The SITA Trust Tayside Biodiversity
Action Fund was launched in September 2005 to deliver
local biodiversity conservation in line with the Landfill
Tax Credit Scheme. Since the Fund’s launch £297,268
has been allocated to 39 practical “on the ground” projects
throughout Tayside. The total leverage of these projects
is nearly £685,000. Third party contributions
have been given by the three local authorities (Angus,
Dundee City, and Perth & Kinross Councils) and Forestry Commission Scotland.
With the news that the SITA Trust has awarded the Tayside Biodiversity
Partnership £100,000 a year for a further three
years, the time is right to highlight some of the
sterling work going on throughout Tayside. The projects
highlighted here are a small proportion of what has
been achieved so far. A list can be downloaded from
the funding section of www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk.
The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership is also focusing
on just over 50 of its own projects. This Newsletter begins to highlight a few of them. |
Partnership working safeguards
Dundee’s Red Squirrels
A project focusing on Dundee's Red squirrel population - thought to
be the last population in urban Britain - was first identified
by the Community Planning process and Tayside Biodiversity
Action Plan in 2002. A working group made up from
a number of partners was quickly established.
The involvement and commitment from a diverse range of organisations
and individuals has been a major strength of the project.
Overseen by Sustain Dundee, an environmental charity, the
Red Squirrel Project has attracted £45,000, including
a grant from the SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action
Fund (TBAF). A Biodiversity Action Grant from the
Scottish Executive enabled a seasonal project officer
to be employed, whilst the TBAF grant has supported
on-the-ground management and ensured an active volunteer
group of local people. A Breathing Places grant made a publicity and public information campaign possible. Other organisations
have given generous in-kind support, especially Dundee City Council.
The project has been successfully 'getting the message across'
about the threat of Grey squirrels to Red squirrel populations.
The
project is now reaping the rewards, with city sightings of Red
squirrels in areas where they have long been absent. Information
on the Tayside Red Squirrel Project is available from
redsquirrel.project@dundeecity.gov.uk; Tel.
01382 431848. The project is bringing together the
work and enthusiasm of the three groups in the
area. These voluntary groups are helping to survey squirrel
numbers, protecting their habitat and supporting conservation
bodies to raise public awareness. If you would like
to take part in the Tayside Red Squirrel survey, please
go on to www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk, or check www.dundeeredsquirrels.co.uk. |
Small Cow-wheat Species
Recovery Project Small cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum)
is a UKBAP Priority Species, a priority for Scotland
and for Tayside. It is an annual plant of broadleaved,
humid woodlands where it is a partial parasite on a wide range
of plants. Once widespread in the UK, it is now restricted to only
twenty sites, nearly all of which are in Scotland. As Perthshire was
once a strong hold for the species, it was particularly relevant
to focus the Species Recovery Project in Tayside. The
project, which received monies from the SITA Tayside Biodiversity
Action Fund, is working towards the UKBAP target of increasing
the number of sites with Small Cow-wheat in Scotland. It will
also add to our knowledge of rare species introductions, in particular the importance of seed provenance and founder population size.
It is a collaboration between local landowners, Forest Research and
the National UKBAP Steering Group for Small Cow-wheat. Seed
collected from three natural populations was sown at six suitable sites
in Tayside. Germination, plant survival and flowering were assessed
throughout 2006 and 2007. Germination success was promising
with a 20% germination rate recorded - germination rates appeared
to be slightly higher for seeds collected from the Perthshire native
populations. Survival of plants, however, varied: 60% survived to
maturity at one site in 2006, but all plants were lost from two
of the sites in 2005. However good growth and flowering
has been observed and it is possible that plants established
in 2007 have resulted from crossing between different
seed provenances, perhaps resulting in enhanced survival
characteristics. The trials have also revealed that
Small Cowwheat seed can remain viable in
the soil for longer than expected suggesting that
an accumulation of a seed bank
may be possible. |
Supporting Tayside’s
Tree
Sparrows
Tree sparrows are smaller than House sparrows and both males and
females are similar in appearance. They both have a warm chestnutbrown crown
with a black spot on white cheek patches. Juveniles also
have the warm red-brown cap. Listed as a UK Priority
Species, the rapidly declining population is now largely
localized with birds wintering in woodland and farmland, and
seen in small flocks or mixing in with larger groups of farmland bird
such as Yellowhammer and Chaffinch. They are reported from less
than one in twenty Garden BirdWatch gardens, confirming their predominantly
rural existence. Changes in agriculture are thought to have
been one of the main causes of the reduced population of Tree Sparrows
across Britain. Selective herbicides make the weed seeds they
used to feed on much harder to find and the change to a higher percentage
of winter cropping means less stubble fields are available for them to feed in over the winter.
Now in Tayside, at least, a little help is at hand. Thirty sites
throughout Angus, Perthshire and Kinross-shire have been targeted
by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group’s Conservation
Advisers
as part of the Tayside Tree Sparrows Project, funded by the SITA
Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund.
Through local FWAG or bird ringers’ knowledge, and liaison
with the
RSPB's Volunteer Farmer Alliance Project Officer, areas have been
identified as already having Tree sparrows present. The project
is
focusing on these areas to help secure existing populations and
prevent further decline of the species. The new project will see
12
tree sparrow boxes erected in suitable habitat on each of the farms
involved. A report and a map highlighting areas of the farm
important for Tree Sparrows will be provided to each farmer,
together with ideas about what can be done to make further
improvements to the habitat. The nestboxes for the project have
been made by a local business and all 360 boxes have now been
erected. The boxes will be monitored this summer to see if any
of
them are used; if they are the chicks will have leg rings fitted
so they
can be identified if ever caught as part of another project.
To widen the project, the FWAG Adviser in Angus secured additional
funding from the Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Grant to
take
the project into upland Angus. ‘Targeting Tree Sparrows’ will
deliver
a similar project to 16 sites where there are known to be Tree
Sparrows present. One of these sites is on the edge of the
Community Woodland at Westmuir, near Kirriemuir. Angus FWAG
is leading a spring-time walk at the woodland, to which local people
and FWAG members have been invited.
The boxes for this part of the project have been sourced
from a company which has made many of the
Barn Owl nestboxes for other FWAG projects in Tayside. |
FLOW - Following
the Life of
Water
The idea for this project emerged from the Broughty Ferry
Environmental Group working with a variety of individuals and
organisations, mainly in Broughty Ferry, Dundee. The first year
of the three part project involved the creation of three
hibernacula for amphibians. The first was built alongside a
proposed pond in a Local Nature Reserve and involved twelve
local people working alongside a skilled drystane dyker to create
a functional and visually attractive feature.
The second location for a hibernaculum was the gardens of the
McKinnon Centre, a skills training centre for adults requiring
additional support. Volunteers who gained skills from the first
project practiced their skills on the second project. An amazing
pond was also created in the McKinnon Centre which was
followed by improving the pond in the library grounds at
Broughty Ferry. A new pond is now being established in the
Local Nature Reserve.
In the meantime, a third hibernacula was built in the local Barnhill
Rock Gardens. This time a group of local children, the Nature
Nutters, learned some drystane dyking skills.
Local people have been keen to point out that a significantly
higher number of amphibians have been seen around the
features...perhaps a reflection of the wet summer, but hopefully
because of the improved habitat.
|
Artificial Sand Martin wall,
Crombie Country Park.
The Sand Martin, (Riparia riparia) is a notoriously difficult species
to
monitor as active and inactive nest holes are difficult to distinguish,
and because whole colonies may shift to new locations as suitable
sand cliffs are created and destroyed.
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Waterway Bird Survey (WBS) nest
counts suggest a stable or shallowly increasing population from
1974
to 1995, but with a steep decrease in subsequent years. The main
threat to this species is winter rainfall in the birds’ trans-Saharan
wintering grounds, and loss of habitat in the UK as modern sand
quarrying is by removal of topsoil, extraction of sand and
replacement of topsoil, thus removing any long term breeding sites.
Additionally, Health & Safety legislation requires quarry and
pit
owners to leave exposed slopes at a safe angle, which is no use
to
sand martins, as burrows would collapse.
Funded by the SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund, an artificial
wall
nest site has been constructed at Crombie Country Park in Angus
to
help the breeding population. Once established as a colony the
population will be monitored during the breeding season by weekly
counts of nest hole usage and by ringing of the young birds (pulli).
Special construction of the wall has provided access to a passageway
at the back of the nest chambers. Each chamber has a wooden flap
at the rear which allows qualified ringers access to the nest to
monitor egg laying rates and survival - this will be part of the
British
Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Nest Record Scheme. Tay Ringing
Group members will also be able to ring the pulli.
The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership’s Education and Urban
sub-group members have enjoyed site visits to the wall to see the
construction at close hand. The new wall contributes to targets
set
in the Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan.
Once the site has become a strong colony, events will be held at
Crombie so that visitors will see ringing demonstrations and hear
about the migration and lives of this fascinating bird.
As the wall can be viewed from the Grebe Hide on the opposite bank
of the reservoir, visitors will be asked to take part in valuable
survey
work. Displays will be set up within the Grebe Hide and the hole
positions of the sand martin wall replicated so that visitors can
mark
off which of the holes are being used. |
RSPB Tay Reedbeds
Biodiversity Enhancement
Project
The SITA TBAF’s largest grant to date of £26,000 was
made to
RSPB Scotland to help manage its new reserve at the Tay
Reedbeds. With in-kind costs by way of staff and volunteer time,
the total project cost was £57,000.
Alan Leitch, the RSPB Site Manager (Tayside Reserves) said:
“
Funding from SITA TBAF has contributed greatly to the
sustainable management of the Tay Reedbeds and enabled us to
gain a better understanding of populations of key reedbed
species. This knowledge will allow us to fine tune future
management so that we can maximise the biodiversity potential
of the reedbeds and surrounding area. This is particularly
relevant for the UKBAP and Tayside LBAP species that favour
reedbeds and which are currently under threat of disappearing
from Tayside. The birds in question are Reed bunting, Bearded
tit, Water rail, Sedge warbler and Marsh harrier.”
Funding has enabled estimates to be made of key species
populations. The list makes impressive reading:
As part of the reedbed management there is an annual cutting
regime which avoids the important breeding and nesting periods.
It is aimed at maximising the wildlife value of the habitat through
rotation and increased reed edge exposure. Pools and scrapes
have been added to encourage natural feeding sites for wildlife.
So far 90ha have been successfully managed out of the 175ha
reserve. The RSPB’s Management Plan for the Tay Reserve,
scheduled for completion this year, will review the findings from
the monitoring and management work completed over the initial
three years of RSPB involvement on the Tay. |
One good tern deserves
another…
Terns are summer visitors to the UK, and Angus is home to four
species of them (Arctic, Common, Sandwich and Little tern),
with a fifth having also been recorded (Roseate). They tend to
arrive as early as March and head off in September feeding on
small fish, which they catch by plunge diving. Terns are normally
found nesting on shingle shores but in Montrose Arctic and
Common terns for the past few years have taken up residence
on gravelled surfaces found within factories where they are
known to dive-bomb workers and are considered a health and
safety hazard.
Beach-goers to Montrose may not realise either that they are
sharing the sand with the nationally rare Little tern. The Little
tern is not actually listed as a UKBAP priority species, which
is
likely due to lack of data and the rigorous criteria used. It is
listed
as a European Species of Conservation Concern. The Seabird
2000 census reports that an average of only 331 pairs of Little
terns were recorded breeding in Scotland between 1998 and
2002. Highly susceptible to disturbance (a reason for its decline
in Scotland), only one of 15 Little tern chicks that hatched in
2006
survived. However, last year, the Angus and Tayside
Conservation Group were awarded £15.5k of funding from the
SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund to carry out 24-hour
wardening of the Little terns –success speaks for itself,
16 Little
tern chicks fledged! This wouldn’t have happened without
the
dedication and enthusiasm of a mixture of paid and unpaid
wardens, which included Angus College students, who put in
long hours of work in a variety of conditions.
The public response to the project has been very encouraging
with many local people showing a genuine interest in the work
and also a willingness to accept the necessary restrictions during
the vital nesting period – a temporary fence around the colony.
Wardens have been happy to answer the many and varied
queries regarding the project from passers by. The group have
also produced a Tern ‘Code of Practice’ and information
leaflet to
hand out to the public to raise awareness of terns across Tayside.
This is available on the Partnership’s website.
The wardens have been supported by the newly formed Tayside
Tern Working Group comprising representatives from Scottish
Natural Heritage, Scottish Wildlife Trust, both Angus and Dundee
City Council Rangers Services, RSPB Scotland, the Tay Ringing
Group, and the Angus and Dundee Bird Club. Tayside Police and
the Cats Protection League have also been supportive when a
feral cat threatened to decimate the fledged chicks. The wider
aims of this group are to encourage the Little terns to nest at
a
safer location at Montrose Basin Local Nature Reserve which is
jointly managed by SWT and Angus Council. Last year we tried
attracting them there with decoy terns and tape playing of tern
calls to no avail. We’ll see what happens this year!
The next phase of the project is to focus on gaining funds for
nesting platforms to attract the Arctic and Common terns nesting
on the gravelled surfaces within factories to the sanctuary of
the
Basin. This will help to diffuse the conflict they come into at
their
current nesting location. We hope to do this by working with the
factory owners and by attracting additional private funding. |
Highland Perthshire
Calcareous
Grassland Project
A Partnership project, led by the Scottish Agricultural College,
has
secured funding from the SITA TBAF, the Cairngorms Biodiversity
Grant Scheme and SNH. During the summer several potential
demonstration sites were visited, with four finally being selected.
Each of the sites illustrates an aspect of calcareous or species-rich
grassland restoration or management - including grazing regime
modification to encourage species-richness, scrub and bracken
control, weed infestations, and seeding into previously improved,
reverting grassland. For the last project, a vacuum seed harvester
has been purchased and volunteers have been busy collecting
seed from local sites.
Calcareous grasslands are rich in biodiversity; the project links
well with UK and Local Biodiversity Priority Species. Several of
the sites host the very rare Mason Bee (Osmia inermis) and
Northern Brown Argus butterfly. The project will directly
contribute to the UK targets set for these, together with targets
for Calcareous Grassland.
In 2008 a series of Open Days will be held on the demonstration
sites to raise awareness of Best Management Practice. They will
give everyone a chance to see some of the restoration and
management t e c h n i q u e s that have
been implemented. |
|
|
Perthshire Barn Owl Project
The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has been working with
Perthshire FWAG to raise awareness of farmers about what they
can do to help barn owls.
Barn owls are not common in Perthshire, but in the last decade
they have made something of a comeback in certain areas. SAC
and FWAG started the project in 2004 with funding from SNH,
having identified a core population of barn owls along the River
Tay corridor. With funding from SITA TBAF and the Biodiversity
Action Grant Scheme (BAGS), the core area was extended to
include the River Isla corridor. Farms have been surveyed and
farmers visited to discuss barn owl habitat requirements. Many
barn owls are using old steadings for roosting and nesting, but
at
present there is great pressure on these buildings for conversion
to housing or replacement by modern farm sheds. Numerous
barn owl nest boxes have been erected to provide alternative
sites in readiness for the loss of the old steadings. The project
is
helping to meet the objectives of the Tayside LBAP Farm
Buildings Habitat Action Plan. The habitat work undertaken by
farmers encourages many UK Priority Species such as Brown
Hare and Grey Partridge.
There are worrying times ahead with the cessation of set-aside in
2008, and many agri-environment schemes coming to a close in the
next few years – the barn owl’s habitat could be compromised. It is
hoped funding will ensure the continuation of the project as there
has been much enthusiasm shown by local farmers keen to safeguard
these beautiful birds. |
The Dundee City Bat
Project 2007
Funded by the SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund, the project
involved 27 Dundee volunteers undertaking over 200 hours of bat
survey work during the summer of 2007. Free training was given;
bat detectors and other equipment provided. The survey method
was simple, interesting and enjoyable - most volunteers were
completely new to bats and bat surveys. In all, forty six of the
57 x
1km squares were surveyed on foot; thirty eight x 1km squares
were surveyed by car.
Asked what volunteers thought was the best bit about taking part
they said: “being outside, exploring new areas”, “finding
out about
the wildlife on your home patch”, “seeing another volunteer’s
face
when he heard his first bat call!”. Someone’s bonus
was “seeing a
harvest moon rise over Caird Park”.
By the end of the summer, three potential roost sites had been
identified and a new bat group had been set up in Dundee. All
records were forwarded to the Local Records Centre in McManus
Galleries. |
Kindrogan Otter Project
Wirral Countryside Volunteers, a BTCV affiliated group
from Merseyside, spent a weekend constructing a “chamber
and pipe” otter holt at Kindrogan Field Studies
Centre, Perthshire. Kindrogan, the National Centre
for Excellence in Field Studies and Biodiversity Training, received
SITA TBAF funding to enable improvements to the Centre’s surrounding
river and woodland habitats. |
Orchardbank Swift and Bats Project
As part of the Tayside Swift Project, Swift and bat
boxes were provided on William Wallace
House, Orchardbank, Forfar (for the Angus Council
Housing Dept.). To take part in the ongoing swift
survey, contact the Biodiversity Office for
a form, or log on to the species section of
www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk. |
Trottick Ponds
and Den o’ Mains Ponds Restoration Project
Two Dundee ponds have been extensively renovated in a project
made possible by the SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund. The
results are plain to see for anyone visiting the ponds and wildlife
is already returning to the ponds.
John Whyman, of Dundee City Council’s Countryside
Ranger Service, started looking after Trottick Ponds in 1992, and even then it
was clear that a large amount of silt had built up
and was reducing the value of the ponds for water wildlife. The silt had come down the
Dighty Burn especially in times of spate at snow melt.
In 2000, after Trottick Ponds was declared a Local Nature Reserve, John started
to apply to funders to get a restoration project underway. He was not successful.
The Den o’ Mains Ponds are classed as "on stream" ponds
and are fed directly from the Gelly Burn. They too
have suffered from silt building up and reducing the amount of water in them. In the past the ponds
were visited regularly by Kingfishers, but they need open water
to fish in and they were no longer seen in the area.
John put together an application to the SITA Tayside Biodiversity
Action Fund and was successful in gaining over £9,000 for
the
project. He was particularly impressed with the ease of the
application system and the emphasis on funding being available
for biodiversity rather than community or education work.
Dundee City Council’s Parks and Outdoor Leisure section of
the
Leisure and Communities Department supported the project by
providing staff with tractors and trailers to remove the silt from
each site. A host of volunteers, including the Dundee
Conservation Volunteers, Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Dundee
Naturalist Society provided additional help digging ditches,
removing rubbish, undertaking surveys, replacing signs and
building an artificial Otter holt. Inland Revenue
staff and local volunteers joined in.
The digger - a 13 tonne JCB JS130 -
started the excavation at Trottick Ponds, with Leisure and
Communities Department tractor drivers moving the silt to the
field to the north where it has since been spread. The field is
being planted with trees and the silt will make an ideal soil
improver. The excavation works finished at Den o’ Mains ponds
last October.
The project aims to not only provide more open and deeper,
clearer water, but also a greater amount of "pond edge".
The
digger spared some of the silt and reeds and left a sculptured
‘
wobbly’ edge to the water. This will be where the greatest
variety of pond life will be found - diving beetles, pond skaters,
frogs, fresh water shrimp and even leeches. By providing more
habitat more wildlife should return over the
next few months.
John is hoping to see more dragonflies and newts at
Trottick in the summer (and for many years to come) and to see Kingfishers
return to fish at Den o’ Mains Ponds. Trottick
Ponds will also be monitored for Otters - with a special
floating raft that captures Otter footprints! The
project has been achieved through the combined efforts
of Countryside Rangers, Parks and Outdoor Leisure, Landscape
Design Team and the contractor: RBS Muir. Thanks are due, in
particular, to Jim and Fraser (Tractor Operators) and Raymond
from RBS Muir who suffered a lot of mud to benefit these valuable wildlife and landscape sites.
|
The Highland Perthshire Water
Vole Project
This new project will focus on Strathardle and be centred on the
Kindrogan Field Studies Centre as signs of the increasingly rare
Water vole are found here. The pilot project will involve staff
and volunteers monitoring four sites to identify areas used
by Water Vole. Upland watercourses are now vital refuges for this
UK Priority Species. Habitat enhancement will include the safeguarding or creation of riparian strips, stock
exclusion and control of non-native invasive species. The
project is being run by the Scottish Agricultural College with
funding from the SITA TBAF. |
Juniper Natural Regeneration Management Trials
Juniper (Juniperus communis subsp. communis) is a UKBAP Priority
species and is listed in the Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan as
a
local priority for conservation. Juniper woodland has a restricted
distribution in Britain and the stands of juniper in Tayside are
both
of regional and national importance being the most extensive
areas of juniper woodland in south East Scotland.
A suite of trials have been set-up across Scotland, in collaboration
with Plantlife Scotland, to test the value of scarification and
use
of cattle in encouraging natural regeneration of juniper. The need
for such information has been highlighted in the UKBAP for
juniper.
Two sites were identified in Tayside where good stands of juniper
occur and where the managers are keen to try summer cattle
grazing to improve conditions for regeneration. At Fungarth,
results after one year showed a significant impact of cattle on
reducing sward height and in controlling bracken growth which
are likely to be beneficial. There was, however, also evidence
of
increased cattle browsing on the juniper bushes which may affect
seed production in the future. A further site (Ballyoukan in
Perthshire) has also been set-up for cattle grazing and a base-line
survey undertaken.
This is a partnership project: site management has been facilitated
by Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland
(FCS). Project costs have come from the SITA TBAF and Scottish
Forestry Grant Scheme; site monitoring for the trial has been co-funded
by Plantlife Scotland (as part of their ‘Back
from the Brink’ programme)
and Forest Research. |
Pond Creation at Auchterarder Golf Course
The Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan was one of the first in Scotland
to
include a Golf Course Action Plan: there are 45 courses in the
region.
Like many golf courses, Auchterarder has always had wet areas which
have not been conducive to play. However, as climate change has
brought more intense downpours, these areas have become prone to
permanent waterlogging and increasingly beyond the scope of
conventional drainage and greenkeeping practices.
One such area was near the 10th fairway so it was decided a pond
would
provide a sustainable drainage solution, additional habitat, and
landscape value at the same time.
Five years ago a pool was excavated, measuring 40m by 24m, with
varying depths between 0.2m and 0.75m; inflow and outflow ditches
linked with the existing drainage system. Sloping edges and an
island
were incorporated and the margins planted with species such as
flag iris, purple loosestrife, water plantain, water
mint, bogbean, marsh marigold and flowering rush.
Emergent plants in more open water include white and
yellow water lily, marsh cinquefoil and water soldier. Although
an introduced species in Scotland, the latter has
done extremely well and seems to have a strong appeal
for dragonfly and damselfly. Submerged species also
abound in the pond, including alternate water milfoil, small and
broad leaved pond weed and rigid hornwort, a native rare in Scotland. Unfortunately, Nuttall’s waterweed and New Zealand
pigmyweed have also found their way into the pond, but are being
positively controlled and are not causing a major problem.
Phase 1 and 2 Habitat Surveys undertaken in 2006 described the
range
of wetland plants present as excellent habitat for invertebrates
and
amphibians. Moreover, the surrounding buffer area, which was sown
with native wildflower mix after the pond was constructed, boasts
over
40 species. This has become a superb damp grassland habitat with
a
high biological interest: species include common and marsh birdsfoot
trefoil, water avens, lady’s bedstraw, devil’s bit
scabious, selfheal, cat’s
ear, water forget-me-not, black knapweed, meadow vetchling, tufted
vetch, ribwort plantain, sweet vernal grass and yellow rattle.
The survey identified seven species of dragonfly and damselfly,
including common hawker, emerald damselfly and ruddy
darter, the latter being rare in Scotland.
Overall, the pond at Auchterarder Golf Course has been highly
successful, but as part of a much wider programme of environmental
management and improvement works, it demonstrates that the Club
has a long-term commitment to sustainable golf.
The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership is setting up a Tayside Ponds
Project to publicise good practice and encourage a number of
demonstration sites such as the pond at Auchterarder. If you would
like
to suggest a pond, please contact Catherine Lloyd at the Tayside
Biodiversity office: Tayside.biodiversity@ukf.net. |
Business and Biodiversity– businesses improve their local
environment
Taypack Potatoes, a Perthshire-based packing and distribution
facility, is a SEPA National VIBES Award winner (a Scottish
environmental award for businesses). The creation of their
biodiversity plan complemented other environmental measures
being undertaken as part of their overall environmental management
system.
The Business and Biodiversity Initiative is run by the Business
Environment Partnership (BEP) and supported by both Scottish
Natural Heritage and the Scottish Executive. Free advice is available
to companies across Scotland. At Taypack Potatoes, BEP produced
a Site Biodiversity Action Plan which identified projects that
would
raise awareness within the company’s supply chain and amongst
its
40 staff, as well as helping to deliver local biodiversity objectives.
These included:
•
Barn owl box project – company employees made five barn owl
boxes to erect around the site where barn owls had been sighted
•
Tree sparrow and Bat projects – clients and suppliers were
asked
to contribute towards 25 tree sparrow nestboxes and 20 bat boxes
being put up around the site
The projects were developed between BEP’s Helen Nyul, the
Tayside Biodiversity Co-ordinator, Catherine Lloyd, FWAG, BTCV
and the Scottish Executive.
Overall, the Initiative helps companies make practical improvements
on their sites to support biodiversity, as well as providing a
better
working environment for staff, suppliers and visitors to enjoy.
Links
between the quality of the working environment and staff retention,
productivity and well-being at work are well proven, so investing
in
the local environment makes good commercial sense.
Along with Site Biodiversity Action Plans, the potential to improve
or
make new habitats on site is explored. Support includes helping
the
company implement practical measures, training and employee
awareness-raising. In Tayside Helen has worked closely with
Catherine to help The Crannog Centre, Taypack Potatoes, Blair
Castle Caravan Park and more recently Hillcrest Housing
Association. Further information about the Initiative is available
from
Helen tel. 0845 129 4843; e-mail: helen@thebep.org.uk. |
Focus on Carse of Gowrie Orchards
Very few of the historical orchards along the Carse remain. In
the 2007 survey by CW Hayes Associates Eco-Consultancy
only 9 of the 51 known orchards are still extant and of these
many are in poor condition. Last autumn, in partnership
with the Perth & Kinross Countryside
Trust and Forestry Commission Scotland, the Partnership
held a seminar. Eighty five delegates from across Central Scotland
heard a variety of presentations and local people
have since discussed the potential to set up a Carse of Gowrie
Orchard Forum. Further information about the proposed
orchard projects and programme of events for the Carse can be found
in the News section of www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk |
ZOOM Bumblebee Project
This new project will be launched during 2008 and will ask householders
throughout Tayside to record their bumblebee sightings.
The findings will be shared with the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership and the national
Bumblebee Conservation Trust based in Stirling. The idea is based
on a pilot run some time ago by the Broughty Ferry Environmental
Project in Dundee. It is a Partnership project with
funding being predominately from Scottish Natural Heritage.
A “bumblebee pack” will be available which
will include a copy of SNH’s Bumblebee Book
and Garden for Life leaflet, badges and information
sheets. The “working” part of the pack
will be the identification and survey sheets. There will also be a surprise
free gift.
Further information will be available from Rachael Higgins at the
biodiversity office:
Tel. 01382 433042; email. Rachael.higgins@dundeecity.gov.uk.
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FURTHER INFORMATION
SITA Tayside Biodiversity Action Fund - an application form and
guidance notes can be downloaded from www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk,
or paper copies can be requested from Tel. 0845 605 2000.
Newsletter compiled and edited by Catherine Lloyd, Tayside Biodiversity Co-ordinator
with contributions from Alice Broome (Forest Research), Alison Anderson
and John Whyman (Dundee City Council), Carol Littlewood (Angus Farming & Wildlife
Advisory Group), Christine Hall (Scottish Agricultural College),
Anne Youngman (Bat Conservation Trust), Ann Lolley (Broughty Ferry Environmental
Project), Tom McGrath and Craig Borland (Angus Council Ranger Service), Gregg Wilkie (RSPB); Karen Philip (Scottish Natural Heritage),
Martyn
Jamieson (Scottish Field Studies); Scottish Golf Environment Group;
Helen Nyul (Business Environment Partnership). Thanks
to Simon Broad and Elspeth Coutts for their additional help.
Tayside Biodiversity Partnership, c/o Floor 13, Tayside House,
Dundee.
DD1 3RA; Tel. 01382 433042; E-mail: Tayside.biodiversity@ukf.net;
website: www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk. |
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