Please Adopt a Species!

 

Our popular appeal returns with five new species – and some old favourites

 

You can help save today’s wildlife for tomorrow, via a fantastic present for yourself, a friend or any member of your family. The Adopt a Species Appeal is aiming to raise £20,000 towards Essex Wildlife Trust’s core conservation work across the county. We received fantastic support from last year’s Adopt a Species Appeal. Following positive feedback from donors and recipients about the Adopt a Species events we held, we have extended the appeal so that you can now choose from nine important species, all of which are

rare and endangered! Please adopt one or more of these iconic species and give a really inspirational gift for birthdays, anniversaries and/or Christmas. All of the chosen species are in decline and threatened and are really important in our Living Landscapes across Essex.

These marvels of nature are indicative of how wildlife is faring in general and we really need your help towards improving habitats and working on a landscape scale to enable species to thrive in more robust habitats and survive in this modern world.

 

For a suggested donation of £20 we will send you or your chosen recipient a gift certificate and you will both be invited to a special event or talk about your chosen species. These events are a unique present; this year, givers and recipients found the events not just fun but inspirational, too. Essex Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers led them, giving everyone a chance to learn more about the specific species they adopted and in some cases to see them in their natural world. It is such a thrill to watch a Barn Owl hunt, to hear a Water Vole ‘plop’ into the water or simply to walk through our beautiful Essex countryside.

 

 

 

THE BARN OWL

Barn Owls have enchanting faces and are breath-taking to watch. Essex Wildlife Trust is working across the county to provide nest boxes for breeding Barn Owls and we manage and protect remaining grazing marsh to ensure they have a suitable habitat in which to hunt. The Barn Owl Event will take place at our Blue House Farm nature reserve (North Fambridge) where our webcam Barn Owls ‘Packham and Strachan’ have been a wonder to behold again. At this year’s guided walk event, two other Barn Owls were seen - and many other species. Our popular appeal returns with five new species - and some old favourites

 

THE BUMBLEBEE

The media reports ring true - all of our bee species are in dramatic decline. The importance of insect pollinators cannot be underestimated. Where would we be if we no longer heard

or saw our once familiar and very beautiful bumblebees in our gardens or in our Essex countryside? They are a fundamental part of our eco-system. The field margins at Abbotts Hall Farm have been improved enormously and have really good pollinating plants for bees. Bumblebees and other bee species need the support of conservation charities and individuals to survive. A fascinating Bumblebee Event will be held at Abbotts Hall Farm, where you and your recipient can learn about these fascinating bees, pollination and how to improve your garden for our bees.

 

THE SKYLARK

The Skylark is a classic bird of the English countryside. Their wonderful song once filled the skies over Essex farmland, but today they are in heavy decline. The Skylark nests on the ground and builds well-camouflaged nests; Essex Wildlife Trust has been working at Abbotts Hall Farm to improve the habitat for this species, creating ‘skylark plots’ to ensure that there are areas where crops are less dense. Eighteen pairs bred on the farm in 2011. At Essex Wildlife Trust’s Thurrock Thameside Nature Park (Stanford-le- Hope) where The Skylark Event will be held, more than 30 singing Skylarks were heard this year.

 

THE WHITE-CLAWED CRAYFISH

The fate of Britain’s only native crayfish has changed dramatically for the worse since the 1970s and it is now faced with possible extinction. The aggressively invasive Signal Crayfish has been recorded in most Essex rivers, where they out-compete and predate the smaller native species; they also carry Crayfish plague. Essex Wildlife Trust has been surveying crayfish for a number of years and has created the first safe ‘Ark’ site for the Whiteclawed

Crayfish. This is a new species to adopt and we will offer a Crayfish Event, where you will have the opportunity to see crayfish and learn about them in their natural habitat.

 

THE WATER VOLE

For many years the Water Vole was a familiar site on British waterways. However, over time Water Vole populations have become fewer and far between: the Water Vole is now the UK’s most rapidly declining mammal species. All is not lost; Essex Wildlife Trust has been working on a number of nature reserves to improve the Water Voles’ habitat and, combined with the dedicated work of our Water for Wildlife Officer with landowners across the county, this iconic species - Ratty from The Wind in the Willows - is beginning to recover. Please help us continue the work. The Water Vole Event will be held at Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough. It was extremely well received this year, with more than 120 people attending to learn more about the fascinating life of the Water Vole.

 

THE DORMOUSE

The elusive, adorable Dormouse relies on ancient woodlands to survive, of which Essex Wildlife Trust manages a good number. In particular the Daws Heath complex of ancient

woodlands in south Essex offers spectacular scenery and the perfect habitat for this rare and shy animal. The Dormouse Event will be held in September 2014, in the hope that guests may see a torpid Dormouse in a nest box. These walks will be led by staff and volunteers with a Dormouse licence. Please help us to protect and provide increased habitats for this wonderful species.

 

THE EXMOOR PONY

These hardy, endangered ponies graze Tiptree Heath, where this traditional management of grazing is having a really positive impact on the largest remaining lowland heathland in Essex. The Exmoors are excellent for browsing saplings, bramble and scrub; they are also a really handsome rare British breed and are excellent management tools. The Exmoor Pony Event will once again take place at Tiptree Heath, where you will be inspired by these handsome ponies and where you and your guest will learn about the ponies and their vital role on Tiptree Heath.

 

THE OXLIP

In 1842 famous Essex botanist Henry Doubleday described this delicate primula as growing “by thousands in the meadows … in one instance a meadow of about two acres is entirely covered by them, being a very mass of yellow bloom”. One of the best-loved spring flowers in north-west Essex, the Oxlip is another species in decline. Since 2002 Essex Wildife Trust has been working on an Oxlip Project to reintroduce the Oxlip to certain areas of north-west Essex, such as Great Bardfield, and with landowners to improve the habitat. The Oxlip is only

found where Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire meet, where it mainly survives in ancient

woodlands. Come to The Oxlip Event to see these lovely flowers and learn about the work

to improve their habitat.

 

THE SONG THRUSH

Once a common sight, this beautiful speckled bird with its melodious song is in decline. Essex Wildlife Trust has begun a Song Thrush Survey (see p17) to try to establish the habitats and habits of one of our most loved garden birds, in the hope of establishing why this species is in decline and how to help them. The Song Thrush has two or three broods a year; the breeding season lasts from March to August. The Song Thrush Event will be led by Essex Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers and will involve taking part in a Song Thrush survey and learning more about this important garden and woodland bird.

 

Please email maxines@essexwt.org.uk the species you have adopted the certificate you require e.g. general, christmas, in memory, bithday (please give date of birthday) or other. The names and address of the recipient and alos the sign off on the certificiate i.e. Dad, Mum, Nanny & Granddad.    

 

 

 

 

Please give yourself, your family or your friends a unique present. The Adopt a Species Appeal will run until 31 December 2013.

 

A BIG THANK YOU IN ANTICIPATION OF YOUR SUPPORT

 

Michele Kench, Fundraising & Marketing Manager

How to support the Adopt a Species Appeal

20 ESSEX WILDLIFE SUMMER 2013

Some comments from 2013 events

“Thank you for organising the Exmoor pony event this afternoon, it was so interesting. We really enjoyed learning about the ponies and Tiptree Heath, it was a fascinating

afternoon and a great present!” Gill Thompson

 

“I would like to say thank you very much for the Water Vole event last Saturday, it was really enjoyable and informative”

Viv Witchell