March 2010
Hedges restored
The Wrekin Forest Volunteers have layed a length of overgrown hedgerow at Granville nature reserve near Lodge Furnaces and planted a new one at Lawley Green Space.“Hedges are wonderful fo
r so many kinds of wildlife – for nesting birds, small mammals, insects and invertebrates,” said Pete Lambert, Telford Green Spaces Officer. “They are also vital connections between the network ofwildlife areas across Telford.”
February 2010
School maths books fed to worms
Wormeries are being rolled out to Shropshire’s primary schools through a project run by Shropshire Wildlife Trust and funded by Shropshire Community Recycling Limited.Shropshire’s Master Composters delivered them, showing the children how to look after their worms.Teachers have been given specially devised education packs for different ages, produced by the Trust’s education staff.
“ Worm monitors collect bread crusts and fruit and vegetable remains from the dinner plates and feed them to the worms while break time fruit peelings and cores are also readily consumed,” said David Lloyd, worm enthusiast and teacher at Worthen School. “We also give them old maths books and teabags from the staffroom.”The primary schools involved so far are Sheriffhales, Trefonen CE, Moreton Hall, Minsterley, Morda CE, St John the Baptist, Ryton XI Towns, Longnor CE, Coleham, Apley Wood and Worthen.
Lapwing meadows project
One of the most evocative birds of farmland, the lapwing, will benefit from a project launched this week by a partnership of conservation organisations.
The RSPB, Environment Agency, Natural England and Shropshire Wildlife Trust are working together on ‘Lapwing Meadows’, a new wetland restoration project in the Meres and Mosses area of north Shropshire, funded by Natural England’s Wetland Vision Initiative.
Since 1970, lapwing numbers fell in the UK by almost 50%, and local surveys have suggested that the species is doing even worse in Shropshire where it has declined by 75% since 1987. This rapid decline has landed the lapwing on the Government’s list of species of highest conservation concern, the dreaded ‘red list’.
Mags Cousins, the Lapwing Meadows Project Officer, will work with Shropshire’s farmers and landowners to tackle an alarming decline in the county’s breeding lapwings and other wading birds, including snipe, curlew and redshank by making the landscape more attractive for these birds as a place to live and breed.
Music of the Common
Shropshire Wildlife Trust is working with Ludlow College to create a piece of music inspired by Catherton Common, its new 527-acre nature reserve in the Clee Hills. Through the Life Stories project the students will visit the Common and meet Roddy Yapp, head commoner, who will show them round and describe its history. They will then compose and record the music.
January 2010
Life Stories
A new project is underway at Shropshire Wildlife Trust to record the stories of Shropshire’s landscape. “The land has shaped the lives of people who live in it, and they, in turn, have shaped the landscape itself,” said Dan Box, who is developing the project.
“For example, beneath the Stiperstones, lesser horseshoe bats have spent the winter hibernating in a riddle of old mine workings dug out many years ago in pursuit of lead. There are many more stories just like this across Shropshire, but all too often they go unheard. The Wildlife Trust has now begun collecting these together and publishing them on our website, as part of a new multimedia project that tells the stories of the different landscapes across the county and how each of these is different, and alive.
We will gradually be adding maps and archive photographs as download options and audio slideshow, birdsong recordings and interviews with the people who live in these two distinct and wild areas of the county.
Genevieve Tudor from BBC Shropshire has kindly agreed to take on the role of series presenter for the Life Stories podcasts.
As the year goes on, we will be exploring the Clee Hills, north Shropshire Meres and Mosses, the River Severn, Telford’s Green Network, the Tern Valley, Oswestry Hills and the Clun Forest. A vital part of the work involves collecting the records, photographs and memories of people who have lived in and worked this land – in any capacity. If you have any material, or simply a good story about growing up in one of these landscapes, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Dan Box.
The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and DEFRA'S Natural England's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.
Tree platform for Wood Lane Nature Reserve
Families and friends enjoyed a day of snow and bright sunshine at Wood Lane Nature Reserve recently.They were taking part in bushcraft activities to create a platform around a tree for children’s play.
Timber cut from trees at Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s Ercall nature reserve was bound together with knots and lashings to make tripods for the platform and orchard ladders for climbing onto it. A roaring campfire kept everyone warm; potatoes were baked in its embers and lots of hot drinks were consumed.
A further bushcraft session will take place at Wood Lane on Saturday 31st January to complete the tree platform.Anyone wishing to take part please contact Helen Trotman.These events have been funding by Shropshire Council’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.
