Wednesday 29 January 2014

Beaver & rewilding are the answer to the UK's flooding problem

Beaver & rewilding are the answer to the UK's flooding problem
By Peter Smith, Chief Executive of the Wildwood Trust

"It took the death of school children in a catastrophic flood event to shock the Dutch authorities to really tackle flooding on the Rhine; one of their answers was to stop farming on floodplains and to create a giant natural wetland, managed by wild horses, to prevent this tragedy from happening again."







As rivers across the UK are bursting their banks, another media storm has broken over who is responsible for the cause of the UK's flooding problem. Many farmers have attacked the lack of drainage and flood defences along rivers while river scientists and ecological experts point to deeper problems in our river catchments, meaning the instalment of flood defences and dredging of rivers could end up in catastrophic flooding further downstream, a tragedy that could threaten human life."

Changes in farming and land use has resulted in a dramatic decrease in floodplains left along our rivers, so there is nowhere for the water to go. This, combined with a massive increase of drainage of farmland in river catchments, means water now gushes off land straight into the rivers.
One of the best and cheapest answers to address this problem is the reintroduction of natural wetland species such as European beaver and wild horses to the UK which would promote the natural restoration of nature's own flood defences; similar in many ways to initiatives currently run by the Wildwood Trust near Canterbury, but on a much larger scale.
The wetlands of Britain used to act as a giant sponge, soaking up rainfall and releasing it slowly into our rivers, protecting us from catastrophic flooding, but this natural defence has been all but wiped out.
In recent times we have spent an increasing amount of money to destroy our wetlands, to build and maintain a massive system of drains at the taxpayer's expense. The cruel irony is that 'flood defences' only make the problem worse further down the river. Planning has also encouraged the building of more and more housing on floodplains which then in turn need to be defended from inevitable flooding.
Successive Governments have channelled hundreds of millions of pounds of tax payers' money every year into agricultural subsidies and 'drainage' works that are directly responsible for the catastrophic flooding seen over the last few weeks.
Wildwood's five point plan to save the taxpayer money and prevent catastrophic flooding in our towns & villages:
  • Rewild marginal farmland, uplands and floodplain. Just as many European countries have seen catastrophic flooding they have rewilded areas that act a giant sponges soaking up flood waters.
  • Stop agricultural subsidy of marginal farmland so it can be returned to the wild & save the taxpayer billions of pounds.
  • Return beavers to the UK and allow them to act as natural wetland managers (like wild horses do on conservation sites) to maintain our wetlands at no cost to taxpayers.
  • Create natural wetland networks in urban areas to act as flood stores.
  • Shift taxes off of earned incomes and onto Land Values and natural resources to make it economically feasible to revert marginal farmland back to natural areas.

 Peter Smith, Wildwood Trust Chief Executive said:
 "Along the Rhine in the  Netherlands and  Germany  they have already addressed this issue by  re-creating wetlands, while at the same time providing safety for homes and communities."
 "It took the death of school children in a catastrophic flood event to shock the Dutch authorities to really tackle flooding on the Rhine; one of their answers was to stop farming on floodplains and to create a giant natural wetland, managed by wild horses, to prevent this tragedy from happening again."
 "When will Britain wake up and see that we need to tackle the root cause of the flooding problem?  It's time we stopped the squabbling by selfish vested interests whose only real goals are to reap the benefits of ever more taxpayer investment or campaigning for flood waters to be rushed on further downstream to flood someone else's house."
 "We have created a perverse system of agricultural subsidies and drainage systems that guarantee we will see flooding getting worse, and that system is using taxpayers' money to destroy wildlife and the wild places that once formed our natural flood defence system."
 "With no wetlands, trees or undeveloped flood plains to stop this water, it rushes off fields into drainage systems, maintained at the taxpayers' expense, and is funnelled into rivers where it creates the devastating problems witnessed this winter."
 "We must stop wasting money on drainage schemes, agricultural subsidies and building on floodplains and instead spend far less taxpayers' money on re-establishing natural wetlands."
 "This can be achieved for a fraction of cost that taxpayers are already incurring, save us billions in the future and will create a carbon sink to help neutralise climate change and give our future generations a natural heritage to be proud of."

*********************END*********************
Images attached.
For more information Contact Fiona Paterson or Peter Smith
e-mail:  
Tel:  01227 712 111

Wildwood TrustHerne CommonHerne BayKentCT6 7LQ
Registered charity no 1093702

How European beaver can protect us from flooding:
Beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK in the 17th century for their pelts, their meat and their musk glands, which had medicinal properties.
Beavers can and do dramatically change the landscape. The beaver is a keystone species –their skills as foresters and engineers create and maintain ponds and wetlands that increase biodiversity, purify water and prevent large-scale flooding.
Scientists estimate that in America restoring only 3 percent of the original beaver created wetlands, might suffice to prevent catastrophic floods; the same could be true for the UK.
Scottish Natural Heritage's director of science, Colin Galbraith, said:
"More than 20 other countries, including France, Germany and Denmark have reintroduced beavers and the experience has been very positive. Beavers fit into the landscape very well and in places like Brittany they have become part of the environment, with minimal damage to agriculture and other interests.  Beaver dams would improve water quality, produce new habitats for fish and help reduce flooding downstream."





Wednesday 15 January 2014

Wildwood launches new Summer Volunteering Programme


 

Wildwood Trust, Kent's unique British wildlife park and conservation charity is launching a new Education Volunteer Programme this summer to help more people to get in touch with nature and learn about our native wildlife.

Wildwood is already helped by volunteers who donate their time to work with our keeper and ranger teams and is now looking for the first time for people to assist in our highly successful Education department.

The Trust is looking to recruit a team of Public Education Volunteers to actively help members of the public to engage, interact and learn all about our wonderful British native species at Wildwood.

Our education volunteers will help the public around the park, provide information points and show animal artefacts to the public throughout their wildlife experience. We are looking for a team of volunteers who are passionate about British wildlife and want to help others learn more about our native animals and their conservation.

Successful candidates will be dedicated to volunteering at a wildlife charity and will receive training in public engagement, animal identification and the history of British wildlife and its conservation. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to handle animal artefacts and work behind the scenes at Wildwood.

Wildwood's Head of Education, Anne Riddell said: "We are so excited to be able to offer volunteer positions at Wildwood this summer. This is the ideal opportunity for people who are passionate about out native wildlife to gain valuable experience and help others to learn."

 We aim to have our volunteers ready and available for the start of the Easter holidays, Saturday 5th April 2014. We are able to train volunteers with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for the post.

We will hold an introductory day, to which all applicants will be invited. Afterwards applicants will be selected based on their potential and abilities for the role. Please not that as we are a small charity, only have a small number of volunteer positions available.

To apply, please email: education@wildwoodtrust.org for an application form.


All applications must be submitted by the 7th February 2014.

********* end **********
Image attached.

For more information about the project, email: education@wildwodtrust.org or call 01227 712 111 to speak to the Education team.

 

Fiona Paterson

Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Registered charity no. 1093702

Tel: 01227 712 111
email: fiona@wildwoodtrust.org

 

About Wildwood
Wildwood is a unique wildlife park and conservation charity where you can see British Wildlife past and present, set in 40 acres of stunning ancient woodland. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, bison, elk, wild boar and many more. Our conservation projects include working to save red squirrels, hazel dormice, water voles as well as breeding pine martens, Scottish wildcats and beaver. Wildwood also actively promotes conservation grazing projects by donating herds of wild horses to act as natural habitat managers on nature reserves to improve biodiversity.

 

 

New Job & Volunteering Vacanies at Wildwood


 

New Job & Volunteering vacancies at Wildwood

 

 We have new vacancies at Wildwood. For more details or to apply for these exciting positions, please visit our Jobs page: http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/recruitmentothervacancies.html

 

 

Head of Marketing & Fundraising

Function: Management of Wildwood's marketing, fundraising, membership & databases, social networking, advertising & promotions

Salary: Competitive + pension & other benefits

 

Wildwood Trust is a charity dedicated to the conservation of British Wildlife and running the unique Wildwood Discovery Park.

 

We are looking for someone to manage our marketing & fundraising systems and lead our marketing team.

 

Specifically:

  • Charity Marketing & Membership
  • Advertising & Promotions
  • Fundraising
  • Event management
  • Public Relations

 

This exciting new position will be a key role within the organisation and will part of the senior management team. The post will require extensive fundraising and communication experience, charity marketing experience and a proven track record in delivering significant income generation from a variety of streams

 

For full details please visit our Jobs Page to download the job description: http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/recruitmentothervacancies.html

 

The closing date is 24th January 2014*. Interviews will be held by arrangement within 2 weeks of that date. 
*Please note that this deadline has been extended, please therefore disregard the closing date of 17th January that appears on the Job Description


 

Public Education Volunteers

Function: To help members of the public to engage, interact and learn all about our wonderful British native species here at Wildwood

Salary: Voluntary work

 

Wildwood Trust is a charity dedicated to the conservation of British Wildlife and running the unique Wildwood Discovery Park.

 

We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to assist our Education team around the park:

 

Specifically:

  • To help the public around the park.
  • To provide information points.
  • To show artefacts to the public.
  • To engage the public throughout their wildlife experience.

 

The right person will be:

  • Over 18yrs of age.
  • Friendly and confident.
  • Able to volunteer their time.
  • Enthusiastic about British Wildlife.
  • Reliable.
  • Reasonably fit and active.
  • Happy to be out in all weathers.
  • Able to attend during school holidays and weekends.

Successful candidates will be dedicated to volunteering at a wildlife charity and will receive training in public engagement, animal identification and the history of British wildlife and its conservation. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to handle animal artefacts and work behind the scenes at Wildwood.

 

We aim to have our volunteers ready and available for the start of the Easter holidays, Saturday 5th April 2014. We are able to train volunteers with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for the post.

 

We will hold an introductory day, to which all applicants will be invited. Afterwards applicants will be selected based on their potential and abilities for the role. Please not that as we are a small charity, only have a small number of volunteer positions available.

 

To apply, please email: mailto:education@wildwoodtrust.org for an application form. All applications must be submitted by the 7th February 2014.


Please note this is an unpaid position

Important: All applicants for volunteering or work experience must be over 18yrs

 

Wildwood Trust

Herne Common
Herne Bay

Kent

CT6 7LQ
Tel: 01227 712 111

 

Wildwood is a registered charity no. 1093702

 

 

 

 

Thursday 9 January 2014

New at Wildwood - The Grubby Gang Club!


  

NEW at Wildwood - The Grubby Gang Club!

Grubby Gang at Wildwood

Wildwood is proud to present the Grubby Gang! A new club just for young nature adventurers where kids aged 7-11yrs can go wild in the woods, make new friends and explore their love of nature.

Grubby Gang is held at Wildwood on the 1st & 3rd Saturday of each month (approx. see list of dates below) with new & exciting activities in the woodland every week. With their Wildwood leader, children will have the chance to explore our woodlands, learn new skills, develop their creativity and discover nature – all whilst having heaps of fun!

Parents need not apply! Grubby Gang is strictly for kids!

Activities include:

Minibeast hunts - Den making - Woodland games - Bug hotels - Nature crafts - Digging for worms - Barefoot texture trails - Scavenger hunts - Dream catchers - Nest building - Nature mosaics - Atlatl (spear) throwing - Mud faces - Mud pies - Mud castles - Bird boxes & feeders - Conker games & competitions - Gandalf sticks - Leaf crowns - Tug of war - Clay pots - Twig wreaths - Pine cone baubles and much, much more!

 

  • Grubby gang sessions are from 9.45am – 12.15pm
  • Costs:  £8 per child who are Wildwood Members / £10 per child who are not Wildwood Members
  • Grubby Gang is for children aged 7-11yrs
  • Parents do not need to attend Grubby Gang, all of our staff are fully CRB checked and will escort the children throughout Wildwood.
  • Spaces are strictly limited to 10 children per day – book early to avoid disappointment

    SPECIAL OFFER: Book 3 Sessions, get the 4th FREE!

 

To book please call the Wildwood Office on 01227 712 111 or book in the Wildwood Shop.

 

Grubby Gang Dates 2014:

February 15th

March 1st & March 22nd

April 5th & April 19th

May 3rd & May 17th

June 7th & June 21st

July 5th & July 19th

August 2nd & August 16th

September 6th & September 27th

October 4th & October 18th

November 1st & November 15th

December 6th & December 20th

 

To book please call the Wildwood Office on 01227 712 111 or book in the Wildwood Shop.

 

The Wildwood Team
Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay

Kent

CT6 7LQ

Registered Charity no. 1093702