Green Shoots in Cheshire – Ben Gregory

Since I came into post in November 2007 I feel as though we have made excellent progress working with our members and partner organisations ensuring we continue to work towards meeting the local biodiversity targets set out in the Countdown program, Cheshire’s local biodiversity action plan.

Below is more information about our current work in Cheshire.

Click on the image above to view a short film about our current work in Cheshire.

Green Shoots in Cheshire Annual Report

  Green Shoots in Cheshire Project November 2008 – November 2009

  Green Shoots in Cheshire Project November 2007 – November 2008

Cheshire Newsletter

Document title	Document date
Green Shoots Cheshire - Newsletter 6 Winter 2009/10	11 January 2010
Green Shoots Cheshire - Newsletter 5 Summer 2009	30 September 2009
Green Shoots Cheshire - Newsletter 4 Spring 2009	9 June 2009
Green Shoots Cheshire - Newsletter 3 Winter 2008/09	21 January 2009
Green Shoots Cheshire - Newsletter 2 Summer 2008	1 August 2008
Green Shoots Cheshire - Newsletter 1 Spring 2008	1 June 2008

Water voles; surveying, mink control and habitat management

 

With Richard Gardner taking up the post of North West Lowlands Water Vole Project Officer based at Cheshire Wildlife Trust the water vole work has come on in leaps and bounds. The first job was to survey the River Gowy for signs of water vole. This was done in the spring/ summer of 2008 through the help of BASC members and other landowners with land bordering onto the Gowy. We then set about using funds kindly granted by Chester Zoo to build mink rafts which would be subsequently be deployed on the river. In October 2008 we deployed a total of ten mink rafts and I’m very pleased to say we have already had success. Within days of the rafts being on the river we were detecting signs of mink. The relevant rafts were then equipped with live capture traps and so far we have despatched two mink. Not bad considering the rafts had only been in operation for just over a week. We are also working with BASC members and The Cheshire Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) to encourage landowners to manage ditches adjacent to the Gowy for water voles and hopefully by next year we’ll have created some superb habitat which will encourage this once common mammal back to one of Cheshire’s waterways.

Dormouse

 

Since November 2007 I have erected a total of 60 Dormouse nest tubes throughout the county with the help of BASC members. I am currently working on a new initiative with the Forestry Commission, Cheshire Wildlife Trust and FWAG called the Delamere Dormouse Project. With the last record of Dormouse in Cheshire dating back to 1910, the projects main aim is to survey Delamere Forest and its surrounding area by use of nest tubes and boxes in order to establish whether Cheshire is in fact still home to this once common woodland mammal. As yet we haven’t found any new evidence but as soon as we do find anything I’ll let you know.

Sandstone Ridge Econet Partnership (SREP)

The Sandstone Ridge Econet Partnership (SREP) is an initiative led by Cheshire County Council which works with local people, businesses and communities along the ridge which comprises 20 square km of woodland, heathland, peatland and a chain of hill top Iron Age Forts between the towns of Frodsham and Bickerton.

Through the Sandstone Ridge Econet Partnership run by Cheshire County Council Cheshire I have successfully bid for 75% funding towards the cost of habitat improvement work on a shoot in the south of the county. The landowner and shoot captain wanted to plant 8,000 square metres of broadleaved woodland, create two ponds, initiate a traditional 7 year rotation coppice in an area of woodland that has over the years become neglected and overgrown with bracken and install ten bat boxes in an area of woodland classed as a Site of Biological Importance (SBI). The grant application was successful and by the time you’re reading this the work will be well underway. The work will help to improve a little corner of Cheshire that had been left unmanaged for years into a prime shooting and wildlife area. Watch out for an article in Shooting and Conservation in the New Year for more information on the work being done.

Partnership working

Green Shoots can provide access through BASC members in Cheshire, to 27% of the total land area in the county. This provides opportunities to introduce trained surveyors to carry out valuable survey work in the wider countryside and contribute to creating survey data where previously none existed. An example of this is the work being undertaken on Otters at the moment. Accessing land adjacent to the Rivers and watercourses throughout the County is paramount in order to gain valuable information on this nationally important mammal. Through Green Shoots we can gain access to BASC members land so that trained surveyors can survey stretches of water in order to establish whether or not otters are present.

Should any members wish to join Green Shoots Cheshire, or have moved/ expanded shooting grounds then contact me so I can send out survey booklets and maps. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like any more information about the projects running and the ways in which you can get involved.

The Green Shoots Cheshire project works with a wide variety of partners under the Cheshire region Biodiversity Partnership which coordinates and delivers conservation action to help safeguard the Cheshire region’s most vulnerable wildlife. For more information on the partnership click here or on the icon below.

 

Contact: 01244 573 024       Email: Ben Gregory

Dormouse and Water vole images courtesy of PTES