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E-newsletter #7 - Summer 2020
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Dear <<First Name>>

Welcome to the latest e-newsletter from Transforming the Trent Valley. 
 
It seems like such a long time since we last updated you with the latest news from Transforming the Trent Valley. Since our last e-newsletter back in May, many of the team have been furloughed or working reduced hours. We are pleased to say that everyone is now back and keen to start making a real difference for communities along the Trent and Dove Valleys!

Most of the team will continue to work from home and conduct meetings via video conference for the foreseeable future as we begin to adapt to the new normal, but there is still plenty to do to keep the team, our partners and volunteers busy over the coming months whilst adhering to all of the governments guidelines on social distancing.
Lockdown Bioblitz
From the middle of May until the start of July when lockdown restrictions were at their tightest, our team produced a wonderful array of engaging content including our weekly 'Lockdown Bioblitz' to encourage families to explore their gardens and local open spaces. Some of these sessions were broadcast live on Twitter. Themes included a garden mini breast hunt, textures, and forms, and discovering nature through colour. We also took part in the Wildlife Trust's #30DaysWild' challenge to do something wild every day for 30 days in June with many of our experience shared on Twitter and Facebook.
Kathryn, our WildChild Officer also kept herself busy producing a range of crafty videos including 'How to make a Dreamcatcher' above to keep the family occupied during Lockdown. Visit our Learn and Discover page for some wonderful craft activities you can do at home.

As we review the impacts that lockdown has had on our projects, there still plenty to share with you including...

In this issue

  1. Living Floodplains Update
  2. Community Grant Application Deadline
  3. Help Protect Out Heritage
  4. A Tribute to Colin Wilkinson
  5. Battling the X-Box through Lockdown
  6. Wildlings and WildFamilies Discover are Back!

Living Floodplains Update

Living Floodplains had a number of projects planned for delivery in summer 2020 but due to the Covid-19 lockdown we were not able to get onto our sites to undertake preliminary assessments and survey work.

As our projects are very much constrained by seasonality, this has meant that some of our work has had to be delayed until 2021. That said, we are now back to work and are planning the delivery of a very exciting river restoration project this August. This will see the reinstatement of a seven-hectare river island through the excavation of a palaeochannel* and will include features such as pools and riffles which are very important habitats for fish, plants and invertebrates.

Once the channel has been excavated, the soil will be used to create reedbed habitat in an adjacent lake. The pictures below show what the site looks like now but in a few weeks, it will look completely different. Keep an eye out for updates in the next newsletter!

A summary of the Living Floodplains Project (TL01) is available on our website.

*A palaeochannel is a remnant of an inactive river or stream channel that has been filled or buried by younger sediment. See Wikipedia for more information.
A view of the location of an old palaeochannel. A seven-hectare river island will be created by the reinstatement of a palaeochannel.
Photo copyright 2020 Melanie Sanders (Transforming the Trent Valley)
A view of the location of an old palaeochannel. A seven-hectare river island will be created by the reinstatement of a palaeochannel.
Photo copyright 2020 Melanie Sanders (Transforming the Trent Valley)

Community Grants Application Deadline

 
We are encouraging community groups to plan and deliver projects that will benefit the natural, cultural, and built heritage within the Transforming the Trent Valley Landscape Partnership scheme area.

Community groups can apply for a grant of up to £2,000 from the Landscape Partnership Scheme. The next deadline for grant applications is August 25, 2020. 

For more information, please visit our Community Grants web page or contact Nicola Lynes, the Community Engagement Officer. Email on nicola.lynes@supportstaffordshire.org.uk or call 07837 127165.
Apply for a Community Grant

Help Protect Our Heritage

Do you have a historic place in the Trent Valley Landscape area that matters to you? We wouldn’t be surprised if you do.

We want you to record and photograph your special features in the Transforming the Trent Valley area so we can update records held by Staffordshire and Derbyshire County Councils. These records, which help to protect sites, need updating as many records have not been updated for years, in some cases decades.

If there’s such a place that you care about, how about visiting it and carrying out a simple condition survey. Once you get the information back to us, we will do the rest. 

We are also keen to hear from community groups who would like to get involved in helping to protect our valuable heritage. 

Please contact Rod Whiteman, Cultural Heritage Officer
Email r.whiteman@staffs-wildlife.org.uk or call 07496 271506 to find out how you can get involved.
Photo copyright 2020 Rod Whiteman (Transforming the Trent Valley)

A Tribute to Colin Wilkinson

Colin Wilkinson was instrumental in the development of Transforming the Trent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme (TTTV) and was part of Central Rivers Initiative (CRI) for many years. He was vice-Chair for both CRI and TTTV.

Colin stepped back from his role with TTTV at the start of 2019 due to changes within the RSPB where he worked for many years, and the distance from his Banbury Office but remained in contact as a nominal Board member.

Colin tragically passed away on 11th July from COVID-19.
Croxall Lakes Nature Reserve in July 2015 by Colin Wilkinson
Croxall Lakes Nature Reserve in July 2015 by Colin Wilkinson
Garry Jones (Chief Executive of Support Staffordshire and TTTV Chair) said "I remember attending an interview for the TTTV and CRI chair role a couple of years back. I had not seen Colin since 2010 having worked at RSPB in the same regional team for three years. He was short in stature but formidable in intellect and judgement. He put me at ease within moments and the interview was rather enjoyable. His clear thinking and fair approach, his sound and logical way of working and his quiet confidence and commitment to nature conservation was inspiring and will be greatly missed by all who knew or worked alongside him".

You can read more about Colin on Mark Avery's blog.

Battling the X-Box through Lockdown

Normally, when faced with crisis, people and communities come together. Yet when faced with a global pandemic we were told to do the complete opposite and avoid each other.

As people were told to work from home, schools closed. Suddenly we were all living in the house 24/7….together! It could have been a fraught time over lockdown, with three children of different ages to look after and no chance of help from friends and family. Rapid descent of the older two was evident as they tried to become nocturnal video gamers.

As my furlough period began, I decided action was needed. Out of bed and into their boots, we took our allotted daily exercise around the local footpath network. Keen to avoid being crowded by others I took the children to almost forgotten rights of way leading deep into the arable landscape that surrounds us.
Countryside walks were allowed as part of our allotted daily exercise.
Photo copyright 2020 Rod Whiteman (Transforming the Trent Valley)
Lockdown was an opportunity for me to focus on the changing seasons. Because travel was at first restricted, we only visited the paths we could walk to from our own door. This limited us to three main routes with a little variation, but it was a great opportunity to watch the transformation of nature, from its dormant winter state, through spring into summer.

In April and May verges were short. Smaller delicate wildflowers grew amongst grass. White Dead-nettle grew taller than it’s better known stinging relative. As the weeks moved on the wildflowers were left behind as the taller nettles, grasses and willowherb overtook them in the annual race to harvest sunlight, flower, attract pollinators and ripen new seed.

Initial reaction to walks was, to say the least, reluctant. The attraction of the PlayStation and X-Box were irresistible for the older children. Snacks and drinks had to be brought along and mid-walk tea-breaks became our norm. There is nothing quite like the sight of your children playing in the woods; one crawling and grabbing at leaves on the ground, his older brother enthusiastically climbing a small oak tree, while their older sister collected seeds for our wildflower garden.

2020 has been a tough time but I know that I’ve gained new insights into nature and wildlife because I’ve had some time to stop, look, listen and smell the wild places around me: and I think my children have discovered their wild-side and a love of nature and as a family, we have become much closer too.
Lockdown has been an opportunity for many families to rediscover the importance of open spaces and the natural world.
Photo copyright 2020 Rod Whiteman (Transforming the Trent Valley)

Wildlings and WildFamilies Discover are back!

Our scheme lead partner Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has been busy behind the scenes formulating the best and safest approach to delivering education sessions as lockdown restrictions are eased.

As a result, we are pleased to announce that our Wildlings and WildFamilies Discover sessions will return this month. 

We are putting the final details together for our first sessions since March so keep an eye on our events page over the next couple of weeks to book your child's place.

Due to social distancing requirements, these sessions will look and feel a bit different to normal. To find out more about what to expect, we have created this video with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.
If you would like to submit an article for inclusion in future editions of this e-newsletter, please contact Steven Cheshire, Senior Interpretation Officer/Communications Officer by email s.cheshire@staffs-wildlife.org.uk.
Visit our website www.thetrentvalley.org.uk
Transforming the Trent Valley is a landscape partnership scheme, led by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a partnership of local and national organisations.

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust - Registered Charity No. 259558. Limited Company No. 959609.
Registered Office: The Wolseley Centre, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST17 0WT
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