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Headlines from week beginning 27 March 2017 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
This week is English Tourism Week and we will be
highlighting some of our in-depth features which touch on tourism,
visitor management and accessibility. The Week is "an annual celebration of English
tourism. A series of events showcasing visitor experiences in England.
English Tourism Week highlights the value of tourism." Find out more
about this week here.
https://www.visitbritain.org/english-tourism-week We're starting today with a look at
interpreting our outdoor heritage, the lead article by The
Association for Heritage Interpretation in CJS Focus on Visitor
Management and Engagement written by Dr Bill Bevan. Visit almost any countryside property or heritage site and you will
have come across some way of telling that place’s story to visitors and
local communities. Interpretation panels, welcome leaflets and
self-guided trails are now common in today’s British countryside. Heritage interpretation is the way property managers explain the
nature, origin and use of their natural, cultural or historical sites
and objects. Interpretation goes beyond the dry communication of
information, using creative techniques borrowed from journalism and
communications theory to engage people about the place they are visiting
or the object they are looking at.
Bee Creative in the Garden! – The Wildlife
Trusts The Royal Horticultural Society and The Wildlife Trusts launch
gardening campaign to help wild bees The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts have
joined forces to urge gardeners to do more to help protect bumblebees
and solitary bees, heroes of the pollinator world. The Bee Creative in the Garden! call comes as bees are under
increasing pressure largely due to loss of habitat. In the countryside,
97% of lowland meadow has already been lost and the dramatic decrease in
suitable habitats isn’t just confined to rural areas.
The network of 15 million gardens that once formed ‘green corridors’
for wildlife are disappearing at an alarming rate. In London alone,
vegetated garden land the size of 2.5 Hyde Parks is lost each year*. The
number of front gardens that have been paved over has tripled in a
decade and over five million have no plants growing at all. The charities will be arming gardeners with the advice, insights and
inspiration they need to create habitats that support wild bees as they
emerge from their nests in early spring to forage for food. Gardeners will be able to download a wild bee-friendly gardening
guide. Wildlife events and a ‘Bee Creative’ photo competition will also
be taking place from 1 April to 1 November 2017 as bees buzz during the
gardener’s growing season and then look for nesting sites in autumn. Bee Creative in the Garden! is this year’s Wild About Gardens
campaign – a joint initiative to encourage gardeners to create wildlife
havens for the many, once-common, native species.
Tell local Beekeepers if you find an Asian Hornet
- British Beekeepers Association A new smartphone app has been launched today to help beekeepers and
the public make a quicker report if they find a suspected Asian Hornet.
Asian Hornet Watch is designed to give you
high quality reference pictures and use the GPS on your phone to record
exactly where your photo was taken. It will be sent straight to the team
that is working to identify the hornets as quickly as possible. It is
available as a free download from today for both android and IOS phones.
The BBKA will be encouraging all beekeepers to
use the app but to also tell their local groups if they find something.
When the two Asian hornets were confirmed in
the Gloucestershire and Somerset areas last summer there was very little
information given to beekeepers. Even those within a few miles were
alerted but not given the precise location. Given the fact that Asian
hornets target honeybees and can quickly devastate a colony of
honeybees, we need information in order to take defensive actions.
Seabed conditions key to survival of juvenile cod, haddock and whiting
– University of Glasgow Links between seabed type and quality are closely related to the
abundance and size of young commercially fished species such as cod,
haddock and whiting. A new study, led by the University of Glasgow and published today in
Marine Ecology Progress Series, examines the abundance and size of
Image: University of Glasgow The Firth of Clyde was once an important area for a variety of fish
such as haddock and cod and whiting. However, the populations of these
fish have changed to the extent that they no longer support the
fisheries they once did. Previous studies have shown that there is a now a lower diversity of
species, and the current fish population in the Clyde (while remaining
high in biomass) is dominated by small whiting below the minimum landing
size. In this study researchers analysed factors which could be affecting
the species from recovering. They found that the biodiversity of the
seabed affects the abundance and growth of juvenile demersal fish.
Liverpool tree scheme is child’s play –
Liverpool City Council Green fingered children in Liverpool have launched a city-wide tree
planting programme today (Friday, 24 March). Liverpool City Council is piloting the project at seven primary
schools with the aim of enabling every 10 year old child in the city to
plant a tree within the next three years.
Image: Liverpool City Council One Tree Per Child is the international tree planting initiative that
was founded by film-star Olivia Newton-John and environmentalist Jon Dee
to connect young people with the natural environment. To support the pilot, the council is also awarding Tree Champion
status to four other primary schools to act as mentors and has
identified four city parks for the planting to take place: Newsham,
Walton Hall, Otterspool and Alt Meadows. The scheme will be the first key recommendation to be implemented
from the the recently published Green Spaces Review, which called for
children to have greater engagement with the city’s parks.
‘Fingerprint’ technique spots frog populations at risk from pollution
– Lancaster University Researchers at Lancaster University have found a way to detect subtle
early warning signs that reveal a frog population is at risk from
pollution. Worldwide, amphibian populations are declining due to habitat loss,
disease and pollution which is cited as a major threat to their
survival. Scientists publishing in Scientific Report, have found evidence of
stress in tadpoles taken from ponds most impacted by pollution caused by
nutrients and pesticides. They say the technique they used to spot these
changes could offer an early warning system for populations at risk. Working over a three-year period they looked at common frog populations in urban and rural ponds subject to varying degrees of pollution. Using a special kind of biochemical ‘fingerprinting’ detected via infrared spectroscopy, the team looked at tissues taken from tadpoles as well as frogspawn to examine their biochemical makeup – searching for markers such as glycogen which can vary as the organism responds to stress. The team found strong evidence of higher levels of stress in tadpoles living in those ponds most impacted by pollution, more so than frogspawn embryos, which are protected to some degree by their jelly coat. Read the paper here: Strong, R.,
Martin, F. L., Jones, K. C., Shore, R. F. & Halsall, C. J. (2017)
Subtle effects of
environmental stress observed in the early life stages of the Common
frog, Rana temporaria. Scientific Reports 7,
Article number: 44438 (2017) doi:10.1038/srep44438
Ballast convention reduces mitten crab threat, but it’s not the end of
the story – WWT The risk to UK wildlife from invasive Chinese mitten crabs will be
significantly reduced once the Government follows through on its
commitment to treat ballast water from ships coming into UK waters.
However, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) has joined other
Ballast water is used to stabilise ships and in doing so it
transports marine plants and animals around the world. Discharged
ballast water is implicated in introducing many aquatic invasive species
into the UK, including the Chinese mitten crab, which have the potential
to wipe out native species.
The Chinese mitten crab population has increased rapidly in recent
years. Significant populations now exist in the Thames and other rivers
throughout England and Wales. As well as affecting native crayfish, they
damage riverbeds and banks causing problems for freshwater fisheries. Environmental organisations welcomed the news this week that the UK
Government has committed to complying with The Ballast Water Management
convention, which will require all ships involved in international trade
to manage their ballast water to specified standards from September
2017.
Breakthrough in 'amphibian plague': deadly fungus genes identified
– Imperial College London Scientists have identified the genes of a deadly fungus that is
decimating salamander and newt populations in Northern Europe. Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), dubbed the
'amphibian plague’, is a highly infectious chytrid fungus that affects
many species of
A fire salamander infected with the Bsal fungus. It died the day
after this photo was taken. Credit: Ghent University Now, researchers from Imperial College
London, Ghent University, and the Broad Institute, have sequenced and
identified the genes responsible for Bsal from an infected salamander.
The authors say the findings, published last week in the journal Nature
Communications, could ultimately help conservation efforts and provide
drug targets in the future to help curb the disease. Read the paper here: Farrer, R. A. et
al (2017)
Welsh “Domesday Book” of plants is world first
– Natural Resources Wales Wales has become the first country in the world to have a complete
record of its rare flowering plants and ferns.
The project, which started almost 40 years ago, has painstakingly
compiled a county-by-county register of every single rare plant in that
country. No such detailed account of a nation’s flora exists in any other
country in the world. And now this “Domesday Book” of the plant world will be celebrated at
an event at Aberystwyth University today (27 March 2017). The project was started by the Botanical Society of Britain and
Ireland (BSBI) and had been supported by Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
and its predecessor bodies. Dr Polly Spencer-Vellacott, BSBI Welsh Officer, said: "Wales came up
with the idea of County Rare Plant Registers in Cardiganshire in 1978,
and it has now spread to all parts of Britain and Ireland. People working in plant conservation can now identify sites for rare
plants in all the counties in Wales.
€4m to boost biodiversity on coastal structures in Wales and Ireland
– Aberystwyth University
A new EU-backed initiative to enhance the ecological value of coastal
defence and renewable energy structures in Wales and Ireland is being
led by Aberystwyth University researchers, in collaboration with
University College Dublin, Bangor University, University College Cork
and Swansea University. The €4m Ecostructure project was announced today (Friday 24th March
2017) by the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local
Government Mark Drakeford AM. Dr Joe Ironside from Aberystwyth University’s Institute of
Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences is leading Ecostructure. Dr Ironside said: “In Wales and Ireland, we rely upon man-made sea defences to protect many of our most important cities, towns and transport links from floods and storms. These artificial structures tend to provide poor habitats for wildlife, but eco-engineering offers enormous potential to make them greener.”
PotWatch - can you trump Obama? – Buglife Buglife are launching a new campaign to highlight the role the
importation of pot plants plays in establishing invasive species in the
UK. To look into this threat Buglife have launched PotWatch asking
the public to record countries of origin of plants purchased at their
local garden
Flatworm (Buglife) Last November an invasive flatworm from Brazil that is already a
threat to agriculture across France, the Obama flatworm (Obama nungara),
was found in a pot plant at a garden centre in Oxfordshire. The 4.5 cm
worm crawled out of a pot plant, a Heuchera, imported from the
Netherlands. The Obama worm, which grows to 7cm long, is a predator of earthworms and land snails, thereby endangering soil fertility and wildlife. It was first found in Europe on Guernsey in 2008, but has spread through France and into Spain and has now been discovered at a handful of locations in the UK.
The Importance of Visitor
Research by the Visitor Studies Group,
www.visitors.org.uk For anybody working or managing a visitor attraction or any site or
facility that attracts visits from members of the public or organised
groups, there are many arguments, from the financial to the ethical, for
undertaking good quality audience research. Including a Case study from
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority Who comes to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park? Why do they
come? What do they do when they get here? What do they like?
What really bugs them? Will they come back again? And more
importantly, who are the ‘non-visitors’, and what can we do to entice
them? To help us go about finding answers to these questions we’ve
joined the Visitor Studies Group.
Ten key principles of the Tree Charter published
The 10 guiding principles for the future of trees, woods and people,
have been drawn from more than 50,000 stories submitted by members of
the public, including woodland owners via a survey Sylva Foundation ran
in 2016. The principles reveal the role of trees in our lives, and are
agreed by a coalition of more than 70 cross-sector UK organisations,
including Sylva Foundation. These organisations are now united in
calling for people across the UK to stand up for trees by signing
the Tree Charter and helping to shape history. The principles will form the bedrock of the new ‘Charter for Trees,
Woods and People’ to be launched in November 2017, which aims to secure
a brighter future for the nation’s woods and trees, and to protect the
rights of all people in the UK to access the many benefits they offer.
Article 50 triggered: the challenges ahead for science and the
environment – British Ecological Society Today (Wednesday 29 March), the Prime Minister has written to the
European Council to formally declare the UK’s intention to leave the
European Union, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The letter has set the clock ticking on a two year period of
negotiation as the UK and the EU thrash out the terms of our departure.
While this window can be extended by unanimous approval, if negotiations
remain on track, by the end of March 2019, the UK will no longer be a
member of the EU. In the words of Brexit Secretary David Davis, the UK is “on the
threshold of the most important negotiation for this country in a
generation”. The withdrawal negotiations will cover a huge amount of
ground, from the cost of the “divorce bill” to the terms of any new
trade deal, and the extent of our future access to EU programmes. So
what happens now? How will it affect science and the environment? And
how will we be engaging with this process?
Seasonal
warming leads to smaller animal body sizes –
Queen Mary University of London Changes in the body size of animals measured under controlled
laboratory conditions have been shown to closely match changes in body
Cold-blooded species rely on the temperature of their external
environment to dictate their internal body temperature. When these
species are reared in warmer conditions in the laboratory they usually
develop faster, maturing at a smaller adult size. This biological
phenomenon occurs in over 83 per cent of cold-blooded species. Curtis Horne and colleagues investigate the effects of seasonal
warming on body size in insects and crustaceans (Queen Mary University
of London) Despite the huge number of environmental factors than can vary
seasonally, and the potential limitations of the study, the researchers
found a statistically significant match between body size responses to
temperature measured in the laboratory and in nature, which suggests
that they share common drivers. Forests
fight global warming in ways more important than previously understood
– Ohio State University Trees’ role extends beyond carbon consumption, study finds Forests play a complex role in keeping the planet cool, one that goes
far beyond the absorption of carbon dioxide, new research has found. Trees also impact climate by regulating the exchange of water and
energy between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere, an important
influence that should be considered as policymakers contemplate efforts
to conserve forested land, said the authors of an international study
that appears in the journal Nature Climate Change. “Forests play a more important role in cooling the surface in almost
all regions of the Earth than was previously thought,” said study
co-author Kaiguang Zhao, assistant professor of environment modeling and
spatial analysis at The Ohio State University. Read the paper: Bright, R. M. et al (2017)
Local
temperature response to land cover and management change driven by
non-radiative processes. Nature Climate Change. DOI:
10.1038/NCLIMATE3250
For
the third In-depth feature for English Tourism Week a reminder that the
countryside is, or should be, open to all. Accessibility; more than just
wheelchair accessible paths says Heritage Insider in our CJS Focus
on Overcoming Barriers Accessibility has been on our radar as a sector for many years not
least because of the requirements of the Equalities Act. But how
can accessibility be a tool for creating a truly compelling visitor
experience? Too important to ignore. Looking at UK disability
stats is a real wake up call to the enormity of potential audience with
additional access requirements. Nearly 1 in 5 people have a
disability. Can you afford to ignore almost 20% of your potential
visitors?
Scottish Natural Heritage joins MyParkScotland – MyParkScotland Here at MyParkScotland are delighted to announce that we have joined
forces with Scottish Natural Heritage to help raise the profile of its
National Nature Reserves. SNH’s 30 reserves across Scotland stretch from Hermaness in Shetland
to Caerlaverock on the Solway coast, and vary from high hills at Beinn
Eighe in Torridon to the vast open waters and wetlands of Loch Leven in
Perth & Kinross. Take a look at the Explore Parks – NNRs list to view
all the fantastic reserves across Scotland. Ian Jardine, SNH chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be
working with MyParkScotland. Through our 30 National Nature Reserves we
provide some of the finest places for people to see Scotland’s nature at
its best and also to enjoy getting out and about. “Many of our visitors ask about making a contribution to support
these special places and now, through MyParkScotland, they have that
opportunity.” The National Nature Reserves across Scotland are a fantastic resource
to help better connect with nature. Listing the National Nature Reserves
on MyParkScotland will not only provide information on each of the
Reserves but also give people the opportunity to donate and support the
Reserves going forward.
The 2017 Mammal Photographer of the Year competition winners are
announced – The Mammal Society
The Mammal Society’s Mammal photographer of the Year 2017 competition
winners have been announced this week. Led by TV’s
Pine marten by Alastair Marsh, winner of the Mammals of the UK category This year the top spot of winner in the Mammals of the UK category
was claimed by Alastair Marsh from North Yorkshire with this wonderful
photo of a pine marten (top), taken on the West coast of Scotland.
Alastair said “I was struggling to get photos of them during daylight
hours as they seemed very tentative, but fortunately persistence and
patience paid off.” Simon King said “So often we see images of Pine Marten at feeding
stations, and whilst this animal might well be on its way to or from
such a place, textures in the moss covered tree, the level of soft bokeh
and off centre composition make this image especially strong.” Alastair
won a conservation holiday in Dorset with Wild Days Conservation. How many of Britain’s wild mammals have you seen? - People’s Trust for Endangered Species Volunteers called to help PTES’ ongoing conservation efforts People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is calling for an army
of volunteers to record any sightings of wild mammals they see in their
gardens or local green spaces, as part of its annual Living with Mammals
survey.
Fox by Ben Andrews
Last year, grey squirrels were recorded at seven out of every ten
sites (69.4%), making them the most commonly reported wild mammal in the
survey. But grey squirrels are just one of the 28 wild mammal species
that have been recorded during Living with Mammals. Over the survey’s
15-year history, mammal sightings range from smaller species such as
wood mice, water voles and hedgehogs, to much larger species including
deer, badgers, foxes and otters. Thank you for giving nature a home – RSPB We've been sifting through around half a million people’s Big Garden
Birdwatch sightings – a total of over 8 million birds. And finally, the
results are in. This year saw an increase in the numbers of birds visiting gardens.
For example, in 2016, starlings were seen in 40% of gardens in 2016,
compared with 50% this year. Thank you to everyone who is giving nature
a
Top 10 (image: RSPB)
There was an explosion in the number of waxwings visiting gardens
this year. A lack of berries in their native Scandinavia prompted an
“irruption” of these stunning birds, with hundreds of sightings across
the UK, even as far west as Wales and Ireland. This year’s Big Garden Birdwatch saw a downturn in sightings of blue
tits, great tits and coal tits – all down by at least 10% on last year’s
figures. Last year’s prolonged wet spell meant there were fewer caterpillars
about for feeding their young. It’s likely that this led to fewer
younger birds surviving than usual, meaning there were fewer seen in
gardens.
One of the most spectacular and well-known villages in the Yorkshire
Dales National Park is Malham. Although the village itself is only
small, with approximately 150 permanent residents, the dramatic
limestone scenery in which it is set means that Malham has few equals
anywhere in the UK. Just a short walk from the village, with its busy National Park
Centre, cafés, Youth Hostel and outdoor and souvenir shops, is what the
area is most famous for – Malham Cove. There are also other
impressive features close to the village, including Gordale Scar,
Janet’s Foss and Malham Tarn. All are relatively easily
accessed by public rights of way and this means that Malham is a very
popular destination for visitors – an estimated 250,000 of them,
according to a 2012 survey.
Native wildlife back from the brink –
Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, the Back from the Brink project
will also help a further 200 species currently in rapid decline. The endangered Ladybird spider Back from the Brink is the first England-wide coordinated effort
to save threatened species. Natural England will work in partnership
with Amphibian and Reptile Trust, Bat Conservation Trust, Buglife,
Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife and RSPB
to pool expertise, develop new ways of working and inspire people to
save threatened species.
National Park Partnership Plan in the Spotlight The key management plan for the Cairngorms National Park will go
before the Board of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) next
week (7th April) before going forward for Ministerial approval. The Plan outlines a positive agenda for conservation, visitor
experience and rural development over the next five years. It focuses on
a range of proposals including:
The NPPP is the result of a 14 week consultation – Big Park Big
Questions – which took place last summer and which 320
organisations and individuals responded to with hundreds of people also
attending events which focused on a range of issues during the
consultation. The Cairngorms NPPP is a management plan for the whole Park, setting
out a vision and overarching strategy for managing the area. It sets out
how all those with a responsibility for the Park will co-ordinate their
work to tackle the most important issues. Trust
welcomes five year plan for promoting park life Scotland's largest conservation charity, the National Trust for
Scotland, has thrown its weight behind measures to improve wildlife
habitats in the Cairngorms National Park's proposed new Park Plan. The draft five-year plan is being considered by the Cairngorms
National Park Authority board next week. It contains wide-ranging
proposals to boost the condition of natural habitats across the park for
the benefit of local communities, landowners and visitors, as well as
the flora and fauna which depend upon them. One key recommendation
is to build upon existing deer management practices in order to ensure
overgrazing does not undermine habitats. A significant proportion of the National Park is made up by the Mar
Lodge Estate, which at 29,000 hectares is the National Trust for
Scotland’s largest property. The NTS Head of Natural Heritage Policy, Stuart Brooks said: "We welcome the ambition of the Cairngorms National Park as set out in their draft Partnership Plan to improve the condition of habitats through deer management and other means. Red Deer are a vitally important component of the Cairngorms economy and its ecosystems and both can benefit through collaboration by landowners. The National Trust for Scotland, and other landowners, have made substantial progress already in restoring native woodlands over large areas by reducing deer densities. We hope this plan will help to encourage further expansion of native woodlands in the Park. The Trust looks forward to on-going collaboration with the Park, Scottish Natural Heritage and neighbouring landowners to help achieve this objective.”
Scientific publications Møller, A. P. & Erritzøe, J. (2017)
Brain size in birds is related to traffic accidents. Royal Society
Open Science. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.161040
Sullivan, A. J. P., Pearce-Higgins, J. W., Newson, S. E.,
Scholefield, P., Brereton, T. & Oliver, T. H. (2017)
A national-scale model of linear features improves predictions of
farmland biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology.
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12912 Kovács-Hostyánszki, A. et al (2017)
Ecological intensification to mitigate impacts of conventional intensive
land use on pollinators and pollination. Ecology Letters.
DOI: 10.1111/ele.12762
Boukili, V.K. S. et al (2017)
Assessing the performance of urban forest carbon sequestration models
using direct measurements of tree growth. Urban Forestry & Urban
Greening. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.03.015
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CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS. |
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English
Tourism Week
Buff-tailed
bumblebee (c) Jon Hawkins, Surrey Hills Photography
Image:
British Beekeepers Association
these
three types of commercial fish over the course of two years in the South
Arran Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area in the Firth of Clyde.
The
council has teamed up The Mersey Forest and the One Tree Per
Child scheme to plant 5,000 new trees by 2019.
environmental
organisations in highlighting that invasive non-native wildlife can
still enter the environment through other routes.
salamanders
and newts, literally digesting their skin, which quickly leads to death.
Since its discovery in 2013, very little has been found about how the
fungus causes disease.
BSBI
meeting (Natural Resources Wales)
Ecostructure
will work with stakeholders and policymakers to develop simple, but
innovative ecological interventions for enhancing biodiversity, building
on IBERS award winning artificial rock pool enhancements at Tywyn and
alternative materials to concrete._0-buglife.JPG)
centre.
The charity has also prepared a basic guide to flatworms asking the
public to keep an eye out for these and send in photos of any found as
part of the campaign.
Ten
key principles of the Tree Charter have been published today (Monday 27
March), aiming to bring trees and woods to the centre of UK society.
size
with seasonal warming in nature, according to research from Queen Mary
University of London (QMUL).
Wildlife
film-maker and presenter Simon King, the panel of 4 judges selected the
winners from a hugely competitive pool of entries from photographers
across the UK, showcasing their talent for photographing some of the
UK’s most elusive wildlife species.
Now
in its 15th year, PTES’ Living with Mammals survey relies on members of
the public volunteering their time for a few weeks between Monday 3
April and the end of June. Volunteers are required to choose a site
close to their home or place of work, and to spend a short time each
week looking out for wild mammals or the signs they leave behind.
Volunteers can record their sightings online or via paper forms.
home
in their garden: with more birds visiting gardens this year, there's a
reward for your efforts.
