign to save the seabed

The farm where wildlife thrives “You just have to be interested,” says Nicholas Watts early purple orchids, Byrlip wood: david chapman find away? find UK the Can towards nature’s recovery recovery nature’s towards accelerate progress to achance is EU the leave to decision the but path easy an be not may It recovery nature’s did EU even tothe support than effectively more Following Leave the vote, Trusts Wildlife The every MP challenging are NATURAL WORLD 2 NATURAL T three keythree asks: for support to MP pledge every asking We world. natural are of our future the Government to be more ambitious about bring about sustainable fishing. Protected and Areas of Marine network systems. support life that so it protects our management needed moreneeded positive planning for Trusts.Wildlife at The of Seas Living Edwards, Head Joan said that generations,” of future security, and economic and wellbeing health, our for wildlife, but for just not future. the for standards environmental even set and higher UK NEWS n n n “Even Leave before the vote we is vital areas three these in “Success

a establish to effort the Sustain Reform society’s investment in land investment land in society’s Reform Recognise the need for wildlife laws wildlife for laws need the Recognise opportunity to press the to the press opportunity voteUK’s to leave an as EU the Wildlife Trusts he the are using WINTER

2016 support support toMP pledge http://tinyurl.com/h642uxw n economy, health and wellbeing.” world plays natural our in that our vital role the recognise and places; wild and wildlife reconnect recover losses; and further ambitiously. prevent must It any used be must UK the wildlife. brought the benefits that EU membership improve is to and build on challenge Our of what was left. protecting best the just than recovery, rather nature’s

“The seismic change facing facing change seismic “The Has your MP pledged? Check on Check pledged? MP your Has asking every We are

integrated environmental and agricultural policy – policy agricultural and good for wildlife and good for wildlife and We want to see an an see to We want The way The way ahead Continues over involved.” all for outcomes best the achieving in stake to all us for enjoy. landscapes beautiful having wildlife well increasing as and as our waterup supplies cleaning flooding, to manage helping as such we need, all things the for landowners and farmers Agriculture pays which Policy and We want anew Integrated Environment people Life supportsystems

work well. Wework well. have all a “This is not a polarised is apolarised not “This debate between the need need the between debate need both of them to to both of them need for food and the need need the and food for interconnected, and we for a healthy healthy a for outcomes are for England. “The two two “The England. for environment,” said of The Wildlife Trustsof The Director Trotter, Steve

find away? find UK the Can

fiona gilsenan meets with The Wildlife Trusts Wildlife The with meets Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom the fortunes of wildlife. fortunes the to restore toGovernment seize this opportunity you how want the politicians much elected We you will tell hope your June. 23 on booths polling the entering of people minds the from MP. Leadsom Andrea Hon Rt the including to directly talking Ministers, and Committees Select to evidence submitting civil servants, are meeting UK. We Trusts a“greener” for case the are making future. the in –now and community whole to the benefits that bring payments management by land replaced be should subsidies diversity. Consequently, farming EU old the and beauty, abundance its all in is allowed and wildlife to emissions; recover carbon restored growing; to food future peatlands reduce for to are soils that: conserved ensure responsibility a has also Government but generations; have own towho land future aresponsibility People Association. Business and Land Country We like withthe closely working are bodies also to to ideas. wildlife our other organisations align We’re EU. leaving the from arise day every talking that could opportunities of the some about talks Tony President, our and energising Juniper, and next. happens what toout influence we have work cut breath our aresult, because as Wefundamentally. have to deep had take along wildlifeprotection and fisheries, farming, of basis our the immediately. it will change And world the position in UK’s the move. changed It to forward it! looks now team almost the reorganisations. Initially this was unpopular but We’re case on the land and at sea. Contact us on us Contact sea. at and land on everyone, for wildlife in rich environment an for working all UK, the Trusts covering 47 are Wildlife there Together Catherine Boggild Cover: Editor 1WT. NG24 Notts Newark, Road, Mather Waterside, wildlifetrusts.org/joinus Trust, To visit Wildlife your join 677711. 01636 or communications @stephhilborne Trusts Wildlife The of Executive Chief OBE Hilborne Stephanie

We know from our research that wildlife was far We research that wildlife our know from was far we Wildlife at The us, With behind your mandate liberating be you resisted even can But change Well adesk vote was than the more June 23 on twitter @wildlifetrusts Rupert Paul Layout Paul editor Rupert Adam Cormack Communications officer Cormack Adam initiate frequent desk I reasons, these all For future. the at to afresh us look encourage and breakopen-minded, bad habits can make us more creative and Change of change. I’m agreat fan WINTER .

Harvest mouse by Colin Varndell by Colin mouse Harvest Natural World, The Kiln, Kiln, The World, Natural

facebook.com/wildlifetrusts 2016

[email protected] [email protected] Head of of Head Hilliard Dan

NATURAL WORLD 3 WORLD NATURAL

news and issues: and news wildlifetrusts.

Latest UK-wide UK-wide Latest org/news

dan burton/naturePL.com stakeholders that stakeholders healthy fish stocks live in healthy seas We willWe persuade all fact, not just is this a ensurechance to existing laws are better implemented. A implemented. better said Steve Trotter. “In Trotter. said Steve visionary approach can approach visionary of the 8,000 studiedspecies equally robust laws,”

enhance our towns, continues to benefitcontinues to from cities, countryside and “It the that vital UK is wildlife organisations wildlife knowledge pooled per cent of the 8,000 UK species studied seas. This an is opportunity to

53 1,199 The report at a glance 53 are at risk of extinction and expertise to produce it have declined since 2002 since declined have Strong wildlife laws The EU has some the of most extensive environmental legislation in the world, and places wildlife vital wild protecting on land and sea, at and improving member approach natural states’ to management. resource build an overwhelming case for a sustainable future.” ahead protection environmental environmental The way become world leaders in If we get this right we will wildlifetrusts.

More on More n businesses and individuals and businesses help– to it.” conservationists, org/stateofnature16 together – Governments, Governments, – together Trusts. “We must “We Trusts. work President Emeritus The Wildlife of “The future of nature is under is nature of future “The intensive agriculture as the single the as agriculture intensive biggest cause wildlife of loss. threat,” said Sir Attenborough, David dormouse At risk:At the MPAs ahead 2016 The way the UK’s network of Keep the best of the EU legislation, and complete complete and legislation, WINTER

That is the central findingof

the second State Nature of thereport, gives which clearest picture date of to the status our of native species across land and sea. It also identified 15% of UK species at risk of extinction of risk at UK of species 15% The UK’s wildlife continues suffer to widespread decline, with more than one in ten species facing now extinction. UK Action save wildlife to now. needed is We believe that the that EU’s believe CommonWe We willWe pressure the Government to renew its commitment to statutory protection Marine Protected Areas Protected Marine

UK NEWS UK

4 NATURAL WORLD Fisheries Policy provides some provides Policy Fisheries strong measures, especially towards moving sustainable of levels fishing; banningthe ofdiscarding fish; ‘unwanted’ and linking fisheries and conservation marine targets. the very At least, these good parts the of Policy Fisheries Common must be maintained future in any agreements and future UK legislation. To turn around decadesTo decline of in the health our of seas and enable their see to want The Trusts Wildlife recovery, a strong, ecologically coherent network Marineof Areas. Protected son b ho paul david chapman david andi sape WildlifeTrust is 90 y In 1926, one visionary purchase began the county Wildlife Trusts movement

In March 1926, a group of local people Not only were Cley’s habitats and led by Dr Sydney Long bought 435 wildlife preserved; the foundation of acres of marsh at Cley in Norfolk. The the trust was the start of the county marsh was famous for its bird life, and Wildlife Trusts movement. the group agreed to create a trust Dr Long’s group continued and give the marshes to it, to be purchasing important sites for wildlife preserved, in Dr Long’s words, “as a and people. Today, the Trust owns and bird-breeding sanctuary for all time.” cares for more than 50. “This group was The Norfolk Naturalists Trust came not afraid to take big risks to achieve into being on 5 November 1926. their goals,” says the Trust’s Chief Today, it is . Executive, Brendan Joyce. “I feel passionately that Norfolk Wildlife Trust should always push on. A bird- “2016 has been a fantastic year for us: celebrating what has been achieved but breeding looking forward to what still must be done in Norfolk and also with our fellow sanctuary Trusts across the UK.” for all time More on wildat90.org.uk The 1926 bill of sale for Cley Marshes, the Trust’s first nature reserve

Cley marshes nature reserve today fiona gilsenan

caroline corsie The Secretary of State with Proud farmer farmer, David Banner Bee friendly Jonathan Boaz farmers standing in his three year-old Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is nectar/pollen running a five-year pollinator project margin with more than 20 farmers. Each farm undertakes a pollinator health check, and shares best practice on improving land for native wild pollinators. “This is a great opportunity for farmers to get together through study Minister backs days, site visits and training events to talk about changes they can make, or nature-friendly farm have made, that complement the The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP visited different practices of each individual Dovecote Farm in Northants in October farm,” said the Trust’s Caroline Corsie. where the local Wildlife Trust has helped “They work together to establish what inspire a farmer to revert arable land to pollinators are on their farms and how wildflower meadows. they can help increase their numbers.” Mrs Leadsom said: “We’re working The project is funded from the with farmers and environmental European Agricultural Fund for Rural organisations to learn from their Development through Natural expertise and develop an ambitious plan England’s Countryside Stewardship setting out a new approach to managing Scheme’s Facilitation Fund. our environment to bring about even more successes like this.”

WINTER 2016 NATURAL WORLD 5 people & wildlife Nature is for everyone ...so why do so few people from ethnic minorities visit nature reserves, or take up a career in conservation? Mya-Rose Craig organised a conference to find out oth my parents are nature walks in London as part passionate birders. My of their Duke of Edinburgh Bsister is too. So by the award, helping them make a time I was three I knew that connection with nature so they nature was what I was would able to carry on or go interested in, and birds were back to it later in their lives. what I felt passionately about. I decided to try attracting

My Dad is white British and craigelena Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic has been birding forever. My H (BAME) teenagers from Bristol Mya-Rose Craig Mum is British Bangladeshi. Her is 14 and an avid to a birding camp I had parents took her to parks for birder. She runs the organised, Camp Avalon. picnics and rounders when she BirdgirlUK blog Even though I offered free was growing up, but she only and can be found places and allowed parents to became interested in nature on Twitter come, it was harder than I after she met Dad. @BirdGirlUK thought it would be. But taking I’ve grown up within a huge, advice from those who worked closely-knit extended British Bangladeshi in these communities, I persuaded five family in Bristol. As well as the traditional BAME teenagers to attend. first generation of older relatives my I learned a lot from Camp Avalon. For grandmother’s age, many are second example, many BAME parents will only and third generation. Some have been to let their teenager stay overnight if they university and have professional jobs; know and trust an organiser well, and many work in Indian restaurants or as feel sure that their child’s dietary and taxi drivers, and live in deprived inner city religious needs will be met.

areas. None show any interest in going Afterwards, I interviewed BAME H out into nature – which I thought was people who were into nature. They had craig elena simply because they didn’t want to. After similar stories of feeling like they were all, we very rarely saw any ethnic the only ones. Having my mum as a minority people whilst out birding. birder had helped me because I grew up Last year I read about what was being knowing that it was normal for ethnic done in the USA to try and get non- minority people. However, my biggest white people outside, and an article by inspiration was from having a cool older David Lindo, the Urban Birder, about sister crazy about birds. That’s why I taking Afro-Caribbean teenagers on believe that BAME mentors are so important. Mya-Rose organised a second birding camp In February 2016, a report confirmed in July 2016. She is second from right that children from lower socio-economic or BAME backgrounds had less access It is such an important issue that I to nature. organised a conference, Race Equality in Nature, which took place on 3 June at Bristol Zoo and was supported by The None of my Wildlife Trusts (see box on right). 85 huge people attended from nature charities, Exmoor, local communities, mental and extended family physical health teams, the media, universities and schools. show any interest There was a really positive vibe. I hope helena craighelena in going out that together we can make changes in Mya-Rose and friend. “Having an older sister the future, as access to nature is a right who was crazy about birds really helped.” into nature for all our citizens.

6 NATURAL WORLD WINTER 2016 Laura Bacon of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust ran a three-year project to encourage BAME people to enjoy nature. Since then, attendance at Attenborough Reserve has improved. “We hope these groups will now see our reserves as a site for them,” she says b o t h N o how to get ethnic minorities into nature tts wildlife t The conference last June began by Next, the conference came up with ways identifying barriers to nature. The these barriers could be overcome: r main conclusions were: ust n Encouraging mums to take children to n Living in deprived areas green spaces in groups n Lack of transport n Taking BAME and inner city people on n Poverty leading to things such as a trips to the countryside, showing them it lack of appropriate clothing is safe n Fathers working antisocial hours n Starting a mentoring scheme n Fear of teenagers getting involved n Setting up a forum online with gangs, or being seen as n Incorporating wild spaces into new troublemakers by the police housing developments n Parks, green spaces and reserves n Educating young people and parents poorly known, or seen as unsafe in school about conservation careers n Rural areas seen as white-only places, with a linked fear of racist attacks especially towards Muslims “Encouraging n A fear of dogs which stems from aggressive guard dogs and the risk of mums to take rabies ‘back home’ children to green n A lack of role models, especially on A happy moment during a Nottingham mainstream nature TV spaces in groups” school visit to Attenborough Reserve

WINTER 2016 NATURAL WORLD 7 living landscapes A farm where nature thrives You can’t have have a profitable farm and abundant wildlife, some say. But Nicholas Watts has proved you can. Welcome to Vine House Farm in Lincolnshire

barn owl farmland tree sparrow wild flower tower nest boxes meadow Six species nested There are ponds all Since these went This picture is here in 2016: along this strip, up in 2009, close taken after the late , jackdaw, and Nicholas to insect-rich summer cut, but in stock dove, tree estimates the total habitat, the tree season it is awash sparrow and barn area of water on sparrow with bees and owl. A feeding the farm at 15 acres population has butterflies, and station is next door (6 hectares) rocketed many other insects

Nicholas Watts has experimented for many years with ways to combine commercial farming with high biodiversity. This is one of several wildlife areas

nicholas Watts nicholas on his land

8 NATURAL WORLD winter 2016 A farm where nature thrives t’s the largest grower of birdseed in the UK – and at first glance a typical ILincolnshire fen farm, all flat land Tree sparrow feeding and big sky. But Vine House Farm is young. All the pictures anything but typical. Owned by in this article were taken pioneering farmer Nicholas Watts, it is a by Nicholas on the farm laid living challenge to the idea that farming hedge and wildlife can’t co-exist. With eight native It was spotting a brambling in the tree species. Next garden that first sparked Nicholas’ love along is another of birds. By the age of four he was meadow strip, then already wandering along hedgerows, another, younger searching for nests. So it was natural that hedge. The aim: after he inherited the farm he should “Biodiversity” start conducting bird surveys. His first species counts were in 1982. Ten years later he’d noticed a shocking trend: skylark numbers down by 60%, and corn buntings by 90%. “I could see wildlife was in trouble,” Nicholas says. “But I was just lucky that I’m interested in birds and I could do After ten years Nicholas noticed a trend: skylarks down by 60 per cent something to help.” He began using the annual surveys to inform his farm management choices. His first step? To replicate the pockets of habitat where wildlife was still thriving. What Nicholas had noticed was the result of crop specialisation: a reduction in the variety of plants and insects the land supports, and therefore a reduction in birds. He cites one example: “In late June there is very little available food for birds in a modern wheat crop. But winter barley matures three weeks before wheat. So by planting two ounces of winter barley per tonne of wheat, the birds on the farm have an uninterrupted food source. It tides them through this difficult period, without affecting the commercial value of the wheat crop.” Another innovation: planting a double line of eight native hedgerow species (Nicholas laughingly calls it, “Instant 500 year-old hedgerow”) between fields, Catherine Boggild separated by a wildflower meadow strip. is Communications The hedge provides year-round food, Officer for The and shelter, and in summer the whole Wildlife Trusts area is alive with the flutter of butterflies @catboggild and the buzz of bees.

winter 2016 NATURAL WORLD 9 living landscapes

20 years of bucking trends

Nicholas is the fourth generation of the Watts family to run Vine House Whitethroat Farm. His tenure started with the numbers depend rapid intensification of the 1970s and 1980s, but since then his efforts on how they fared on to reduce the impact on wildlife have led him to adopt sustainable their migration, and farming practices. In 2006 he was which crops you have recognised with an MBE. where.”

Tree sparrows are doing spectacularly. 105 pairs have raised 900 chicks this year Tree sparrows need to nest by insect-rich habitat. I started putting boxes Whitethroat in rapeseed. These warblers up in 2009 and feed on the farm’s abundant insects numbers increased.” Results Results 1997: 3 breeding pairs on the farm 2005: 1 breeding pair on the farm Nicholas Watts on his 2014: 23 breeding pairs on the farm 2014: 32 breeding pairs on the farm farm at Deeping St National trend: 34% increase* National trend: 52% increase* Nicholas, Lincolnshire

The 110 nest boxes between these Dig ponds, for insects, and nest sites for redshanks, hedges are perfect for tree sparrows. lapwings and . “Without water there “This spring, 105 boxes were occupied. plant hedges, is no life,” says Nicholas. Since then over 900 young have The fenland landscape is shaped by fledged. We had about 1000 tree feed birds. drainage and irrigation, which led sparrows on site in August.” Nicholas to campaign for a seat on the On my visit in August I saw a box with Ultimately, leave drainage board. He managed to change five chicks – the fourth brood of the year. a few places the way dyke margins are cut, increasing “We clean out the boxes in September. the population of a reed warbler colony By Christmas the birds have already for wildlife. from four birds to 70. However, in recent begun filling them with nest material.” years the birds are again at risk. He The biggest difference for wildlife was relates the decline to the drainage board turning a large section of the farm keeping water levels high in summer and The farm also has a organic. The inspections are a burden, low in winter, the opposite of the natural quarry with a large but the benefits outweigh the costs. Not order: “We’ve been draining the Fens for sand martin colony only do the organic crops benefit insects 200 years, and we’ve taken too much. and birds, they are also financially viable. We’re sucking the wildlife out of the Before the move to organic, herbicides countryside.” drastically reduced the number and But Nicholas believes farming’s biggest diversity of insects. “Now that we know problem is a simple question of it’s wrong,” muses Nicholas, “we should motivation. He is sure the steps he has try to put it right.” taken on his farm could be replicated Water is another key factor: 12 acres elsewhere, but with a proviso: “Where are kept as water sources, including six there’s a will there’s a way. But where large ponds. These offer breeding space there isn’t a will, there often isn’t a way.”

10 NATURAL WORLD WINTER 2016 *Source: BTO population index for England: Common Birds Census combined (from 1994) our vision for the with Breeding Bird Survey. Survey period set by availability of both VHF and BTO data future of farming The EU’s Common Agricultural Barn owls depend Policy has increased food production at the expense of on voles. There wildlife. Intensive agriculture in the were none here in UK is the largest cause of biodiversity loss, and a major cause 2015. The kestrels and of soil loss and water pollution. The way our land is farmed and owls reared in 2014 managed after leaving the EU is a ate nearly all of them!” chance to refocus taxpayers’ money to deliver more for people and nature. The Wildlife Trusts are calling for a new Integrated Environment and Agriculture Policy, which would invest in producing the the things we all need: clean water, clean air, wildlife everywhere, healthier intact soils, flood reduction Lapwings at the farm are allowed to and beautiful places to enjoy. fledge young before crops are harvested It can only happen if everyone – farmers, landowners, consumers – Lapwings gets involved. numbers have been increasing A reed bunting in since the late 1990s, a rapeseed crop, contrary to the giving it what for Barn owl populations fluctuate with prey numbers. This was a good year national statistics”

Results Results 1986: 1 breeding pair on the farm 1997: 2 breeding pairs on the farm 2016: 14 breeding pairs on the farm 2014: 27 breeding pairs on the farm National trend: substantial decline* National trend: 13% decline*

Price pressure from supermarkets and globalised competition make it increasingly difficult to make a living through agriculture. Nicholas is still determined to balance a productive farm business with the evidence provided by of his farm wildlife surveys: “People ask me about my plans for the future. I will go where my surveys take me.” Nicholas passionately believes in thinking for future generations as well as his own. His butterfly corridors and ponds are still a work in progress. But Vine House Farm proves that supporting wildlife doesn’t need to come at the expense of a profitable business. As he puts it: “You just have to be interested.” Once that interest has been sparked Nicholas’ advice for fellow farmers is simple: “Dig ponds, plant diverse hedges, feed birds. Ultimately, just leave a few An arable weed strip. places for wildlife.” “We cultivate the ground and let it Who knows what the impact would be grow. We don’t sow if every farm, garden and workplace anything.” followed his example?

WINTER 2016 NATURAL WORLD 11 living seas Save our seabed Seven years after the Marine and Coastal Access Act was passed, England’s network of Marine Conservation Zones is taking shape. But one of the biggest remaining gaps is the Irish Sea

f I told you the bottom of the Irish actually an extraordinary ecosystem. declines of 80-90% since the 80s. Now, Sea consisted of mud, you probably And its murkiness is what makes it so as we fish down the food chain, the I wouldn’t think it needed much productive. target is the langoustine, also called the protection. In fact, it is one of the There is a lot of mud in the Irish Sea. Dublin Bay prawn, or scampi. world’s most productive and biodiverse Two belts of soft, fine, muddy plains Unfortunately, these burrowing marine environments. stretch up either side of the Isle of Man. animals are caught by trawling – This relatively small but busy sea, But these aren’t featureless deserts. dragging heavy nets across the sea bounded by six countries, suffers from They are crammed with life which floor. Habitats have been destroyed and a poor public perception. People depends on dead and decaying matter 20-50cm of the seabed surface has describe it as “dirtier and colder” than sinking to the sea floor. been removed. Many tonnes of other the sea in the South West. But it is Sea urchins, angular crabs and ghost species are discarded as ‘by-catch’, shrimps turn over the mud as they feed preventing recovery of fish stocks. and burrow, helping to bury carbon and Cold-water corals vanished from the recycle nutrients. There are many Irish Sea decades ago, and delicate sea pens and sea urchins have declined dramatically. These Without action the damage to these vulnerable habitats will only get worse. animals are We believe they should be allowed to caught by recover and thrive – in turn protecting the wider Irish Sea and its ecosystem dragging heavy function. paul naylor Please add your voice to our The langoustine is the main target species for nets across campaign to save the mud habitats of bottom-trawlers working the Irish Sea the Irish Sea, and all the diverse wildlife the sea floor that depends on it. beautiful creatures here too: delicate sea pens and hydroids, and dramatic fireworks anemones, alongside brittle stars, and flat, peanut, spoon, and what’s the problem? bristle worms. In the Irish Sea, three MCZs have The world’s longest-lived creature, a been recommended to protect clam called the ocean quahog, also deep-water mud habitats. However, hides here. Individuals can live for over their designation has been delayed 500 years. Above the mud are plaice, due to lobbying from the fishing industry. sole, cod, whiting and haddock.

paul kay Each spring-summer a current system Trawlers also catch the ocean quahog – a called the ‘Irish Sea Gyre’ is established. clam known to live for at least five centuries It channels nutrients, causing plankton blooms, which provide food for herring, sprat and sandeels. Manx shearwaters, guillemots, puffins, razorbills and gannets are attracted by the fish. Some fly long distances each summer to forage in the gyre. Basking sharks, whales and dolphins also travel to this hotspot to feed. The deep muddy habitats which help to drive this system are not disturbed by waves or tides, so human activities

paul naylor have a big impact. Historically, The masked crab, which buries itself just fishermen went after cod, whiting and below the mud surface, is equally vulnerable sole, but these species have suffered

12 NATURAL WORLD WINTER 2016 Dr Emily Baxter is Senior Marine Conservation Officer for the Irish Save our seabed Sea, working at @LivingSeasNW

Sea pens and a fireworks anemone – two of the many species that make up this exceptionally rich ecosystem

We want a we need sustainable langoustine your help fishery We are campaigning for robust legislation that protects the seabed. Your support is crucially important. Find out how you can help at wildlifetrusts. org/mczs

WINTER 2016 NATURAL WORLD 13 great days out 10 ex-military reserves It might sound strange, but the places where our armed forces used to operate are some of our least damaged landscapes andrew s well as offering the A serin – a delightful lizards sun themselves on the opportunity to see 19th century walls. Or East

bird you can see at armstrong Aamazing wildlife, many Gunners Park in Essex Wretham Heath in Norfolk, of our reserves have an where five species of bat intriguing past. From Civil roost in an abandoned War battlefields to WWII bunker. These military airbases, places which have landscapes are often some of been protected for other the best preserved for reasons can offer a much wildlife. needed sanctuary for nature. Here is a taste of the variety In Gunners Park in Essex, of our former military nature for example, where migrating reserves. Find the full list at swallows nest in the derelict http://wtru.st/places- buildings and common militaryhistory

See nature reclaiming its old haunts

Details on each of these sites are Where is it? Ellingham Drove, Blackhall Rocks & Cross Gill on your Wildlife Trust’s website. Ringwood, Hants BH24 3PJ. 8 Durham Wildlife Trust You can find that via Magnesium limestone wildlifetrusts.org Greenham & Crookham hiding old pillboxes, tank traps 5 Commons. BBOWT and trenches. Now a stopoff for Bovey Heathfield, Bovey A long military history culminated migrant birds, with rare plants. 1 Tracey. Devon WT in their use in the Cold War for Where is it? 5 miles N of Site of an English Civil War battle; nuclear bomb storage. Now good Hartlepool off A1086, TS27 4DG. used to train US soldiers in WW2. for nightjar, woodlark and lapwing. Today it’s a flourishing heathland Where are they? Burys Bank Rd, Spurn NNR with reptiles and nightjars. Thatcham, Berks RG19 8DB. 9Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Where is it? Outskirts of Bovey A gun battery site in the 1800s Tracey, Devon TQ12 6TU. Gunners Park, Shoebury and WW1/2 military complex. An amazing place for migrant birds, aldridge

6 neil Misson Carr Has many derelict 19th century but check the tides at ywt.org.uk. 2 Nottinghamshire WT military buildings. Rare dune Where is it? South of Kilnsea, Former training area purchased plants, invertebrates, butterflies Hull, East Yorks HU12 0UH. The derelict control tower from the MoD by the Trust after and passage migrants. next to Blashford Lakes 50 years of restricted access. Wet Where is it? Shoebury, Thames Flodden Quarry woodland, marsh, grazing pasture. Estuary, Essex. 10 Northumberland WT Where is it? Haxey, 9 miles SE of A disused quarry which stands on Doncaster, DN10 6ET. a hill a mile and a half south of 7 Norfolk Wildlife Tust Flodden Battlefield. There is Longis Nature Reserve A NWT reserve since 1938, but evidence that the troops of King 3 taken over as an airfield in James IV of Scotland camped Six Victorian coastal forts and WW2. Wildflowers push in the woods around the dozens of World War II German through the old runways, battlefield in 1513, so the Bunkers. At its centre lies the and five bat species chances are they camped Alderney Bird Observatory. hibernate in the bunker. at Flodden Quarry. Where is it? Longis, Alderney, Where is it? On A1075 N Where is it? 4 miles W of Channel Islands, GY9 3YB. of Thetford, IP24 1RU. 10 Ford, Blinkbonny, Millfield 8 NE71 6HU. Blashford Lakes, Ringwood Hants and IoW WT 4 2 9 A Spitfire base in WW2, It later Most of these became gravel pits; now it’s a sites are 7 day

haven for birds. coastal j 5 6 4 14 NATURAL WORLD winter 2016 1 3 andrew armstrong shoebury military archives heyday and (below) fronting the housing estate its in Park Gunners at battery firing quick The

norfolk wildlife trust Heath Wretham East at thyme wild and bugloss Viper’s winter 2016 N 2016 ATURA Spurn is now one of of one now is Spurn lighthouse at Spurn at Spurn lighthouse The view from the the from view The military complex, complex, military Reserve. Once a a Once Reserve. National Nature Nature National the best sites in in sites best the migrating birds L W L England for England for OR L D 15 COMMENT Brexit and Nature: where next? The science, policy and objective are all worked out. All we need now is public support

ne of the EU’s most important These policies, rules and laws Committee advising successive aspects has been the measures guide much of how Britain Governments. This ensures Ojointly agreed by member states approaches conservation and that decisions taken across which have led to major improvements in environmental challenges. The different policy areas meet the how we approach environmental first objective for any post- aim of cutting emissions by 80 challenges. Through our membership we Brexit situation is to adopt all of per cent by 2050 (compared have adopted renewable energy targets, them directly into UK law. with 1990). Milestones are set improved how we deal with waste, This will not be enough, in the form of five-year carbon cleaned up our air and water and, of however. We are still far from budgets and policies are course, elevated the protection of many achieving a sustainable future Tony Juniper adopted to meet them. is a campaigner, threatened species and habitats. for UK wildlife, and our place in writer and advisor We could do all that in All this is fundamentally important to a sustainable world. on sustainability. relation to Nature too, setting the quality and sustainability of life in the This is why it is so important He is President of long term goals for the state of UK. So some real vision and leadership is for us to call for the full The Wildlife Trusts. habitats and the species of needed in shaping how we go forward. implementation of that @TonyJuniper most concern, and ensuring Our starting point must be to embrace manifesto promise to adopt a that those presently doing well the basic fact that healthy Nature is vital 25-year plan for the recovery of don’t suffer future declines. We for our health, wealth and security. This is Nature. We have all the information and have the tools to do this. For instance: officially recognised, and is why the policy ideas needed to get on with that revamped post-Brexit farm policies, Government’s own Natural Capital job, and could set out an approach Nature protection laws and how flood Committee called for a 25-year plan to comparable to the 2008 Climate Change prevention strategies are blended with improve the state of our environment. habitat restoration. We could also align That idea was included in the Nature protection with climate change Conservative election manifesto. The basic goals, by for example by restoring the Influencing that 25-year plan must be fact: healthy degraded blanket bogs that are each one focal point for The Wildlife Trusts. year emitting millions of tonnes of CO2. Whatever post-Brexit arrangements are Nature is vital for All the science as to why we need to put in place, it is vital that we don’t do this is already collected, and we know simply avoid going backwards, but our health, many policy ideas can work. The final actually secure improvements for wildlife part is public support. The Wildlife Trusts and our environment. What might that wealth and will be at the forefront of making the look like though? case and you can do the same. Please In terms of holding on to what we’ve security urge your MP to sign the Green Alliance got there are five strands. First are the Act. That piece of legislation was a rare pledge (page 2) if they haven’t already. Nature protection rules under the Birds example of how we went ahead of the Nature matters, and that is why we and Habitats Directives. These protect EU on a key environmental challenge. It should all be ambassadors, championing some of our most cherished wildlife and shows how we could similarly enshrine the value of the natural world to anyone special natural places on land and at sea. into law the recovery of Nature over 25 who will listen. Second are the policies that govern years. I very much hope you will join us in everything from the state of rivers to the As with climate change, long-term this, and help to create a future of which quality of the air we breathe. Third are ambitions cannot be achieved during the our children and grandchildren can the powerful rules of the Common term of one government: a legal be proud. Agricultural Policy, including those framework is needed to make sure that geared to meeting ecological goals in the baton is passed between elections.

s farmed landscapes. Fourth are the aims The Climate Change Act does this by t of the Common Fisheries Policy that setting out a long-term goal, but not all

rober requires the sustainable management of the detail needed to reach it. That job w e fish stocks. Fifth are EU agreements to is done by Ministers and Government tth

ma combat climate change. departments, assisted by a powerful

Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Astley Moss – a former degraded peatland

now soaking up CO2 again

16 NATURAL WORLD WINTER 2016