Happy New Year to you all, we trust that you all enjoyed the festivities.
As it seems customary at the start of a new year, we thought we would take a look at the last 12 month’s as there have been some big wins for conservation across our sites and it certainly seemed like a busy year for us and on reflection, we can certainly see why. We have achieved a vast amount despite various challenges we have encountered along the way.
For those who may not be aware, our team of staff and volunteers cover four national nature reserves, Castle Eden Dene, Cassop, Thrislington and Teesmouth. Each of these sites are unique and require an individual approach. The environments are all different, some coastal, some woodland and grassland.
The first big win for conservation was the restoration of our Magnesian limestone meadows. The project was not for the faint hearted but is essential for wildlife and ensuring the survival of native species of flora and fauna. As the summer months progressed, we were already seeing the impact of this work by way of the results of butterfly transects. The work undertaken is already encouraging pollinators back to the area and this will ensure that over the coming years, we shall see more and more wildlife making these area’s their home, so definitely a big win for nature.
We also have continued with our targeted grazing program. This is a carefully managed program which promotes biodiversity to our sites. Some may think that this program takes little work, but it’s harder than you think. We have to ensure that the correct animals are grazed at the right time. Timing is everything when it comes to grazing. Should we graze an area too soon, then valuable pollen producing plants are lost which in turn will reduce the number of pollinators and should we graze an area too long then damage could occur, making it difficult for wildlife the following year and potentially losing valuable native species from the site altogether.
At our Castle Eden site, we have seen some changes too. Firstly, the café has opened on site, producing great food and bespoke coffee, there’s no better treat after exploring the woodland than a slice of cake and coffee. We wish Clare every success in her new venture.
Also at Castle Eden Dene, we have produced a wonderful wildlife garden with ponds for the amphibians and plants highly attractive to pollinators, we have also installed bee poles. The area is hardly recognisable now. The wildlife garden is easily accessible from the café so after your next visit, come and explore the garden area. During warmer months, you may wish to use the outdoor seating area to the rear of the café to enjoy birdsong while you refuel.
While we’re talking about Castle Eden Dene, work also commenced on our access track for people with reduced mobility. This work will continue into 2022 and will mean that more visitors than ever before, will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of our semi-natural woodlands, taking us one step closer to connecting more people to nature.
We also have taken steps to reduce our carbon footprint by purchasing electric vehicles to be used in and around our sites and during the next 12 months we aim to install electric vehicle charging points in our car park at Castle Eden Dene for visitors to use. We expect to increase our fleet of electric vehicles over the coming year. When you see our team out and about the site in the Polaris, give us a wave.
The arrival of Storm Arwen brought a number of challenges and our volunteers really stepped up to help with the clear up. We couldn’t do what we do without the help and support of this amazing group of people, who give up their spare time to offer their services. The entire team are forever grateful for all our volunteers do.
During 2021, we have seen more partnerships form with new organisations and relationships strengthened with organisations we have worked alongside for a number of years. We would like to take the opportunity to give thanks to all partners including Peterlee Town Council, Durham Heritage Coast, Cleveland Police and many others.
There has also been progress at Teesmouth National Nature Reserve. The site is of huge National and International importance as it hosts a great selection of ground nesting birds during the Spring as birds choose the site for breeding and raising fledglings and during the colder winter months, we see the site used for migratory birds to rest and feed before continuing South. Historically, the site experienced a large amount of bird disturbance, not only is this illegal and there are bylaws in place to protect wildlife but it is also detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the birds, most of whom have travelled thousands of miles to get here and are tired and hungry. Our staff, by way of bird disturbance surveys identified the main causes of this and then put into action a plan to reduce this, making the site a safer place for all and an area where memories can be made. The steps taken by the staff was a multi-pronged approach, firstly we engaged with the visitors to the site, raising awareness of the fact it is a nature reserve and promoting an emotional bond between our visitors and the reserve. We commenced our Dog Ranger scheme and have 16 dog rangers at present, all have taken the pledge to stay on the paths, follow signage and not chase the wildlife. During 2022, we plan to implement this on all our sites because the results speak for themselves. We would like to thank all those dog owners who have already joined the scheme and look forward to welcoming more. We have had tremendous support from Cleveland Police.
2021 also saw a number of events across our sites covering everything from birdsong to fungi. A huge thank you to all who took part in these event’s, making them a huge success. We also forged new relationships with Seascapes and they joined us for our bird watching and seal events at Teesmouth, we definitely look forward to working with them again. As 2022 progresses, keep watching our social media pages for upcoming events.
It has definitely been a busy year for us and things have been made much harder by the mindless vandalism and antisocial behaviour witnessed across all our sites. We have found that time has been taken away from doing our conservation work, to repair areas damaged by vandals. We are working closely with local authorities and police forces across our sites to prevent further damage and behaviour.
Some of our plans for 2022 have been discussed here already but our main aim is to build on the foundations we have already achieved during the last 12 months. We are also looking to increase our team of volunteers, starting with our team of wardens. As a former volunteer warden at Castle Eden Dene, I can guarantee that it was one of the best experiences of my life. You don’t need to have had any previous experience, I certainly hadn’t had any before I started and it’s definitely like being part of one big family. I have written about my experiences as a volunteer in a previous blog, if you would like to take a look at that. It’s a great way to get out and about and meet people, it has great health benefits, both mental and physical. I learned so much about nature and conservation but more importantly, I learned a lot about myself. If you have an hour or two spare each week and would like to know more, call our office on 0191 5860004 and we will happily speak to you about volunteering.
We look forward to seeing you all again soon, when you visit our sites.
Sharon Green