Funding Boost for Warwickshire’s Woodland
Woodland wildlife in Warwickshire is
set to benefit from a £92,503 funding boost from SITA Trust.
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has today
received this grant to enhance wildlife in the ancient woods of the
Princethorpe area. These special woodlands form one of the
Trust's key project areas - known as a Living Landscape area - and
Princethorpe is the most important area for ancient woodlands and
woodland wildlife in Warwickshire.
SITA Trust provides funding through
the Landfill Communities Fund. Funding is available for
community and environmental groups to carry out a range of
improvement projects.
The funding will enable volunteers and landowners to make a real
difference to the quality of the countryside between Cubbington and
Coombe Country Park. Some of the woods in this area, such as Ryton
and Wappenbury, are Warwickshire Wildlife Trust nature reserves,
already managed for rare plants and butterflies such as the Wood
White and Purple Emperor.
Now the project will bring further improvements to these woods as
well as promoting
conservation management in other woods across the area. The
funding will enable the restoration of 12 hectares of woodland and
will help the Trust and landowners to plant up and restore
hedgerows.
The project will also improve our knowledge and understanding of
the surrounding network of hedgerows, some of which could have a
medieval origin. Old hedgerows are key features because they act as
important links between the woodlands - and so a major survey to
identify and map the network of hedges will be launched as part of
the project.
This will not only identify the best surviving wildlife hedges but
also reveal where there are opportunities for hedge restoration and
improvement - such as gap-planting or hedge-laying.
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust will recruit and train volunteers to
take part in the surveys and there will be opportunities for
helping to manage the woods and hedges. The Trust is very keen to
work with landowners who are interested in finding out more about
their hedgerows or who already have information available that they
can share.
Gina Rowe, Head of Living Landscapes for Warwickshire Wildlife
Trust said:
"We are delighted that SITA Trust is supporting this
project. It is a major step towards
enriching the wildlife of this wonderful woodland
landscape."
Steven Falk, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust's Woodlands Restoration
Officer said:
"This is a great opportunity for people to help to shape this
incredibly valuable patch of Warwickshire and learn more about the
wildlife and the history of the local landscape. Please get
in touch if you'd like to take part in the project."
Jools Granville of SITA Trust said "SITA Trust is committed to
supporting projects that
enrich nature, enhance communities and engage people and to date
we have funded
more than 3000 such projects to a combined value of over £85
million. We hope that
this fantastic project will provide significant benefits for
wildlife, volunteers and the
wider public!"
- Ends -
For more information please contact: Woodlands Restoration
Officer: Steven Falk E-mail: Steven.Falk@wkwt.org.uk,
tel: 024 7630 8998
Notes to the
editor
For information on how to apply for funding from SITA Trust call
(01454) 262910 or visit www.sitatrust.org.uk
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
1.
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is the leading local voluntary
charity which works for people and wildlife in Warwickshire,
Coventry and Solihull. The Trust looks after 56 reserves, we
are supported by more than 23,000 members and 500 volunteers.
We promote a better natural environment for local wildlife and
local people as part of our aim to create a living landscape in the
West Midlands. We have a wide range of conservation activities
taking place throughout the year. For further details or to
get a copy of our leaflet "Wild Events and Activities" please
contact us on 024 7630 2912, drop into the Trust's Visitor Centres
at Brandon Marsh Nature Centre and Parkridge Centre in Brueton
Park, Solihull, or visit our website for more information
www.warwickshire-wildlife-trust.org.uk.
2. The Wildlife Trusts
(TWT) wildlifetrusts.org There are 47 individual Wildlife Trusts
covering the whole of the UK. All are working for an
environment rich in wildlife for everyone. We have more than
800,000 members including 150,000 members of our junior branch
Wildlife Watch. Our vision is to create A Living Landscape
and secure Living Seas. We manage 2,256 nature reserves
covering more than 90,000 hectares and every year we advise
thousands of landowners and organisations on how to manage their
land for wildlife. We also run marine conservation projects around
the UK, collecting vital data on the state of our seas and
celebrating our amazing marine wildlife. Every year we work
with thousands of schools and our nature reserves and visitor
centres receive millions of visitors. Each Wildlife Trust is
working within its local communities to inspire people about the
future of their area: their own Living Landscapes and Living
Seas.
SITA
Trust
* SITA Trust is an independent funding body set
up in 1997 to provide funding through the Landfill Communities
Fund. To date SITA Trust has supported more than 3000 projects to a
combined value of over £85 million.
* SITA Trust funding enhances communities in
England, Scotland and Wales by supporting community driven projects
to improve vital public recreation facilities such as village
halls, community centres, sport, green spaces and play areas.
* SITA Trust funding enriches nature by
supporting biodiversity conservation projects in England's 9
Biodiversity Regions. Projects must focus on species or habitats
identified in the UK BAP process.
* SITA Trust receives its funding through HM
Government's Landfill Communities Fund. Funding is donated by SITA
UK, one of the nation's largest recycling and resource management
companies.
The Landfill Communities Fund
1. Landfill tax was
introduced in 1996 to encourage more sustainable ways of managing
waste.
2. The landfill tax legislation also brought
about the Landfill Communities Fund. This scheme allows landfill
operators to voluntarily donate 5.5% of their landfill tax
liability to environmental improvement projects.
3. The Landfill Communities Fund is
independently regulated on behalf of HM Government's Revenue &
Customs by ENTRUST.
For media enquiries about SITA Trust please contact Jools
Granville, Communications Manager on 01454 262940 mobile 07870
253048 or email jools.granville@sitatrust.org.uk