NATIONAL NEWS
Wildlife Trusts concerned over Welsh Government Green Paper proposals launched today
Wildlife Trusts Wales today is calling on the Welsh Government to "not forget wildlife" in the consultation on the new Green Paper - Sustaining a Living Wales – launched today.
Rachel Sharp, Wildlife Trusts Wales CEO said: "The new approach being proposed today looks at what nature can do for the people of Wales. We want to see nature valued both within our economy but also for how it enriches our everyday lives."
"We are constantly told by our 23,000 members," Rachel continued, "how important wildlife is to them. We know that it improves people’s health and well-being, so we welcome any steps to securing wildlife for future generations."
Wildlife Trusts in Wales are calling on the Welsh Government to ensure the following be included in its new approach:
- Full recognition of the intrinsic value and importance of biodiversity in the new approach.
- That the accompanying Regulation Review not only continues to protect our most important sites for wildlife but also enhances our ability to monitor and enforce regulation.
- That the Welsh Government work with the third and private sectors to increase investment needed to develop the new whole ecosystem approach.
30 January 2012
Cross party support to strengthen marine conservation in Wales
One third of Assembly Member’s sign Petition Fish at Wildlife Trusts Wales Senedd event.
A total of 16 AMs signed the Wildlife Trusts Wales Petition Fish at the Senedd on 24 January, representing one third of AMs eligible to sign (Ministers cannot sign).
Petition Fish calls for greater protection of the sea around Wales through a network of well-managed Marine Protected Areas. Over 36% of Welsh waters are currently classified as Marine Protected Areas, but, according to Wildlife Trust Wales, their management and enforcement is failing and poorly resourced. Wildlife Trusts Wales are calling for the improved management and enforcement of existing Marine Protected Areas, and the creation of new Marine Conservation Zones. The first public consultation on establishing Marine Conservation Zones in Welsh waters is due this spring, with designation planned for 2013.
The AM’s who signed on 24 January included:
Russell George AM (Montgomeryshire – Conservatives)
Rebecca Evans AM (Mid + West Wales – Labour)
William Powell AM (Mid + West Wales – Lib Dem)
Simon Thomas AM (Mid + West – Plaid)
Joyce Watson AM (Mid + West – Labour)
If you have yet to sign Petition Fish yourself, you do so online, by clicking here.
27 January 2012
Litter champions wanted
Litter can be really bad news for wildlife...
30 November 2011
Toad appeal
The Royal Horticultural Society and The Wildlife Trusts are asking bonfire night celebrators to look out for toads and frogs before they light their fires.
"People tend to check for hedgehogs in the wood they have gathered for their fire," says Andrew Halstead, Principal RHS Entomologist. "But it is equally likely that toads, frogs and newts will have found shelter in these piles and might be missed. Toads and frogs play an important role as predators in the garden and should be encouraged." more...
21 October 2011
Give it a go – winter is for writing!
The National Writers’ Centre for Wales at Tŷ Newydd, Lloyd George’s old home near Criccieth, is running a nature writing course from 10th to 15th October. Nigel Brown, a lecturer in biological sciences at Bangor University, and Mark Cocker, author of ‘Birds Britannica’ and ‘Crow Country’, are the two tutors. Full details of the course are available at www.tynewydd.org
Students pay up to £525 to take part in this inspiring course but one of them is attending for free - the prize for coming 2nd in Natur Cymru’s ‘Inspired by Nature’ writing competition. Other prizes include £500 cash, an overnight trip for two on Skomer Island and a dolphin watching trip in Cardigan Bay.
The competition, supported by Wildlife Trusts Wales, is running again over this winter with full details at www.inspired-by-nature.org.uk
15 September 2011
The Wildlife Trusts celebrate Remember A Charity Week
What does a beauty spot along the River Pang, thought to be the inspiration for Wind in the Willows, have in common with Wales’ largest sandwich tern colony and some of the last remaining ancient broadleaf woodlands in Warwickshire? Legacies have played a part in securing a future for them all, say The Wildlife Trusts, as Remember A Charity week gets underway.
Remember A Charity Week runs from 12 – 18 September. It aims to shine a light on the importance of gifts left to charities in wills. More than 140 charities from around the UK, including The Wildlife Trusts, come together during the week to encourage more people to consider leaving a gift to charity when writing a will.
Currently just 7% of the UK population remembers a charity in their will, so once you’ve remembered the people you love, remember your local wildlife. To find out more about leaving a legacy to the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, click here. To find out more about Remember A Charity Week, click here.
12 September 2011
People's Postcode Lottery
People’s Postcode Lottery Players have raised more than £80,400 for Wildlife Trusts Wales to date!
The People’s Postcode Lottery is a subscription based lottery scheme where your ticket is based on your postcode. Each ticket costs £2 per draw and there are 5 draws every month. The People’s Postcode Lottery contributes 20% of the ticket price to a small selection of chosen charities. Recently launched in Wales for the first time, Wildlife Trusts Wales have been chosen as one of the recipients, meaning that all six wildlife trusts in Wales will benefit.
The first draw for Wildlife Trusts in Wales took place on the 23 June and we received £80,470.80! If you would like to add your support, please sign up to play the People's Postcode Lottery now or visit www.wildlifetrustswales.org to find out more information.
01 August 2011
Sign a scale to ‘shoal’ support for saving our seas
To mark the start of National Marine Week (Sat 30 Jul – Sun 14 Aug), The Wildlife Trusts are launching the ‘Petition Fish’ campaign, in a bid to demonstrate public support for Marine Protected Areas.
You can sign a scale at the Dyfi Osprey Project, online or text ‘FISH’ with your name and postcode to 60777.
More...
30 July 2011
Neighbourhood watch for Hedgehogs!
Hedgehogs are instantly recognisable and much loved creatures. All the more distressing then that a new report (The State of Britain’s’ Hedgehogs) provides definitive evidence that their numbers have declined by at least a quarter in the last 10 years – confirming their status as a conservation priority species. This alarming figure has compelled wildlife charities: the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to join forces to launch Hedgehog Street. This initiative aims to empower whole communities, encouraged by volunteer Hedgehog Champions, to take small steps to improve their neighbourhood for hedgehogs in a bid to create a giant patchwork of hedgehog-friendly areas across the British Isles. more...
01 June 2011
BBC Springwatch comes to Mid Wales
After three years at Pensthorpe nature reserve in Norfolk, Springwatch is moving its base. The new home is the remote, breathtakingly beautiful RSPB Ynys-hir nature reserve in west Wales, just a stones through from the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve, home of the Dyfi Ospreys.
more...
23 May 2011
Update on the Wales Badger cull situation
On 09 March 2011 Minister Elin Jones laid the new legislation, the Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011. As part of the evidence presented to the Minister, WAG released their analysis of the consultation responses. A phenomenal number of responses were received by WAG - 13,421 in total. The majority were opposed to culling. In fact only 2110 responses actively argued that badger culling is justified.
21 March 2011
Call for garden peat levy
The Wildlife Trusts are backing a call for the Government to introduce a levy on peat composts bought from garden centres in the budget (Wed 23 March). more...
21 February 2011
Wetland scheme is wildlife success
UK wildlife is benefiting from national wetland restoration, two years in to a three year scheme, according to The Wildlife Trusts, on World Wetlands Day (Wednesday 2 February). more...
02 February 2011
Handy guides for nature lovers
A new series of beautifully illustrated mini field guides, packed with information for nature enthusiasts, published in association with The Wildlife Trusts, is out now. more...
01 February 2011
