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Good Morning Everyone

I am handing you over to Paula today who has done another outstanding post for us all to enjoy.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Conservation Projects

Joined up thinking: working to achieve a Living Landscape and a Living Sea.

The Wildlife Trusts work in partnership with thousands of landowners and businesses across the UK in towns, cities and in the wider countryside. Using the our existing network of more than 2,000 nature reserves as a cornerstone, The Wildlife Trusts’ recovery plan for the UK’s wildlife and fragmented habitats, known as A Living Landscape, is being achieved through restoring, recreating and reconnecting large areas of wildlife habitat, helping to safeguard the ecosystems that we depend on for so much. The Wildlife Trusts are also working to protect the UK’s marine environment and secure Living Seas. We are involved with many marine conservation projects around the UK, often surveying and collecting vital data on the state of our seas.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust runs a wide range of projects focused on protecting and enhancing Yorkshire’s wild places, all under the framework of our Living Landscapes and Living Seas. The Trust also works to introduce people to their local environment through volunteering and community projects

I would like to show you what has been achieved close to a special place for me ‘The City of Leeds’ of which the river Aire runs through.

Mid Aire Otters and Rivers Project

The Mid Aire Otter and Rivers Project finished its 3 year run in June this year and has achieved pretty much of what it set out to do.

The project worked on 5 different sites along the Aire Valley between Kirkstall, Leeds and Bingley near Bradford, including Apperley Bridge, Denso Marstons Nature Reserve at Shipley, Buck Mill at Thackley and Rodley Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Leeds.

The aim was to improve riverine habitats along the Aire Valley for otter and other wildlife, control invasive species such as…….

Himalayan Balsam

Japanese knotweed

Altogether the Rivers Project dug, cleared and restored over 1400 m² of scrapes, ponds and river channel, maintained over 1.5 ha of reed bed and 6 ha of meadow, built 40 m of willow river bank revetment, repaired 15 m of bridge and boardwalk, put up 1100 m of fence line with gates to protect a valuable ox bow pond, cleared over 2 ha of invasive Himalayan balsam and 0.7 ha of willow and scrub and over 0.5 ha of giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed was treated with herbicide. We also planted 2750 trees and shrubs and 100 wildflower plugs, and installed 175 bat and bird nest boxes…and 2 barn owl boxes.

We seem to have diversified away from otters somewhat. However these actions are all important to maintain the equilibrium between natural occurrences and foreign invaders!

Swiftly returning to the Otters Project and the  20 holts that have been installed.

Look at this beauty!

An otter’s den is called a holt or couch including pipe and chamber, log holts, recycled plastic and one floating holt

In addition we have also built 100 m of ‘dead hedge’ otter habitat and planted 2600 trees along the banks of the River Aire. We have also run 7 otter ID training courses for 70 volunteers to produce survey information along the Aire Valley. We will be continuing some of this work through other projects, in particular the West Yorkshire  Wet Woodlands Project and also projects with the Environment Agency looking at mapping and dealing with invasive non native plant species in the Aire Catchment.

During the two projects we have worked with almost 2500 volunteers and engaged with primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities across the region and with community groups from Settle to South Leeds.

So I trust you enjoyed reading this presentation and it looks like there is a lot more to explore right on my door step.

Most information gathered from http://www.ywt.org.uk

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The Dyfi Osprey Project and the Scottish wildlife Trust  have kindly given their permission for us to post still and video images from their webcams. To visit their sites please click on the relevant link.    Loch of the Lowes.  Dyfi Osprey Project.