Staff Changes We would like to offer a warm welcome to our new Volunteering Development Officer for the South & West region. Cassa Townsend will be based at Potteric Carr, and will be introducing herself to you soon. We also say a sad farewell to Jacqui Green, our fantastic Admin Assistant who has gained a job with the NIA Dearne Valley, and Dilys Hart, our Volunteering Officer for the North & East. They will be greatly missed. NEW Date for Work Day Leader Training Interested in leading a work day or considering a refresher? Get in touch for more information. Thursday 24 Jan 2013 10am - 5pm, York E: [email protected]T: 01904 659570 Volunteer Views Tell us about your volunteer experience - be it informative, funny, uplifting or extraordinary. We would love to hear from you! Please email your story to [email protected]A new role has been created in the Trust to bring our volunteering and community engagement work together under one umbrella. As the Inspiring People Development Manager I will be coordinating a whole range of activities that enable people to contribute to the conservation of our amazing wildlife. A great example of this is our new partnership project called Connect, funded by Defra, working across the Nature Improvement Area (NIA) of the Humberhead Levels. The aim of the project is to get families, community groups and volunteers involved in this unique wetland area by offering a range of events, training sessions and practical conservation tasks. This type of project gives people the opportunity to get involved on many different levels regardless of age, ability or experience. Another example is our Flutter By project, funded by Wren, which is currently offering community group leaders free minibeast training sessions. Group leaders will then be able to lead their own activities and feel more confident about taking their groups outside and learning more about our natural world. Involvement with the Trust is available across the county, so whether your interest is in the marine world, farming or growing food, to name but a few, there is a place for you to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. Hopefully reading about our exciting projects, attending events or joining a practical task day will encourage and inspire people to carry on and do more, both with the Trust, but also back at home with their own communities. Having a shared vision and cascading knowledge and experience in this way has to be the most effective way to create a living landscape where people and wildlife can live in a healthy and sustainable environment. A quote from author Chellis Glendinning sums up our aspirations: “If we cannot envision the world we would like to live in, we cannot work towards its creation.” Volvox
Transcript
Staff Changes We would like to offer a warm
welcome to our new Volunteering Development
Officer for the South & West region. Cassa Townsend will
be based at Potteric Carr, and will be introducing herself to you soon. We also say a sad farewell to Jacqui Green, our fantastic Admin Assistant who has gained a job with the NIA Dearne Valley, and Dilys Hart, our Volunteering Officer for
the North & East. They will be greatly missed.
NEW Date for Work Day Leader Training
Interested in leading a work day or considering a refresher?
A new role has been created in the Trust to bring our volunteering and community engagement work together under one umbrella. As the Inspiring People Development Manager I will be coordinating a whole range of activities that enable people to contribute to the conservation of our amazing wildlife. A great example of this is our new partnership project called Connect, funded by Defra, working across the Nature Improvement Area (NIA) of the Humberhead Levels. The aim of the project is to get families, community groups and volunteers involved in this unique wetland area by offering a range of events, training sessions and practical conservation tasks. This type of project gives people the opportunity to get involved on many different levels regardless of age, ability or experience. Another example is our Flutter By project, funded by Wren, which is currently offering community group leaders free minibeast training sessions. Group leaders will then be able to lead their own activities and feel more confident about taking their groups outside and learning more about our natural world. Involvement with the Trust is available across the county, so whether your interest is in the marine world, farming or growing food, to name but a few, there is a place for you to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. Hopefully reading about our exciting projects, attending events or joining a practical task day will encourage and inspire people to carry on and do more, both with the Trust, but also back at home with their own communities. Having a shared vision and cascading knowledge and experience in this way has to be the most effective way to create a living landscape where people and wildlife can live in a healthy and sustainable environment. A quote from author Chellis Glendinning sums up our aspirations: “If we cannot envision the world we would like to live in, we cannot work towards its creation.”
Local volunteers at Hetchell Wood have once again kindly come together to form a Shepherding Rota. Some of the Trust’s flock of Hebridean sheep have been deployed to help munch their way through the magnesium limestone grassland areas over winter. This activity is vital to reduce the vigour of coarse grasses, keep the encroaching scrub in check and promote the growth of wildflowers. The sheep will graze the site over the next few months, reducing the level of the sward to a height which will allow the wildflowers to grow freely next spring. The Trust relies on the sheep to do the work, as to cut the grassland would be extremely labour intensive, and the end result would not be as effective. The challenge of having the sheep on site over winter, is that they have to be checked every day to ensure that they are all ok, and not caught up in any bramble. This is where our dedicated group of volunteers come in! They have been dividing up the checking for a number of years now, which allows a number of people to take an active role in helping to manage the nature reserve, whilst at the same time not taking on too much of a time commitment. It also ensures that our Field Officers can carry out other vital tasks elsewhere which increases the productivity of the Trust. During a recent nature reserve management review it was noted by Natural England that the area of grassland has been restored significantly in recent years due to this form of management and that the number of wildflower species present is also on the rise. So a massive thank you has to go to the volunteers involved in helping to keep an eye out for the animals grazing at Hetchell and on many other Trust nature reserves across Yorkshire.
If you’d like to learn more about how you could help check livestock grazing on our nature reserves then why not get in touch. Full training can be provided and you’ll be making a real difference to the management of our nature reserves.
Willow invasion at Dryham Ings
At North Cave we tend to do our own thing with work parties, mainly because I plan dates and jobs on a short time horizon to fit in with my business diary. This summer we realised we had a problem with an invasion of willows along some 2kms of grips in our new Dryham Ings flood meadowland. In September a local team worked almost daily to pull these, but our efforts were supplemented by assistance from John Wollaston and team. The completion of the task involved 26 trailer loads of willows. John and team visited again in early October whilst I was abroad to relieve a weary local team of some of the annual willow clearing. For these contributions we are most grateful.
The Taste of Success
Potteric Carr continues to be one of the flagship sites for the Trust and the work that is required to maintain the variety of habitats and network of footpaths is no small task! Luckily there is a dedicated group of volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep everything going. A visitor to the nature reserve recently commented that they were surprised how much work needs to go into just keeping the site standing still, and that without all of the management the successional processes would turn all of the habitats into scrub and woodland. The Trust has identified the need to keep recruiting new volunteers to support the experienced ones, ensuring that the skills are passed on for years to come. To this end the Trust recently started running taster days, specifically designed for first time volunteers to give people an opportunity to come along, have a go and get a behind the scenes tour of the nature reserve. These have proven to be a major success with good numbers of new volunteers attending the days delivered so far, and crucially the people that have attended have continued to volunteer, joining the regular work days. This method of taster sessions has proven so successful that it will be continued throughout 2013. So if you know someone who is interested in volunteering, but unsure about whether they are ready to join a regular work party, then why not suggest they attend a taster day to find out more.
Species Spotlight
Spurn Lighthouse Heritage Restoration
The autumn maintenance work has begun with Alan, Arthur, Barry, Colin and Mick clearing scrub from the edge of the Mere and one of its reedbeds. As with other nature reserves there are paths to clear and fences to repair. Field officers are scheduled to lead us in clearing some of the trees shading out the herb layer on the main embankment.
We had a really stimulating fungus visit by Bradford Environmental Education Service (BEES) on 30th October. Highlights for me included wood blewitt, Lepista nuda; several large rings of clouded agaric, Clitocybe nebularis; anise cap, Clitocybe odora and, because of its name, poison pie (also called fairy cakes), Hebeloma crustuliforme. The BEES members insisted that they are not experts but they certainly know more than I do and I owe one of them a pint because I insisted for several minutes that one fungus was a type of agaric. It was actually an earthball. Mind you, they themselves often did not agree and the good-natured banter and discussions as they inspected the specimens was entertaining, stimulating and informative.
During the autumn we have had reasonable numbers of passage migrants and winter visitors continue to arrive. September and October saw parties of blackcaps, chiffchaffs and willow warblers passing through and there were a few sightings of spotted flycatchers. In November there have been small parties of about 50 each of fieldfares and redwings, up to 30 siskins, a flock of about 80 lesser redpolls and a forlorn-looking little egret hunched at the edge of the Mere. Duck numbers are still low with only a
few shovelers and about 70 wigeons accompanying the regulars – mallard, teal and gadwall. Wintering woodcocks have arrived and we are looking forward to the long-eared owls’ appearance!
Overwintering long-eared owls
The long-eared owl can be seen in winter months on several of our nature reserves as it moves south to form winter roosts. These roosts can contain 4-5 owls and provides delight to bird watchers who brave the cold.
The long-eared owl can be found on our nature reserves with the similar-looking short-eared owl. At rest, the ear-tufts of long-eared owl serve to easily distinguish the two (although long-eared owls can sometimes hold its ear-tufts flat), and the iris colour differs: yellow in short-eared, and orange in long-eared, with the black surrounding the eyes being vertical on long-eared and horizontal on short-eared.
However there are a number of other ways in which the two species can be told apart, which are best seen whilst flying - each owl varies in colouration and markings, and both differ structurally, with the short-eared having longer, slimmer wings.
There will be two volunteer positions associated with the Lighthouse Restoration project, with the aim of supporting the Spurn Heritage Officer and developing the Second Round Application. The positions will run from 1st January – 24th May 2013, with each volunteer contributing approximately 20 hours a week. The Spurn Visitor Research Volunteer will carry out research into visitors to Spurn, monitoring visitor activities throughout both the peak and off-peak seasons. The
volunteer will also assist with the preparation and running of events associated with the project, and with mapping visitor routes around Spurn. The Spurn Heritage Research Volunteer will carry out research into the heritage of the lighthouse and the community at Spurn Point, drawing together primary and secondary sources, and assessing records and data. This will entail independent working, often visiting archives and record offices to identify important and relevant documents and materials for the project. This research will examine the importance of Spurn Lighthouse’s Heritage and inform a key chapter in the Second Round Activity Pan.
LEEDS Adel Dam Supporters Group usually meet on first and second Tuesdays each month Contact Karen McDiarmid on 07780 666173 or email [email protected]
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Jan 8 Hetchell Wood Coppicing/ride work
Jan 23 Hetchell Wood Coppicing/pond work
Feb 5 Adel Dam Woodland thinning
Feb 12 Hetchell Wood Coppicing/ride work
Feb 27 Hetchell Wood Scrub control
Mar 5 Adel Dam Woodland thinning
Mar 12 Hetchell Wood Coppicing/ride work
Mar 27 Hetchell Wood Coppicing/ride work
WAKEFIELD & PONTEFRACT Contact Karen McDiarmid on 07780 666173. Brockadale Supporters Group also run a half day sessions on the 3rd Sunday each month from 9.45am – 12.30pm. For more info email [email protected]
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Jan 9 Willow Garth Hedge laying
Jan 16 Brockadale Coppicing
Jan 24 Stoneycliffe Wood Woodland management
Jan 30 Willow Garth Coppicing / reedbed management
Feb 13 Willow Garth Coppicing / reedbed management
Feb 20 Brockadale Coppicing
Feb 21 Stocksmoor Common Woodland management
Feb 28 Willow Garth Coppicing / reedbed management
Mar 6 Willow Garth Coppicing / reedbed management
Mar 13 Brockadale Tree planting
Mar 20 Willow Garth Coppicing / reedbed management
Mar 22 Stoneycliffe Wood Woodland management
HALIFAX Contact Karen McDiarmid on 07780 666173 or email [email protected]
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Jan 15 Broadhead Clough Scrub control – bring wellies
Feb 6 Broadhead Clough Scrub control – bring wellies
Mar 14 Broadhead Clough Step building
HUDDERSFIELD
RESERVE
CONTACT DATES
Upper Park Wood Supporter Group
Michael Brook 01484 651770 michaelbrook 0801@ btinternet.com
DONCASTER – Contact Mark Roberts at Potteric Carr on 01302 570077 or email [email protected] Work days normally start at 10:00am, with the exception of Potteric Carr work days, which start at 9.30am.
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Jan 6 Potteric Carr Woodland management
Jan 8 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
Jan 13 Potteric Carr Reedbed Management
Jan 15 Potteric Carr Island clearance
Jan 22 Potteric Carr Scrub management
Jan 23 Denaby Ings Grassland management
Jan 28 Owston Meadows Grassland management
Jan 29 Potteric Carr Scrub management
Feb 3 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
Feb 5 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
Feb 10 Potteric Carr Volunteers Taster Day: Hedgerow management
Feb 12 Potteric Carr Hedgerow management
Feb 19 Potteric Carr Woodland management
Feb 26 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
Mar 3 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
Mar 5 Potteric Carr Hedgerow management
Mar 6 Denaby Ings Willow clearance in marsh
Mar 10 Potteric Carr Scrub management
Mar 12 Potteric Carr Woodland management
Mar 19 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
Mar 25 Owston Meadows Fencing repairs
Mar 26 Potteric Carr Reedbed management
DONCASTER continued…
NATURE RESERVE
CONTACT DATES
Thorpe Marsh Supporter Group Meet at the Norwood Gate entrance on Fordstead Lane between Arksey and Barnby Dun, near to the pumping station. SE 594093
Most Thursdays, please get in touch for further details.
Thorpe Marsh Karen McDiarmid 07780 666173
10th Jan, 7th Feb
Don Gorge Conservation Volunteers (including Sprotbrough)
Dennis Roe 01302 736406
Every other Tuesday, please ring for details.
SHEFFIELD & ROTHERHAM Contact Mark Roberts at Potteric Carr on 01302 570077 or email [email protected]
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Jan 3 Maltby Low Common Hedgerow management
Jan 16 Woodhouse Washlands Grassland management
Feb 7 Maltby Low Common Litter pick and access work
Feb 20 Woodhouse Washlands Litter pick and access work
Mar 7 Maltby Low Common Scrub & grassland management
Mar 20 Woodhouse Washlands Fence repairs
YORKSHIRE DALES
GRASS WOOD Contact Gordon Jackson 01756 796967 or Enid Borthwick 01756 752737
DATES TASK
Grass Wood Supporter Group: 9.30am start. The meeting point will be indicated by a Working Party Notice hung on one of the gates on Wood Lane with further directional signs indicating the location of the work site.
Jan 5, 9, 19, 23, 30. Feb 9, 13, 23, 27. Mar 9, 13, 23, 27.
Woodland works
Grass Wood Biennial Volunteers Meeting Jan 26 Biennial Volunteers Meeting
Grass Wood Coffee Morning Church House, Grassington, 9:30-12.00. Feb 16 Coffee morning
HARROGATE & AREA: Group meets on a regular basis in & around Harrogate Contact the Harrogate Group Coordinators Andrew Dodd or Rachel Green on [email protected] or [email protected] or call 01904 659570.
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK Jan 15 Staveley General nature reserve management
Feb 13 Burton Leonard Scrub clearance
Feb 19 Staveley General nature reserve management
Feb 27 Burton Leonard Scrub clearance March 19 Staveley General nature reserve management
April 16 Staveley General nature reserve management
- Hardwearing shoes, boots or wellies. Wear steel toe caps if you have them
- Old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty; waterproof clothing, sunscreen and insect repellent depending on the time of year
- You can bring your own gloves if you have some suitable for the task.
Things you need to know:
If you are new to a particular site then please call or email the named contact to check the work party details and let them know you plan to attend.
Occasionally work days may change because of adverse weather so please check our website for updates.
Maps and directions can be found at www.ywt.org.uk; please get in touch if you are unsure where to meet.
Practical workdays start promptly at 10am and continue until approximately 4pm unless otherwise stated. New volunteers will be asked to give emergency contact and relevant medical details before beginning just in case of an accident.
EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE continued: NATURE RESERVE
Jonathan Proud 01759 368254 jonathanproud@ btinternet.com
First Sun each month
North Cliffe Wood 01904 659570 john.wollaston@ywt. org.uk
Second Sunday each month OUTER HUMBER:
Contact the Volunteering Team on 01904 659570 or [email protected] DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Jan 22 Welwick Saltmarsh Scrub control
YORK & AREA: Supporter Group, known as the ‘BWs’ meets every Wednesday and other occasional days (shown with asterisk *) This group gets very busy - please contact the Volunteering Team before you attend on 01904 659570 or [email protected] DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK Jan 9 Askham Bog Scrub control/rush cutting
Jan 16 Wheldrake Ings Reserve maintenance
Jan 23 Strensall Scrub control
Jan 30 Askham Bog Scrub control/rush cutting
Feb 6 Moorlands Reserve maintenance
Feb 13 Calley Heath Grass cutting/scrub control
Mar 6 Moorlands Reserve maintenance
Mar 13 Calley Heath Grass cutting/scrub control
Mar 27 Askham Bog Scrub control/rush cutting
Apr 3 Wheldrake Ings Reserve maintenance
Apr 17 Wheldrake Ings Reserve maintenance
Apr 24 Askham Bog Reserve maintenance
EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE: Contact the Volunteering Team on 01904 659570 or [email protected]
Keith Gittens 01845 523545 or 07968 840623 keith@brilliantemerald. wanadoo.co.uk
MALTON: Contact the Volunteering Team on 01904 659454 or [email protected]
DATE NATURE RESERVE TASK
Feb 20 & 21
Jeffry Bog Hedge management
Everyone is welcome; children and young people up to the age of 16 and still at school must be supervised by an adult. Some tasks may be unsuitable for children but there will usually be something for children or families to do together.
Practical Conservation Volunteers Join us at any of our work days in North Yorkshire. All groups are currently looking for new volunteers to lend a hand with the upcoming winter work schedule. For details of dates see page 4.
Dig In Project Community Garden Volunteer To help with regular gardening clubs and events at the Community Garden sites in York. We’re providing free training and skills sessions for local residents.
School Club Volunteer To help with weekly gardening clubs at local schools in York. Dig In aims to improve school grounds for food growing and wildlife .
York Floodplains Volunteers Our flood plains project is off to a great start If you would like to get involved in a range of tasks or just enjoy pulling up lots of Himalayan balsam.. please get in touch.
Stirley Farm Work Day Volunteers, Huddersfield Our Stirley Farm work days have a few spaces for enthusiastic and flexible volunteers. We get stuck in every Tuesday to everything on the farm from the veggie plots to fencing, walling and helping with the buildings.
Living Seas Centre Flamborough Welcome Volunteer Help in the day-to-day running of the new Centre by welcoming visiting members of the public and telling them about the wider Living Seas programme run from the Centre.
Education and Events Volunteer Help with the delivery of our formal education sessions and public awareness events by assisting with activities such as arts and crafts, seashore safaris, beach cleans, guided walks and other marine orientated activities. If you are enthusiastic about the local area, great at
communicating with a wide range of audiences and want
to learn more about the work of the Living Seas Team,
then join us as a volunteer!
Spurn Lighthouse Heritage Restoration Project See page 3 for details
Connect Project Assistant - Humberhead Levels Help to plan and deliver a creative and inspiring programme of events, training sessions and promotional activities which will encourage people to get involved in their local green spaces. Commitment flexible, from one day a week or a fortnight.
Visitor Services Assistant - Potteric Carr Welcome visitors to the reserve, give out information and assist people in the shop and drinks area. Help is needed on a Saturday or Sunday, from 10am - 3pm; weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Practical Conservation Team Volunteer Taster Day! - Potteric Carr To find out more about this Team, join us on our Taster Day on Sunday 10 February 2013. You will hear more about the Reserve, have taster sessions on hedgerow management, meet the Team and have some fun. No previous experience is required; we will show you all you need to know. To get more information, phone Mark Roberts on 01302 570077 or email Mark at [email protected] If you can’t come on this day, you are welcome to come
along to the Practical Conservation Work Days listed on
page 5.
Café Assistant - Potteric Carr Welcome visitors to the Cafe, a busy centre for visiting bird watchers and families, serve food and drinks, wash up and help prepare some food. Help on one day a week or a fortnight, any day between Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 2pm. Inspiring People Marketing & Promotions Assistant Are you an expert at design and technology, or perhaps a bit of a whizz at social media? Our Inspiring People Team based at Potteric Carr are always in need of new ideas and exciting ways of reaching people.
Event Fundraisers Run small-scale, fun events in your community that raise funds for wildlife. Get in touch to find out more.
Thank you to the players of People’s Postcode Lottery
As always a huge thank you to all of our volunteers, supporters groups,
members, funders and other partners for your ongoing support
Volunteer Reminders Expenses: if you have expenses that have been agreed with the Trust please remember to complete and return your claim form with a copy of receipts or tickets by the 5th of each month.
Timesheets: Please help us to promote recognition of your amazing contribution by completing a timesheet for your work.
Volunteer Handbook: The handbook contains lots of useful information about the Trust including roles and responsibilities, organisational structure, support and development and policy information on health & safety, working with children, information management, equal opportunities & representing the Trust. See the website or get in touch for a copy.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust works for
a Yorkshire rich in wildlife, valued
and enjoyed by people
Helen Gottschalk Inspiring People Development Manager
Jo Meays Volunteering Development Officer Trainee Program
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is affiliated to and actively support The Wildlife Trusts (The Royal Society for Wildlife Trusts)
A national partnership of 47 local Wildlife Trusts throughout the UK
Work has already begun on the Flutter By activity station at Potteric Carr, but once finished we hope to give it an opening to remember. We just need one important thing...YOU! So come along and get creative. With your help we plan to create a spectacular sight! You will be getting crafty and making your very own butterfly collage, which when put together with everyone else’s artwork, we will create one giant animated butterfly masterpiece! Refreshments and tasty cakes will be provided... Butterfly themed of course! So don’t forget to put this date in your diary:
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