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.
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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. |
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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.
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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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