Wildlife Trust Research Articles

Natural colonisation rates in a UK upland landscape under different conservation management approaches following sheep removal

Abstract Natural colonisation could provide a cost‐effective means to increase woodland coverage across the UK uplands. However, there is a shortage of evidence of which factors affect the success of natural colonisation, including grazing management. The species of grazer, grazing intensity and the stage of regeneration may alter the impact of grazing on the ability of trees to colonise an area. In this study, we quantify the effect of removing sheep from an area in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, England, and explore whether cattle or ungrazed management alters tree colonisation rates. We also tested other environmental factors such as distance from woodland, elevation and soil geology to understand the other constraints on natural colonisation. Naturally colonised trees were recorded within 60 plots at Ingleborough National Nature Reserve and surrounding Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves. A series of generalised linear models, with a negative binomial distribution, were created to understand the effects that years since removal of sheep, current management, elevation, distance from woodland and soil geology had on the number of naturally colonising trees. The number of naturally colonising trees per hectare was 16% higher each year after sheep removal, with both cattle and ungrazed management being equally effective in promoting natural colonisation. Natural colonisation decreased by 25% for every additional 100 m from the nearest woodland and naturally colonising trees were much more frequent on limestone soil. Practical implication. This study shows that sheep grazing is a key limiting factor of natural colonisation in the UK uplands. Significant natural colonisation was possible on both cattle grazed and ungrazed sites and developed at a similar rate, highlighting a change in grazing animal can be as important as grazing cessation. Tree planting will still be required to restore tree cover to areas away from seed sources and improve diversity of future woodlands.

Wiggle into Nature: A partnership project working outdoors

Melanie Evans, Education and Wellbeing officer at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, shares more about a project which gave children under 5 and their families opportunities to explore local green spaces, reserves and parks. The project was supported by Spurgeons Children's Centres and combined the play-based and child-centred ethos of Forest School, with the compassion and connection promoted through the communication style of Spurgeons' Five to Thrive approach.

Creating wild children: An ‘Outstanding’ result for first Wildlife Trust outdoor nursery

Essex Wildlife Trust opened the first Wildlife Trust nursery in the country back in October 2021. As they celebrate their second birthday this month, Lauren Cosson, communications officer for Essex Wildlife Trust, provides an update on the innovative setting. She looks back over the last two years at what has been learnt and achieved along the way, and shares tips for helping children connect with nature in every early years settings.

RMetS Climate Change Forum 2022: a vision for 2050 and implications for action

<scp>RMetS</scp> Climate Change Forum 2022: a vision for 2050 and implications for action

Maternal effects and the legacy of extreme environmental events for wild mammals.

Maternal effects and the legacy of extreme environmental events for wild mammals.

P02-08 This has just given me life back’ – mixed method evaluation of the Wild Skills, Wild Spaces ecotherapy project, Wales, UK

Wild Skills Wild Spaces (WSWS) is a Welsh Government funded project which aims to deliver and evaluate an ecotherapy programme to improve the health, skills, and wellbeing of local communities in rural Montgomeryshire, Wales. Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust (a third sector organisation) deliver the programme which is evaluated by Cardiff Metropolitan University.The 2-year project, which began in April 2020, involves the running of 12-week interventions of weekly physically active ecotherapy activities such as tree pruning, woodwork, growing vegetables, walking and bushcraft skills. Participants (n = 40; mean age = 24.75 SD = 15.22) are people with mental health and/or behavioral problems referred via the National Health Service, health and social care partners, and schools.The mixed method evaluation includes two phases: (i) a quantitative phase which involves pre and post intervention measures concerning connectedness to nature, wellbeing, and physical activity level; and, (ii) a qualitative phase which involves interviews and focus groups with participants, referrers, and programme leaders.At this early stage in the data collection, to date no significant changes in pre and post ecotherapy intervention quantitative scores have been apparent. However, 100% of respondents have stated that they would like to continue taking part in ecotherapy programme. From the qualitative phase, participants described positive experiences of the programme particularly referring to how the programme supported their mental health, wellbeing, and social interactions. Additionally, participants highlighted the importance of the programme leaders in facilitating an enjoyable and safe environment in which they could relax, interact with others, and learn new skills.Findings from year 1 of the 2-year evaluation provide promising results that ecotherapy programmes have the potential to attract socially excluded individuals into purposeful programmes. These programmes appear, through the qualitative findings to date, to benefit participants' self-reported holistic health but are also valued by them, for their contribution to supporting the environment through playing a part in the management of outdoor, green space in our communities.

Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction

Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction

Engaging design for ecological citizenship: Informing approaches to human–nature interactions

The COVID-19 pandemic forefronted public urban and suburban nature interactions. ‘Human–nature interactions’ produce positive health impacts, knowledge production, risk perception, sustainable behaviour, engagement in conservation and more. Governmental and charitable reporting documents ‘nature deficit disorder’. The Design Economy report (2021) highlights that social, environmental and economic design must engage communities. Ergo, building community empowerment, is paramount to catalyse and embed sustainable design practices. The authors define a contemporary design space, unpick strategies and present ‘approaches to human–nature interactions’ insights. The My Naturewatch (NW) project features an accessible DIY camera trap, fostering beneficial nature engagements regardless of location, technological and/or wildlife expertise. NW is central within the outlined design space. The article reports on NW deployment(s) and catalysing organizations and communities. Three studies include: (1) The Wildlife Trusts #30dayswild, digital campaign, (2) The Durrell Trust, placed-based activity and (3) Nova New Opportunities, working with re-located communities. The authors acknowledge communities are sacrosanct and a substantial sustainable design asset for regeneration. The work leverages contemporary ‘phy-digital’ engagements, highlighting practices of social, environmental and public design spaces. The findings insights benefit cultural institutions, practitioners, conservation projects and more.

Evidence of the effectiveness of conservation interventions from long-term aerial monitoring of three crane species in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Summary Monitoring population trends is important for evaluating the effectiveness of conservation interventions. An annual aerial census of three crane species, the Grey Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum, Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus and Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus, was performed in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa over the past 23 years. These crane species are listed as ‘Endangered’, ‘Vulnerable’, and ‘Vulnerable’, respectively, on the IUCN Red List. KwaZulu-Natal was chosen as a key site for monitoring as it covers an important region for cranes that has received concerted conservation effort since the 1980s. These annual surveys are conducted by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, a provincial conservation agency, and the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a conservation non-profit organisation. We estimated crane population trends from data collected by means of standardised surveys conducted between 2003 and 2019. Results from the surveys show a steady and significant increase in the population size of all three crane species. Interventions including power line collision mitigation and engagement with landowners have been implemented in formal conservation programs to protect these cranes. Results from the annual census suggest that conservation interventions have been effective.

Training in the Dark: Using Target Training for Non-Invasive Application and Validation of Accelerometer Devices for an Endangered Primate (Nycticebus bengalensis).

Simple SummaryRecent advances in technology allow for the study of animal behaviours through indirect observations. This facilitates research on cryptic animals for which direct observations may miss a considerable portion of their activity. The validity of accelerometers in obtaining accurate animal behaviours, however, needs to be tested before collecting data in the wild. Modern zoos offer excellent opportunities for researchers to test field techniques in a safe setting. Here, we describe a non-invasive training program to attach an accelerometer to an individual Bengal slow loris at the Shaldon Wildlife Trust. This training took 39 15-min sessions and allowed for the attachment of the accelerometer for validation with reduced stress for the animal. We also collected videos to associate to accelerometer data to estimate the accuracy of accelerometers in identifying the behaviours of Bengal slow loris. The accuracy was above 80% with some of the behaviours that were clearly identified (e.g., resting: 99.8%), while others were more difficult to discern (e.g., suspensory walk, a locomotion behaviour, was discerned only 60.3% of times from other behaviours). The non-invasive training and accelerometer validation can be used on similar species before using accelerometers in the wild.Accelerometers offer unique opportunities to study the behaviour of cryptic animals but require validation to show their accuracy in identifying behaviours. This validation is often undertaken in captivity before use in the wild. While zoos provide important opportunities for trial field techniques, they must consider the welfare and health of the individuals in their care and researchers must opt for the least invasive techniques. We used positive reinforcement training to attach and detach a collar with an accelerometer to an individual Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) at the Shaldon Wildlife Trust, U.K. This allowed us to collect accelerometer data at different periods between January–June 2020 and January–February 2021, totalling 42 h of data with corresponding video for validation. Of these data, we selected 54 min where ten behaviours were present and ran a random forest model. We needed 39 15-min sessions to train the animal to wear/remove the collar. The accelerometer data had an accuracy of 80.7 ± SD 9.9% in predicting the behaviours, with 99.8% accuracy in predicting resting, and a lower accuracy (but still >75% for all of them apart from suspensory walk) for the different types of locomotion and feeding behaviours. This training and validation technique can be used in similar species and shows the importance of working with zoos for in situ conservation (e.g., validation of field techniques).

Effect of roost management on populations trends of Rhinolophus hipposideros and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in Britain and Ireland

After a significant population decline during the 20th century, populations of both greater and lesser horseshoe bats have increased over recent decades in Britain and populations of lesser horseshoe bats have increased in Ireland. Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) acquired 37 bat reserves since the 1980s with the aim to safeguard the sites and enhance the roosting and hibernation conditions in buildings that were often derelict and sub-optimal for bats. These measures have resulted in a strong population size increase of all colonies. However, populations have also been increasing throughout Britain and Ireland as a consequence of legal protection and milder winters resulting in higher survival rates. Therefore, it is not clear whether the measures that have taken place in VWT reserves have led to a greater increase than roosts that have not benefited from the same type of management. We aimed to compare population trends of horseshoe bat roosts under VWT management and non-VWT management from 1999 to 2020 in order to assess its effectiveness. For this, we analysed population trends at sites under different management types (VWT and non-VWT) for lesser horseshoe bats in Britain and Ireland and greater horseshoe bats in Britain. Our results indicated that populations in Britain under VWT management have increased by 366% (CI 225% - 580%) for greater horseshoe bats and 188% (CI 125% - 283%) for lesser horseshoe bats. Roosts that did not benefit from the same levels of management increased respectively by 164% (CI 132% - 199%) and 51% (CI 40% - 60%). In Ireland, populations of lesser horseshoe bats in VWT managed roosts increased by 217% (CI 118% - 364%) while non-VWT managed roosts remained stable (-0.44%; CI -23% - 29%). We conclude that management actions carried out by VWT of greater and lesser horseshoe bat roosts have helped populations recover at a faster rate by securing the integrity of buildings, improving access points and by providing optimal microclimatic conditions within the buildings.

Strengthening the recognition of strategic water source areas in decisions on water use licences [Discussion of Endangered Wildlife Trust v Director-General, Department of Water and Sanitation (WT 03/17/MP) [2019] ZAWT 3 (22 May 2019)

There has been increasing recognition of the importance and value of strategic water source areas (“SWSAs”). SWSAs form about 10% of South Africa’s landscape and provide 50% of the country’s water. Their strategic importance lies in their significant ability to provide for the country’s economic, agricultural and basic human needs. One such SWSA has been at the centre of various court hearings, due to proposed mining activities in the Mabola Protected Environment – which falls squarely within the Enkangala Drakensberg SWSA. In May 2019, the Water Tribunal handed down a judgment pertaining to the water use licence application for these proposed mining activities in Endangered Wildlife Trust v The Director-General, Department of Water and Sanitation (WT 03/17/MP) [2019] ZAWT 3 (22 May 2019). The applicants challenged the decision to grant the water use licence on seven grounds, all revolving around how public authorities should exercise their statutory mandates when dealing with the country’s most scarce natural resource – water. As important as the judgment is for underscoring the balance between the use of natural resources and economic gain, it also highlights a trite point – SWSAs are not regulated in South Africa’s environmental legislation and as such, their legal protection is questionable. Although various scientific research documents and guidelines point to the need to protect SWSAs, the Tribunal insisted that these do not meet the “relevant considerations” requirement as per the National Water Act 36 of 1998 and could thus not be taken into account when coming to its final decision. This case note has three objectives. First, to provide a summary of the case and the Tribunal’s findings. Secondly, to reflect critically on the lessons learned from the Tribunal’s consideration of the scientific reports calling for SWSA protection. Thirdly, to suggest a way forward for promoting the protection of SWSAs in environmental law.

Evaluating hedgerows for wild bee conservation in intensively managed agricultural landscapes

Wild bees provide essential pollination services to both agricultural crops and wild flowering plant species. The decline of wild bee species has been associated with a number of different threats, primarily the loss of natural habitats. The Delta Farmland & Wildlife Trust (DF&WT), a non-profit conservation organization, incentivizes farmers to plant hedgerows consisting of native shrubs and trees on the edge of their production fields, mainly to create habitat for wildlife in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. In this study, the value of the planted hedgerows was evaluated as foraging habitat for wild bees specifically. During the summers of 2015 and 2016, we surveyed bees and flowers in planted hedgerows, as well as the two other most dominant field margin habitats, remnant hedgerows and grass margins. The relationship between available floral resources and bee abundance and diversity, as well as bee-flower interactions, was analyzed and compared among these three habitat types. Overall, wild bees collected from flowers and pan traps were more abundant, species rich and significantly more diverse in grass margins compared to planted and remnant hedgerows. However, significant results were inconsistent between sampling methods and years, implying none of the habitat types stood out as clearly better. While the strongest relationship was found between floral abundance and bee abundance, it did not explain the differences between habitat types alone. Bee-flower interaction records showed that bees primarily visited herbaceous species mostly found in grass margins while only a few of the recommended woody plant species for hedgerow plantings were visited. The results indicate that grass margins could be a valuable alternative conservation approach or addition to woody hedgerows if properly planned and managed. These results can be used to help improve field edge management for the conservation of wild bee species.

Segmentation, environmental identity and stages of change: An application to a wildlife trust

AbstractUsing a quantitative survey approach, cluster analysis is used to assess the relevant target segments of a wildlife trust to develop a consumer‐focused marketing strategy. Using environmental identity and stages of change, the paper identifies and examines a number of clusters for both members and non‐members and segments the trust's target audience, providing valuable insights into the character and behaviour of each segment and their openness to different activities. It provides practical recommendations as to which specific groups would be most valuable to target for the trust as well as the potential messages and marketing strategies which be most successful in engaging these groups.

Successful Wildlife Conservation Requires Good Governance

Public wildlife management in the United States is transforming as agencies seek relevancy to broader constituencies. State agencies in the United States, while tasked with conserving wildlife for all beneficiaries of the wildlife trust, have tended to manage for a limited range of benefits in part due to a narrow funding model heavily dependent on hunting, fishing, and trapping license buyers. To best meet the needs, interests, and concerns of a broader suite of beneficiaries, agencies will need to reconsider how priorities for management are set. This presents an opportunity for conservation program design and evaluation to be elevated in importance. We argue that success in wildlife conservation in the U.S. requires assessment of both decision-making processes and management results in relation to four questions: conservation of what, under what authority, for what purposes, and for whom?

Control of meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria through a change of management from grazing to mowing at an English floodplain meadow.

Floodplain meadow grassland is a diverse habitat which has become increasingly rare throughout Europe. Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, is a characteristic species of its plant community, however it can become overly dominant in the sward resulting in detrimental effects on the community as a whole. High abundance can reduce both the diversity of the sward, by shading out low growing species, and the quality of the hay crop. An eight-year management trial (2011-2019) was undertaken at Fancott Woods and Meadows SSSI by the BCN Wildlife Trust and the Floodplain Meadows Partnership, to test whether it was possible to reduce the dominance of meadowsweet through an annual hay cut with aftermath grazing instead of grazing management only, across three blocks of experimental treatments. A secondary aim of the trial was to investigate whether a change in management could also increase the plant-species diversity. Three plots were cut in June and then aftermath grazed, compared to three control plots that were only grazed from July onwards. The study found that cover of meadowsweet decreased from 55% to 6% under the annual cut and aftermath grazing treatment compared to a decrease from 58% to 35% in the control (grazed only) areas. This was accompanied by an increase in plant-species diversity in the cut areas compared to control plots. The study concluded that annual cutting can be used to control coarse and dominant meadowsweet effectively, and that cutting followed by aftermath grazing in a floodplain meadow delivers greater botanical diversity compared to grazing alone.

Everything under control? Comparing Knepp Estate rewilding project with 'traditional' nature conservation.

‘Rewilding’ is an increasingly prominent concept in conservation, but one that has attracted controversy. Debate frequently focuses on human ‘control’ over nature. ‘Traditional’ conservation has been presented as involving ‘high control,’ and rewilding as ‘low control.’ Opposition to rewilding often stems from a perceived lack of control and associated perception of increased risk and uncertainty. This paper explores the concept of control in conservation. I identify multiple dimensions of control (‘stabilisation’, ‘location’, ‘prediction’ and ‘outputs’), illustrating that control is not a simple, linear concept. I compare two ethnographic case studies: the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Old Lodge nature reserve; and Knepp Estate, one of the most influential rewilding projects in the UK. I use them to test assertions made about control in ‘traditional’ conservation and ‘rewilding’. I outline how Old Lodge does not exert precise control in all respects, but involves elements of uncertainty and negotiation. I describe how Knepp’s model of rewilding reduces control in some dimensions but potentially increases it in others. I conclude that, while Knepp’s rewilding does represent a significant conceptual departure from ‘traditional’ conservation, it should not be characterised as an approach that reduces control in a simplistic way. Based on this analysis, I argue that reduction of control does not necessarily underpin the concept of rewilding. Rather, there is interplay between different control dimensions that combine to form multiple ‘configurations of control.’ Using a framework of ‘configurations of control’, debate about the place of rewilding in conservation can become less polarised, and instead involve an active discussion of what configuration of control is desired. This analysis has the potential to increase understanding of rewilding projects as part of plural conservation strategies, in the UK and globally.

Beautiful butterflies

Butterflies will enjoy a national day of celebration on March 14. Make it a date for children to explore their characteristics and habitats with the help of resources available from the Wildlife Trusts. It's a great excuse to get outdoors and study nature.

Running wild

Evidence from new research commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts underlines that the education system must embrace the power of nature to ensure that children acquire well-being and a sense of responsibility for the planet.

Perspective: The History and Afterlife of Darwin’s Childhood Garden

Abstract This article examines the history and significance of Charles Darwin’s childhood garden at The Mount in Shrewsbury. Unlike the mature Darwin’s garden at Down House, Kent, his childhood garden at The Mount has only recently begun to be restored and it is not well known outside of local or specialist circles. The first part of the article aims to recover the story of the garden for a wider interdisciplinary readership. It builds upon research in the fields of garden history and biography to make a case for the garden’s importance to Darwin’s life and scientific work while also revealing the site’s afterlife as a lost garden and challenging restoration project. The second part of the article argues that the garden can be viewed as an enchanted space that enables us to connect more closely with a positive vision of a romantic, ecologically conscious Darwin who is of particular relevance to our times. I conclude by briefly outlining how these ideas were tested at the Darwin’s Childhood Garden Study Day, organized with Shropshire Wildlife Trust in 2016 following its purchase of part of the site in 2013.