Thanks to generous support from the River Wear Environment Trust, new cameras have been installed at Durham Wildlife Trust’s Low Barns Nature Reserve near Witton-le-Wear to help visitors get close up views of wildlife.

There are now cameras in bird boxes and the winter bird feeding station, which link to screens in the Visitor Centre. An additional remotely operated camera has also been installed that allows visitors to look across the nature reserve and zoom in on areas of interest.

Trust Director Jim Cokill said, ‘’The bird box cameras will come into their own in spring, but the camera on the winter bird feeding area is providing fantastic images at the moment.’’

The centre is open to visitors at weekends from 11am to 4pm, serving hot and cold drinks, snacks and gifts. An ideal place to warm up after a walk around the reserve and check out the bird life on the feeding station.

The public are being asked to report any winter sites where they have seen large numbers of starlings flocking and roosting to Durham Biodiversity Partnership and Durham Wildlife Trust. Starling numbers have fallen by 66% in Britain since the mid-1970s making the starling one of the bird species in need of urgent conservation action.

In order to help these birds, we need to find out more information on the numbers and locations of groups of starlings in Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland. The postcard and web-based survey aims to gather information where groups of ten or more starlings are roosting and flocking.

In the wintertime, both resident and immigrant starlings come together to form large roosts, often numbering thousands of birds. These roosts can be in a variety of places including buildings, trees or reed beds, and will also occur within urban areas including villages, towns and cities. At the end of the day, as the starlings return to their roost, they can often be seen darkening the skies as they flock before settling down for the night, this is one of nature's greatest spectacles.

Jim Cokill, Director Durham Wildlife Trust said,
‘We often take wildlife for granted, particularly the species we regard as commonplace. The dramatic fall in numbers of once abundant species such as the starling shows that dramatic changes have occurred in our environment over the last 30 years. By collecting the information we need to help conserve the starling we are also highlighting their plight and asking the question - do we want to start reversing the damage we have caused to our environment or are we happy to see it continue?

Postcard survey forms will be available from Durham Wildlife Trust Visitor Centres at Low Barns near Witton-le-Wear and Rainton Meadows near Houghton-le-Spring (open weekends 11-4), Durham Biodiversity Partnership (contact Helen Ryde on 0191 5343112) and local libraries. Alternatively visit the durham biodiversity partnership website to fill in record details online.

A project that will bring three regional Wildlife Trusts together for the very first time has been awarded £309,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to engage people in the North East with the wildlife that surrounds them.

‘Wildplaces’, originally inspired by the BBC programme Springwatch, will be delivered jointly by Durham Wildlife Trust, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, to actively encourage the community to take part in the filming, identification and conservation of local species and habitats.

Dr. Keith Bartlett, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the North East, said:

“We are delighted to support Wildplaces, which sees the three Wildlife Trusts adopting an excellent joint approach to bring together five regions for the first time with a project of this kind. It will reach into and benefit some of the most deprived communities in the North East, to involve them in the conservation of their local environments. We’re delighted to be able to help fund this worthwhile and well-thought out project.”

The project will enable key Gateway sites that have urban green space but currently enjoy few opportunities for growth or improvement, to offer local communities the chance to appreciate connections between rural and urban wildlife. Using volunteers from across the North East, the sites, which fall within the Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Middlesborough boroughs, will be used as focus points for the project.

Jim Cokill, Director of Durham Wildlife Trust and leading the initiative, said:

“What a lot of people don’t realise is that you can see a lot of wildlife in urban areas that can be important for conservation, such as water voles and hedgehogs. Our project gives people who don't normally get a chance to enjoy wildlife the opportunity to do so. It is our aim to get as many people involved as possible over the course of the 2 year project, and get the information through surveys and practical conservation that we will be doing to make sure that these species and natural habitats are always there to be enjoyed.”

Encouraging volunteers to come forward from across the regions, Wildplaces will enable the people taking part to do anything from undertaking surveys, to organizing events, to managing filming and getting involved in practical conservation work that will improve the biodiversity in their area. The scheme will be made public via local businesses and schools, Trust publications, an event in each of the three gateway areas and a designated website.

The project, which will employ three members of staff to work across the Gateway areas, is due to start in the spring and will deliver national, regional and local Biodiversity Action Plan targets. Wildlife surveys are to be carried out in nine sites across the North East and will identify urban wildlife networks and increase connectivity between urban and rural areas. The resulting data will then form the basis for ongoing schemes to protect wild species and habitats whilst film and photography gathered on the project will be used in schools to teach children about their natural habitats.

There will be a project launch and WildPlaces events in the Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland areas in the spring, so keep a look out on the website and in Durham Wildlife magazine for information on how your local community or school can get involved and protect your WildPlaces.

Durham Wildlife Trust

The applicant, Durham Wildlife Trust, is leading on the Wildplaces project which also involves Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Tees Valley Wildlife Trust
· The project will carry out work on a minimum of three sites in each Wildlife Trust are making a total of nine sites in all. It is anticipated that additional sites will be added to this list through public demand.
· Initial Gateway sites:

Durham Wildlife Trust area – Monkton Fell / Wardley; River Don Corridor (Boldon Colliery to Jarrow); Hylton Dene.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust area – Ouseburn Valley; Town Moor; Denton Dene.

Tees Valley Wildlife Trust area – Billingham Beck; Spencer Beck; Marton West Beck.

Durham Wildlife Trust, together with students from Durham University, is inviting families to join them on a woodland activity walk in the heart of the beautiful city of Durham as part of National Tree Week. Participants will be taken on a guided walk through Pelaw Woods and alongside the River Wear with tree themed activities along the way. After a picnic lunch there will be more tree themed activities inside the college.

This is a family event so all children must be accompanied by an adult. It costs £3.00 per person for Wildlife Trust members and £3.50 for non-members. Come dressed for a walk and to do messy activities and bring your own lunch and drinks.
Annette Morris who is coordinating the event says:

“It will be a chance for families to explore the often overlooked
woodland in the heart of Durham City and learn about trees while
having lots of fun on the way.”

Places are limited so booking is essential. Phone Julie Spence on 0191 5843112 before 4th December.

Contact: Annette Morris: 0191 5842821
mobile: 0787 6316168
Durham Wildlife Trust: www.durhamwt.co.uk

Durham Wildlife Trust, together with students from Durham University, is inviting families to join them on a woodland activity walk in the heart of the beautiful city of Durham as part of National Tree Week. Participants will be taken on a guided walk through Pelaw Woods and alongside the River Wear with tree themed activities along the way. After a picnic lunch there will be more tree themed activities inside the college.

This is a family event so all children must be accompanied by an adult. It costs £3.00 per person for Wildlife Trust members and £3.50 for non-members. Come dressed for a walk and to do messy activities and bring your own lunch and drinks.
Annette Morris who is coordinating the event says:

“It will be a chance for families to explore the often overlooked
woodland in the heart of Durham City and learn about trees while
having lots of fun on the way.”

Places are limited so booking is essential. Phone Julie Spence on 0191 5843112 before 4th December.

Contact: Annette Morris: 0191 5842821
mobile: 0787 6316168
Durham Wildlife Trust: www.durhamwt.co.uk

One-year-old Evie Wilkinson is the first to own one of the new oak trees in Baal Hill Wood near Wolsingham, County Durham.
The youngster, of Gosforth, Newcastle was gifted the tree as a Christening present and parents Dan and Deborah are hoping that it will grow as large as the nearby Bishop’s Oak which has stood on the site for four hundred years.
Deborah said: “I can’t think of many gifts that will last as long as an oak and it’s incredible to think that it will outlast us all and continue to benefit the wood and the environment for centuries to come.”
There are one hundred new trees and each are available at £25 a head. Each comes with a certificate and is numbered so owners can find out exactly which tree is their’s.

Organisers Durham Wildlife Trust believes they are the perfect way to commemorate a special event.
Director Jim Cokill commented: “I think everyone at a Christening is thinking about the child’s future and what better way to provide a better future for all than by planting more trees. With trees producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide they are one of the best ways of combating climate change.
“Likewise, it’s a romantic wedding gift. A tree grows just as a marriage does. It also commemorates a special day not just for the happy couple but potentially also for their children, grandkids and even great grandkids and beyond.”
Proof of the oaks’ longevity comes with the Bishops Oak that continues to grow only a short distance from the newly planted trees. Formerly owned by the Bishops of Durham it’s a link with historic Durham of centuries ago.
Now, money raised by the tree sale will help Durham Wildlife Trust continue to protect wildlife and promote nature conservation in County Durham, the City of Sunderland and the Boroughs of Gateshead, South Tyneside and Darlington.
For more information or to buy a tree click HERE

For generations, people in the North East have had a high affinity with the sea. Now, research carried out by Natural England has shown that people in the region have a greater understanding of the range of marine wildlife and underwater landscapes than those living in most other parts of the country.  

The poll found that 64% - nearly two thirds - of people in the North East expect the seabed in the region to be "quite well covered with undersea landscapes" or having "a variety of distinctive landscapes, some distinct to this region". This compares with nearly 55% of people in Yorkshire & the Humber and 44% of people in the North West thinking the same about the seabed in their regions.

For the full story click HERE

The Wildlife Trusts welcome today's announcement from Environment Secretary Hilary Benn rejecting a badger cull as a solution to combating bovine TB in cattle.

Stephanie Hilborne, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says: "This is a good day for science, public opinion and common sense. We congratulate Hilary Benn on sticking to the scientific evidence and drawing a line under any consideration of a badger cull. There is no single solution to this disease, but now is the time for all parties to throw their weight behind cattle-to-cattle control measures, vaccine development and improved biosecurity to deal with bovine TB''.

For the full story click HERE

This summer's Watchword magazine is teeming with tips to help young people find out more about the UK 's amazing wildlife.

Watchword which is available exclusively to junior members of The Wildlife Trusts, is jam-packed with information and ideas to get young people involved with local wildlife, from giant tuna to glow worms.

There are features on how the pine marten may be coming to the rescue of red squirrels in Scottish woodlands and we take a look at a project that's reintroducing sand lizards - the UK's rarest and most colourful lizard - to the wild in Dorset.

For more information about Watchword click HERE

One of the UK 's finest marine wildlife sites is set to be protected from damaging scallop-dredging, thanks to the introduction of a 60sq mile exclusion zone in Lyme Bay - the first of its kind on this scale in the UK - announced today by Defra.

Paul Gompertz , Devon Wildlife Trust's director, said: " This is one small step for marine but one giant leap for marine-kind.  It finally acknowledges that our seas need vital life-support systems like Lyme Bay reefs.

The UK 's only other comparable site which is closed to fishing is the Lundy No-Take-Zone in the Bristol Channel. At just 3.3km² this is roughly 5% of the size of new proposed exclusion zone in Lyme Bay.

For the full story click HERE

As the Government launches the first co-ordinated plan to reduce the threats from non-native species, The Wildlife Trusts are encouraging everyone to join their campaign to prevent particularly unwelcome water features wreaking havoc on England's ponds and river systems and getting 'all choked up'.

Gardeners can help by not buying these plants, and by ridding ponds of them by composting, burying, or drying and burning them. New Zealand pygmy weed and floating pennywort can grow between 20-30cm in a single day, creating thick mats of vegetation. Postcards are available from local Wildlife Trusts or online at http://www.waterforwildlife.org.uk/

For the press release click HERE

For the programme click HERE

Durham Wildlife Trust has recently received delivery of a brand new 17 seat minibus! It will be used for a variety of purposes, including ferrying the Trust's volunteers around the organisation's reserves and used by the education team to deliver environmental education at both Low Barns and Hedleyhope Fell.

The type of work done by volunteers on reserves includes scrub clearance, woodland management and footpath maintenance and they make up the Trust's Taskforce, which has more than 100 volunteers.

Defra have provided funding to work with the communities that surround Hedleyhope Fell. The education team will be delivering a number of environmental education activities with young people that live in or near Tow Law over the coming year. One of the biggest barriers for young people to get out and learn about their local environment is the cost of transport. The new minibus will make a huge difference!

The vehicle cost £26,000 with donations of £10,000 from the Goodfund, which distributes Postcode Lottery money, £2,500 from grant-making trust Garfield Weston and a significant contribution from Defra and the wildlife trust.

The previous minibus had clocked up over 100,000 miles and was increasingly becoming uneconomical to keep on the road.

Craig Best (Reserves Officer for the Trust) stated 'this is very exciting news for all staff and volunteers. The funding we have received will enable us to continue the essential management of our reserves and continue to be able to pick up volunteers from key public transport links in the area . many of our reserves are not accessible by public transport and by offering a pick up in Crook enables even more local people to participate in the management of their local nature reserve'.

For more information on volunteering for the Low Barns Volunteer Task Force, please contact Craig Best (Reserves Officer) on 01388 488 728 or cbest@durhamwt.co.uk

As the first sightings of basking sharks returning to UK waters are reported from Cornwall this spring, The Wildlife Trusts are launching a national campaign to highlight the massive loss of marine megafauna from our seas.  

The campaign aims to show how vital it is that the Marine Bill (published in draft on 3 April) provides robust new laws for marine conservation - including the creation of highly protected marine reserves - if our seas are ever again to be a stronghold for the giants of the seas.

The new campaign leaflet, Seas of Plenty sets out to show just how much our marine environment has changed - for the worse - in a short period of time.

For the press release click HERE

For the Seas of Plenty leaflet click HERE

Bird lovers are being offered the chance to enjoy the dawn chorus at a North-East nature reserve.

Durham Wildlife Trust is running an event at its Low Barns reserve, near Witton le Wear, on Sunday May 4, starting at 4.30am. The cost is £5 for members and £7.50 non members, which includes breakfast.

People must book in advance for the event - on 0191 5843112 - which is part of a national initiative.

Between Saturday (April 26) and May 4, thousands of nature lovers will taking part in similar events around the country as part of the BBC Breathing Places initiative.

BBC Breathing Places - with The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, National Trust, Forestry Commission, BTCV, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and other partner organisations - is co-ordinating more than 250 dawn chorus events in city parks and nature reserves around the UK .

Led by local experts, these events have an early start (usually between 4am-6am) but offer listeners a truly memorable experience as the dawn chorus builds from the first cheep to a crescendo of birdsong.

Jin Cokill, Director of the Durham trust, said: "It may mean getting out of bird early but listening to the dawn chorus is one of the great joys of the wildlife calendar."

Simon King, BBC Springwatch presenter and vice-president of The Wildlife Trusts, says: "Whoever you are, wherever you live, if you do just one thing this year make it this: set your alarm for 4.30am, stand outside or make the short journey to the nearest park or leafy cemetery, and wait for the curtain to rise on the most awe-inspiring symphony on earth."

An environmentally important piece of County Durham heathland, which is home to a variety of rare plants and animals, is being made easier for local people to enjoy thanks to regional developer The Banks Group.  

Hedleyhope Fell, between Tow Law and Cornsay Colliery, is a rare example of what ecologists call 'mid-altitude heathland'

For eco-towns to be truly 'ecological' and provide good examples of housing design, they should not destroy important natural sites, say The Wildlife Trusts.

The Wildlife Trusts are particularly concerned that one of the 15 sites revealed today includes a Wildlife Trust nature reserve and will damage a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  Weston Otmoor in Oxfordshire could see 10-15,000 new homes built on the edge of the Green Belt south of Bicester and will affect Wendleby Meads and Mansmoor grassland SSSI.

Eco-towns need to be sensitively sited and designed - with nature at their heart - to deal with the challenge of climate change and if the public are to have confidence in them.

For more information click HERE
For a downloadable copy of the consulation document click HERE

The Wildlife Trusts welcome today's publication of a draft Marine Bill as an important step towards restoring the health of the UK 's seas.

Stephanie Hilborne , The Wildlife Trusts' chief executive, said: " With this draft Bill, we've finally laid the foundations for the protection of our seas. The Wildlife Trusts have campaigned for many years for new laws to bring marine conservation into the 21 st century and we are delighted that the Government has today published a draft Bill.  The draft contains numerous measures we have lobbied for, including Marine Conservation Zones and new controls on inshore fisheries.

The draft Marine Bill is online at http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/index.htm

Defra has also published:
1. A summary of planned and current conservation measures, 'Protecting our marine environment under the Marine Bill' http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/index.htm
2. A set of summary sheets ''What does this mean for me?': http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/legislation/sectors/index.htm
3. The latest Marine Bill Newsletter  http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/legislation/key-docs.htm

For the full press release click HERE

The final report is available for download HERE. The Wildlife Trusts national position, supported by Durham Wildlife Trust, is outlined below.
The Wildlife Trusts accept bTB in cattle is a significant problem for farming in the UK and that urgent action is required to combat the disease. The Trusts particularly recognise the important role the livestock industry can play in the environmentally sensitive management of the countryside, and the serious disruption and anxiety caused to farmers experiencing a herd breakdown.
The Wildlife Trusts are pleased the EFRA committee agrees that the following measures must be rigorously enforced to control bTB:

• More frequent cattle testing, with more frequent and targeted combined use of the tuberculin skin test and the gamma interferon test
• The evaluation of post-movement cattle testing
• Greater communication with farmers on the benefits of bio-security measures
• The deployment of badger and cattle vaccines, when they become available
• Continued work on the epidemiology of the disease.

However, The Wildlife Trusts believe that a cull would be impractical due to the conditions suggested by the report.

For more details click HERE.

A century after the publication of The Wind in the Willows, and six years after a change in the law was first recommended, 'Ratty' is finally to receive full protection from the law, under new proposals announced today by Defra.

This important announcement has been a long time coming. The recommendation for full protection was made as part of the Quinquennial Review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 2002. However, it has taken six years for the recommendation to reach the Minister for the Environment and to be accepted by Defra.

It will now be against the law to intentionally kill a water vole or to intentionally, or recklessly, damage or disturb the places they use for shelter or protection, meaning that their future is a safer one.

For more details click HERE.
For the DEFRA press release click HERE.

Prospective members can now join Durham Wildlife Trust online on the web site. A new secure form allows you to join either by making a single payment for one year's membership or monthly direct debit payments using a PayPal account. To join online click HERE.

Wildlife Trust workers are celebrating after surveys confirmed that one of their nature reserves is home to all five of the UK 's native owls.

Rainton Meadows, the expanse of wetland and grassland which surrounds Durham Wildlife Trust's headquarters at Houghton-le-Spring, is home to Tawny and Barn Owls as well as Little Owls, and Long-eared and Short-Eared Owls.

For more details click HERE.

Concern has been expressed about the arrival in the North-East of a deer that is known to destroy bluebell woodlands.

Durham Wildlife Trust is worried about recent sightings of muntjac, a small Oriental deer from China that was first introduced into southern England during the early 20^th Century.

The first introduction was at Woburn Park in Bedfordshire and since then the animals have increasingly found their way into the wild.

For more details click HERE.

The Wildlife Trusts are pleased to announce a new partnership with the conservation award-winning Vine House Farm.

It is recognised by The Wildlife Trusts that farmers hold a key to the well-being of our countryside and in turn, the health of our wildlife. In addition to farmers, gardeners manage a vast area of the UK too; gardens are estimated to cover about 270,000 hectares - more than the area of all the National Nature Reserves in the UK . Developing this partnership with Vine House Farm brings wildlife-friendly farming and gardening together.

For more details click HERE.

Aggregate Industries has chosen to team up with The Wildlife Trusts which is a lead partner in the community workstream of the BBC's Breathing Places campaign. The Wildlife Trusts has been chosen by the BBC as one of the national conservation charities to provide the hands-on support in getting more people involved in and aware of the UK's extraordinary wildlife and natural resources.

For more details click HERE.

The Trust have received a legacy in the form of gift of a parcel of land in Derwentside District from the estate of the late Mr.J.Gibson.

The new reserve comprises approx. 3.5 ha of lowland dry/wet heath and woodland and is located approximately 3 miles to the south-west of Lanchester.

This is a County Wildlife Site with a species rich mosaic of heath, marsh/fen and wet woodland. It has been unmanaged for many years and is under threat from succession to scrub/woodland.

For more details click HERE.

The Wildlife Trusts welcome the Government's increasing recognition of the urgency for the country to adapt to climate change - through the Climate Change Bill, published today. And urge that this must go hand in hand with our efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

For more details click HERE.

Sir David King's report on bovine TB in cattle and badgers sweeps away 10 years of science, say The Wildlife Trusts.

The Wildlife Trusts believe the report produced by Sir David King does not provide any new data to inform the scientific debate on badgers and bovine TB. It ignores issues such as the cost effectiveness or practicality of any action and does not provide a balanced view of the issue. It also fails to consider the efficacy of cattle controls which are important mechanisms for controlling the spread of the disease.

For more details click HERE.

The trust's web site was inaccessible for some time on Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st October. This was caused because we were in the process of moving the domain from one supplier to another and there were unforseen technical problems. We had only expected a loss of service for about an hour but in reality the problem lasted nearly 24 hours. We hope that this did not cause too much inconvenience to users of our site.

An e-petition to the prime minister to ban snares has been raised by Chris Gale, who says 'These crude devices inflict terrible cruelty and suffering on any animals unlucky enough to be trapped in them. They are totally indiscriminate and often catch protected animals, such as badgers and otters, as well as domestic pets and livestock. Snares are thin wire garrottes commonly used by gamekeepers to catch the foxes that are naturally drawn to the artificially elevated numbers of game birds in shooting woods. Snares are also set to catch rabbits. Snares are barbaric and the UK should join the many other European countries that have banned their manufacture and use.' To sign the petition click here http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Snares/