FREE CoSuaffoslk t & Heaths Autumn/Winter 2017/2018 n e l l u C y n o h t n A © a e S o T o G o T n a e M t ’ n d i D e W m o r f Communities enjoy the Arthur s t p r e c x e m r o f Ransome Anniversary Celebrations r e p s t n e d u t s y Find out all about the commemorative activities on Page 4 m e d a c A and other Shotley peninsula improvements on Page 14 k o o r b l o H In This Edition: How Minsmere began Page 5 Latest volunteer updates Page 7 Engaging in planning Page 9 Community news Pages 8, 10 b u C e g d i Funded projects updates r b d o Pages 12, 13 o Save Our Suffolk n W o Coastal Clean Ups t h e r t o 5 , r M Henry Dempster and Beachclean Swifts! e t d Exploring the AONB this i s v p a m Stories of ‘swift’ action from D groups build their understanding autumn/winter back page e D © , y t r f Aldeburgh and Woodbridge Page 3 i of the coast Page 2 n e w S H www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty • 1 Coastal News A Message from our Chairman s the evenings close in and we feel the approach of winter it forward to progress on the southern boundary extension, after is time for reflection and anticipation! I’ve been reflecting on having the opportunity to discuss the process with Lord Gardiner, Adevelopments across the AONB and, especially, on the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defra. Shotley peninsula. Call me biased towards my own constituency, but it really has been a fantastic year for the south of the AONB. We also look forward to our ongoing work with local community and conservation groups who have or can benefit from receiving The Arthur Ransome celebrations (see page 4), included the wonderful grants from the AONB funds to support their efforts. Stories from 200-strong children’s choir for Shanties on the Shore, plus there was recent grant - aided projects can be read on pages 12 to 13. If fundraising at Shotley Pier, numerous footpath improvements (see you have an idea for a project we may be able to help! See page 14), Shotley becoming the first Walkers are Welcome www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org for details. Our Suffolk Secrets destination in Suffolk, a very well attended Stour & Orwell Forum AONB Fund is open for applications in the autumn, while the with some great speakers, and the bid being put to the Heritage Galloper Wind Farm Fund, Sustainable Development Fund, Lottery Fund for a large scale project across the two estuaries. Amenity & Accessibility Fund and Community & Conservation Fund all have a spring deadline. This autumn we anticipate the renewal of the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Management Plan for 2018-2022 and the ongoing work we Councillor David Wood, Chairman do with the AONB Partnership over the next five years. We also look Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB Partnership Wild Beach Beachwatch Beach Treasures his spring/summer has seen many Beachwatch events taking place each Bonkers was Experience along the Suffolk coast and estuaries, with many children’s groups in created to take people Taddition alongside our regular year-round teams. The entire school Bbeachcombing and from Earl Soham Community Primary participated at Dunwich, where the inspire them to treasure first – and very exciting – find was a Neolithic arrowhead! This isn’t classed their beaches. Beachcombin g as rubbish, but sadly plenty of predominantly plastic litter was collected, Suffolk’s special shingle such as bottles, fishing line and food wrappers. The children spent time in beaches never palls because school before and after the event, learning about the impact of plastic in twice a day, every day, the our oceans and how we can all play a part in reducing the problem. tide casts up new treasures. A short walk with Beach Sixth Form students from St. Felix School, Southwold, organised a Bonkers reveals many and as Beachwatch event as part of their activities week at Southwold, and the tide goes out you might Setting off on a treasure hunt at Sizewell similarly, Year 7 students from Saxmundham Free School, participated at see the glint of gorgeous Thorpeness, Sizewell and Felixstowe. sea glass glittering in the sand – Suffolk’s shingle stones smooth the broken glass until it resembles frosted jewels. Beachwatch Suffolk Results 2016 are available on the AONB website, highlighting the efforts of the local teams and including This is litter, but relatively harmless and inert litter. Plastic litter, however, is SWT Wild Beach holiday club activities articles by the Marine Conservation Society about litter items that ever present on our beaches, breaking down into smaller and smaller pose the most threat. pieces but never disappearing. Noticing and picking up litter is a side line ummer 2017 saw Suffolk to treasure hunting, and the #2minutebeachclean is promoted alongside Wildlife Trust helping children exploring the Suffolk coast beaches. Senjoy and explore the unique environment and wildlife of Sizewell Eager Beavers & Scouts! Beachcombing is one of the few things you can do that’s a real treasure Beach and Sizewell Belts. hunt. I honestly don’t know what we could find on the walks or events – ifty eager Beavers, part-funded by the Suffolk Secrets AONB Fund and the Galloper Wind Farm The Wild Beach Summer Holiday Cubs and Scouts, Fund – but we always find ‘treasure’! Details at www.beachbonkers.org.uk. Club, funded by Galloper Wind Falong with siblings Farm Fund, has seen children with and families, turned up Kate Osborne working parents and guardians, on 8 July for the AONB access hands-on, high quality Beachwatch event nature experiences close to where organised especially for Putting the Lunch Hour they live. the Deben District Scouts. In total, they The four sessions, which included collected 10 kgs of litter to good effect! raft building, den building, beach- Deben District Cubs - a staggering 300 items combing and a visit to the power - along 200m of beach in n July 2017, a team of station, were designed to reconnect Aldeburgh. This included 110 pieces of plastic and polystyrene, 60 pieces of volunteers from young people to their environment cord, 14 shopping bags, 20 pieces of fishing net and fishing lines, 45 pieces Ishipping company and give them a deeper of broken glass and bottles, 13 balloons. And a car filter! OOCL's office on the understanding and appreciation of outskirts of Levington wildlife around them. Generous sponsors helped keep everyone hydrated and energised, and offered to help litter-pick offered prizes and thank you’s for those who took part. Beaver Anya along the bank of the Bev Rogers, the Trust’s Learning and Stadlen collected the heaviest amount of rubbish – a whopping 4 kg, whilst Orwell River. They Development Officer, who led the Cub Henry Dempster amassed the most items – 93 in total. concentrated on the project said: “Suffolk is a coastal stretch between county with many miles of fantastic The event included a beach craft area, for creating marine themed Levington Creek and the OOCL group with their collected litter habitat. The Trust has provided sculptures or add colour design to stones, and all participants earned their Marina, supported by support to local families, while also Scouting Conservation and Environment Badges as well as Beachwatch Levington Parish Council and using their equipment. It was enjoyable and inspiring young people about the certificates, so left feeling very proud indeed. a great job was done, and the Parish Council thank them all for their world around them.” public spiritedness. Alona Ochert Matt Gaw Ian Angus 2 • Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org Wildlife News Amazing, Wonderful Swifts Two local groups are helping to stop the decline in Swift numbers. ew birds stir the senses like the Swift as the youngsters scream around our rooftops on a summer’s evening. But Swift numbers are falling rapidly as we block up nesting holes when Fwe insulate our homes. Indeed, at the present rate of decline, the UK’s Swift population will be extinct in 30 years’ time. Arriving in the UK at the beginning of May, Swifts feed, sleep and mate ‘on the wing’ and raise two or three chicks, taking six to seven weeks to fully fledge. Once they leave their nest they may not land again for the next three years, as they to fly over 14,000 miles a year on their annual migration to Africa. Adults return to the exact same nest the following year – so please bear this in mind if you are proposing to re-roof your house soon! We can all help stop this decline by installing a nest box, asking our builders to provide for a Swift hole in the roof during refurbishment works or by installing a Swift brick in any new Woodbridge swift © David Moreton building - and the great news is that they don’t make any mess so you will be happy to have them as tenants! Swifts, the largest of the aerial feeders, are almost completely black in colour. Swallows, house What Can We Do? martins and sand martins all have white under-parts and house martins have a white rump. Learn more about helping swifts from the following websites: Swifts are also the noisiest and the most communal, hence we see these amazing ‘screaming • swift-conservation.org parties’, especially in the evenings when they fly in noisy groups, high and low, turning, • suffolkwildlifetrust.org/swifts swooping and screaming.