Issue 1 Autumn 2009 Biodiversity NEWS Welcome to this bumper Staff news Her role is to implement our new set of Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs). edition of the Somerset In July 2009, the partnership If you are reading this, you probably Biodiversity Partnership employed Ali Slade as have at least one BAP Action to deliver Biodiversity Partnership Officer, this year! You are not alone, as there newsletter. based at Somerset Wildlife are over 50 lead partners. She is also Trust. putting together project proposals for funders for many The aim of the Somerset Previously, she of the BAP habitats Biodiversity Partnership is has worked as and species, so if you an Ecologist and can help make new to work together, protect Biodiversity Officer biodiversity projects and enhance the natural for three different happen, please get environment of Somerset, South West local in touch with her authorities and at alison.slade@ its wildlife and geological with Devon Wildlife somersetwildlife.org assets, for the benefit of this Trust. In her spare Tonedale Mill, Tonedale, and future generations of time, she is a bat and Wellington, Somerset, dormouse survey enthusiast and TA21 0AW. Telephone: 01823 652409. Somerset’s people. grows organic produce and “arable Unless otherwise stated, this newsletter wildflowers” on her allotment. has been complied by Ali.

Somerset Biodiversity News 1 New Action Plans

Staff news (contd.) The South West Regional Delivery Plan and me Joy Williams at Somerset County As 2010 approaches there has and will be disseminated to all LBAP Council is continuing to efficiently been a collective understanding partnerships. co-ordinate partnership meetings, that we are failing even to halt In Phase 2 starting now, each consultation responses and deliver partnership is asked to submit between biodiversity projects. Joy’s contact biodiversity loss and that we will 3 and 8 new or enhanced priority areas details are [email protected]. fail the biodiversity targets we that deliver at a landscape scale across uk or 01823 355663. have set ourselves. The predicted impacts of climate change will multiple BAP habitats and should be broadly based on Nature Map. add significantly to pressures on the natural environment that The Somerset Biodiversity Partnership are already beyond our ability to is putting this information together for submission to Biodiversity Southwest mitigate. All delivery is local. by the 30th November 2009 deadline. This is the context for a fifty year The final list of South West priority Regional Delivery Plan (RDP) for landscapes will be collectively agreed Biodiversity in the South West. We by the end of 2009. are drafting the first of 10 x five-year Naomi Brookes, biodiversity delivery plans that should SW Regional Biodiversity Co-ordinator Meet Matthew Marshall, Somerset result in achieving our Nature Map Wildlife Trust’s new Advisory & vision, and securing biodiversity into Wider Countryside Coordinator. the future by meeting our targets. Delivering advisory visits for projects Phase 1 of the RDP process has focused such as Neroche and Mendip Living on gathering evidence about where to Landscapes is in his remit and he has date we have maintained, restored or a special interest in Local (County) re-created BAP priority habitat in the Wildlife Sites! Contact Matthew on region. The outputs from this project 01823 652410 or matthew.marshall@ will be available in Autumn 2009 somersetwildlife.org.

New Action Plans adopted The most recently adopted were the information on biodiversity activity Mendip LBAPs in August 2009. The on the Somerset Wildlife Trust and There is plenty of progress since AONB Local BAPs will be SCC websites - coming soon! the last newsletter, back in 2007. completed by the end of 2009. Somerset now has an overarching Rather than write a new BAP, the Somerset Biodiversity Strategy, called Here is a table (see below) showing all AONB (spanning Wild Somerset and a range of up to the biodiversity action plans (BAPs) Devon and Somerset) are including date County wide and district level produced by the SBP: They can be biodiversity actions in their Delivery habitat and species action plans. accessed through the Somerset County Plan, which will be available on their Thanks to the hard work of the Council (SCC) website. www.somerset. website www.blackdown-hills. partnership, most have been now gov.uk/somerset/ete/countryside/ net or contact Nickie Moore 01823 adopted by the local authorities. biodiversity. Watch out for additional 681932 for more information. Somerset Biodiversity Action Plans

Mendip Quantocks Sedgemoor South Somerset Taunton Deane West Somerset Somerset Biodiversity Strategy Hedgerows and Hedgerow Trees Gardens and Urban Greenspace Traditional Orchards Wood Pasture, Parkland and Veteran trees Roadside Verges and Green Lanes Ditches and Ponds Water and Otter Bats Lapwing Local Biodiversity Action Plan Purple Moor Grass & Rush Pasture Calcareous & Neutral Grassland Heathlands Woodland Native Wildflowers of Arable Land Coastal & Marine Field Boundaries (Dry Stone Walls) Adder Long-eared Owl Waxcaps Wood White

2 Somerset Biodiversity News Funding for biodiversity Welcome to a new partner 4. Environmental assessment work In September, Wessex Water to enhance biodiversity on Wessex joined the partnership Water land, such as the sites of management group. The Wessex treatment works and the following Water BAP was the first corporate examples; initiative of its kind to be based • A significant portion of the on the UK Biodiversity Action National Nature Plan. Copies of their BAP can be Reserve found on their website at www. • Large surface reservoirs sustaining wessexwater.co.uk/ wildfowl, bat and butterfly • Fivehead Arable Fields (Somerset populations and varied habitats Their package of activity includes: Wildlife Trust) from open water, species- rich grassland to broadleaved •  Reedbed & Heath woodland at Clatworthy, Sutton 1. Providing funding to projects (Somerset Wildlife Trust) carried out by wildlife organisations Bingham, Hawkridge and Durleigh - the partners programme. Projects 2. Wessex Watermark awards within Reservoirs. Somerset include a grant towards funded in Somerset include: As well as the management group who the creation of a Community meet quarterly to guide the work of the • Brue Valley Living Landscapes Woodland project in Ashwell, near Somerset Biodiversity Partnership, there Project (with Somerset Wildlife Ilminster and grant (and lease of is also a much larger “Biodiversity Forum” Trust). land to) Cowleaze Meadow Project, for all organisations and individuals active Shepton Beauchamp • Parrett Rivers Project (with in nature conservation. If you would like Somerset FWAG) 3. Action to minimise the impact of to be added to our mailing list for this building new infrastructure, such as newsletter and other relevant emails, • Reedbed (RSPB) treatment works and pipelines; please pass your details to Joy.

News on funding for biodiversity Our latest partner, Wessex Water, SITA have announced that they are 20m intervals. The amount of funding have given us notice of grants offering a new three-year Enriching available will be around £1,600 for each likely to be available soon. The Nature Programme that will run from project, but they are also interested 2010 - 2012. The Trust has committed to hear about larger projects. As the Wessex Water Partners Programme £8m in new funds to this programme. funding is from Stella Artois, projects (being announced end of There will be three funding cannot involve children or schools. November 09) covers: rounds per year in each of They also have funding 1. Projects aligned with Wessex Water’s the years 2010, 2011 available for bluebell core business activities (i.e. sewage and 2012. Applicants woods, planting treatment and water supply) to may request up wildflowers and enhance biodiversity and be aligned to £120,000 for regenerating with their Biodiversity Action Plan; an individual meadowland. project. Catherine 2. Partnership Building Projects Armstrong has Applications are focusing on capacity building within more details on welcomed from environmental organisations; 020 7407 9992 or not-for-profit e-mail her at 3.  Science & Research Projects which organisations ca@treecouncil. will actively survey, monitor or with projects that org.uk promote understanding of a habitat focus on conserving or species of biodiversity importance. a species or habitat There are a variety Also, they have a Wessex Watermark identified as a priority in of grant streams from award, generally up to £1,500, the UK BAP process but they the Heritage Lottery Fund available for environmental projects must be within 10 miles of an operating which can be used for biodiversity by groups, schools, councils and landfill site. The next deadline is 15 projects. The word is, they are other organisations. They specifically February 2010. http://www.sitatrust. looking for more applications include research projects identified in org.uk/nature-funding relating to biodiversity. See www. hlf.org.uk/English/HowToApply/ LBAPs. For more information please The Tree Council are looking for OurGrantGivingProgrammes for contact Ruth Bardon ruth.barden@ projects that will plant around 500m more information. wessexwater.co.uk 01225-526022 of hedge with hedge trees at average

Somerset Biodiversity News 3 Partnership Projects Somerset Schools Projects The SERC slot • Town and Country Planning • SERC data search results We are nearing the end of our School A key document has just been Wildlife Grounds project for this year. approved by the Somerset Biodiversity • Advice on land management Our first five schools were Holy Trinity, Partnership – the Somerset • Funding applications for projects Holway Park, East Brent, Pawlett and Priority Species List. The Somerset • Selection of Local (County) Wildlife Rode School. I’ve been working with Environmental Record Centre (SERC) Sites volunteers from the Somerset Wildlife has undertaken a massive amount of The List will be distributed widely and Trust Wildlife Gardening group who work to produce an up to date and placed on the SERC website very soon. have visited each school twice and accurate list of species on the current developed project plans to improve UK BAP priority species list, ones Over the survey season, SERC their grounds for wildlife. Work on where Somerset holds a nationally/ surveyors have been busy monitoring ground is starting this term and internationally important population or biodiversity across Somerset. Some some of their plans include planting the species is under threat of extinction notable highlights so far include what wildflowers, trees, shrubs and hedges, in Somerset. is believed to be the first confirmed digging and restoring ponds, putting Nathusius pipestrelle bat record for Special thanks go to Natalie the County and new records of Pale up bird & bat boxes, growing organic Harmsworth, Richie Smith, Ric Sandifer vegetables, composting and collecting St. John’s Wort , Cinquefoil and and Tony Serjeant for all their hard Broad-leaved Helleborine. Reports rainwater. I’m hoping to get some work. nice photos of the children at work of this activity will be produced. to promote this project, so watch this The priority species list assists in A summary report on Biodiversity space in the next Newsletter. applying the NERC “duty to have regard monitoring in Somerset will shortly be to biodiversity”. Examples of its use available on the SERC website Joy Williams include: www.somerc.com Projects helped with Somerset Landscape Scheme grants Many countryside improvement projects have been helped this year by the Somerset Landscape Grant Scheme (funded by the County and District Councils). During the first six months (April – September) 72 grants have been issued to carry out the following work:

Number Type of Scheme 14 Tree / shrub planting 2 County wildlife scheme 14 Hedge planting 20 Orchard planting 3 Dry stone walling 4 Hedge laying 8 Pond restoration Eight Acres 2 Willow pollarding 5 Woodland management 72 Total schemes Local Nature Reserve progress Somerset Landscape Scheme is also providing funding for the School We’re making good progress towards Nature Reserves when this process is Grounds Project. our goal of having one new Local finalised. Nature Reserve in each District by the Sites at Brushford Railway Line in Joy Williams end of this financial year. Silk Mills Park West Somerset and Eight Acres in & Ride in Taunton Deane, Yeovil Country Sedgemoor have also been approved Park and Ham Hill Country Park in South by Natural England and management Somerset have all been supported by plans are being developed for those Natural England, management plans sites. Further site visits to assess other are in place and District Legal Teams are sites for potential LNRs are took place progressing the legal declaration. We during October. will need to start planning how we can promote and celebrate our new Local Joy Williams

4 Somerset Biodiversity News Partnership Projects Arable wildflowers Coastal focus Actions from the LBAPs for the rare Out of sight but not out of mind, wildflowers found on arable land have Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ) been achieved this year: are the new marine protected areas introduced under the brand new • A talk was given by the Game and Marine and Coastal Access Act. Wildlife Conservation Trust; • Leaflets on identification and They will be in addition to the management of land for these existing Severn Estuary and plants were ordered from Plantlife Bay designated areas. and distributed to advisory officers; Their purpose is to safeguard the region’s undersea habitats • Five Head arable fields nature and marine wildlife, and to help reserve successfully gained funding ensure the long-term sustainability from SITA for interpretation and of marine resources. Protection management, at the time of writing measures typically involve £1K of match funding is required to restricting or zoning specific types unlock this money; of activity. Finding Sanctuary • An awareness and training event is the partnership project which at Five Head fields is planned for will design the network of MCZ’s June or July 2010 to include a plant in the South West. The Somerset identification workshop and talk off-shore area is included and there on managing land for these rare is now a Somerset County MCZ species. group, organised by Tom Hooper Further BAP actions are in hand so 01392 878 3237, Tom.hooper@ Lundy watch this space…. southwestfoodanddrink.com. Trees for Communities’ Barbara Collier reports on one of the South Somerset Together Sustainable Communities pump priming Projects. These are projects being developed by information supplied by the Letters have been sent to the identified the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) Woodland Trust and Somerset Town/Parish Councils to enquire if they partners as part of the Sustainable County Council’s Rights of Way data) wish to receive an information pack to Community Strategy. help them get planting this winter. It 4. Potential woodland sites is hoped that Aims of the Project this will lead to 1. To increase the amount of tree negotiations cover in South Somerset, especially with landowners focusing on community woodlands. to bring a (The aim is to develop a minimum minimum of of two community woodlands to two sites to feasibility stage) feasibility stage. A PowerPoint 2. To work with partners to agree on presentation a methodology to facilitate tree is also now planting in the District. complete. Progress The Next Four sets of maps produced on paper, stage are being placed on the Council’s GIS It is envisaged system. that, subject to The mapping exercise has identified These maps cover agreement by the LSP, Somerset County locations for potential community Council could use the finished product 1. Ancient Woodland/Replanted woodlands around existing towns as a template for other District Councils Ancient Woodland, Woodland on or large villages in South Somerset. in Somerset. For a copy of the pack Tithe maps 1837-54 (information Tree planting in these areas will and more information please contact available from SERC) help to connect isolated woodlands, Barbara Collier Tree planting Project 2. Woodland ownership particularly within Woodland Strategic officer by telephone 01935 462120 or Nature Areas and so will give real email [email protected] 3. Accessible Woodland (using biodiversity benefits.

Somerset Biodiversity News 5 Partnership Projects Bringing reedbeds to life A project spanning reedbeds across England is undertaking research into the range of wildlife they support, led by the RSPB. One of the study sites is the Ham Wall nature reserve. After the survey and research stage, the project provides site specific management advice to reedbed owners via “audits” of 20 further sites (nationally). A series of technical workshops and training courses on reedbed management are proposed in 2010. For more information, please contact nick.droy@ © Lynne Newton www.foxybiddy.com rspb.org.uk.

Working with nature to prevent flooding The National Trust has been successful lowland meadows; and the intertidal The Trust will create a series of in securing funding for a project on zone where the rivers flow to sea by wetlands, water meadows and wet its Holnicote Estate, near Minehead, infiltrating through a shingle beach. woodland habitats throughout the that is designed to demonstrate the Vale of Porlock, to store and dissipate Under the Exmoor MIRES Project, the important role land management excessive rainwater and help prevent Trust has already undertaken ditch- can play in flood risk management flooding of buildings downstream in blocking in 2008 in an area of blanket and mitigation, whilst also delivering the villages of Allerford and Bossington. at the source of the Horner Water. wider benefits for water quality and Natural floodplain processes will be This management technique might the implementation of the Water encouraged as far as possible within be extended to other areas under this Framework Directive, habitat creation the constraints of existing infrastructure project. and biodiversity, carbon stewardship, such as roads, bridges and buildings. access and recreation, At the intertidal zone, an old, and landscape disused landfill site at the conservation. mouth of the Horner Water The 3-year project causes flood water to backup is to be funded by a into the villages, rather than £473,000 grant from dissipating naturally through DEFRA, drawn from the shingle ridge via an the Flood and Coastal extensive delta. The project Erosion Management proposes to create a flood capital budget. An relief channel to bypass the entire catchment landfill and allow the river to project is proposed at form a natural delta. The relief the Holnicote Estate, channel will direct water into where the Trust owns an extensive area of permanent approximately 90% pasture at the back of the of three catchments beach, where it will form an totaling 51km². The extensive new coastal . Trust owns 260 buildings at Holnicote A detailed survey of all of the Penny Anderson Associates, ecological of which 170 are residential properties watercourses will be carried out in the consultants, and Jeremy Benn with 14 farms. There are 55 residential initial phase of the project. Drainage Associates, hydrology consultants, buildings at highest flood risk and routes from the upland areas through have been appointed to undertake the these are mainly located within the the incised valley systems will be collation of baseline data. There will villages of Allerford and Bossington. mapped with options reviewed for flow be a 12 month period of sophisticated and debris attenuation through these The project will address key land data collection and computer modeling systems. A comprehensive review of management issues in four main before land management changes will geomorphology and channel geometry areas, primarily in the Aller and Horner be implemented. It is envisaged that will be used to target the use of large Water catchments: the upland areas monitoring of hydrological data will woody debris, channel naturalisation at the headwaters of the watercourses; continue for at least 10 years in order to and wetland creation to attenuate flood steep transitional valleys feeding demonstrate long-term benefits. flows and sediment transfer in these down from the upland areas; the tributaries. Nigel Hester, National Trust

6 Somerset Biodiversity News Partnership Projects Getting Otter National habitat survey On Saturday 4th April, volunteers of Otters there and to discover whether completed from Devon, Dorset and Somerset there is a resident set of Otters. The The results of a national Countryside surveyed 73 sites on the River Axe sites are surveyed on consecutive days survey were published in September and its tributaries to get an idea of the so that a picture can be built up of how 2009. The Centre for Ecology and number of Otters on the catchment. far Otters have travelled overnight. Hydrology undertook the survey in This survey is carried out twice a year During the same weekend, volunteers 2007 and has produced useful findings in October and also surveyed for conservation work. The report is April. Of the sites the following broken down into different habitats visited, 71% had Somerset and looks at: fresh spraint, leading catchments: to the conclusion • the extent and change in area of Tone, Yarty, habitats; that there were Isle, Parrett, between 8 and 11 Cary, Brue and • the extent and condition of animals present on Bristol Avon. landscape features such as hedges, the Axe at this time. The latter two walls and trees; The population catchments appears stable since • the changing condition of had vegetation within habitats; monitoring began in surprisingly 2004. low results and James recommends a • the pH, carbon concentration and Some 136 volunteers from Somerset more thorough survey effort next year. bulk density of soils; and and Devon went out over the weekend • the changing condition of Information from James Williams, of the 25/26th April to look for signs of freshwaters and ponds. Otters across Exmoor. A two-day survey Somerset Otter Group. The full survey The survey report can be found at of this kind hasn’t been done before results and some fantastic otter photos www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk/ on Exmoor. The idea of the survey is to can be found in Newslotter 29, available eng_reports2007.html get a snapshot of the whole moor, to from James’ email stofordman@ gain some indication of the numbers freemail.wd-uk.com Traditional orchards Coming up An Inventory of Traditional Orchards The United Nations have declared 2010 (one of the new UK BAP & Somerset as International Year of Biodiversity BAP habitats) has been recently and the UK launch is later in November produced by the Peoples Trust for 2009. Endangered Species. It can be downloaded from the Natural England Something to look forward to in website, www.naturalengland.org.uk January – it is now BARS reporting month. I have a BARS gift for everyone who uses the system to report and a Amphibian and reptile special prize for the first to finish! So conservation if you need some training in how to use this on-line biodiversity reporting Froglife and the HCT have system, please contact Liz Biron at SERC metamorphosed into Amphibian and before then. Reptile Conservation this year. They have also published useful revised A summary of progress with national Species Action Plans for each implementing our BAPs will of the current priority amphibians and be included in the spring reptiles, available from the new website newsletter. www.arc-trust.org.

Also from January and into the Next edition spring season, surveys for Long- Thank you to all the contributors to eared Owl (a Somerset BAP this edition of Somerset Biodiversity species) kick off on the Mendip News. The next edition will be Spring and Quantock Hills and also the 2010 so if you would like to submit a Blackdown Hills and Exmoor. contribution, please get in touch with Contact Chris Sperring the Editor, Ali on 01823 652409 or [email protected] [email protected]. to volunteer.

© Brian Phipps www.brianphipps.net Somerset Biodiversity News 7 Members of the Somerset Biodiversity Partnership

Exmoor National Park Authority Forestry Commission Mendip District Council Natural England Sedgemoor District Council Somerset County Council Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium Somerset Environmental Records Centre Somerset Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group Somerset Wildlife Trust South Somerset District Council Taunton Deane Borough Council The Blackdown Hills AONB Partnership The Environment Agency The Mendip Environment Forum The AONB Partnership The National Trust The Quantock Hills AONB Partnership The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds West Somerset Council Wessex Water

Alison Slade Somerset Biodiversity Partnership Officer c/o Somerset Wildlife Trust Tonedale Mill, Tonedale Wellington Somerset TA21 0AW t: 01823 652409 e: [email protected] designed by: Somerset Wildlife Trust 8 Somerset Biodiversity News Photo - Frost on pollarded willow © Emma Daniel