SUMMARY 2020

Angus Council Species & Habitats Champion programme was launched on 27 February 2018. At present, there are 15 local elected members and three schools representing 30 species and habitats. The champions have pledged their support for local biodiversity, have engaged in projects in the Tayside Local Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-26 and have carried out awareness raising with local communities, businesses and schools. Visit the Angus species and habitat champion’s page to see who champions your favorite species or habitat. To date the champions have been involved in a wide range of activities focusing on topics such as: marine litter, coastal erosion, farmland management, invasive non-native species, meadow creation, pollinators, natural flood management, woodland creation, climate change adaptation, wild food foraging and habitat corridors. Many local and national priority species have been a focus of action including: badger, hare, swifts, otter, hedgehog, small blue butterfly, bumblebees, wildflowers, bottlenose dolphin, pine marten, red squirrel and wildcat.

Angus Council Elected Member Champions Angus Council Elected Member Champions have demonstrated a commitment to supporting community initiatives and “hands on” projects across Angus including: Beach Cleans with Ferryden Primary School and Montrose Academy pupils - Ferryden and Montrose. Angus Coastal Festival. Sept 2018. Beach Clean - East Haven, Angus Coastal Festival. Sept 2018. Small Blue Week - Angus wide. June 2018. Seaweed ID session - Auchmithie, Angus Coastal Kidney vetch planting - Carnoustie, Angus Coastal Festival. Sept 2018. Festival launch. Sept 2018. Cetacean watching session - Montrose, Angus Kidney vetch planting - Elliot Links, Angus Coastal Coastal Festival. Sept 2018. Festival. Sept 2019. ‘Great Angus Beach Clean’ with Ladyloan Primary Save our Small Blue Awards Celebration - School, Arbroath. May 2019. Carnoustie Golf Links. Jan 2020. Beach Cleans and Litter CUBE, Arbroath, Angus Coastal Festival. Sept 2019. Tayside Prezzi filming - East Haven, Tayside Meadow Management Session - River Street, Biodiversity Partnership. May 2019. Brechin. July 2018. Chartered Institute of Ecology & Environmental Minding the Gap project - Turfbeg, Forfar, Project Management Cetacean training session - Montrose Launch. May 2018. Bay. Sept 2019. Minding the Gap project - Barry & Carnoustie, Invasive Non-Native Species and Pow Burn River Project Launch. Nov 2019. Restoration session – Farnell. July 2018. Members Swift Educational event with Woodlands Primary briefed by the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative on School – Carnoustie. June 2018. invasive non-native species (INNS) control and river restoration in Angus by the Esk Rivers & Fisheries Cairngorms Swift Race launch and press call - Trust. ‘Kirriemuir. May 2019. Site visit to Rottal Estate, Glen Clova to view Cairngorms National Park “Big Nature Weekend”. woodland expansion and river restoration works. May 2019. Nov 2019. Wildcat session - Isla Primary School. Oct 2019 & In addition: Jan 2020. Angus Council staff - Building Better Biodiversity - Hedgehog friendly land management and design Biodiversity Farm site visit - Dun, Aug 2018. Tayside session, Aug 2019. Biodiversity Partnership, River South Esk Catchment Angus Council staff - Building Better Biodiversity - Partnership and Scottish Badgers provided advice Providing homes for swifts session, Jan 2020. on biodiversity and how to create a “Farm Biodiversity Action Plan”. Angus Species & Habitats School Champions

Woodlands Primary School in Carnoustie became the first Angus Species Champion in 2016 and supports the small blue butterfly and swifts. In 2019 the search began to identify further Angus schools with a passion for wildlife. To date the following schools are “Species and Habitat Champions” with others in the pipeline such as red squirrel, native woodland, pollinators, INNS, river and bottlenose dolphin champions.

Woodlands Primary School - Small blue butterfly and swift Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-26 launch event, East Haven, Aug 2016. The pupils performed a song about local wildlife. Small Blue Week, June 2017-19. The pupils designed logos, posters, made bunting and planted kidney vetch at local sites. Kidney vetch planting at Carnoustie Golf Links - Angus Coastal Festival Launch, Sept 2018. Swift Event - Swift talk for pupils and outdoor identification of good locations for swift nestboxes (including one with a camera), June 2018. RSPB Nature of Scotland “Community Initiative Award” – in 2019 the Small blue butterfly project “Back from the Brink: Saving Our Small Blue” won the top national community biodiversity project. The pupils of Woodlands Primary School are at the heart of the projects success. Save our Small Blue Awards Celebration - Carnoustie Golf Links, Jan 2020.

Ladyloan Primary School - Marine litter Beach cleans - Great Angus Beach Clean, May 2019. Beach cleans and Litter CUBE - Angus Coastal Festival, Sept 2019.

Isla Primary School - Wildcat Wildcat workshop - the school held a wildcat assembly at which Scottish Wildcat Action gave a presentation on the species behaviour in the Angus Glens, Jan 2020. Wildcat den building - older pupils will work with Forestry and Land Scotland to build an artificial wildcat den in Glen Isla in 2020. Wildcat educational resource trial - The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will work with the school to pilot wildcat curriculum materials.

Planning in progress for 2020 - Red squirrels, activity in March 2020, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project - Pinemarten GIS layer promotion 2020 & Salmon - Angus Rivers Festival, June 2020 - Dragonflies, Angus Rivers Festival, June 2020 - Barn owl ringing and verge management pilot 2020 - Farmland birds & reptiles, Angus Rivers Festival, June 2020 - Amphibians, migration route project 2020 - Native woodland awareness raising 2020

If you would like to get involved in projects with the Angus Species & habitat Champions we’d love to hear from you, contact Kelly Ann Dempsey at [email protected] for more information.