Annual Review 2018-2019 The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Company Registration No 2534145 (England and Wales). Registered Charity No. 1000412 Photo: Our North Chilterns Chalk Living Landscape Image: Robert Enderby Chairman’s introduction The scale of the challenge we are facing I sense that over the past year there has been by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. We have Over 1,000 species are known to be a heightened awareness of environmental developed further our partnerships with farmers challenges among the British public. Such issues and developers, e.g., through our Farming for the at risk of extinction in the UK alone (and they are only the ones we know about!) as pollution from plastics and climate change have Future project and our cooperation with Jordans been highlighted by Sir David Attenborough, the Farm, Prologis at Lilbourne, the Crown Estate at Extinction Rebellion protesters and many others. Rushden Lakes and Grosvenor at Trumpington The Wildlife Trusts have played our part in this. Meadows. Our visitor centre has received 180,000 97% of our meadows have been lost since the 1930s Our film trailer "Wilder Future" was screened over visits in its first full year, and we continue to engage 50,000 times in cinemas across the country, for with local communities across the three counties. planned for Oxford example, and our campaign every June, "30 Days 1 MILLION HOUSES Cambridge growth arc Each one of us has the power to do a little bit more Wild", continues to attract new support. to help our wildlife, and the sum of these actions The government has shown some understanding can add up to something much bigger across of these concerns in drafting its new Environment the country. Whether it is putting up a swift box, Bill, but it is far from perfect. We have been making your garden wilder or encouraging children campaigning for it to be strengthened so that it to experience nature, there is so much that we can will drive the creation and publication of Nature do. Our website is full of guidance on how to go Recovery Networks — maps that identify the places about it, and it is possible there to sign up to our wildlife needs in order to thrive — and ensure that new campaigning e-News bulletin. a new "Green Watchdog" is independent and has This year, we are presenting our Annual Report sufficient powers to hold government to account. in a new format. We have focussed on some key Meanwhile, in our own area, a significant new threat achievements from the last year, demonstrating the to our wildlife has arisen from government plans to landscape scale impact of our work. More detail create an Oxford-Cambridge growth area, which about any of these projects can be found on our would squeeze in an extra one million homes — website. We hope you find this approach to be the equivalent of 18 additional cities the size of both informative and engaging and we welcome Oxford — on top of current planned developments, your feedback. plus the infrastructure to support them, including None of the work we do would be possible the Oxford to Cambridge expressway and the without the continued support of our members East-West Rail. We are concerned that plans are and volunteers. We have ten volunteers for every being promoted, and in some cases agreed by 1 person member of staff, doing everything from checking is all it takes local authorities, without a thorough review of the sheep to monitoring bats to teaching children to start making environmental impacts, and we are working to about wildlife. It is through our combined efforts a difference ensure that the natural environment is properly that the successes described in this report have for wildlife considered. We are also supporting the legal been achieved, and I would like to finish by warmly action being pursued by the Berks, Bucks and thanking everyone involved. Oxon Wildlife Trust over the government's failure to hold proper environmental consultation for the proposed expressway. In spite of these pressures, this has been a good Living Landscape Partnerships year for our Trust. We benefit greatly from those supporters who leave money or assets in their Farming for the Future wills to the Trust, and this year a particularly Sir Graham Fry, generous legacy from Mr HK Bean has reinforced Chairman of the Council our financial stability and will enable us to project launched invest in our reserves and education work. The freehold of Woodwalton Fen, the heart of our Farming for the Future is one of 16 projects that biodiversity across farmland; and to reduce soil make up the Nenescape Landscape Partnership erosion and run off in order to improve water Great Fen project, has been transferred to us Scheme, supported by the National Lottery quality in the River Nene. Heritage Fund (NLHF). The project provides grants and training for farmers and landowners Bulwick SSSI, pictured here, is one of the sites across the Nene Valley to help restore and create that has already benefitted from the scheme and ‘‘I am backing The Wildlife Trusts’ campaign to rally people to secure a ‘wilder future’ by restoring meadow and wetland habitats; to increase been improved for wildlife. large areas of wildlife habitat, in city and country. We know which wild places we should be Darragh Helena Image: protecting and expanding. But we need ambitious new laws to ensure we do this, laws that ensure we map out nature’s recovery." Sir David Attenborough, President Emeritus of The Wildlife Trusts Living Landscapes Reaching Out New linkages in the Nature Networks in the Nene evidence Nene Valley Living Landscape 4265 people based nature attended wildlife events recovery maps In November, we were pleased to open the Girder increased stock numbers and have successfully 48 in the Nene Wetlands produced through the Bridge on the Nene Wetlands nature reserve achieved a more appealing grassland for NLHF funded Nene Valley following extensive re-engineering of the old wintering birds, attracting birds such as wigeon 413 volunteer Nature Improvement Area bridge supports. Installation of the bridge has to new areas. given to help partnership given local people direct access to Rushden hours run events Our Highland cattle remain a key feature of the Lakes retail area and to parts of the reserve for Around the first time in many years. Wilson’s Pits area of the Nene Wetlands reserve Nearly £4000 and are well suited to grazing the wet terrain. 180,000 people raised for us over the Image: Katie King visited our Nene Wetlands last 5 years by our friends ‘This new structure will provide a vital link Skew Bridge has affectionately been renamed visitor centre Canoe2 through their Wildlife between the Greenway footpaths and cycle- ‘Bat Alley’ and we have put on additional Paddles, Bat Walks and Dawn international bat night walks due to popular ways around the lakes, giving people more Chorus Strolls opportunities to enjoy the wildlife our district demand. has to offer.’ The Nene Valley is one of our eight Living Cllr Steven North, Leader of East Northamptonshire Council Landscapes areas. All eight remain a core focus At Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows we of our conservation activity, providing pivotal have trialled new grazing techniques involving areas for a Nature Recovery Network. Image: Mike McFarlane Nature Reserves Nature Reserves The word dormouse translates literally as 'sleepy one' Space reserved Woodland work This year we paid special attention to our woodland chemically for wildlife Image: Gwen Hitchcock nature reserves. We are custodians of many inhibit growth ancient woodlands, with veteran trees and swathes of native of woodland flowers entirely dependent on the broadleaf continuity of woodland over many centuries. trees, ground flora and other For example, Waresley and Gransden Woods, species due to adjoining ancient oak-ash-maple woods, contain needle drop displays of primrose, oxlip and bluebell in a and greatly woodland type restricted to a small area of eastern reduce the site’s wildlife value. In all woods, a England. And Brampton Wood, the second largest challenge is coming from the growing impact of ancient woodland in Cambridgeshire, was already ash die back — a major threat to the trees and the an old wood when the Domesday Book was ecosystems they support. compiled in 1086. All are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest due to their diverse and This year we invested in new machines to rare flora and fauna. improve the efficiency and scale of our woodland management. This kit has the capacity to move Restoring these several tons of material at a time and is specially precious habitats has designed to be low impact in terms of ground become increasingly pressure to ensure minimum disturbance to wildlife. urgent due the impact It also includes a special winch, which can extract of past neglect and material without entering sensitive areas. The newly arrived pests and additional advantage is that the equipment enables diseases. At Brampton, us to extract and move the coppiced wood in a way conifers planted as that enables us to sell small amounts on, helping It was a record year for Black recently as the 20th Hairstreaks in Brampton towards our goal to create diverse and sustainable Image: Philip Precey century block out light, income streams. Working with the evidence Research at Brampton Wood Our Monitoring & Research team have this year used a new drone technique called the ‘normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI)’. Often used in agriculture to assess crop health, we have used the technique to undertake woodland surveys at Brampton Wood and to identify different types of tree — broadleaf trees show up here as orange and conifer as blue.