Biodiversity Action Plan 2013-2014 the Partners
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Leicester’s Biodiversity Action Plan 2013-2014 The Partners 2 The Plan 2013-2014 A vision for conserving wildlife and creating Longhorn cattle graze were extended. This green space in an urban environment has improved floral diversity and new species of been in place for over 20 years commencing lichens and molluscs were identified for the first with the Leicester Ecology Strategy in 1989. time in the City. This Biodiversity Action Plan continues to support this legacy by setting out a strategy Information gathering and advice on planning to identify real targets and objectives for the applications have fed into our objectives for next City Council and partners who are responsible year. As schemes come on stream at several for safeguarding this environment and species of the schools within the Building Schools for particularly associated with the City and its the Future programme ponds, meadows and surrounds. woodlands will be created and provide outdoor classrooms as well as havens for wildlife for This Plan informs on the great achievements of future generations. 2012-13, some of which are highlighted in the report and provide examples of how green space The combination of both short and long-term has been enhanced with the help of volunteers aims, working in partnership and encouraging to make areas more attractive to visit as well local residents and volunteers to be involved and as opportunities to support the wildlife and see take positive action to safeguard the green space it up close. Public events such as the Bioblitz for wildlife is central to achieving the aims and at Evington Park were a resounding success objectives of the Plan. It contains realistic and enjoyed by naturalists and visitors alike; the achievable targets for the next year that will Environment Days saw some real improvements create new environments, safeguard others and at the City nature reserves by volunteers who get people involved. were keen to face the freezing temperatures and get stuck in. Habitats were created for otters and badgers near to the City, areas where the 3 4 Highlights Evington Park Bioblitz The 3rd Bioblitz event was organised by the Naturalists, scientists and researchers worked City Council in partnership with Groundwork alongside volunteers and visitors to the park to Leicester & Leicestershire at Evington Park identify species of flora and fauna. A massive during the weekend of 25th -26th May 2012. 465 species were found overall including 2 The Bio Blitz event is a very positive way of firsts never before recorded in the County. providing information on the biodiversity of A snail (Hygromia cinctella) and a lichen a site in a concentrated time period. Council (Xanthoparmelia mougeotii) puts Evington Park staff from Parks and Green Spaces, Nature among the top habitats in the county. Conservation, City Wardens and volunteers helped the event be a resounding success. The event also encouraged the public to visit the park and take part in guided walks, talks Despite torrential rain during most of April and and activities. Over 100 children from local the resulting flooding, the weather improved schools also took part in activities to learn about only a few days before the event and we were different habitats and the types of wildlife using lucky to have clear skies and high temperatures. them. Specialists inspired visitors and gave them the opportunity to handle bugs, insects, molluscs, mammals and amphibians. 5 Watermead Goose Campaign Watermead Country Park is famous for its bird A combined campaign of raising public life and now thanks to a campaign led by the awareness through publicity leaflets, notices and City Council Parks & Green Spaces and City talking to the public commenced. Visitors were wardens, the birds and their environment are encouraged to not feed the birds and take their healthier and happier. bread home or to exchange the bread for bird seed. Although, initially not a popular choice, The two lakes at the reserve were created from once visitors realised that more harm was being former gravel pits approximately 20 years ago done to the birds through the excessive feeding, and have developed into a mosaic of open water, they stopped and used alternatives. City wardens wet woodland, meadows, rough grassland and continued to take action and, where necessary, ruderal vegetation supporting the insectivorous enforcing the feeding requirements and issuing and seed-eating birds and mammals. fixed penalty tickets. The natural habitat is particularly good for water This approach successfully controlled the bird fowl such as our native and migrating geese, populations so they are back to their natural swans and smaller species such as coots and levels. Swans and geese no longer dominate and ducks. Over the last few years these populations this enables the smaller water fowl to feed closer had quadrupled over their natural size due to to the shore and be seen by visitors. the feeding of bread and other food stuffs by visitors to the park which encouraged birds to Helen O’Brien, Snr Nature Conservation officer the area. The knock-on effect of such a high said, “The issue over the bird populations was a population was a decrease in water quality by problem that had escalated until it was almost birds disturbing the sediments, rotting bread out of control. Thanks to this approach people and increased excretia both in the water and have been made aware of how harmful it can be on surrounding car parks and pathways. The to over-feed the birds. Visiting the park now is areas had only been laid the previous year and an even better experience and people are likely were already difficult to clean despite the regular to see more species of birds and fish populations maintenance. are also starting to recover too”. 6 Environment Days Volunteers Help to Improve Our Green Space Volunteers are central to improving habitats for Despite the sub-zero temperatures, volunteers wildlife by practically getting things done on came out and completed conservation work at the ground. The City council and partners rely Montrose Spinney in January and Wash Brook on people giving up their time to help make the Nature Reserve in February 2013. Volunteers green spaces cleaner and better for wildlife. This were trained in how to coppice and plant trees, means clearing up litter that accumulates along manage ponds and cut-back scrub. By the end the river bank or hedgerows so plants can thrive, of each day volunteers were tired and deserved a mammals build their nests and insects feed and well-earned rest, but the improvements made at pollinate flowers. each site were significant. On our larger reserves a long-term programme of Richard said, “One of my favourite parts of work is planned and broken down into smaller the job is getting people involved and teaching conservation tasks, but on some of our smaller them new skills that they can take away and sites it is possible to really make a difference in use elsewhere. The work completed by the just one day. volunteers has given each site a real kick-start and we will be measuring the improvements. We The assistant nature conservation officer at the have made these places better for wildlife and City Council, Richard Kelly, got stuck into his people can come and enjoy them”. new role by organising a winter programme of work at two small nature reserves close to the If anyone would like to get involved in City. Working with Groundwork and Parks and Conservation tasks organised by the City Council Green Spaces he organised volunteers from the please contact Victoria Hudson through the Council, local schools and residents. Green Hat Volunteer Scheme (0116 229 3637) or Richard Kelly (0116 252 7256). 7 Things are ‘Otting Up’ Improvements have been made to habitats at along the river and canal in recent years and by boat to the island to remove the scrub, create Watermead Country Park south to encourage two an obvious place to encourage them to stay and gravel beds and dead hedging ready for when the important species that are associated with this breed was at the Park. Groundwork worked with terns return to Watermead in the spring. If any large area of wetland. volunteers to carefully choose an area which is chicks are born, they can hide from predators less likely to get disturbed by visitors or dogs and within the clay pipes inserted into the ground. Groundwork were awarded funding from create an artificial holt (den). To celebrate the Britivic’s Transform Your Patch campaign and return of this animal to the area, Paul Leadbeate Catherine Tregaskes, Conservation officer who led working alongside the City Council (Nature carved a giant wooden sculpture of an otter which on the project, said, “We hope that the creation Conservation and Parks), they very successfully has been placed on the riverbank of the south of an artificial holt will encourage the otters to created habitats for the Otter, Lutra lutra and lake near to where otters have been spotted. stay a while and hopefully start to breed in the Common tern, Sterna hirundo. area. The terns were circling around the island Working with local bird specialists from LROS last year so they obviously like it there. Now Watermead Country Park is perfectly located and Council, habitat was specifically designed that we have improved the conditions they may adjacent to the canalised River Soar that flows to improve conditions and encourage Common start to nest here next year too”. out of Leicester, providing a strategically tern to nest on the island of the main lake at important area of green space in which wildlife Watermead.