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12 November 2007
Volunteer celebration at Old Sulehay
Have some fun and learn about the Trust's vision for the Nene Valley
To celebrate the achievements of a unique volunteering project in 2007, the Wildlife Trust is holding a ‘Valley Volunteers’ project celebration at 10am on 11 December 2007at Ring Haw Field Station, Old Sulehay Nature Reserve.
There will be guided walks by staff and volunteers on the Trust’s vision for the Nene Valley and its reserves; how the Trust is updating its scientific knowledge of the Nene Valley; good practise for habitat management; and future volunteering opportunities. A glass of mulled wine and a mince pie or two will round off the morning’s event.
Many events and activities have been run this year as part of the ‘Valley Volunteers’ project, thanks to support from Natural England through Defra's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. These have included roadshows and training workshops, as well as vital habitat mangement work on key nature reserves along the Nene Valley. A very successful series of ‘Bat Pathfinder’ nights have involved Wildlife Trust Ecology Group volunteers on several nature reserves, mapping bat flight paths, during which many species of bats were detected, their calls recorded and then identified.
The project will contribute to the conservation charity’s Vision for the Nene Valley, a landscape-scale plan for biodiversity. Dr Ian Williamson of Natural England's ALSF Grants Management Team said "I am very pleased to see that the Valley Volunteers Project has got off to such a good start. It is satisfying to know that initiatives like this really can enthuse local people, not only to visit and enjoy wildlife sites on their own doorstep but also to become actively involved in important surveying and management programmes. I wish the project continued success."
Thanks to the grant the Trust has employed a new volunteer development officer, Rosie Blackman, who has been engaging with the local community to enable more people to get involved in volunteering. Rosie Blackman said “Thanks to this funding the Wildlife Trust will be running more volunteer opportunities and involving more people in protecting and enhancing their local environment. The recent Bat Pathfinders project has already proved a great success at Old Sulehay and we hope to get lots more people involved in many more exciting projects in the coming months”.
If you would like to attend please contact Rosie Blackman on 01954 713519 or email ecologygroups (at) wildlifebcnp.org