Tayside Biodiversity
Partnership
ANNUAL REPORTApril
2005 to March 2006
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WHAT
IS BIODIVERSITY?
Biodiversity means the variety of life on earth.
It includes all species of plants and animals and the habitats
where they
live. It also includes us.
Tayside has a very rich biodiversity
resource that is vital to its economy: tourism relies
on our beautiful landscape, insects pollinate our crops, and
the land provides raw materials
for our clothing, food, drink, buildings and roads.
The Broad Aims of the Tayside Local Biodiversity Action Plan
• To co-ordinate existing actions, as well as initiating
and co-ordinating new actions;
•
To conserve and enhance the region’s biodiversity, taking
into account both local and national priorities.
TAYSIDE BIODIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP MEMBERS
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CHAIRMAN’S
FOREWORD
Tayside is one of the most biologically rich areas of Scotland
(and the UK), and very many people and organisations are committed
to working together to conserve and foster our biodiversity.
Such partnerships are essential and, for all government bodies,
a legal duty under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act. Working
together, we have to find the best ways to do this - and also
to contribute to other policies and initiatives, such as Community
Planning.
In 2005, the most exciting opportunity for biodiversity
in Tayside was the announcement that SITA Trust would give £100,000
a year for three years to biodiversity projects in our region.
This funding is very welcome, and has been a critical factor
in allowing a number of projects to go ahead. With two years
of this funding yet to come, I look forward to many more exciting
proposals. In ensuring the success of the Tayside Biodiversity
Action Fund, the assistance of the Perth Quality of Life Trust,
as fund manager, is essential. And in this and our other activities,
we continue to rely on the great enthusiasm and dedication
of our biodiversity coordinator, Catherine Lloyd. I look forward
to our continued work within our diverse Partnership.
Dr. Martin
Price
Chairman
Tayside Biodiversity Partnership |
PARTNERSHIP PROGRESS
The
Tayside Biodiversity Partnership was established in 1998 and
a Co-ordinator appointed in 2000. Covering the three local
authority areas of Angus, Dundee City, and Perth & Kinross,
it published the Tayside Local Biodiversity Action Plan in
2002 and has since been implementing its 400 actions. In 2005-06,
the Partnership widened its area of influence within the local
community and facilitated a wide range of projects and training
events. A number of authors also prepared a second tranche
of Habitat and Species Action Plans to draft stage.
The passing
of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 gave new emphasis
on local biodiversity issues to public bodies,
and throughout 2005 there was a greater call on the Co-ordinator
to assist with identifying training needs and to raise awareness
about specific subjects of interest within the local authorities.
Greater
emphasis was also placed on making links with the Scottish
Biodiversity Strategy which, with the enactment of the Nature
Conservation
(Scotland) Act 2004, has full formal effect and supports the implementation
of the new duty.
This year’s Annual Report focuses on the
work of the Co-ordinator rather than being a full Partnership report.
It is proposed that
an annual Newsletter is introduced this autumn to acknowledge
the wide-ranging achievements of the Partners. |
PROMOTING COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT IN BIODIVERSITY ISSUES
Funding
Since the establishment of the Partnership, a lack
of funding has been the major restraint in taking forward actions.
A continuing
good relationship with SITA Environmental Trust (which funded
the Co-ordinator’s post for the first three years) led,
in 2005, to £100,000 a year being pledged to the Partnership
for three years to facilitate physical works on the ground.
A
preliminary inventory highlighted over 50 projects awaiting
funding. Meetings with SITA and Perth Quality of Life Trust
(as administrators), followed by the preparation of a suite
of documents drawn up by the Co-ordinator and PQLT Administrator,
equipped the Partnership with a formal Management Agreement,
appropriate Guidance Notes, Assessment Criteria, application
forms, Sustainability Checklist, End of Project and Progress
reports.
The Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund
After much behind-the-scenes
preparation, the Fund was formally launched in Perth on 12 September
2005. The first round in
October brought 12 applications, of which five were granted
funding:
•
£1,200 to the Scottish Crop Research Institute for its
Living Field Study Centre project;
•
£5,100 to the Broughty Ferry Environmental Project for
its FLOW Project (‘Following the Life of Water’);
•
£6,314 to Forest Research for its Juniper Natural Regeneration
Management Trials;
•
£10,029 to the Angus Ranger Service for an artificial Sand
Martin Wall at Crombie Country Park;
•
£11,200 to Forest Research for its Small Cow-Wheat Species
Recovery Project.
The second round in January 2006 brought 9 applications,
of which four were granted funding:
•
£1,065 to the Tayside Ringing Group for its ‘Save
Tayside’s Ring Ouzels’ radio tag tracking project;
•
A further £1,890 to the Tayside Ringing Group for its
Tay Reedbed Management bird ringing project;
•
£6,000 to Angus Council’s Lilybank Resource Centre
for a ‘Bio-diverse Garden, Pond and Orchard’;
•
£26,000 to the RSPB for its Tay Reedbeds Biodiversity Enhancement
Project.
Grants totalling £68,798 were distributed in the first
six months of the Fund, allowing £31,202 to be forwarded
to the 2006-07 allocation of a further £100,000.
Funding
Newsletter
Two further issues of the Tayside Biodiversity Funding
Newsletter were compiled and 250 copies of each issue were
widely circulated
to community and environmental groups, as well as all Partners.
Paper copies were kept to a minimum as the Newsletters were
put on the website as quickly as possible. All back copies
of the Newsletter are stored on the website, as much of the
information remains valid.
Scottish Executive Biodiversity Action
Grant Scheme (BAGS)
Tayside Partners were particularly
successful in the Scottish Executive’s national Biodiversity
Action Grant Scheme. Although there were 106 Scotland-wide
applications, only 31
bids were successful, including five for projects wholly or
partially in Tayside. All received letters of support for their
project from the Partnership:
• Forest Research (on behalf of the Melampyrum sylvaticum UK
SAP National Steering Group) - Small Cow-Wheat Species Recovery
Project: the creation and monitoring of five new populations
of Small Cow-Wheat in Perthshire.
• Sustain Dundee - Dundee Red Squirrel Project: A red squirrel
protection and enhancement project in the city of Dundee.
• Community Woodlands Association - Community Woodland Biodiversity
Training: the provision of local training about woodland biodiversity.
Scotland-wide, but the Co-ordinator helped plan the training
programme and the first event was therefore held in Kinross-shire.
• Murton Wildlife Trust for Environmental Education (Forfar)
- Project Sandcastle: the building of a sand martin wall, together
with an adjacent pond.
•
Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie - The Living
Field Study Centre (Flora and Fauna of Scotland’s Arable
Farmland): a project aimed to increase public knowledge, and
to reintroduce rare arable plants to the Scottish Crop Research
Institute farm.
Community Development Work
The Co-ordinator continued to advise
a very wide variety of organisations and individuals on funding
issues and helped
to facilitate individual projects in their planning and management
stages.
In connection with the SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action
Fund, project and funding advice was given to:
Butterfly Conservation
(Scotland), Auchterarder Golf Club, Scottish Crop Research Institute,
the Woodland Trust, Angus
Council, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Comrie
in Colour, Big Tree Country, Lilybank Resource Centre (Forfar),
Forest Research, Community Woodland Association, Perth & Kinross
Red Squirrel Group, Broughty Ferry Environmental Project, Angus
Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, Highland Perthshire Communities
Land Trust, Scottish Golf Environment Group, Concern for Swifts
(Scotland).
Some projects did not need specific funding advice,
but guidance on biodiversity issues, suggestions on which other
organisations/individuals
to approach, and general information. The following organisations
approached the Partnership for assistance during 2005-06:
• BFEP (graveyard, green roof and orchard projects);
• Friends of Kirkgate, Kinross (park enhancement project);
• TRACKS (Loch Leven project, Kinross);
• Dunning Community Group (woodland project);
• Guildtown Community Group (community hedge project);
• Pitlochry in Bloom (Moulin Burn and Mill Ponds);
•
Plant Collectors’ Garden (potential bat garden project);
• Brougham Residential Home, Dundee (swift project);
• National Health Service (biodiversity garden project);
•
Strathmore & The Glens Rural Partnership (wildlife roadkills
and survey);
• VisitPerthshire and Kinross Tourism Group (potential biodiversity
PayBack Scheme);
• Scottish Crop Research Institute (community wildlife garden);
• Local Patch Project for Local Groups (discussed with Ms Darnell,
Montrose);
• Verge management/invasive species (discussed with Ian Ford,
Dundee);
• Meigle Community Garden Group (biodiversity issues/funding);
•
SWT Members’ Group (potential Otter A9 survey/project);
• Kettins Community Group (wetland project);
• Scottish Badger Group (Angus woodland project);
• Eco Congregation (Church Towers Swift Box project);
• TayPack, Coupar Angus (barn owl project);
• John Muir Trust Awards (biodiversity projects throughout
Tayside, including Ardonaig Outdoor Centre)
• Alyth Environmental Group (school hedge);
• Friends of the Forest (species survey and management);
• Portmoak Community Council (barn owls, bats and red squirrel
management);
• British Trust for Ornithology (Nestbox Week publicity and
potential Tay Wildfowl and Wader Audit);
•
Scottish Allotments & Gardens Society and Federation
of City Farms (potential allotment project and publication);
•
Numerous local community queries (including various planning
issues, Oudenard orchids, steading conversion - barn owl
ledges, and tree management issues at Blairgowrie, Moulin,
St Magdalene’s Hill (Perth) and Kinfauns Interchange);
•
Perth & Kinross Red Squirrel Group (Alyth Golf Course
- tree felling; Muirton Wood, Auchterarder; Aberfeldy golf
course - scrub and tree clearance; West Moulin Park, Pitlochry).
The
Co-ordinator also ensured that local wildflower nurseries were
alerted about Flora Locale’s national list of suppliers;
several were subsequently included in the list on the organisation’s
website.
The Co-ordinator kept in touch with the Perth and Kinross
Eco Schools Committee and gave advice to the following educational
projects:
• Longforgan School (Village Trail project and school
grounds);
•
Balhousie Primary School Outdoor Group (conservation tasks
and John Muir Award);
•
Monifieth Primary School (playground project);
•
Menzieshill High School, Dundee (school grounds);
•
Craigie High School, Dundee (Red Squirrel project);
•
Pandora’s Butterfly Garden project (Crieff schools project);
•
Perth Academy Environmental Group (school orchard);
•
Murton Environment Trust (educational, sand martin and pond
projects).
PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES
All government bodies now have a legal biodiversity duty under
the Nature Conservation (Scotland) 2004 Act. In the past year,
especially, the Partnership had the opportunity to work closely
with the three local authorities in Tayside, contributing to
policies and initiatives and making links with Community Planning.
Over
Tayside as a whole, the Co-ordinator worked with the Clackmannanshire
Biodiversity Officer to give a presentation
and lead workshops for the Tayside/Clackmannanshire Rangers'
Networking Day. This gave a very useful focus to various projects
in which the different ranger services assisted the Partnership
during the past year.
Angus Council
Within Leisure Services,
there was dialogue regarding the Council’s proposed Biodiversity
Action Plan for greenspaces, which included verge management.
Input was given regarding
a number of potential pond projects, especially Keptie Pond,
Arbroath; the Brechin Flood Defence Scheme and Brechin Business
Park were also discussed. A major Millennium Forest ground
flora project was researched, together with a Wildlife Tree
Project for local schools. Discussions also resulted in a major
biodiversity input into the Abbotsford Playpark enhancement
project in Arbroath.
Liaison continued with the Ranger Service
at their five Ranger bases, on topics including the Tern Project
at Montrose, plans
for the Local Patch Project, a Small Blue Butterfly Survey,
bat projects, and surveys of the Tayside Green Graveyard Initiative
pilot sites. There was also close liaison regarding links for
projects being undertaken at both the Lilybank (Forfar) and
Lunan (Friockheim) Resource Centres.
The Sheltered Housing
Biodiversity Project continued in Angus. The lunch-time seminar
held in March 2006 highlighted the
project and has now influenced both the Perth and Kinross
Ranger Service and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs Ranger Service
to research a similar programme of biodiversity enhancement
projects.
Potential hands-on projects were also discussed with
the Planning Department’s “Voluntary Eco Teams”;
these exist in each Angus town, plus Glamis, Friockheim, Muirhead,
Kirriemuir and Monifieth. A number of Partners suggested specific
projects to involve the teams.
The Co-ordinator’s Angus
Community Planning Progress Report (Biodiversity) 2004-05 was
given a page on the community
planning website.
Dundee City Council
The Engineer’s Department called on the Partnership
to discuss the Sustainable Urban Drainage System and school
grounds project at Forthill Primary School, Broughty Ferry.
One meeting of the Eco House Sun City meeting was also attended
to ensure biodiversity issues were incorporated. A potential ‘allotment
and biodiversity’ project was mooted.
Meetings with the
Greenspace Officer, Woodland Officer and the Urban Rangers took
place and there was an opportunity for
the Partnership to comment on the Dundee Environmental Strategy
Consultative Draft.
Perth & Kinross Council
The Co-ordinator was invited
to comment on the local authority’s
Community Planning paper. Regular liaison with The Environment
Service ensured that biodiversity issues were taken into consideration
in the “Fit for Purpose” Open Spaces Assessment
(1,800 urban grassland sites, including potential demonstration
sites). There was also input into a number of projects, including
Scone Park Pond, Larghan Park (Coupar Angus) Enhancement, Perthshire
Biodiversity Banks, and the Perth Lade. Training events for
staff were arranged on hedge management and urban grassland
management. A pilot Community Hedge Project commenced at Vane
Farm, Kinross-shire. A Swifts in Schools Project was discussed,
as was a Tree Warden's Wildlife Tree Project to encourage the
planting of berry-bearing small trees. Advice was also given
on legislation regarding Ragwort and Japanese Knotweed.
Following
liaison with the Area Based Initiative Development Officer
in Performance, Planning and Management, the Perth
Community Programme took cognisance of biodiversity; a John
Muir Award project at Muirton may result. Take a Pride in Perth
is hosting the Britain in Bloom conference in 2006 and assistance
was offered at the planning stage on potential biodiversity-themed
publicity.
The Partnership gave advice to the Planning Department
regarding the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 and responded
to
the Housing in Countryside Policy consultation. Regular liaison
occurred with the department regarding public queries concerning
a number of planning applications (generated by both internal
enquiries and public ones).
Additionally, regular liaison with
the Ranger Service ensured additional biodiversity input on site
management proposals
(including Crieff, Kingoodie Ponds, and the geodiversity- biodiversity
interpretation project at Kinnoull), plus links to national
publicity, species management (especially Barn owls and Swifts),
grassland management and projects regarding Red squirrels and
Swifts.
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PARTNERSHIP WORKING
Since
2002 the Partnership has been working towards achieving targets
in the 18 published Habitat Action Plans (HAPs), as
well as contributing to UKBAP targets where appropriate. Links
to the wider Partnership during 2005-06 include:
• Aggregate Industries
• Alyth Environment Group
• Angus Countryside Initiative
• Angus Rural Partnership
• Atholl Estates
• Bat Conservation Trust
• British Deer Society
• British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (Scotland)
• British Trust for Ornithology
• Butterfly Conservation (Scotland)
• Concern for Swifts (Scotland)
• Community Woodlands Association
• Deer Commission for Scotland
• Dundee Botanic Gardens
•
Dundee Naturalists’ Society
• Dundee Partnership for the Environment
• Eco-Congregation Scotland
• Froglife
•
Perth & Kinross Tree Wardens
• Plantlife International
• Pond Conservation
• Scottish Native Woodlands
• Scottish Sustainable Construction Forum
• Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
• VisitScotland
The Partnership’s six Habitat sub-groups meet as required
and keep in touch regularly via e-mail. The Education sub-group
continues to meet and has proved to be a very useful networking
group. Both the Barn Owl and Swift Interest Groups focus on
specific issues and, in doing so, widen the Partnership’s
membership to different local authority staff, professionals
such as architects and planners, and individual naturalists.
In
2005-06, each of the habitat sub-groups held meetings to review
the 1st Tranche of the Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan.
Results from this review were supplied to a separate Local
Authorities working group which also reviewed their actions.
Progress
for each of the sub-groups during 2005-06 is highlighted below:
Coasts
and Estuaries
A meeting, hosted by Dundee City Council, was held in
May. Members able to attend included SNH, the British Association
for Shooting and Conservation, RSPB, Angus Council, Dundee
City Council and the Tay Ringing Group. Apologies were received
from the Tay Estuary Forum, Broughty Ferry Environment Project,
Scottish Wildlife Trust and Perth and Kinross Council.
Environmental
enhancement of the Angus
coastal footpath was discussed – including a puffin
viewpoint at Auchmithie, plus the potential expansion of
the initiative to re-establish
breeding tern colonies at Barry Buddon and Montrose.
The departure
of the sub-group leader caused a hiatus for much of the year,
although the Co-ordinator
continued to research
the possibility of setting up a wader & wildfowl "audit" of
the Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary with the British Trust for
Ornithology’s Wetland and Coastal Ecology Unit. Discussions
were also undertaken with the RSPB as regards their new reedbed
reserve; this resulted in a successful application being submitted
to the Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund.
The Partnership is
a member of the UK Common Scoter BAP Steering Group. A member
of the sub-group attended the 5th annual meeting
in December in Edinburgh.
In the New Year, the Tay Estuary Forum’s
Project Officer was seconded to be leader of the sub-group.
Unfortunately,
a job change coincided with the decision, so a further delay
has been experienced.
Farmland
A Summer Field Meeting was organised by Angus FWAG in
June in place of a formal sub-group meeting. While the turn out
was disappointing, staff from SEERAD, Angus Rural Partnership,
and the Field Studies Council attended. The owners of the farm,
near Newbigging, Angus, showed the sub-group their work on
grass margins and conservation headland management, species-rich
grassland and pond creation, as well as unharvested crops,
water margins, new hedge creation and dyke repair.
Also in June,
the Biodiversity Co-ordinator attended the Landscape-Scale Conservation
Conference in Bangor, held by FACT/GAP (Forum
for the Application of Conservation Techniques, and the Grazing
Animals Project). The conference, attended by 200 professionals
from across the UK, provided an update on environmental, economic
and social land management in the wider rural landscape. A
local meeting followed to discuss potential Grazing Animal
Projects across Scotland. Although there is mention of such
a project in the LBAP, on the Angus coast, this initiative
has not yet been expanded in Tayside.
Angus FWAG drafted a ‘Farmland Priority Habitat and
Species’ Information Sheet outlining details of the 15
species and 15 habitats included in the RSS “List of
30” used to gain points for LBAP species and habitats.
As there were no funds to publish the leaflet, it was made
available via the Partnership’s website.
During 2005, the
Tayside Barn Owl pilot projects drew to a close and discussions
were held as to the way forward. The
setting up of the Scottish Lowlands Barn Owl Forum (described
later) has given new impetus to future projects in the area.
The
idea for “Field Days” arose when the Co-ordinator
attended the UK Lowland Grassland Steering Group meeting in
2004; Tayside has since led the way in Scotland with three
awareness-raising ‘Field Days’ events:
•
In Kinross-shire - Fife & Kinross FWAG and the RSPB ran
a ‘Field Identification and Management of Farmland Birds’ event
for 25 people – species preferences were highlighted
as regards nesting, habitat, migration and food.
•
In Perthshire - 13 members of staff attended a ‘Field
Discussion Day’ from Fife Council, SNH, Perth and Kinross
Council, and Murton Wildlife Trust. Four very different grassland
sites were visited and their long-term management discussed.
•
In Angus - Scotia Seeds, Brechin hosted the ‘Angus FWAG
Wildflower Day’. The topic was Species-rich Grassland
Creation and Management. An afternoon was given to discussing
the biodiversity benefits from such creation or management
and included a bumblebee identification session with a tour
of the Scotia Seeds site. Thirty people from Tayside, Central
Scotland and Aberdeenshire attended.
The Co-ordinator also attended
a planning meeting at the Scottish Crop Research Institute
to discuss the Living Field Study Centre,
the Partners to include in a future steering committee and
potential improvements to the new Community Garden.
Upland
For much of the year, the sub-group did not have a leader,
but the Head of Kindrogan Field Centre agreed to undertake
the task and a full sub-group meeting was held in March 2006,
hosted by Perth College. Members attended from the Centre of
Mountain Studies, Deer Commission for Scotland, RSPB, and the
Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust. Apologies were
received from the British Deer Society, SEERAD, Angus FWAG,
National Trust for Scotland and SNH. The Cairngorms Moorland
Project managers gave a presentation about their demonstration
site at the meeting.
Urban and Built Environment
The sub-group, including the three
local authorities, Broughty Ferry Environmental Project, SEPA
and SNH, met regularly throughout
the year. Angus Council, Jamesfield Organic Centre (Abernethy)
and Dundee City Council each hosted a meeting.
The Town Swift
Survey was enthusiastically taken forward by a number of volunteers
throughout Tayside
and a great deal
of help was obtained from the various Ranger Services. A meeting
in September plotted the survey findings on a map to obtain
hot spots of Swift nesting activity in Tayside. This will ultimately
allow the three planning departments to access information
via GIS and focus on developments that may interfere with the
Swifts or their ecology. Identification of areas showing little
or no Swift activity will also allow the Partnership to plan
specific surveys to fill in the gaps of knowledge. Good practice
case studies were discussed – developers in Dundee and
Perth are now considering the inclusion of integral swift nestboxes
in new-build developments.
The Green Graveyard Initiative pilot
projects continued and the grassland-cutting regime at Greyfriars
Graveyard, Perth
was reviewed. The first community project within the Initiative
- St. Serf’s Wildflower Meadow, Comrie - received advice
on its proposed management regime, together with advice to
improve the treeline and hedgerow surrounding it. A community
Wildflower Planting Day is now planned, together with a Bumblebee
Project to involve local schoolchildren. Throughout the year,
the Biodiversity Co-ordinator worked with the national organisation
Eco-Congregation to build on previous events attended at Dunblane
Cathedral and Perth, and to raise awareness of the subject.
A Swift Church Tower Project in Perth will link with the Initiative.
The
Co-ordinator continued meeting with National Health Service
staff and Friends of Crieff
Hospital to help enhance the grounds
for biodiversity. Links were continued with the Perthshire
Housing Association to help incorporate biodiversity features
into some of their properties. Meetings were also held with
the Broughty Ferry Environmental Project to make links to LBAP
targets and help plan projects such as the sand martin wall
extension, the adjacent wildflower meadow and the Orchar Park
wildlife/community orchard. Angus Council’s Sheltered
Housing Biodiversity Project is highlighted elsewhere in the
Report.
Water and Wetlands
Although no sub-group meetings were held during
the year, there were several seminar working group meetings held
with
the sub-group leader, Co-ordinator and the Scottish-Southern
Power representative, to take forward the River Engineering
seminar (highlighted elsewhere in this Report). The Review
of the 1st Tranche Action Plans was also discussed.
The Co-ordinator liaised with the new educational pilot scheme,
WaterSense, led by WWF Scotland, SEPA and the Angus Ranger
Service. A number of pond projects were also discussed over
the year, most of them on land managed by the local authorities,
but also by Golf Clubs. The Scottish Golf Environment Group
continued to liaise with the Partnership on a number of local
Angus-based projects.
Queries continued about invasive plant species, especially
Ragwort, Japanese Knotweed, and Giant Hogweed.
With Perth Museum, a new ecological survey of the Perth Lade
was encouraged and achieved during the year. The survey demonstrated
that this important waterway is in far better condition than
it was a decade ago. There is potential to initiate a “Water
of Leith” type project to highlight one of Perth’s
key green corridors. The Co-ordinator continues liaison with
Perth and Kinross Council to ensure biodiversity is taken into
consideration with the various community projects already planned.
Woodland
The sub-group met in January 2006, attended by the
three local authorities, the Forestry Commission, SEERAD, SNH,
RSPB, the
Scottish Rural Property and Business Association, Perth and
Kinross Countryside Trust, and Forest Enterprise. The three
Tayside Red Squirrel Groups were also represented. Apologies
were received from the Deer Commission for Scotland, Scottish
Nature and Angus FWAG. The Forestry Commission hosted the meeting.
The
two successful funding applications for the Small Cow-Wheat
Recovery Project and Juniper Regeneration Trials were discussed.
The first project will take place in four Perthshire sites;
the second will be at Fungarth and Balloukan, Perthshire.
Numerous
projects are underway throughout Tayside, including a Wetland
Tree Project in Dundee, creation of a Red Squirrel-friendly
public park in Dundee, and a guidance note for Black Grouse
Management.
The Partnership had commented on the
Forestry Strategy for Perth and Kinross, and its Five Year
Tree & Woodland Strategy.
Throughout 2005 there was a large
increase in both public and professional queries concerning
Red Squirrel management.
This coincided with the revival of the Perth and Kinross Squirrel
Group which undertook to survey its original transects and
update its records. In Angus, the Ranger Service collected
records in Glen Doll forest and Crombie Country Park, and a
small Group was established to look at Red Squirrel issues
in the county. The most successful of the groups, Dundee, gave
a presentation at the sub-group meeting and circulated its
Red Squirrel Householders’ Pack. The work in Tayside
links with the Scottish Red Squirrel Group, as well as the
Great Red Squirrel Hunt project in the Cairngorms. There is
a possibility of widening this project into Highland Perthshire
and discussions are underway as to how best to limit the expansion
of Grey squirrels north of Dunkeld.
During 2005, the Co-ordinator
obtained funding for a print run of 5,000 copies of the Tayside
Red Squirrel Newsletter,
and acted as its compiler and editor. There was a very positive
response to the publication and, together with local survey
forms, it has now been added to the website to increase its
readership.
Education
The sub-group has proved to be a good networking forum
for a number of diverse organisations and individuals. Its
summer
meeting included visits to Longforgan School and the nearby
Scottish Crop Research Institute where a tour of the new Living
Field Community Garden was undertaken.
The Tayside RIGS (Regionally
Important Geological Sites) Group was revived during the year
and now links geodiversity and
biodiversity issues. A series of trails leaflets, together
with on-site interpretation, was discussed, as well as a specific
pilot project in Kinnoull.
The 3rd School Backyard Biodiversity event was held at Battleby
in June with another 300+ children from Perth and Kinross taking
part in the one-day event. The National Trust for Scotland,
Scottish Wildlife Trust and Atholl Ranger Services joined the
Perth and Kinross Ranger Service in running this major event.
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PROMOTING
AWARENESS AND ENHANCEMENT OF BIODIVERSITY
The Media
The Partnership’s achievements have been highlighted
in articles and press releases throughout the year, particularly
in the Dundee Courier, the Angus newspapers and the Perthshire
Advertiser. By working with a local journalist, the Partnership
achieved a double-page article in the Perthshire Advertiser
during Scottish Biodiversity Week. Assistance was also given
to Hillcrest Housing Association on its press release on its
Swift Project and to Perth and Kinross Council for a number
of its press releases.
Articles featuring the Partnership’s work were prepared
for the “Tayside Field Days” and items included
in the Scottish Biodiversity Forum’s LBAP Newsletter.
An article in the UK RIBA journal on conservation of swift
sites proved popular.
To coincide with the opening of the new
Scottish Headquarters for the World Wildlife Fund in Dunkeld,
the Co-ordinator contributed
a biodiversity section to their national website.
Website
Much background work was undertaken to prepare
the website for launch in May 2005. An official photocall involved
the
Chairman, Professor Price, and the Co-ordinator. Since then
quarterly meetings with the website designer have led to the
addition of many more documents, news items, ‘Fun Page’ games
and survey forms.
Statistics have been analysed on a weekly
basis since the beginning of June 2005. For the ten months
to the end of March
2006, there were 90,127 “hits”, with the average
increasingly almost immediately to 1,000 a week in the summer
and levelling off in late winter (February/March 2006) to between
3,500 and 5,000 a week.
Via www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk, enquirers
can instantly access the Tayside list of UKBAP Priority Species
and UKBAP
Species of Conservation Concern via the Home Page, as well
as the document ‘Guide to Incorporating Biodiversity
into Local Services’. This is in addition to easy access
to all the Habitat Action Plans, the list of Partnership members,
and ongoing surveys (such as the Barn Owl, Town Swift and Red
Squirrel surveys). The bi-annual Tayside Biodiversity Funding
Newsletter received regular “hits”, as did past
Annual Reports and the on-line Newsletter.
Presentations and Exhibitions
Presentations were given
to Eco-Congregation, Scottish Community Woodlands and Take a
Pride in Perth, in addition to the “Working
with Different Generations” lunch-time seminar and the
Angus Wildflower Training Day. As mentioned previously, the
Tayside and Clackmannanshire Co-ordinators attended the Ranger
Workshop in Angus and gave a joint presentation, as well as
each leading a workshop.
The Co-ordinator attended the Loch
Leven Communities Open Day and took part in the wildflower-planting
event arranged
jointly between SNH and Perth and Kinross Council at Kirkgate,
Kinross. The rain did not dampen the enthusiasm with which
local people helped to plant up an area of wildflower grassland
as part of a larger landscaping scheme adjoining Loch Leven.
Presentations
continued to be given to local authority departments. The Co-ordinator
also arranged for two specialist speakers
to give short talks to Perth and Kinross Council’s Environment
Service (Perthshire FWAG on the subject of hedges, and Fife
Ranger Service on the subject of urban grassland management).
During
the spring, an exhibition stand was taken at both the Dundee
Spring Flower Show and the Scottish Archaeology Fair
in Perth. The displays of “historical plants good for
wildlife” proved to be popular and generated a lot of
general enquiries on wildlife gardening.
Publications
The summary booklet was reprinted (and
slightly updated), its first print run of 7,500 having been used
within
2.5 years
of its publication. The second print run of 5,000 is being
distributed just as widely and has been incorporated into Partners’ conference
packs and circulated to local environmental groups, schools
and colleges, businesses, consultants, and all Partner organisations.
Angus FWAG includes the booklet in its New Member’s Pack.
There
is a national need for planning guidance, and the Partnership
has been part of the Scottish LBAP Planning Implementation
Group which has been discussing the best way forward. The Partnership’s
own biodiversity planning leaflets (Householders’ Guide
to Biodiversity and Biodiversity Guidance to Developers) required
re-writing during 2005 and case studies were researched for
the Planning Manual. Biodiversity Action Notes were also drafted
in association with a wide range of Partner organisations.
The documents will be published during 2006-07.
A full-colour
Tayside Red Squirrel Newsletter was compiled with input from
a wide number of Partners across the region.
Five thousand full-colour copies were published and circulated
via libraries, schools, the Ranger Service, environment groups
and the three Red Squirrel Groups in Tayside.
Two hundred and
fifty copies of the Tayside Biodiversity Funding Newsletter were
circulated twice during the year
to a similar diverse audience. Many more people across both
Tayside and the rest of Scotland have been able to access
the information it provides, as past issues, as well as the
current issue, are also featured on the website.
A general
Tayside Biodiversity On-Line Newsletter was prepared for the
launch of the website; copies have been regularly downloaded
throughout the year.
A new Tayside Town Swift Survey poster
was prepared and the survey forms updated. These proved extremely
popular and Concern
for Swifts (Scotland) asked permission to make them available
to other Biodiversity Partnerships in Scotland to adapt for
their own use.
Display Boards
One set of display boards was made available
to the Dundee Spring Flower Show, the Dundee Food and Flower
Festival, the
Angus Glens Walking Festival and the Sea Shore Festival. It
was also displayed long-term in both Crombie Country Park Centre
and the SWT Montrose Visitor Centre. The Perth and Kinross
Ranger Service used the second set of boards at numerous events
(including the Perth Wood Fair and Perth Show) before the display
was loaned long-term to the WoodBus which is now touring schools
and local communities throughout Perth and Kinross.
Once again,
the banner display set proved extremely useful for many one-day
events. They were regularly borrowed by Angus
Council for their conferences, and displayed at the Angus Show
(hosted by Angus FWAG). The Scottish Rural Property & Business
Association hosted them on their stand at the 3-day Scone Game
Fair. They were also used at the Scottish Biodiversity Forum
Lead Partners’ conference and the East Perthshire Walking
Festival, and widely used by the Perth and Kinross Ranger Service
at one-day events.
“ Building Better Biodiversity” Lunch-time
Seminars and Workshops
The popularity of these events has increased,
and attendees from neighbouring LBAP Partnerships are now drawn
to them.
In turn, this has encouraged other LBAPs to offer similar events.
In
the past year, nearly 240 people have attended the events and
the audience continues to be very mixed: staff from statutory
bodies, many different Council departments, housing associations,
private business people, consultants, and naturalists.
Perth & Kinross Council hosted three lunch-time seminars:
•
April 2005 – Swift Nest Site Conservation (led by Concern
for Swifts);
•
December 2005 – Bats in Buildings and Bridges (led by
Angus Ranger Service);
•
March 2006 – Working with Different Generations (led
by Angus Ranger Service and the Partnership).
In September, Dundee
Botanical Gardens hosted a lunch-time seminar: Greenspace Design.
Tayside
Field Days were held to raise awareness of grassland management:
•
In early June, Fife & Kinross FWAG, together with RSPB,
held a guided walk for 25 people in Kinross-shire to identify
farmland birds and to discuss farm wildlife.
• In mid-June, the Partnership led a Field Discussion
Day in the Aberfeldy area. In association with SNH and the
Fife Ranger Service, different types of species-rich grassland
were explored and their management options discussed.
• At the end of July, Angus FWAG held a Wildflower Training
Day to explore the creation and management of species-rich
grassland. Hosted by Scotia Seeds near Brechin, the afternoon
also included a Butterfly and Bumblebee Identification Workshop.
The Water and Wetland sub-group masterminded the main seminar
of the year with a major input from Alastair Stephen of Scottish & Southern
Power. On 9 November 2005, a hundred delegates from all over
Scotland attended the “River Engineering – Solutions
for Roads and Fish” seminar at the Birnam Institute.
A follow-up seminar has been agreed for June 2007. Presentations
at Birnam included:
•
An introduction to Controlled Activities Regulations; Risk
Assessment Approach (both by SEPA);
•
Case studies and discussion on Fisheries Improvements (Kyle
of Sutherland District Salmon Fishery Board); Pitlochry Flood
Event (Perth and Kinross Council); Tweed Fishery Restoration
- multi-agency collaboration (Tweed Foundation); Brechin Flood
Alleviation Scheme – a partnership approach (Angus Council).
There was excellent feedback to the 2005-06 programme, with
requests for further events; a fourth programme has been prepared
for 2006-07. A full analysis report for the third programme is available separately.
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