High speed rail will destroy nature reserve
10 January 2012
The proposed high speed rail route between London and Birmingham which has been given the go ahead by Transport Secretary Justine Greening today will devastate habitats and wildlife in the Denham/Harefield area.
High Speed 2 (HS2) will run through the Colne Valley, ripping through the Trust’s Broadwater Lake Nature Reserve.
The area is home to nationally important numbers of waterbirds, which will suffer significant habitat loss. In addition, Daubenton’s and pipistrelle bats, which are European Protected Species, could be threatened. Broadwater Lake is one of the most important sites in the UK for Daubenton’s bats.
New year, new plans
13 December 2011
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts are reminding people to remember wildlife when making New Year’s resolutions for 2012. Wildlife conservation in gardens is becoming increasingly important as more and more species are becoming endangered.
There are many easy and affordable ways in which to support nature in the UK. From budding city gardeners with limited outdoor space, to those with expansive lawns, New Year is a superb time to begin planning how to support wildlife and making green spaces more wildlife-friendly.
The charities suggest three ideas to attract wildlife:
- Setting up birdfeeders, nest boxes, ladybird lodges and feeding hedgehogs will attract wildlife and are superb ways of getting children interested.
- For smaller urban gardens, roof terraces or balconies having a window-box with flowering plants such as lavender will attract hoverflies, bees and butterflies. It is recommended to choose plants with the RHS ‘Perfect for Pollinators’ logo and to avoid plants with double flowers as these may lack nectar or pollen.
- For households with space, building a pond will provide a rich habitat that attracts lots of different insects and animals. Making a pond with different depths will encourage a greater range of insects such as dragonflies and water beetles, as well as toads and frogs.
Very shallow sloping edges are important – this is where the largest variety of pond creatures is found. A pond is also the ideal place for birds to bathe.
Visit Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust's wildlife garden in Verulamium Park, St Albans to get some more ideas. Open all year round, free entry.
Already got a fantastic wildlife garden? Enter it into The Big Wildlife Garden competition!
Greenest government ever...?
6 December 2011
In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor, George Osborne announced a review of the EU Habitats Regulations in England.
He claimed these regulations impose a ‘ridiculous cost on British businesses'. Implementation of the Habitats Regulations in England protects sites and species of european importance at land and sea, including Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas, like Amwell Nature Reserve near Hertford.
The Chancellor's suggestion that the implementation of these regulations can be weakened, on top of the shake up of the planning system which fails to recognise Local Wildlife Sites and backtracking on the designation of marine conservation zones seen in recent weeks, shows a stunning disregard for the value of the natural environment and a failure of our government to live up to its promise to be the ‘greenest government ever’.
Take action today
Please write to your MP and urge them to ensure these sites continue to be protected. You can find out who your MP is on the UK Parliament website.
All MPs can be reached by writing to them at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
Read more on The Wildlife Trusts' website.
Local wildlife's got the X Factor
23 November 2011
Check out this talent...
Rare visitor from eastern Asia
7 November 2011
An eastern crowned warbler, only the second ever to be recorded in Britain, dropped into Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s Hilfield Park Reservoir Nature Reserve near Bushey recently.
Bird ringers caught what they thought was a yellow-browed warbler, which in itself would be a rare bird for Hertfordshire. However, after checking some features that puzzled them, it turned out to be something much more unexpected. The bird is the first of its kind to be ringed in Britain.
Full news release
Wildlife at risk under new planning framework
24 October 2011
Wildlife-rich areas in England equivalent to four and a half times the area of Greater London1 could be at greater risk under the new planning system, according to The Wildlife Trusts. The Government has now published an overhaul of the planning system in a National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which sets out ‘national priorities and rules’ within a more simple system which ‘safeguards the environment while meeting the need for sustainable growth’.
However, The Wildlife Trusts warn that any dilution of recognition, value and protection of Local Wildlife Sites will have dire long-term consequences for local communities and wildlife. The worry is that the new framework gives a green light to developers - it states: "Decision-takers at every level should assume that the default answer to development proposals is “yes”, except where this would compromise the key sustainable development principles set out in this Framework."
The Wildlife Trusts’ Local Wildlife Sites survey
1 There are at least 41,174 Local Wildlife Sites in England which cover an area of at least 711,201.13 hectares; equating to an area 4.5 times the area of Greater London, assuming Greater London is 1,572km2.
Full news release
Draft framework
What you can do
Email your MP
Local Wildlife Sites are areas rich in wildlife, vital elements of The Wildlife Trusts' vision of a Living Landscape. We want wildlife-rich areas to be connected, not fragmented. These sites could be threatened by the new planning system.
Find a template letter to send to your MP and more information at www.wildlifetrusts.org/nppf
Join us today
Our strength is in our numbers. Join more than 22,000 others who say wildlife matters to them in Hertfordshire and Middlesex.
Planning application for new eco-office submitted
18 August 2011
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust together with Groundwork Hertfordshire have formally submitted an application for planning permission for a new, sustainably built office at the University of Hertfordshire’s Bayfordbury campus, two miles from Hertford.
Both organisations have outgrown their current accomodation and the new building will allow for closer cooperation between the Trust and Groundwork, and shared use of facilities. There are a number of derelict and disused outbuildings on the prospective site which will be replaced by the new office.
Designs have been developed to enhance the historic parkland setting at Bayfordbury and the architects, Architype, are recognised as industry leaders in sustainable design, specialising in the green specification of materials and construction techniques.
Culling is not the cure
19 July 2011
The Wildlife Trusts are disappointed at the Government’s decision today to pursue yet more trials of badger culling.
We do not see culling as the solution to the problem of bovine tuberculosis (bTB).
To press ahead with these pilots ignores the main body of scientific evidence relating to culling, which shows that at best it is ineffective, and at worst can exacerbate the problem.
Scientific evidence
The Independent Scientific Group has given us the definitive scientific view that badger culling provides ‘no meaningful contribution’ and is ‘not cost effective’ as a control measure for combating bovine tuberculosis. The full report is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/isg/pdf/final_report.pdf
Vaccine research
Defra has an active programme of research into vaccines for both cattle and badgers. The Wildlife Trusts have been supporting field trials of badger vaccines on nature reserves. Further details of work on vaccine development are available at: http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk/wildlife/ecologyManagement/bvdp/
Full news release on The Wildlife Trusts' website
More on badgers and bovine tuberculosis
Roadside ‘mini-meadows’ will encourage wildlife to Stevenage
11 July 2011
Grass will be encouraged to grow long on some roadside verges by Stevenage Borough Council and Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust this summer, as part of a trial to help the town’s wildlife to thrive. Longer grass will allow native wildflowers to bloom over the next few weeks and set their seeds. Insects such as butterflies and bees will be helped too, which in turn benefits birds that feed on them.
Roadside mini-meadows in Stevenage - full news release
Woodland project made possible with lottery award
22 June 2011
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust are embarking on a huge project to restore and raise awareness of woodlands in South Hertfordshire, backed by a grant of £420,000 
from Heritage Lottery Fund.
The three-year Woodlands for People and Wildlife project starts in September and will focus on Gobions Wood and Fir and Pond Woods Nature Reserves near Potters Bar and Balls Wood Nature Reserve near Hertford.
Woodlands for People and Wildlife project - full news release
Government's vision for nature unveiled
7 June 2011
The Natural Environment White Paper was published today, setting out the government's vision for the natural environment for the next fifty years.
In The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature the government has backed The Wildlife Trusts' approach to conservation on a landscape-wide level but the commitment to establish only 12 'Nature Improvement Areas' could seriously limit the scale of nature restoration. The Wildlife Trusts want to see nature restored across the whole country, not just in pockets.
There is also concern that not enough practical steps are outlined to deliver all 92 commitments put forward in the document.
The White Paper draws on data from the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) published last week, which attempts to accurately gauge the value of nature. It puts a value on a range of 'ecosystem services': for example the role of inland wetlands in water quality is thought to be worth around £1.5billion a year, and the report estimates that pollinators like bees contribute £430 million annually to the economy.
Full response from The Wildlife Trusts
Our Living Landscape vision
Background to the White Paper
A new era for nature conservation?
