CONSERVATION TEAM MEETING 2012

w/c 12th November

NEWS & FEEDBACK - Manor Yard Staff

Caroline B
Caroline K / So sorry I haven’t been filling in my notes!
I have been “...Thyme planting across the Poldens universe, on the star ship BC pool car, along with super vols”-does that work?
In total 2773 planted so far across 4 sites with 72 individuals and lots and lots of man days! Amazing effort, however I am starting to dream thyme and dress in purple!
BIFFA Cotswolds project @Conserving the Painswick Valleys rare butterflies’ has now started and I will be putting the volunteer programme together (all mainly sorted by partners)
HF Exmoor and Blean reports on hold until end of November nowL
FC_will progress the updating of the strategy after November
Finance/Admin
Fundraising
Ian
John
Les / I organised and held an informal meeting for Dorset moth recorders at Puddletown Village Hall on Saturday, 10 November. The meeting far exceeded my expectations with 48 persons registering including new recorders not previously known! The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss and decide the future direction of moth recording in Dorset. I am also deligted to announce a net sum of £66.72 was donated to the BC/Patsy Wood Fund.
The meeting was also the platform to announce Phil Sterling standing-down as Dorset County Micro-moth Recorder; Mike Jeffes is now the Lead CMR for micro-moths in Dorset with me helping out with some verification. I will; however, take over as lead data manager for all Dorset moth records.
Mark / Visited the Scythris siccella site last week and took the decision to dig further scrapes (14 in total). Clearly the wet summer had resulted in rather lush conditions.
Richard and I came up with a list of Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened species of macro-moth, based on some of the IUCN critieria (thanks to all those who commented) – this, with the rest of the species assessments has been passed on to the agencies.
Finally well done to Les for organising the Dorset Moth Group meeting at the weekend, c.50 people attended.
Martin / M&S teleconference on Big Butterfly Count went OK; still difficult to know whether they will fund us in 2013. They seemed pleased with all the Facebook activity! They have a meeting in early December to discuss plans for next year so we may hear then?
Helped finish corral at Alners Gorse ate week-end and 4 Dartmoor ponies arrived on Sunday. Let’s hope they settle in well and do a good job with the grazing.
Membership
Nigel
Publicity
Rachel
Sam / Landscape Conservation Review: final draft (the seventh!) signed off; received printer draft for checking; on course to receive printed copies a week before the launch.
SITA Trust Enriching Nature Programme 2013: SITA Trust have been invaluable to BC providing £969k of the £1,818k of LCF for our landscape-scale projects (for interest: WREN £477k; Grantscape £247k; Biffa £125k). The new scheme involves some significant changes – projects can only be one year in length (though further applications for the same site/landscape will now be considered); the maximum grant is now £75k; 90% of the funds must be spent on on-site management; all other costs associated with project delivery, including the majority of staff time, must come within the 10%; we calculate for a £75k project this would add another £26k to the £30k CTP/FCR to the project costs; we are currently considering options including lobbying SITA but several projects will not now be developed in 2013.
Tom B
Zoe

WORK ITEMS & WEEK AHEAD – Manor Yard Staff

Caroline B / In Mon to Tues. Conference call on Farmland Butterfly Project with NE. Tues.
Caroline K / I’ve got Thyme, it’s multiplying and we’re planting like mad, cause the Thyme we’re supplying, its electrifying!
AGM Fri and Sat
Finance/Admin
Fundraising
Ian
John
Les
Mark / Various ongoing bits and pieces to progress, including a licence support letter for Barberry Carpet, Lep. Cons. Bull. species accounts etc. etc.
Martin / Mon - TOIL
Wed- NBN meet to discuss access controls (or lack of them!)
Thurs – Dev Board (London)
Fri/Sat – AGM
Priorities
AGM talk
NBN
Various BC Europe reports
Membership
Nigel
Publicity
Rachel
Sam / Mon: meeting with Kate Merry and Catherine Mason to discuss education project. Thurs and Fri: meeting with Robin Field (Northants Branch) to discuss development of Reintroduction of Chequered Skipper to Rockingham Forest. Sat: giving a talk on the Landscape Conservation Review at the AGM
Tom B
Zoe

NEWS & FEEDBACK - Non Manor Yard Staff

Catherine / CEDaR Shenanigans
Bioblitz 2013 is on, there was some doubt as Damian McFerran really doesn’t like them, but 24/25th May 2013 is now in all our diaries, All Ireland. What is more, CEDaR/NIEA have asked me to be in charge of the public engagement side of things as last year it was a bit of a jolly for the specialists and the public side of things was practically ignored... not quite the point of the Bioblitz! I am very proud to be asked.
Pauline Campbell (records manager) and me are also planning on running some ‘Record Amnesty’ events around the country. For me it’s a chance to get moth and butterfly records off far flung photographers, and retrieve dusty notebooks from people. For Pauline it’s a way to ensure the training is supported in the future by getting in the records... mince pies, mulled wine and Recorder 6, what could be better?
NIEL Challenge Fund
All clear from HQ on us progressing our two bids. So so so so happy J
BCNI
Ian Rippey is going to stand down as chair, and John O’Boyle has agreed to take it on. The Northern Ireland Renaissance continues. We have people *wanting* to be on the committee. ./*cartwheel*\.
Dan / Dukes:
-  Site visit to Harewood Common with Test Valley Borough Council (Kevin Harrington) and HWT (Alison Cross) – rough grassland bordering Harewood Forest (northern section, Middleton Estate). This will be managed as open space under new housing development nearby but scope to include scrub planting and woodland edge DoB habitat. Lining up management visit with Harewood Forest agent this winter.
RO:
-  Good management progress at Verdley Wood PBF site in Sussex, with 2 work parties last week.
Dave W
George / Mostly working on FCW reports. Clocaenog report completed and drafts written for the three other forest districts.
Graham
Jenny J / Reconnecting the Wyre work now going ahead well.
Jenny P / Species meeting and catch up at Manor Yard.
Met contractor at Haldon sites to view winter management to get quotes. Also met up with Dave Land to view North Wood and plan a volunteer task to clear back scrub from felled areas.
Attended a workshop for reviewing Dartmoor NPA management plan.
Spent a day at Gilling Down – one of Caroline K’s lovely limestone grassland LB sites in the Poldens – planting thyme for a change! Lovely bunch of volunteers and I kept my feet dry all day! J
Site visits to 3 farms in the Barle Valley on HLS pipeline (ESA expiry next April). Bracken slopes with some potential for HBF, but need quite a bit of management to make them suitable.
Martin / Met with Dave and Graham to discuss appraisal and work progress.
Met with Morecambe Bay NIA team to look at progress, so far so good.
Met with Leighton Hall Estate to look at work progress so far and the woodland improvement grants which have gone in on their Estate. They seem very happy with aal the WIG’s aims (5 on their land) and would even like some publicity to promote their involvement with BC.
Two evening presentations done this week, thanks to Ian for sorting out the transect stats at the last minute.
Met with Natural England to discuss a HLF bid for the Rusland Valley, getting butterfly and moth interests in where I can, and building up a project officer role starting in 2015, to work on an integrated woodland management/biodiversity/community linked project. Just lots of talking at the moment tho.
Met Martin Colledge to look at spending on Wakebarrow. He liked my plans and we are ok to spend the Sita money and a chunk of Co op on there, also discussed progressing work at Marble Quarry, and possible habitat enhancements at Underlaid Wood and Eggerslack.
Met Graham at Myers to look at contractor roles there, was impressed with t he work getting done.
Paul / Continuing to sort Recorders Gathering, spring newsletter and leaflet reprints, and trying to squeeze more cash out of SNH. Re-commenced work on our HLF YH central belt bid.
Drafted peat article for ‘Butterfly’.
Richard / Last couple of weeks dominated by working on new State of Britain’s Moths report, macro-moth status review, NMRS data analysis manuscript and discussions re NBN data access. Good progress being made on all items, with hastily arranged meeting with NBN Chair Prof Hassall & CEO Jim Munford this Wednesday in Exeter. Will see what impact the letter from ourselves, BSBI and RSPB has had on their thinking.
Russel / Finally sent off Drab Looper application to Environment Wales. Decision due after 14th November.
Went through Median Farm lease with input from John, before discussing series of minor issues with CCW. Hopefully this can be finalized soon. Will start working up a budget for grant bids though timing of works will be critical to fit around Dormouse.
Pollinators Action Plan - Had a brief but useful teleconference with Buglife, BumbleCT, CCW and other NGO’s in advance of stakeholder meeting. Fortunately general agreement about chief concerns and objectives. Straight after the meeting Welsh government sent out invites and result of their rapid evidence review, which I shall read to see what they have missed.
Cracking on, slowly, with State of Wales report. Working with Les and George on how to deal with the moth data.
Sharon / Completed pre-comms meetings with contractors and FC at Sywell, Yardley Chase and Hazelborough North. The ride clearance by FC is alternate sides but such a small strip leaving the ditch and bank uncut and growing up again rapidly.
Large turf stripping project agreed at Cranwich Camp – all marked out and agreed with archaeologist – contractor lined up for early December. Spanish Catchfly has been confirmed in the new ditch dug last year.
Shona / Provisionally booked Battleby for our 2013 Scottish Members’ Day (28th Sept). Collated this year’s Speckled Wood Survey results (119 online records).
Stephen L / Talk to Countryside Management students at Walford & North Shropshire College.
Meeting with Council Dog Warden re the persistent dog fouling. He was from the ‘oh-dear-what-can-you-do’ school with much shaking of the head. Gave me some more notices to put up – one of the previous ones was destroyed with an axe – which I shall do, but he was basically saying he would not advise any enforcement or threats thereof. The dog waste bin is well used however so we are only talking about a minority of dog walkers.
Counted just 7 ash trees on the reserve, and no evidence of dieback to my eyes on any of them.
Forestart on site to inspect the seeding heather, and hopefully brush harvesting next week.
Sent quarterly report to Veolia Trust.
Drafted contract for a local architect to guide us re the works to the old airfield control tower, courtesy of HLF.
Tom P / Further extracting of veg data from the New Forest Burnet archive to help detect any changes in vegetation at the site and thus determine the need for grazing. Finalized SAF talk and abstract plus further work on SAF handbook.
Continued liaison and comments with SNH and woodland agent over woodland grazing at Craig Dhu particularly to benefit PBF and NBA also started to collate this year’s PBF & CS monitoring data undertaken on the National Forest Estate and liaison with Nevis Partnership, (HLF Landscape project) and Cairngorms LBAP (now Cairngorms Nature) having pleasing managed to get three moths (Kentish Glory, Dark Bordered Beauty and Small Dark Yellow Underwing), along with PBF on their highest priority for action list, over potential funding for future lep work in their areas.
Tony

WORK ITEMS & WEEK AHEAD - Non Manor Yard Staff:

Catherine / Important meetings for this week
Mon – WAH
Tuesday – Oxford Island Landscape Workshop with NIEA
Wednesday – Office
Thursday – Oxford Island Indicator workshop with NIEL
Friday – Belfast
Three main work areas:
1.  AGM
2.  Events
3.  Admin
Dan / Dukes management planning – photos of sites before management
Site dossiers
SEWWI
Dave W
George / Annual leave all week
Graham
Jenny J / Important meetings for this week – Meeting with FC at Warks sites, Partnership meeting at Wyre looking at the Hurst Coppice, Pound Green and Kinlet area, and the BC AGM
Work areas: South Shropshire Woods paper second draft, Wyre Forest chapter second draft, preparing talk for Wednesday.
Jenny P / Important meetings for this week
Monday a.m. - meet contractor at Codsend Moor to show him areas of rank molinia for cutting.
Monday p.m. – meet Exmoor Mires project officer at Codsend Moor
Tuesday – Exeter office
Wednesday – Fernworthy Reservoir – filming for DNPA short film on MF and managament for the species on Dartmoor
Thursday & Friday – chainsaw refresher training
Main work areas
1)  Follow-up work from site visits
2)  DNPA film
3)  Chainsaw refresher course
Martin / Important meetings for Week for Morecambe Bay Project
Mon- Grange meeting to look at our community woodland project.