Work for Devon Wildlife

Devon Wildlife Trust is looking for friendly, enthusiastic and confident people to take on a new challenge in 2015 and help Devon's biggest wildlife conservation charity recruit new members. The Membership Recruiter position has never been more valuable to DWT, as membership is the only reliable source of income for the charity to be able to continue helping wildlife in Devon. DWT's 49 nature reserves across Devon provide habitats for a host of threatened and rare species including dormice, otters and greater horseshoe bats. Membership allows the charity to continue the habitat management for this precious wildlife to thrive in Devon. DWT's Membership lead, Rachael Fielder-Pine, said, "This is a great opportunity for anyone who loves talking to people, working outside, and cares about wildlife and Devon. Our recruiters approach visitors to venues, such as garden centres and county shows in Devon, and talk to them about the Trust's valuable work, with a view to securing a regular monthly donation. In return, membership recruiters can expect flexible working hours, competitive rates of pay, and of course, the nice feeling that they are making a real contribution to the wellbeing of wildlife in Devon!" DWT Membership Recruiter, Jo Forsyth, said, "The role is flexible and varied, you're outdoors often, and you get to attend some really nice events and venues, whilst enthusing people about the environment and wildlife and DWT's role in looking after it. For me it's about capturing people's interest in and concern for nature and turning that in to valuable support for DWT." 

Hours are flexible and earning dependent on hours worked. Basic pay is £8.50 per hour, or 38% commission of the annual subscription value, including gift aid, of each confirmed membership, whichever is the highest at the end of each month. An additional 10% commission can be earned for exceeding monthly targets. For more information about the role, and how to apply, visit www.devonwildlifetrust.org/job-vacancies/

Photo: Jo Forsyth, Membership Recruiter © Devon Wildlife Trust copyright DWT (All rights reserved)

Drop-in to discuss next steps for beavers

People are being invited to a public drop-in session in Ottery St Mary to hear what the next steps will be for the town's local wild beavers.  The drop-in is being held on Friday 6 February between 3pm and 7.30pm at The Institute, Ottery St Mary, East Devon. The organisers are keen to stress that everyone is welcome. A small population of beavers is living on the River Otter close to the East Devon town of Ottery St Mary. The animals recently made national news headlines when Natural England decided to grant Devon Wildlife Trust with a licence which would allow the animals to live on the river while the charity monitored their impacts on the local community, landscape and economy. The River Otter Beaver Trial, as it is known, will last for the next five years. Representatives from Natural England will be at the drop-in session to discuss the temporary removal of the beavers which is being planned to ensure that they are healthy. Devon Wildlife Trust staff will also be on hand to discuss how the River Otter Beaver Trial will work over the coming years.
Devon Wildlife Trust's Peter Burgess said: 'It is very good news that we have been granted a licence to release the beavers back on the river once they have been proven to be healthy. Natural England and Devon Wildlife Trust are hosting this meeting to answer any questions the local community may have about the next steps of the project.'
The Institute can be found in Ottery Street, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1HD. Parking at the Institute is very limited, but there are public car parks nearby.
Devon Wildlife Trust

Government cuts back on ambitions for marine protection

The long-awaited consultation on the next stages of Marine Conservation Zone designation in English and non devolved waters is launched today.  But with only 23 out of a possible 37 sites included, The Wildlife Trusts are frustrated at the lack of ambition shown by the Government.

Joan Edwards, The Wildlife Trusts’ Head of Living Seas, said:  “We are bitterly disappointed that the Government has opted to consult on just 23 new Marine Conservation Zones and that some very important areas for marine wildlife  have been dropped from the list.  We are particularly frustrated that a number of sites – including in the Irish Sea - have been removed because of the likely ‘economic cost’. 

“The Wildlife Trusts believe this is a missed opportunity to achieve longer-term gains that will benefit marine biodiversity and fishing.  Ultimately an economic activity that is based on over-exploitation, beyond the ability of the resource to renew itself, is not sustainable and has no long-term future. 

In Devon the news of two new recommended MCZs was met with a mixed reaction by Devon Wildlife Trust. While the news of more protection for North Devon’s marine wildlife was welcomed, The Trust reflected on missed opportunities elsewhere. Devon Wildlife Trust’s Richard White said:

“We are pleased that Government has recognised the value of North Devon’s marine life by recommending two areas for protection.  These two new proposed Marine Conservation Zones at Bideford to Foreland Point and Hartland Point to Tintagel are home to a stunning variety of marine life. Their collections of corals and sponges form a beautiful backdrop to shoals of colourful fish.  All will benefit from the protection provided by becoming Marine Conservation Zones.”

“At this stage today’s proposals for new MCZs are just recommendations and the Government is now asking people their views on whether they should become a reality. We’d urge anyone who cares about the future of the South West’s marine life to back these MCZs and take part in the government’s consultation process. Responding doesn’t take long via Defra’s website. It gives everybody an opportunity to shape the future of our precious marine wildlife.”

“While today’s announcement provides some good news we are very disappointed that we still don’t have the network of areas of protection that our seas need. We hope that this will be remedied by Government in the future.”

Professor of Marine Conservation at the University of York, Callum Roberts, says: "The decision not to create protected areas in the Irish Sea on the grounds of cost to fisheries is ironic and misguided. Irish Sea fish stocks are among the most heavily overexploited in the UK and are now on their last gasp.  Two centuries of fishing with destructive trawls and dredges has stripped the seabed of its fish and once-rich habitats like oyster and horse mussel reefs.  It will remain impoverished without protected areas; it has a chance of recovery with them.  There is no in between."

The North West Wildlife Trusts’ Marine Conservation Officer, Dr Emily Baxter, said: “The muddy habitats of the Irish Sea are as diverse as the Amazon rainforest and coral reefs.  There are also living reefs that support a wealth of species from sponges, crabs, lobsters, and anemones to an array of seaweeds.  At least 30 species of shark and a dozen species of cetacean (whales, dolphins and porpoises) live in the Irish Sea, including the basking shark, the world's second largest fish.

“By postponing action to protect these areas yet again, the Government is leaving the Irish Sea open to an environmental disaster. 

“Supporting sustainable fisheries, instead of encouraging overfishing and habitat destruction, would increase fish landings, generate more income and create more jobs in the sector.  Decision-makers need to think of sustainable fisheries as an opportunity for job creation and increasing the value of fisheries rather than an environmental principal that comes at a price to the industry.  Marine Conservation Zones are a vital part of this process.”

Joan Edwards explains:  “Only this week, the Government’s Natural Capital Committee published a report which shows that investment in nature makes obvious economic sense.  The Government must develop a comprehensive strategy to secure the recovery of nature in a generation.  This must include the designation of a well managed and ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas.” 

The Wildlife Trusts will be responding to the Government consultation and plan to publish our recommendations online in due course.  We will be urging the public to have their say and respond to the consultation to help ensure no further potential Marine Conservation Zones are lost. See www.wildlifetrusts.org/mcz

Marine Conservation Zones protect threatened undersea habitats such as eelgrass meadows, rocky reefs and deepwater canyons – and the animals that live in and around them.  These important sanctuaries for marine life remain at risk until more areas offering effective protection are established.  Marine Conservation Zones should protect the species and habitats found within them from the most damaging and degrading of activities such as scallop dredging and trawling, whilst mostly allowing sustainable activity to continue. 

Valley of Rocks, North Devon Photo copyright Nigel Hicks (All rights reserved)

Of the 37 sites listed below, 23 are now included in the current Marine Conservation Zones consultation, which runs for 12 weeks from Friday 30 January 2015.  The 23 sites are shown in bold black (we’re disappointed the ones in red have been dropped – for site descriptions, please see attached document):

Coquet to St Mary’s	Farne’s East	Fulmar	Runswick Bay	Compass Rose
Holderness Inshore	Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds	Swale Estuary	Dover to Deal	Dover to Folkestone
Offshore Brighton	Offshore Overfalls	Utopia	Bembridge	Norris to Ryde
Yarmouth to Cowes	The Needles	Studland Bay	Western Channel	Mounts Bay
Lands End	North-West of Jones Bank	Greater Haig Fras	Newquay and the Gannel	Hartland Point to Tintagel
Bideford to Foreland Point	North of Lundy	South of Celtic Deep	Celtic Deep	East of Celtic Deep
Mid St Georges Channel	North St Georges Channel	Slieve Na Griddle	South Rigg	West of Walney
Mud Hole	Allonby Bay

The centre-piece of the landmark Marine & Coastal Access Act (2009) legislation was the commitment to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas throughout UK seas; a response to the widely acknowledged crisis facing the health, diversity and productivity of our seas.  While this Parliament has seen the first designations, we remain a long way from the full network.  

127 recommended Marine Conservation Zones were chosen after two years of hard work by more than one million stakeholders from all sectors of the marine environment and at a cost of over £8.8 million to Government.  Twenty seven Marine Conservation Zones were designated in November 2013 as a first step towards achieving an ecologically coherent network of areas which will protect and help to restore the marine environment.  In February, Defra released a list of 37 sites, recommended by experts and stakeholders, to be considered for a second tranche of Marine Conservation Zones.  The excluded areas were identified by the statutory nature advisors as necessary to help fill current gaps in the network of protected areas at sea and achieve ecological coherence.  The Government is committed to a third tranche, to complete the network, by 2016.