News
Home : News : Latest Information
Latest Information
6th May, 2010 to 7th Jun, 2010
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust has acquired a new reserve - located in the picturesque Golden Valley, The Parks at Dulas Court represents one of the finest unimproved meadows in Herefordshire. The Dulas Brook runs through the 44 acre site, which is host to species such as the white clawed crayfish and otter. The meadow has been in environmental stewardship for ten years and contains a diverse flora. The reserve is due to be formally opened in the summer, and the Wildlife Trust is continuing to fundraise to cover the cost of the acquisition.
Read more news from the May e-bulletin
Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM) works to influence the development and delivery of government policies and programmes in the West Midlands on behalf of twelve central government departments, by working with relevant organisations to meet local needs. GOWM is government in the region, acting as the ears, eyes and voice for central government, and reflecting back to Whitehall the interests, concerns and successes of the West Midlands to inform policy development.
As part of its role, GOWM works to ensure that the region's natural assets are protected and that environmental systems are working effectively, and to create places where people really want to live and work. For example GOWM negotiates Local Area Agreement targets with local government, which include targets on climate change, flooding and biodiversity, and GOWM works with partners such as Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Sustainable Development Officers Network to provide support for delivery of these targets.
GOWM also chairs and leads the Defra Agenda Group (DAG) in the West Midlands, which coordinates delivery on the natural environment. DAG is currently working on a project to articulate natural environment priorities for the region that can then be used to influence regional and sub-regional policy-making, develop regional and sub-regional programmes, drive investment choices and coordinate and inform the work of the key agencies (Advantage West Midlands, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, Natural England, Animal Health and GOWM).
Other GOWM work related to biodiversity includes working with partners to help secure European funding for the natural environment, to stimulate the development of landscape-scale projects; working with other Government Offices and Defra to influence the development of the ecosystems approach, for example the recently produced Natural Environment Narrative; sitting on the England Biodiversity Group, the steering group for the England Biodiversity Strategy, and chairing its Local and Regional Strategic Implementation Group.
Read more news from March e-bulletin
Helping farmers apply for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) forms an important part of the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group’s (FWAG) work. In the past year FWAG has completed 92 HLS applications for farmers in the West Midlands - covering just over 12,500 hectares, these schemes have delivered a wide range of benefits to Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species. Across the region 69 schemes have created summer and winter food and nesting habitat for specific BAP species of farmland birds, and 41 ponds have been created or restored to benefit great crested newts. Further schemes have restored broadleaved woodland on ancient woodland sites to benefit dormice, wetland has been created for waders and wildfowl, species rich grassland has been restored and managed including acid grassland, and moorland and blanket bog have been restored.
Read more news from the Feb e-bulletin
The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country is one of 47 local Wildlife Trusts working to make the United Kingdom a better place for people and wildlife. With almost 800,000 members, the Wildlife Trusts are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the full range of the UK’s habitats and species, whether they be in the countryside, in cities or at sea. Collectively they manage over 2,000 nature reserves covering more than 90,000 hectares. Locally the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country works to conserve biodiversity, improve the environment and raise awareness and understanding of wildlife issues. Some of the activities that the Trust is involved in include: education - engaging with young people and schools through the delivery of National Curriculum-related work programmes and extended school activities; strategic conservation - monitoring and advising on plans and proposals, liaising with land managers on best practice for wildlife, undertaking biodiversity action, and managing an extensive database of the region's flora and fauna; and promotion - increasing the profile and awareness of urban biodiversity and sustainability through the organisation of events, and local and regional media exposure.
Read more news from the December e-bulletin
Change Adaptation and Biodiversity in the West Midlands
Seminar held on the 25th November 2009
Organised jointly by the West Midlands Climate Change Adaptation Partnership
and the West Midlands Biodiversity Partnership
Click on title to download pdf of presentation. Please note that photos should not be used without contacting the presenter as they hold the copyright for these.
Additional information on the UK Environmental Change Network
Monitoring at a regional level, John Walker, Senior Research Analyst Regional Observatory
National Phenology Network, Tim Sparks, Woodland Trust
Monitoring changes using invertebrates, Duncan Sivell, Biodiversity Action manager, Buglife
The writer up of the open discussion session on monitoring including next Steps will be available shortly
RSPB Ditcher in Action creating new wetlands 
Copies of e-bulletins available here
Click here for December e-bulletin
Click here for November e-bulletin
Click here for October e-bulletin
Click here for the September e-bulletin
Click here the August e-bulletin
Click here for the July e-bulletin
Click here for the June e-bulletin,
The Partnership e-bulletin is distributed regularly and contains information on the work of the partnership, partners activities, events and other interesting articles and informative pleas click here to register for e-bulletin
WATER & WETLANDS IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
Regional Workshop held on June 2nd
Click on the title below for a copy of the presentation
- Environment Agency Regional Biodiversity Plan - Andrew Heaton, EA
- Water Framework Directive - Conor Doherty, EA
- Million Ponds Project - Dawn Isaac, Pond Conservation
- Meres and Mosses - Robert Duff
2008/9 Annual Report
for a hard copy please contact Audrey Mcgrath (Audrey.mcgrath@naturalengland.org.uk)
West Midlands Annual Biodiversity Conference
The presentations from the Conference are now available.
Introduction (Mike Kinghan, Chair of WMBP)
Olwen Dutton (Chief Executive, Regional Assembly/WMLGA)
Launch of the State of the Natural Environment (Roger Owen, Regional Director Natural England)
Championing Biodiversity, (Councillor Adrian Darby, Wychavon District Council) (Text)
Developing a new community wetland, (Jim Burgin, Wychavon District Council)
Working with social services, (Coner Kretsch (Director Cohab Initiative)
Making it happen through the biodiversity levy, A case study from Bedfordshire
Council, (Heather Webb, Bedslife Coordinator)
Why we signed the Pledge, (Mark Meredith, Mayor of Stoke on Trent)
Data and the Duty, (Dave Lowe, Principal Ecologist, Warwickshire County Council)