Wildlife News for March

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RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Wildlife News for March

Post by RachelMC »

New video shows a glimpse of what lies beneath in the Irish Sea

A glimpse of the amazing variety of life under the Irish Sea has been captured by the North West Wildlife Trusts, as the public are asked for their views on the future of our seas.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust has joined forces with Lancashire and Cumbria Wildlife Trusts to produce a video and a song, which will inspire all of those who know and love the sea off the North West coast.

And the Trusts are hoping that the Flat Fish song by Cumbrian group The Wierdstring Band, accompanying the video, will remind people of the happy times they had by the seaside as well as the vital importance of the Irish Sea to wildlife. Andrew Walter, fiddler with The Wierdstring Band is a Reserves Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust and was inspired to write the song to encourage people to respond to the Government’s public consultation.

However, the Government is watering down pleas from The Wildlife Trusts to create 127 Marine Conservation Zones in the seas around the United Kingdom; instead they have agreed to look at just 31 zones. This figure includes just four of a proposed 19 in the Irish Sea, including the Hilbre Island Group in the Dee estuary.

Click here to view the video on Youtube

Now the Trusts are calling on everyone in the region to produce a tidal wave of emails support the designation of the 31 national zones and to seriously consider designating all the remaining sites as soon as possible to produce a network of Marine Conservation Zones where vital wildlife will be protected.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust's Charlotte Harris said: “There are many scientific arguments why these areas must be designated as Marine Conservation Zones, not least to protect the numbers of fish and other wildlife in the Irish Sea. So far, we have only seen Hilbre Island proposed for designation in 2013.

“However we also want people to tell the Government why they love the Irish Sea, even if it’s simply that they have been on a day out by the seaside on the Wirral. We must protect the wildlife in the Irish Sea and help it to grow for future generations to appreciate.

“We hope our new video will draw attention to some of the variety of wildlife living just beyond our sandy toes when we're on the beach, and to ask people to support the Trusts as we try to protect it."

At least 30 species of shark pass through the Irish Sea, including the basking shark, the world's second largest fish. Others species include thresher, blue, mako and porbeagle sharks. Beneath the surface of the Irish Sea are many diverse habitats including seagrass beds, rocky reefs, mud flats that are home to sea urchins, Dublin Bay prawns and brittlestars, and honeycomb reefs made up of living worms.

About a dozen species of whale, dolphin and porpoise have been recorded in the Irish Sea. The most commonly seen are the harbour porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin and the minke whale.

Leatherback turtles visit the Irish Sea each summer as they pursue swarms of jellyfish, the turtle's staple diet.

Article re-posted from Cheshire Wildlife Trust

More information:
The Friends of Hilbre Island
Liverpool Bay Marine Recording Partnership
RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Cheshire Saltscape Project secures Heritage Lottery Fund sup

Post by RachelMC »

Cheshire Saltscape Project secures Heritage Lottery Fund support:

A project to improve an area of Cheshire modified by centuries of salt extraction and associated industrial activity has been earmarked for nearly £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Saltscape Landscape Partnership, led by Cheshire West and Chester Council, has been invited to submit a detailed outline of the project to secure the grant. Development funding of £48,800 has already been awarded to help progress plans to apply for the full grant.

The project focuses on an area stretching from Frodsham to Middlewich and Winsford, including the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. It is a landscape characterised by both its industrial legacy and wildlife more usually associated with coastal habitats and limestone areas.

The project aims to conserve, restore and improve access to the area’s natural habitats and heritage attractions, says a spokesperson.

A development officer will now be employed by Groundwork Cheshire in Northwich to prepare the proposals in detail ahead of the second round application in October 2013. The scheme is expected to get under way in January 2014, led by two project officers who will be based for three years with Groundwork Cheshire.

Sara Hilton, head of Heritage Lottery Fund North West, says that she and her colleagues particularly liked the project’s focus on telling the story of the Weaver Valley’s role in the salt industry. ‘While conservation of the landscape is the main focus, there are also a number of important and well-planned volunteering opportunities on offer to help local people have a much greater involvement in and understanding of their surrounding natural heritage,’ she added.

Article re-posted from: The Landscape Institute

RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

Outdoor Classroom Created at Wigg Island

Post by RachelMC »

An outdoor classroom has been created at Wigg Island Community Park by an enthusiastic team of scouts:

The youngsters, aged 11 to 13, cut their way through overgrown trees, thanks to a new set of tools funded by chemical giant Ineos Chlorvinyls.

They learned a traditional woodland technique of ‘coppicing’ to prune hazel and willow, to allow re-growth and better access for sunlight.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust launches its new forest school programmes at the reclaimed industrial site in the spring.

The Trust’s Nick Rowles said: “It’s been great to have a helping hand from the Scouts, as coppicing is one task where many hands make light work. The forest school originated in Sweden and Denmark. The idea is to take children into the heart of wild habitats and use the surroundings to encourage, inspire and show them how to take responsibility for nature and the environment, and we know from research that the scheme can also aid positive behavioural changes too.”

The Trust took over the management of the Wigg Island Visitor Centre last year, and is now supporting Halton Council in improving the overall wildlife value of the 23 hectare site from woodlands to wildflower meadows.

Janet Ward, community relations manager of Ineos ChlorVinyls, said: "It's an absolute pleasure to be able to support this project as not only does it benefit Wigg Island Community Park, it also provides an invaluable resource to many local community groups including Scout groups and local schools.

“This is exactly the type of project that we like to support through our landfill communities fund scheme."

Article re-posted from: Runcorn and Widnes World

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