Spring has sprung! Wildwood’s snakes and reptiles make their first appearance

 

As winter draws to a close, Wildwood is starting to see the first signs of spring with the appearance of our hibernating snakes and reptiles.

Wildwood's adders, grass snakes and green lizards are beginning to wake up from their long winter sleep and have been spotted basking in their enclosures.

The park's, frogs and pond tortoises are expected to be waking up soon too as the weather improves.

"It's an exciting time", said Anne Riddell, head of Education at Wildwood "Hibernation can be a dangerous time for these animals, but they seem to have come through it very well. They will now spend some time basking before starting to feed."

Visitors to the park will start to see them in their enclosures as the weather gets warmer.

Adders, frogs, green lizards and pond tortoises are just some of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park, for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 01227 712 111.

Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. 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, wild boar and many more.

 ************end**************

More information at Adders

Adder, common viper

Vipera berus

Adders are the most northerly distributed snake - they are the only species found inside the Arctic circle. They are also Britain's only venomous reptile.

Subspecies

There are four subspecies. Vipera berus berus has the greatest range and is the subspecies found in Britain.

Statistics

Length: 50-65cm. Females are larger than the males.

Physical Description

Adders are relatively short and robust with large heads and a rounded snout. The red-brown eyes have vertical elliptical, rather then round, pupils - a feature of all venomous snakes. Males are usually a grey or buff colour with vivid black markings, although they can also vary from silver to yellow or green in colour. Females are brown with dark red-brown markings that are less prominent than in the males. Both sexes have a zigzag pattern running along the back with a / or X-shaped marking at the rear of the head, although this zigzag pattern may be replaced by a straight brown stripe with dark spots on either side. Adders have black undersides. Melanistic (black) individuals sometimes occur in mountainous regions.

Distribution

Adders are widespread throughout mainland Britain, but are absent from Ireland. They occur throughout Europe, with the exception of the Mediterranean islands, and across Russia and Asia through to N. China. They are one of the most widespread species of snake.

Habitat

Adders occupy a variety of habitats, including open woodland, hedgerows, moorland, sand dunes, riverbanks, bogs, heathland and mountains. They prefer undisturbed countryside and can be found in surprisingly wet habitats throughout the summer months.

Diet

Adders use venom to immobilise prey such as lizards, amphibians, nestlings and small mammals. After striking their prey, they will leave the venom to take effect before following the victim's scent to find the body. This is an economical way of hunting, avoiding any damage that could be caused by struggling with prey.

Behaviour

Adders are active during the day, spending time basking until their body temperature is high enough to hunt for food. In some of the hotter countries of their range, they may emerge at dawn and dusk to avoid the intense heat. Mating takes place between April and May, with males often fighting for females. They rear up at each other and try to push the head of their opponent onto the ground. Eventually, one male will give up and search for another mate. Adders hibernate from September to March when temperatures dip below nine degrees Celsius, often using deserted rabbit or rodent burrows, or settling under logs. They sometimes hibernate communally. Males emerge 2-5 weeks before the females and shed their skin before setting off in search of females.

Reproduction

Males follow the females around until she allows them to copulate with her. This takes place in April-May. Adders have a 3 to 4 month gestation period and are one of the few snakes that are viviparous (give birth to live young). In late August females give birth to between 5 and 20 live young, although usually the number is between 6 and 10. The young remain close to their mother for a few days, before going off in search of food. Females do not breed on consecutive years, as they do not have time to build up sufficient fat reserves to produce another set of young from one breeding season to the next.

Conservation status

Adders are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 from being killed, injured or sold.

Notes

Adders are not aggressive snakes, and will only attack if harassed or threatened. Although an adder's venom poses little danger to a healthy adult human, the bite is very painful and requires urgent medical attention.

 

 

Fiona Paterson

Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Registered Charity No 1093702
Tel: 01227 712111
www.wildwoodtrust.org

email: fiona@wildwoodtrust.org

Wildwood Trust is Kent's unique 'Woodland Discovery Park', a visitor attraction with a difference.

Wildwood is not only the best place to bring the family for a day out, but it is also a bold and innovative new charity, backed by the UK's leading wildlife conservationists. As a new charity Wildwood needs everyone's support in its mission to save our native and once native wildlife from extinction.

Wildwood Trust's vision is to bring back our true 'wildwood', a unique new way of restoring Britain's land to its natural state. This involves releasing large wild herbivores and developing conservation grazing systems to restore natural ecological processes to help Britain team with wildlife again.

The Wildwood 'Woodland Discovery Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come see British Wildlife past and present. 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.

Set in a sublime 38 acres of Ancient Woodland, Wildwood offers visitors a truly unique experience. Come Nose to Nose with our secretive badgers, experience what it is like to be hunted by a real live pack of wolves, watch a charging wild boar or see a beaver in his lodge.

Wildwood Trust runs a highly successful programme of Conservation Projects - we are the UK's leading experts in rescuing and re-establishing colonies of Britain's most threatened mammal, the water vole. Wildwood Trust has pioneered the use of ancient wild horses to restore nature reserve. Wildwood Trust has been at the forefront of efforts to re-establish the European Beaver back in Britain where they belong. European Beaver have been proven to help manage water ways to bring back a huge range of plants, insects and animals.

Wildlife expert reveals for the first time Britain’s Top Animal Killers

 

Fox attacks are once again in the headlines, but are foxes really a threat to humans? What are Britain's top animal Killers? And how can we protect ourselves from harm? Wildwood Trust's top animal experts can reveal all.

 

Wildwood Trust's Chief Executive, Peter Smith, was appalled by the sensationalist headlines in the weekend press of foxes attacking humans, which only serve to needlessly scare the public. Peter noticed that there were no good statistics on animal attacks in the UK and so has for the first time compiled a list of Britain's top 5 animal killers.

 

Wildwood Trust's Chief Executive Peter Smith said:

 

"Sensationalist stories of wild animal attacks have flooded the weekend press but what is the likelihood of actually being attacked by an animal? Wildwood Trust is dedicated to restoring wild animals to the UK so we are very interested in the risks that our charitable efforts could cause. I have made a study of such risks and can reveal, for the first time, Britain's deadliest animals."

"The reasons behind people's morbid fascination with wild animal attacks go right back to our caveman roots and is a hangover from when we had to run away from sabre toothed tigers or rampaging woolly mammoths. This fear has driven man to eradicate all the wild animals in the UK that we perceive to be dangerous. It is of great sadness to me that people cannot instead learn to live with wildlife."

 

"There has been a series of very dubious 'fox attack' stories in the British media in recent years which play upon our primal fears. Many wildlife experts I talk with suspect that supporters of fox hunting are encouraging these stories in an attempt to demonise foxes and so support a return of fox hunting. The same newspapers that carry these dubious stories also seem to support fox hunting."

 

According to the National Office of Statistics around 25 people each year are killed directly by animals, more are killed by road accidents relating to animals and yet more are die from infection and diseases associated with animals. Of the 25 directly related animal deaths in the UK, our top 5 killers are:

 

1.            Horses: about 10 a year

2.            Cows:  about 5 a year

3.            Domestic dogs: about 4 per year

4.            Bees & Wasps: about 3 per year

5.            Deer –attacks about 1 per year

 

The list shows  that while animals are directly responsible for a truly tiny amount of deaths each year, domestic animals are the most likely culprits as they are regularly in contact with people.  Our most prolific 'wild' killers are creatures such as bees or from road accidents with deer.

Globally, snakes are by far the biggest direct killer of humans at about 70,000 a year, while malaria transferred to people by mosquitoes kills about 1 million people per year.

There are many hidden killers such as the dust mites that cause asthma or diseases we catch from farm animals and pets. These hidden killers are responsible for thousands of deaths each year.

We have forgotten one animal killer and that is other humans, as we easily forget that humans are animals too.

 

At Wildwood our animal experts manage a wide range of potentially dangerous former native species and have avoided serious accidents through understanding them. Wildwood's boss Peter Smith gives his top 5 tips on avoiding animal attacks:

 

1.            Know your animal. Some animals like wolves are not that dangerous and you get to know their mood, other animals such as Bison are very dangerous and it is impossible to tell their mood. In the countryside you need to watch out for dangerous animal situations such as a cow or wild boar with young to protect.

2.            Physical situation. Confined spaces are dangerous, avoid meeting cows or horses in confined spaces as injuries come from crushing or kicks.

3.            Dog walkers beware.  Big problems can occur when owners try to intervene between their dog and animals like cows, horses or wild boar. Do not get between your dog and an angry animal.

4.            Protect children.  Do not let your children interact with animals unsupervised, whether it's your neighbour's dog or leaving your baby unsupervised in a public place with wild animals around.

5.            Do not antagonise an animal – Try not to approach horses, cows or other large wild animals by trying to feed them, do not throw things or shout at them and never try to catch one.

 

 

Fox Facts

Red Fox – Vulpes vulpes

 

·         Despite speculation in the press, foxes are not getting bigger.  The only scientific evidence tells us that foxes are not growing larger and urban foxes are probably smaller than their country relatives living on farms.

 

·         While some foxes have attacked children this is incredibly rare and not life threatening. There also seems to be a tendency to attribute attacks on children to foxes when they are more probably from domestic dogs.

 

·         Red Foxes are the most widely distributed members of the dog family in the world, having overtaken wolves for the top spot.

 

·         They are good climbers and may sometimes spend the day asleep in the low branches of trees.

·         They have only one predator in the UK apart from humans; the golden eagle.

 

·         They are terrific at jumping and have been known to leap 4.5 metres or 15 feet!

 

·         Red foxes are easily recognised by their reddish-orange fur and bushy tail or brush. They are highly adaptable animals and can be found in a wide variety of habitats, from salt marshes to mountain tops. In modern Britain, they have also adapted very well to urban environments.

 

·         Red foxes live from two to six years. Urban foxes tend not to live as long as rural ones, not due to any significant difference in health but due to the greater number of cars in their environment.

 

·         Wildwood's foxes are from the Fox Project, which helps to rehabilitate injured or orphan foxes back to the wild.

 

*************end*************

 

Peter Smith
Chief Executive

Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Registered Charity No 1093702
Tel: 01227 712111
www.wildwoodtrust.org

 

 

Wildwood Trust is Kent's unique 'Woodland Discovery Park', a visitor attraction with a difference.

Wildwood is not only the best place to bring the family for a day out, but it is also a bold and innovative new charity, backed by the UK's leading wildlife conservationists. As a new charity Wildwood needs everyone's support in its mission to save our native and once native wildlife from extinction.

Wildwood Trust's vision is to bring back our true 'wildwood', a unique new way of restoring Britain's land to its natural state. This involves releasing large wild herbivores and developing conservation grazing systems to restore natural ecological processes to help Britain team with wildlife again.

The Wildwood 'Woodland Discovery Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come see British Wildlife past and present. 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.

Set in a sublime 38 acres of Ancient Woodland, Wildwood offers visitors a truly unique experience. Come Nose to Nose with our secretive badgers, experience what it is like to be hunted by a real live pack of wolves, watch a charging wild boar or see a beaver in his lodge.

Wildwood Trust runs a highly successful programme of Conservation Projects - we are the UK's leading experts in rescuing and re-establishing colonies of Britain's most threatened mammal, the water vole. Wildwood Trust has pioneered the use of ancient wild horses to restore nature reserve. Wildwood Trust has been at the forefront of efforts to re-establish the European Beaver back in Britain where they belong. European Beaver have been proven to help manage water ways to bring back a huge range of plants, insects and animals.

Wildwood celebrates education boost

Wildwood is celebrating after receiving a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to build desperately needed new woodland learning facilities.

As an outdoor destination, Wildwood is at the mercy of the great British weather meaning that in wet or windy conditions the park struggles to offer educational courses and events. This grant will greatly improve Wildwood's educational scope with the provision of two new outdoor learning facilities; a new woodland classroom and a dedicated training workshop.

The two new learning spaces will be built by Wildwood's in-house team using recycled materials and timber from our coppiced woodland in line with Wildwood's commitment to creating environmentally friendly structures in the woodland.

The new log-cabin style woodland classroom will greatly enhance our educational service to school and college students studying topics such as conservation, environmental studies, science and animal behaviour, allowing them work in the woodland through all weathers.

The project will also give 40 volunteer trainees per year the opportunity to get involved in wildlife conservation projects by providing a dedicated training facility.  This woodland workshop will provide a much needed sheltered area where our ranger and conservation volunteers can learn tool-use to create bird or bat boxes, create simple structures for our water vole, red squirrel and hazel dormice conservation projects, and create animal activities for enrichment for our endangered wildlife, whilst building confidence and life skills.

Anne Riddell, head of education at Wildwood Trust, said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this grant by the Big Lottery Fund. Our indoor classroom is in high demand and there are times when we have to disappoint schools because we simply cannot fit them all in. Although we offer a range of outdoor activities and workshops as an alternative, the English weather is not always kind. An outdoor classroom which provides shelter so that children can carry out activities in all weathers and provides an overflow for the main classroom is much needed so that children can continue to explore the exciting world outside the classroom."

 

*********end*********

Fiona Paterson
Press & Marketing Manager
fiona@wildwoodtrust.org
Tel: 01227 712 111

Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Tel: 01227 712 111
www.wildwoodtrust.org

About copping at Wildwood

Wildwood is situated amongst 40 acres of ancient woodland, and is part of the Blean, the largest tract of ancient woodland in southern England.

Wildwood's woodlands have always been managed on a coppice rotation which involves harvesting the trees every 5-20 years by cutting them down to ground level and allowing them to grow back from the remaining stump (stool). The resulting timber can then be put to good use.

We continue to manage our woodland by coppicing and we use the timber for around the park for signs, fences and log piles for small mammals and invertebrates living both wild in the woodland and in the enclosures. These provide extra interest for many of our animals as they search the rotting wood for grubs and larvae.

Managing woodlands by coppicing is beneficial to plants and wildlife which move in at their preferred stage of its growth, moving out again as the coppice grows and shades out the light. Wild flower seeds which have lain dormant in the soil, germinate in the new light and rainfall after the coppice is cut and bloom for several years until the tree shoots grow again and shade out the light.

The majority of Wildwood's woodland today is sweet chestnut and silver birch harvested on a 20-year coppicing rotation, with English oaks on a 150-200 year cycle to produce ship-building timbers.

Wildwood managing the forest in the old fashioned way

Staff, trainees and volunteers at the Wildwood Trust have been learning how to manage their ancient woodland the old fashioned way, by coppicing using simple hand tools just like our ancestors did thousands of years ago.

As the oldest known form of forestry, coppicing is a sustainable method of woodland management that involves cutting trees down and allowing the remaining stumps to regenerate before harvesting. This system replicates the effect that large grazing animals and beavers would have had on our woodlands thousands of years ago by creating natural clearings that let light and rain through to the forest floor, meaning seeds which have lain dormant in the soil can germinate and flourish before the coppice grows and shades out the light.

Today the majority of coppicing in the UK is carried out using chainsaws and power tools, and although this method is considerably faster than coppicing by hand, modern equipment requires specialist training, uses precious resources and is often noisy and intrusive, something Wildwood is keen to avoid in order to reduce our carbon footprint and to not cause alarm to our animals.

To solve the problem Wildwood called on the expert help of Kathryn Barton and Daniel Fagan from Kent Wildlife Trust, who provided on-site training at Wildwood on woodland coppicing using only traditional hand tools. The project, funded by the Forestry Commission, will allow Wildwood to go back to basics and manage our woodland in the most sustainable way possible.

Fundraising manager, Beth Flowers said "Wildwood is set in an ancient woodland, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, so as a conservation charity we have a responsibility to manage the area as naturally and sympathetically as possible. These new skills are vital as now we can manage the woodland in the traditional way."

Not only does natural coppicing benefit the woodland themselves, the wood harvested by coppicing will also be put to good use around the park. The felled branches will be used to make safety fencing and create dead-hedging and log piles for small mammals and invertebrates living both wild in the woodland and in the enclosures. These provide extra interest for many of our animals as they search the rotting wood for grubs and larvae.

***********end*****************

Fiona Paterson
Press & Marketing Manager
fiona@wildwoodtrust.org
Tel: 01227 712 111

Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Tel: 01227 712 111
www.wildwoodtrust.org  

 

About copping at Wildwood

Wildwood is situated amongst 40 acres of ancient woodland, and is part of the Blean, the largest tract of ancient woodland in southern England.

Wildwood's woodlands have always been managed on a coppice rotation which involves harvesting the trees every 5-20 years by cutting them down to ground level and allowing them to grow back from the remaining stump (stool). The resulting timber can then be put to good use.

We continue to manage our woodland by coppicing and we use the timber for around the park for signs, fences and log piles for small mammals and invertebrates living both wild in the woodland and in the enclosures. These provide extra interest for many of our animals as they search the rotting wood for grubs and larvae.

Managing woodlands by coppicing is beneficial to plants and wildlife which move in at their preferred stage of its growth, moving out again as the coppice grows and shades out the light. Wild flower seeds which have lain dormant in the soil, germinate in the new light and rainfall after the coppice is cut and bloom for several years until the tree shoots grow again and shade out the light.

The majority of Wildwood's woodland today is sweet chestnut and silver birch harvested on a 20-year coppicing rotation, with English oaks on a 150-200 year cycle to produce ship-building timbers.

 

 

An invite from Vanessa Redgrave

      

 

 

 

Watch Wildwood's new documentary at the Brighton Film Festival

 

This week Vanessa Redgrave, Academy Award winner & Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, launched the Brighton Festival with a special screening of Wildwood's important new documentary, The Killing Fields, Shown to an audience of over 1000 of the biggest names in the theatre & Arts. The Film stuck a chord with the audience and writer & broadcaster Polly Toynbee moderated a lively discussion about the issues raised by the film for a number of hours after the event.

Vanessa Redgrave has invited Wildwood's members to join her with her son, film director Carlo Nero and Wildwood's own Peter Smith, for a special screening of the film. This will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by Prof Sir Richard Jolly, United Nations & UNESCO, with contributors to the Film including: Economist Fred Harrison, Environmental Lawyer Polly Higgins and  Farmer & Landowner Dr Duncan Pickard.

The event will be held in the Brighton Dome Concert Hall Sunday 6^th May, tickets £10.  Tickets can be booked from this website. http://brightonfestival.org/event/477/the_killing_fields/#

The Killing Fields is a new documentary by Carlo Nero that explores the fragile relationship between wildlife, land, taxation and law in Britain and Europe. Making a powerful case for sweeping reforms, it argues that the only long-term solution to our conservation crisis is to put real value on nature's assets.

The Killing Fields had a 'West End' premier at the Headquarters of 20^th Century Fox – Video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zwdj9DGMHU

Peter Smith
Chief Executive

Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Registered Charity No 1093702

e-mail: peter@wildwoodtrust.org
Tel: 01227 712111
www.wildwoodtrust.org

Wildwood Trust is Kent's unique 'Woodland Discovery Park', a visitor attraction with a difference.

Wildwood is not only the best place to bring the family for a day out, but it is also a bold and innovative new charity, backed by the UK's leading wildlife conservationists. As a new charity Wildwood needs everyone's support in its mission to save our native and once native wildlife from extinction.

Wildwood Trust's vision is to bring back our true 'wildwood', a unique new way of restoring Britain's land to its natural state. This involves releasing large wild herbivores and developing conservation grazing systems to restore natural ecological processes to help Britain team with wildlife again.

The Wildwood 'Woodland Discovery Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. 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.

Set in a sublime 38 acres of Ancient Woodland, Wildwood offers visitors a truly unique experience. Come Nose to Nose with our secretive badgers, experience what it is like to be hunted by a real live pack of wolves, watch a charging wild boar or track down a beaver in his lodge.

Wildwood Trust runs a highly successful programme of Conservation Projects - we are the UK's leading experts in rescuing and re-establishing colonies of Britain's most threatened mammal, the water vole. Wildwood Trust has pioneered the use of ancient wild horses to restore nature reserve. Wildwood Trust has been at the forefront of efforts to re-establish the European Beaver back in Britain where they belong. European Beaver have been proven to help manage water ways to bring back a huge range of plants, insects and animals.

Watch Wildwood on Dick and Dom!

     

Watch Wildwood in the new series of Dick and Dom Go Wild!

Wildwood's animals are set to appear in the new CBBC series of Dick and Dom Go Wild! The series, which begins on Monday 27^th February, features the comedy duo visiting some of the UK's busiest wildlife centres to encourage children to get more involved with wildlife.

Dick and Dom Go Wild! will air from Monday to Friday for 4 weeks, and features Wildwood's animals in a whopping 9 episodes. A wide range of Wildwood's are set to appear in the new series, from beavers and wolves, to horses, snakes and polecats.

The filming, which took part at Wildwood in 2011, caused quite a stir at the park as lucky visitors where able to meet the boys as they filmed around the park. Press Officer, Fiona Paterson said "It's always great to welcome film crews to Wildwood and it's especially fun to have Dick and Dom here, we know how popular they are with our visitors."

Wildwood's chief executive said "It's great to be included in this brilliant series, our aim at Wildwood is to engage people with British Wildlife and I can't think of a better way to get kids interested in than with the help of Dick and Dom".

Dick and Dom Go Wild! begins on Monday 27^th Feb, at 7.45am on CBBC.

Wildwood will feature in the following episodes:

Episode 1: Monday 27^th of February – The boys meet our konik horses

Episode 5: Friday 2^nd March – Dick and Dom help out at the beaver enclosure

Episode 7: Tues 6^th March – Dick and Dom learn about bison, help vet check a deer, fly a tawny owl and meet Paddy the polecat (pictured above).

Episode 8: Weds 7^th March – The boys get messy in the wild boar enclosure

Episode 9: Thurs 8^th March – Dick and Dom are raving about ravens

Episode 11: Mon 12^th March – There's fun in store as Dick makes friends with Wildwood's brown rats

Episode 13: Weds 14^th March – The boys meet our wolves and bison

Episode 14: Thurs 15^th March – Dick and Dom become beekeepers at Wildwood

Episode 20: Friday 23^rd March – Dick and Dom help some wildlife-shy girls to love our native creatures and meet a snake, a badger and a bat.

*********end***************

Fiona Paterson
Marketing & Press officerWildwood Trust

Registered Charity No 1093702

Wildwood Trust is Kent's unique 'Woodland Discovery Park', a visitor attraction with a difference.

Wildwood is not only the best place to bring the family for a day out, but it is also a bold and innovative new charity, backed by the UK's leading wildlife conservationists. As a new charity Wildwood needs everyone's support in its mission to save our native and once native wildlife from extinction.

Wildwood Trust's vision is to bring back our true 'wildwood', a unique new way of restoring Britain's land to its natural state. This involves releasing large wild herbivores and developing conservation grazing systems to restore natural ecological processes to help Britain team with wildlife again.

The Wildwood 'Woodland Discovery Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can see an amazing range of with British Wildlife in near natural enclosures. 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.

Set in a sublime 38 acres of Ancient Woodland, Wildwood offers visitors a truly unique experience. Come Nose to Nose with our secretive badgers, experience what it is like to be hunted by a real live pack of wolves, watch a charging wild boar or track down a beaver in his lodge.

Wildwood Trust runs a highly successful programme of Conservation Projects - we are the UK's leading experts in rescuing and re-establishing colonies of Britain's most threatened mammal, the water vole. Wildwood Trust has pioneered the use of ancient wild horses to restore nature reserve. Wildwood Trust has been at the forefront of efforts to re-establish the European Beaver back in Britain where they belong. European Beaver have been proven to help manage water ways to bring back a huge range of plants, insects and animals.

Wildwood Game Sausage & Mash Night - 8th March

     

Back by popular demand.... Wildwood Game Sausage & Mash night  with Godmersham Game

Thursday 8th March 7.15pm

Wildwood is delighted to announce that we shall be hosting a special Game Sausage & Mash night on Thursday the 8th March:

Menu

Homemade Godmersham Game broth

A trio of Godmersham Game sausages with creamy mash and rich onion gravy

Home made apple crumble

Coffees

 

 Also on the night...

Mini night tour to see Wildwood's fallow deer and wild boar 
Short talk on game from Phil Miles, owner of Godmersham Game
A talk from Jeff Handy,  regional director of the National Gamekeepers' Organisation on the role of gamekeepers in maintaining balance in the countryside/deer and boar management.
An opportunity to stock up on tasty game from the Godmersham Game stall

 

Tickets on sale now at £17 each

As Wildwood is an unlicensed venue this is a Bring Your Own event.

Sorry, there is no vegetarian alternative.

 

To book please call 01227 712 111

 

 

Wildwood in Dick and Dom's new CBBC series

Wildwood features in new series of Dick and Dom!

 

Wildwood's animals are set to appear in the new CBBC series of Dick and Dom Go Wild! The series, which begins on Monday 27^th February, features the comedy duo visiting some of the UK's busiest wildlife centres to encourage children to get more involved with wildlife.

 

Dick and Dom Go Wild! will air from Monday to Friday for 4 weeks, and features Wildwood's animals in a whopping 9 episodes. A wide range of Wildwood's are set to appear in the new series, from beavers and wolves, to horses, snakes and polecats.

 

The filming, which took part at Wildwood in 2011, caused quite a stir at the park as lucky visitors where able to meet the boys as they filmed around the park. Press Officer, Fiona Paterson said "It's always great to welcome film crews to Wildwood and it's especially fun to have Dick and Dom here, we know how popular they are with our visitors."

 

Wildwood's chief executive said "It's great to be included in this brilliant series, our aim at Wildwood is to engage people with British Wildlife and I can't think of a better way to get kids interested in than with the help of Dick and Dom".

 

 

 Dick and Dom Go Wild! begins on Monday 27^th Feb, at 0745am on CBBC.

 

Wildwood will feature in the following episodes:

 

Episode 1: Monday 27^th of February – 'Konik horses'

Episode 5: Friday 2^nd March – 'Beaver'

Episode 7: Tues 6^th March – William and Josh at Wildwood (Bison, deer vet check, tawny owl fly) + 'Polecat'

Episode 8: Weds 7^th March – 'Wild boar'

Episode 9: Thurs 8^th March – 'Raven'

Episode 11: Mon 12^th March – 'Rat'

Episode 13: Weds 14^th March – Wolves' and 'Bison'

Episode 14: Thurs 15^th March – 'Bees'

Episode 20: Friday 23^rd March – Sarah & Leah at Wildwood (snakes, badger & bat)

 

*********end***************

 

Fiona Paterson
Marketing & Press officer
Wildwood Trust

e-mail: fiona@wildwoodtrust.org
Tel: 01227 712111
www.wildwoodtrust.org

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Wildwood Trust
Herne Common
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7LQ

Registered Charity No 1093702

 

Wildwood Trust is Kent's unique 'Woodland Discovery Park', a visitor attraction with a difference.

 

Wildwood is not only the best place to bring the family for a day out, but it is also a bold and innovative new charity, backed by the UK's leading wildlife conservationists. As a new charity Wildwood needs everyone's support in its mission to save our native and once native wildlife from extinction.

 

Wildwood Trust's vision is to bring back our true 'wildwood', a unique new way of restoring Britain's land to its natural state. This involves releasing large wild herbivores and developing conservation grazing systems to restore natural ecological processes to help Britain team with wildlife again.

 

The Wildwood 'Woodland Discovery Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can see an amazing range of with British Wildlife in near natural enclosures. 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.

 

Set in a sublime 38 acres of Ancient Woodland, Wildwood offers visitors a truly unique experience. Come Nose to Nose with our secretive badgers, experience what it is like to be hunted by a real live pack of wolves, watch a charging wild boar or track down a beaver in his lodge.

 

Wildwood Trust runs a highly successful programme of Conservation Projects - we are the UK's leading experts in rescuing and re-establishing colonies of Britain's most threatened mammal, the water vole. Wildwood Trust has pioneered the use of ancient wild horses to restore nature reserve. Wildwood Trust has been at the forefront of efforts to re-establish the European Beaver back in Britain where they belong. European Beaver have been proven to help manage water ways to bring back a huge range of plants, insects and animals.

 

 

SAVE THE BEAVER TODAY!

 

SAVE THE BEAVER TODAY!

Can you join me today and save the 'Free' Beavers of Scotland? I desperately need you to write an e-mail or letter to the Scottish Environment Minister and ask him to not kill over 100 beavers living wild and free on the River Tay. [Scroll to the bottom of the page where I have included my some tips and  e-mail  & address, although it is better to use your own words]

 

We know the Minister will make a decision to either kill or protect the beaver in the next 2 weeks. In the last month there has been a furious campaign by powerful lobby groups trying to force the Minister to eradicate the beavers. There have been the most appalling stories placed in Scottish newspapers from gamekeeper and hunting groups hell bent on the destruction of these wonderful animals. The only thing that will protect these beavers is those of us who love beaver to take a stand and tell the Minister we support the beaver.

 

If we act today we can Save the Beaver

Why are Beavers so important?

Beavers are the most important animal to the rivers of our wonderful country. Beavers are a 'keystone' species and their marvellous management of riverbanks helps create a home for a huge range of other wildlife.

 

Since we hunted beavers to extinction in the UK about 400 years ago our rivers and streams have been much the poorer. Riverbank animals like otters, water voles, dragonflies and kingfishers have all suffered in their absence.

 

Beavers create wetlands and these wetlands act as a giant sponge helping to retain and purify water, prevent pollution, reducing flooding and helping reduce the cost of water our water bills. A study in Germany estimated that every beaver was worth about £2,500 in reduced water bills and benefits to the people who lived nearby them.

 

 

What are the free beavers?

A population of free beaver has grown on the River Tay over the last 10 years, living wild and free.  There is a good chance these beaver were actually legally imported by Wildwood and quarantined at our park; this would have been just before we became a charity. Unknown to Wildwood, some of these beavers who had been given to a small zoo near the river Tay subsequently escaped.

 

These beaver have bred and most of the beavers will be now 3^rd generation inhabitants of the tributaries of the River Tay. I am sure you will feel that we have a moral duty to protect these animals and join with me in efforts to save them.

 

This means the 'free' beavers are not part of the official beaver trial projects that Wildwood helps to manage with Kent Wildlife Trust at Ham Fen in Kent or the Scottish Wildlife Trust project in Knapdale in Scotland.

 

Last year the Scottish Government tried to trap the beavers and get rid of them. The first beaver, named Erica, died shortly after trapping in Edinburgh Zoo. There was a massive outcry of dismay at this poorly conceived policy and the injuries caused to this poor young animal by the mishandling of the process by those involved.

 

I myself visited Scotland at the time and later made contact with a group of ecologists who banded together to form the Scottish Wild Beaver Group, now a registered charity in Scotland. Thanks to the efforts of the Scottish Wild Beaver Group and the subsequent media outcry forced a hasty abandonment of the policy of killing the free beavers.

 

The beavers were given a one-year stay of execution while the Scottish Government reviewed the status of the Beaver. That stay of execution is now over. Please make sure the Scottish Environment minister makes the right decision and write a letter or send an e-mail to support the beaver today.

 

What can I do?

1.       Write a letter

Firstly, and most importantly,  write a letter to the Scottish Environment Minister telling him how much you value the free beaver of the Tay and that they are vital to our future river ecology. (see my letter below and information above for some help on writing a letter or sending an e-mail)

 

e-mail: MinisterForEnvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

 

Our Write to:

 

Stewart Stevenson MSP,

The Scottish Parliament,

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

 

 

2.       Join our campaign

Join our campaign – you can join the 'Save the Free Beavers of the Tay'  Facebook group and learn how to get involved in the campaign

 

Make sure you have already joined Wildwood's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wildwood-Trust/188177837868

 

You can then search our 'friends' for the 'Save the Free Beavers of the Tay' or click this link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/freebeavers/

 

You can also sign up to e-mails on the Scottish Wild Beaver Website: http://scottishwildbeavers.org/

 

3.       Donate money to our Fighting Fund

Wildwood wants to do what it can to protect the beaver of the Tay and we need funds to assist our work, the two most important projects are funding a legal challenge and supporting campaign efforts on the ground. Visit our website for more info on making a donation: www.wildwoodtrust.org or call me on 01227 712111.

 

4.       Professional Legal Help

Are you or do you know an expert solicitor who can help us form a legal case to protect the beaver? We need expert legal advice. There is a good chance that killing the beaver is against European Law and we need expert legal advice to challenge the Scottish Government. There is already some precedent set with other European countries.

 

A very big thank you in advance for helping the 'FREE Beaver', please make sure you write your letter today.

 

Peter Smith

Chief Executive

Wildwood Trust

 

 

 

My letter to the Minister copied below:

 

 

 

Stewart Stevenson MSP,

The Scottish Parliament,

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

 

 

Dear Minister

 

Wild Beaver on the Tay

 

Wildwood Trust & myself have been heavily involved in the study & reintroduction of Beaver, leading the campaign to reintroduce Beaver to the UK. We have helped inform the Knapdale project and have had our own demonstration project, properly licensed by DEFRA, in England since 2000.

 

I myself used to work for Scottish Wildlife Trust and as a 'partial' Scot I have followed the story of the beavers' return to Scotland with great interest.

 

Our charity was established primarily to reintroduce beaver and wild horses as conservation management tools on nature reserves.  Our charity has grown considerably since it was founded 10 years ago and now boasts over 50,000 members, which incidentally is more than Scottish Wildlife Trust.

 

Wildwood's members would be horrified by a Government decision to do any harm to the Tay beavers without a proper scientific study and a very sound legal opinion.

 

I have watched in horror over the last few months with the appalling press releases and media campaigning by the more extreme elements of landowning and hunting groups. Much of the information is of extremely poor quality and it would be a travesty of 'evidence based policy making' if you were to give it credible credence in your deliberations.

 

Unfortunately even some of the language of your own civil servants in calling our furry friends 'illegal beavers' has been worrying for many beaver supporters. The legal situation of beaver, as now 3^rd generation residents of Scotland, brings a lot of complex legal issues to the fore as to their status under Scottish and European law. I myself have discussed the legal situation with a number of bodies and the legal opinions I have seen, some of which are no doubt available to yourself, are not supportive of a cull and as such would open up such a decision to legal challenge.

 

Due to the strong feelings of our members and supporters if a decision is made to cull the beaver I will have no other option than mount a legal challenge and instruct our legal team in this regard.

 

Beavers are a highly beneficial, native, wild animal. Their reintroduction has been successful all over Europe. Let us welcome the ones who have made their home on Tayside and benefit from the many advantages they bring. 

 

There is a wealth of scientific information that shows just how beavers benefit our streams and rivers and help our environment. Beaver can help cut water bills, purify water and help our rivers increase fish and wildlife populations. The arguments against beavers have little scientific validity and are from groups only concerned with narrow self-interest, the same groups that have held Scotland back from achieving its true potential for many generations.

 

Scotland needs to look forward to a new future, a future that has wildlife at the very heart of its policies. A Scotland that is rich in wildlife will be a beacon attracting the best minds to its industries, bolstering our export markets and giving a warm welcome to all of our visitors. Beaver really can help Scotland increase its wild appeal and create river habitats that are brim full of wildlife. 

 

If you can spare me half an hour I would love to visit you to answer any questions you may have about beavers and bring a team who really understand just how beaver reintroduction has worked in Europe. Ten years ago we had a similar conversation with Michael Meacher, the then Environment Secretary and our team give him all the knowledge he needed to become a supporter of beavers in the UK.

 

Beavers are truly amazing animals, please give beavers a chance. Scotland will be much the better and your decisions will bring joy and happiness to future generations.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Peter Smith BSc MSc MA MBA

Chief Executive

 

e-mail: petersmith@wildwoodtrust.org