People and wildlife better off with Parklands funding

£6.5 million for RSPB projects

The RSPB’s work to create new, accessible wildlife sites in the Thames Gateway received a £6.5 million boost from the Government’s Parklands funding announced in Margaret Beckett’s speech to the Thames Gateway Forum (26 November 2008).

RSPB Rainham Marshes is already the recipient of significant funding via the Thames Gateway Development Corporations in London and Thurrock. This high profile nature reserve, which is at the heart of the larger Wildspace project (note 1) straddling the London Essex border, will receive over £1.3 million towards the further improvement of the wildlife habitat and the provision of additional visitor facilities (note2). The money will also help to fund the installation of a new wind turbine that will effectively make the Purfleet Environment and Education Centre carbon neutral in its day-to-day operations.

A further £5.2 million has been allocated to RSPB plans for the creation of a new 1500-hectare green landscape at the heart of the South Essex Marshes (note 3), further downstream at Vange Marshes, West Canvey Marsh and Bowers Marsh in Basildon and Castle Point. This also includes a new RSPB visitor centre at Wat Tyler Country Park, Basildon. As at Rainham Marshes, a key element of all these projects is to ensure that they are at the heart of Thames Gateway communities and allow people to get closer to wildlife.

Mike Clarke, the RSPB’s Director of Operations, said, “This is great news for people and wildlife in the Gateway. The Parklands funding will mean that we can further increase the amount of accessible greenspace in South Essex and enhance the quality of life for local people – and for the wildlife!”

“From the outset, the RSPB has maintained that the key to success in the Gateway is to combine a world class economy with a world class environment to enable people to benefit from both. The Parklands funding is now providing significant support to make this happen and ensure that the eco-region can truly live up to its name.”

Notes:
1. Wildspace is an aspirational partnership project linking the important area of marshland and restored landfill site along the Thames between Rainham and Purfleet as one high quality open space. Its objectives are: to create a regional destination of international significance and profile – with the aim of ultimately achieving a million visits per year; to provide access, health, recreation and life-long learning opportunities for local communities; to encourage the social and economic regeneration of the local area; and to protect, enhance and interpret the cultural and natural heritage of the site.The Wildspace partners are: Environment Agency; GLA; London Borough of Havering; London Thames Gateway Development Corporation; Natural England; Port of London Authority; RSPB; Thurrock Council; Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation; Veolia Environmental Services ltd; Veolia ES Cleanaway Havering Riverside Trust.

2. The projects at RSPB Rainham Marshes that will benefits from Parkland funding are:- Wetland enhancement, hydrological control and biodiversity management;

Creation of Discovery Zones that allow visitor to explore different habitats on the reserve

Hide infrastructure;

Environment and Education Centre and classroom improvements, marshland/riverside linkage, lifelong learning equipment;

Creation of cycle and foot bridge over the Mardyke;

Installation of wind turbine.

The development of RSPB Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve would not be possible without the generous support of RSPB members and supporters and the following organisations: Biffaward, the City Bridge Trust, CLG, Countryside Agency (Thames Gateway Growth Areas grant scheme), Defra's Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Defra's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund - through Natural England and Essex County Council, East of England Development Agency, Energy Savings Trust, Environment Agency, Fulham Heating, Heritage Lottery Fund, Landfill Communities Fund of Waste Recycling Group (WRG) administered by the Environmental Body WREN, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Natural England, Rail Link Countryside Initiative, Sita Trust, South Essex Green Grid/Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership, Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Union Railways, Veolia ES Ltd, Veolia ES Cleanaway Havering Riverside Trust and Veolia ES Cleanaway Mardyke Trust.The construction of RSPB Purfleet Environment and Education Centre would not have been possible without the generous support of Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Veolia ES Cleanaway Havering Riverside Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, The City Bridge Trust, and the South Essex Green Grid/Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership.

3. The project on the South Essex Marshes benefiting from Parklands funding are:-

Habitat creation at Vange Marshes

Infrastructure for visitors on West Canvey Marsh

New RSPB visitor centre at Wat Tyler Country Park

Habitat creation and visitor infrastructure on Bowers Marsh.

The RSPB South Essex Marshes projects are funded by: Biffaward; East of England Development Agency; Environment Agency; Interreg IVa; Land Restoration Trust; Natural England: Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust.The key partners are: Basildon District Council; Basildon Renaissance Partnership; Castle Point Borough Council; Castle Point Regeneration Partnership; Defra; East of England Development Agency; Essex County Council; Environment Agency; Land Restoration Trust; Natural England; Port of London Authority; Thames Estuary Partnership; Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership.

Life on Earth

Crossrail deal boosts hopes for ailing wildlife

Material excavated from beneath London for Crossrail’s new cross-capital rail link is to be used to create a huge wildlife reserve in Essex.

Clay, chalk, sand and gravel taken from the construction of Crossrail will be transferred by ship to Wallasea Island, which the RSPB will transform into 1,500 acres – nearly 2.5 square miles - of tidal wildlife habitat.

The agreement links Europe’s largest construction project with the continent’s biggest coastal habitat creation scheme.

The project, to help replace wildlife sites damaged by climate change, was announced a year ago but depended on raising at least £12 million. Plans have altered since and costs have risen.

Graham Wynne, Chief Executive of the RSPB, said: "This is an fantastic agreement that one year ago, we could never have imagined.

"Wallasea will be the RSPB’s most ambitious and innovative habitat recreation scheme. It will create a huge new area for birds and other wildlife whose existing habitats are being damaged and lost because of climate change.

"This is a ground-breaking deal between one of the UK’s leading enterprises and an environmental charity. It is absolutely wonderful news for wildlife."

The Crossrail proposal was given Royal Assent in July. The 73-mile rail link from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, will be Europe’s largest civil engineering project. Crossrail will include works on the existing railway network together with a central underground section from Paddington to Woolwich and Stratford.

Tunnel boring machine

The RSPB will next week submit a planning application to Essex County Council to transform Wallasea Island with Crossrail material.

Public consultation will start in December and Essex County Council is expected to reach a decision in the spring.

Crossrail material will be used to raise land on Wallasea, creating hillocks and dips into which seawater will ebb and flow. Calorie-rich saltmarsh, mudflats and other coastal habitats should attract rare and exotic birds such as spoonbills and black-winged stilts.

Artists impression of Wallasea looking west

Kentish plovers could also make a return, after disappearing from Britain more than 50 years ago. Otters, saltwater fish including herring and flounder, and saltwater plants such as sea lavender and samphire are expected to thrive.

Otter in water and weeds

Crossrail main works should start in 2010 and bored tunnelling in 2011. The RSPB’s work on Wallasea is expected to take between five and 10 years.

Simon Phillips, Crossrail Construction Liaison Manager, said: "We have been looking for a good way to reuse the excavated material from Crossrail for some time and we believe that we could not have found a better home for it than the RSPB scheme at Wallasea Island. Crossrail is the largest civil engineering project in Europe and we believe that by contributing towards Europe’s largest new coastal wetland we will leave an appropriate and fitting legacy."

Dr Andre Farrar, the RSPB’s Protected Areas Manager, said: "From the outset, we recognised that working on Wallasea Island would be technically challenging and would need innovative solutions. With most of the land well below high tide level, just letting the sea in would have brought in too much seawater causing problems with navigation and erosion elsewhere in the Crouch and Roach estuaries. The use of high quality material is the best way of achieving habitat restoration on these low lying coasts."

Images:

Aerial view of Wallasea - RSPB (rspb-images.com)

Tunnel boring machine - Crossrail (rspb-images.com)

Artists impression - RSPB (rspb-images.com)
Otter - Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

THAMES ESTUARY CITED AS ONE OF THE UK’S MOST INTERNATIONALLY IMPORTANT WATERBIRD SITES

Waterbirds in the UK 2006/2007, a report released yesterday [Monday November 17] places the Thames Estuary in the top five internationally important sites in the UK for the high number of waterbirds found there during winter or migration.

The RSPB sees this as further confirmation that the idea of an international airport anywhere in the Thames Estuary is a complete not starter.

The study, which began counting waterbird numbers in the 1960s in response to a proposed Maplin Sands Airport in Essex, found 12 species in the Thames Estuary in internationally important numbers – the highest concentration anywhere in the South East. The diversity of its waterbird species places the estuary in the top five internationally important sites in the UK, out of 143 recorded. [see notes].

Chris Corrigan, RSPB South East’s regional director, said: “If ever Boris needed proof of the environmental cost involved in building a Thames Estuary airport, this report – which actually came about in response to a past airport proposal – is it. For years we have been pointing to the estuary’s importance for countless species and here, in black and white yet again, is proof of just how remarkable the area really is for wildlife.

“The nearby Swale and Medway Estuaries, similarly recognised by this report for their international importance, will also lose out if an airport went ahead. If Boris thinks building an airport anywhere in this area is viable, this report shows he needs to think again.”

The study finds the Thames Estuary to be the only internationally important site in the UK for the Amber Listed ringed plover, and the second most internationally important site in the UK for dunlin, found to be at its lowest level nationally since the 1970s [for full details, see attached table].

Globally significant populations of the UK’s two species of godwit – types of wading bird – were also found in the Thames Estuary. Both show differing trends across the UK, with the black-tailed godwit – a bird of global conservation concern [see notes] – reaching its highest level; while the closely-related bar-tailed godwit, hit its lowest level to date, after a five-year decline.

Teal and shoveler, also declining across the UK, are still found here in internationally important numbers, as are redshank – a type of wader now at its lowest level nationally for 20 years.

Elsewhere in Kent, the Medway Estuary is cited for internationally important populations of avocet, pintail, and black-tailed godwit. The nearby Swale Estuary is noted for wigeon, teal black-tailed godwit and pintail.

Across the South East, 12 key sites were found to host internationally important numbers of waterbirds.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s conservation director, said: “This report shows that our estuaries and wetlands are wonderful places for wildlife and they deserve to remain so.

“These sites, almost like airports, are vital staging posts for international travellers. Although climate change and development threaten these wonderful sites, the RSPB will continue to do everything in its power to protect them.”

“We are blessed with years of information, chronicling the ups and downs of these international travellers. This information must present a wake-up call to protect these sites, rather than provide a record of how important they once were.”

The report identifies climate change – specifically milder winters – as underlying many of the observed changes, as birds shorten their migratory flyways and spend the winter in other countries closer to their breeding grounds.

Dr Debbie Pain, director of conservation at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, said: “WWT reserves offer safe roosts and a plentiful food source to some 200,000 waterbirds every winter. At this time of the year, the UK’s estuaries, marshes and wetlands throng with the arrival of ducks, geese, swans and wading birds, making the UK one of the most important countries in the world for some of these birds.

“However, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the declining numbers of some populations. Conservation action is needed urgently to reverse these declines.”

Dr Andy Musgrove, head of the Wetland Bird Survey at the British Trust for Ornithology, BTO said: “An army of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers has collected counts of wetland birds for over 60 years from around the country. These counts have proved invaluable time after time, whether investigating the potential impacts of industrial developments, assessing the likely effects of climate change or looking into the influence of introduced species on our native wildlife. “
“Here in the UK we are extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated team of skilled volunteers who are willing to give up their time to provide this vital information. It is thanks to them, and the high quality data they provide, that decisions affecting our internationally important populations of waterbirds can be based on sound scientific evidence. ”

David Stroud, JNCC’s Senior Ornithologist, said: “Maintaining the Wetland Bird Survey is essential to obtain good data on the trends of UK’s waterbirds. Information on the status of these birds informs us about pressures not only at local sites here in the UK, but also about changing conditions on distant breeding grounds in the arctic – currently threatened by climate change.”

Research is needed to determine whether declines are due to birds short-stopping (that is, birds wintering closer to their breeding grounds, and hence occurring in the UK in smaller numbers) or whether they are ‘real’ global population declines.
The report is published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO); Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT); Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB); and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

Notes:
1). This year’s report reveals that five sites in the UK are internationally-important for 12 species of bird, or more, these are: the Ribble (16 species); The Wash (16 species); the Humber (12 species); Morecambe Bay (12 species) and the Thames (12 species).

3) The curlew and black-tailed godwit are listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened, which signifies that these species are one step away from global extinction.

4) Dungeness to Pett Levels and Thanet Coast to Sandwich Bay are designated as Special Protection Areas (SPA) under Article Four of the EC Directive on the conservation of wild birds, also known as the Birds Directive. For more information visit http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-162

Images:

Bar-tailed Godwits - Sue Tranter (rspb-images.com)

Wigeon - Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Do you know someone dreaming of a green Christmas?

Christmas is just around the corner and the RSPB’s south Essex team will be out locally during November and December offering the ideal present for Christmas a gift membership of the RSPB.

Alan Shearman from the RSPB says, “Giving an RSPB membership for Christmas is not only a cracking good present that lasts a year, it also benefits birds and wildlife by helping us create new nature reserves like RSPB Vange Marshes and West Canvey Marsh.”

Alan continued “If you would like to give someone RSPB membership this Christmas, or treat yourself to an early Christmas present come along to one of the venues below. You will either be able to take the membership pack away with you and give it to them yourself, or arrange for us to have it delivered in time for Christmas.”

To buy someone the gift of RSPB membership this Christmas, come and meet the RSPB at the following places:

Eastgate Shopping Centre, Basildon. 17 Nov - 23 Nov, 9 am - 5 pm
Meadows Shopping Centre, Chelmsford. 24 Nov – 30 Nov, 9am – 5pm
High Chelmer Shopping Centre, Chelmsford. Dec 1 - 7 9am – 5pm
High Chelmer Shopping Centre, Chelmsford. 15 – 23 Dec 9am – 5pm
Wat Tyler Country Park, Basildon, each weekend during Nov & Dec 10am – 4pm

Gift membership of the RSPB contains a welcome pack full of information and things to do, a choice of welcome gift and the latest magazine. Members will continue to get magazines throughout the year, and there will be opportunities to get involved with the RSPB wherever they live, as well as free entry to over 180 RSPB nature reserves around the country. For children, membership is available for three different age groups.

Notes for editors

1. The RSPB is the UK charity working to secure a healthy environment for birds and all wildlife, helping to create a better world for everyone. We depend on the goodwill and financial support of people like you.


2. RSPB flexible membership; donations average between £5 and £10 per month for adult and family memberships (family membership for up to 2 adults and children). Children's Wildlife Explorers membership; £15 for a child and £25 for 2 or more children at the same address. Payment can be made by direct debit, debit/credit card, cheque and cash. Those paying by direct debit can spread the cost of membership over the year.


3. There are more than 80 events being run by the RSPB in south Essex in autumn and winter 2008/2009. Details on www.rspb.org.uk/ (follow links to find events in Essex) or www.southendrspb.co.uk/ (go to calendar). Alternatively, call 01268 559158 or visit Wat Tyler Country Park for a copy of the programme and to find out more about the events.


4. A new 118 hectares (295 acres) RSPB nature reserve at Vange Marshes near Basildon was announced in December 2005, followed by the acquisition of West Canvey Marshes. Announced in June 2007, RSPB West Canvey Marshes is 256 hectares (640 acres).


5. The RSPB works closely with Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc, Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership and the Green Grid initiative - a long-term project to develop a network of open spaces and green links throughout this part of the Gateway.