Collington Common: Wildlife-rich grassland in an urban setting

The Wildlife Trusts (the parent body of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and all the other county trusts) launched this national campaign on Thursday April 3rd. The existence of grasslands is generally taken for granted BUT they are surprisingly diverse wildlife habitats AND information collected by the Wildlife Trusts indicates that they are in “catastrophic decline”. Please see the Grasslands campaign pages on the Wildlife Trusts’ website and sign their e-petition to support getting this issue raised with the government!

Robin: A winter garden bird you can count on!

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch was held over the weekend 25 – 26 January this year. This annual winter event gives us a snapshot of bird species, numbers and activity in the UK. Over the years results have built up to show bird population and distribution trends – which are of great help to all organisations involved in nature conservation. The results are now in, with over 7 million birds counted in what is claimed to be the world’s largest wildlife survey! See the Top 10 along with summaries of rarities, which species increased and which decreased on the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch website.

Our printed newsletter is issued at 4-monthly intervals and so suffers from lack of immediacy. So we are now putting greater emphasis on email, which along with our website, is more flexible in terms of disseminating information. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust issues a county-wide monthly email newsletter, and we now send out a monthly South Notts Local Group email. If you are an NWT member living in South Notts please contact Alex Walls (0115 958 8242 or awalls@nottswt.co.uk) to make sure your membership details are up-to-date to receive both items.

Wet and windy weather over the winter means there is still plenty to do on our reserves this spring. All our reserve work parties welcome new volunteers! Working on one of our reserves is a great way to do something practical for nature conservation, get out in the fresh area and meet other people. Please see our spring work parties page or download the fact-sheet for details.

The Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy Implementation Group Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday 15th May at the Gresham Pavillion, West Bridgford from 6:15pm to about 7:30pm. We will report on progress over the last year and look at future developments, as well as ratify the membership of the steering group. We will follow the formal meeting with presentations of local wildlife interest. If you are interested in being on the Steering Group please contact Gordon Dyne (0115 878 4842 or gordon.dyne@gmail.com) for more info as to the commitment (6 meetings per year). Membership is open to anybody who is interested in nature conservation in Rushcliffe. Invite & agenda…

Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy Implementation Group brings together organisations and community based activities involved in protecting and enhancing Rushcliffe’s wildlife resources. Their recent January meeting highlights include the Swift Box Project at Owthorpe, ash & dust fall at Bunny Wood, grant applications for the Green Line and Grantham Canal, and updates on many local wildlife initiatives. Download report (PDF)…