April is almost here, and spring is bursting out all over. To see some of the treats nature has in store in the coming month, click on here:

Here is a link our latest what to look out for – What to look out for in April final

Local naturalist Tim Williams is writing monthly nature notes for his Ruddington U3A wildlife group and has kindly allowed us to add them to our web site for the interest and education of a wider audience. Tim has a wide ranging interest in wildlife, but has a particular love of the unusual, the small and the esoteric. Additional diaries will be added as they appear. To see the nature diary follow this link http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/content/?page_id=1314

Despite strong protests from local Wildlife Trusts and other nature conservation organisations the government have authorized a badger cull in Leicestershire. It turns out that the licence actually covers  land in the southern end of Rushcliffe on the Notts Leic border. As a result a significant number of farmers have withdrawn from the Badger vaccination scheme, but even worse it means the government are now culling badgers that they have funded to be vaccinated.

Leaving aside the waste of taxpayers money and the serious doubts about the effectiveness of a badger cull, it is a terrible blow to the Trust officer and many volunteers who have been running the programme for 5-6 years now.

Consideration was given to requesting Judicial Review of the cull by a consortium of local Wildlife Trusts, but unfortunately legal opinion was not very hopefully as to success. So not all of the consortium members were prepared to take the risk , therefore making it more costly for other groups, so this route has been abandoned.

We understand that Badgers have already been killed.

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South Notts Local Group`s regular Winter Wildlife Talks programme is on hold, as it does not appear to be viable under a social distancing regime. But we are delighted to invite you to a FREE online trial of a talk, using Zoom. You will be able to join our expert speaker NEIL GLENN from the comfort of his own home with a slide talk  entitled …..

VALLEY PARADE: The birds and wildlife of the Lower Rio Grande Valley – We might not be able to visit them during travel restrictions, but Neil will help us enjoy the sights and sounds of some of our beautiful avian creatures from our own homes.
The talk is scheduled for Thursday 30th July with logging on from 7.15 pm, and starting at 7.30pm will last  about 60 minutes + breaks for questions. SNG hope you can join us for our experiment, but you will need to reserve an access slot in advance as numbers are limited. So to book a slot please follow this link https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/events/2020-07-30-valley-parade-birds-and-wildlife-lower-rio-grande-valley and you will be sent the access permissions by E Mail.

This is a FREE event because we are experimenting with delivering talks in a new way and it would help us enormously if you would provide feedback via a short survey that we will email to you afterwards. Subject to your feedback, our plan is to organise an online Winter Wildlife Talks Programme and there will be a small charge to access these sessions. This will help us replace some of the vital fundraising activities we usually run to support Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in its work standing up for Wildlife in Rushcliffe and wider Nottinghamshire.

Of course some of you may not have used ZOOM before. For our talks the minimum requirement to see & hear the slide talk is either a PC/Laptop or Tablet with an internet connection and audio. A video cam is not essential for this event and if the E Mail containing the access link is on the same device, you do not need to install ZOOM software. For more details follow this link  Guidance Notes ZOOM – Participant

So, grab a mug of coffee (or something stronger) and settle down for a relaxing evening with Neil, the South Notts Local Group and the Birds of the Rio Grande Valley.

AGM 2019/20 run via Survey Monkey

between 1st May and 17th May 2020

As the conventional face to face AGM was not practical under current social distancing conditions, the South Notts Local Group opted to experiment running the AGM via Survey Monkey. A total of 17 people participated, whilist not brilliant, it is not much less than in conventional AGM`s. The Survey Monkey “meeting” was asked to ratify or otherwise the following set of documents

South Notts Local Group Minutes of 2018/19 AGM  Ratified = 12  Abstentions = 5

South Notts Local Group 2019-20 Chairs Report   Ratified = 16  Abstentions = 1

South Notts Local Group 2019-20 Accounts  Ratified = 15  Abstentions = 2

South Notts Local Group 2020-21 S Committee List  Ratified = 16  Abstentions = 1

The following comments were made (responses in BOLD)

Can we ask members whether they have any views on fund raising activities. One member has been ‘selling’ plants destined for the Spring Fair at her gate asking for donations. – Indeed one member in the absence of the Spring Fair one member has raised circa £75 selling plants at the end of her drive for donations and I believe at least one other member was planning to do similar. The idea has  been mentioned to other Spring Fair plant growers. It has also been suggested we try an run an Autumn “Spring” Fair and practicality of this will be considered at the next Local  Group Committee Meeting GD

We had a Silent Auction many years ago which raised a considerable sum (can we find out how much from financial records?). Such an event would have to be organised at least a year ahead and involves a lot of work and the problem of storage of auction items could rule it out. However, it might be worth considering because it has the potential to raise a substantial sum. – this idea will be considered at the next SNG committee meeting GD

What about online quizzes or activity packs that could be downloaded for a donation. I’m sure some parents would welcome activities to keep their children busy and stimulated during the lockdown. – again this idea will be raised at the next SNG committee meeting. But it will also be raised with the Local WATCH Group and also ask if the central Notts Wildlife Trust are looking at anything like this. GD

Update on Social Distancing – SNG is actively considering at how to continue activities in an environment where social distancing is likely to be around for a significant period of time, at least six months and very likely more. We are moving to committee meetings via ZOOM and will be considering what we might be able to do about walks & talks, fund raising etc in a challenging environment.

Any questions/views contact gordon.dyne@gmail.com or 0115 8784842

Back again for a third year, come along for a fun evening of general knowledge quizzing and also help raise funds for the work of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Once again we are being generously hosted by the Poppy & Pint at Pierrepont Rd, Lady Bay, West Bridgford NG2 5DX on Sunday 2nd Feb (7pm for a 7.30pm start). As in previous years teams are a maximum of 4 persons per table with an entrance charge of £3.50 per head. Tables are limited so book in advance to avoid disappointment, by contacting Gordon Dyne on gordon.dyne@gmail.com or 0115 8784842.

South Notts Local Group (NWT) wish to acknowledge the support of Poppy & Pint (Castle Rock Brewery), ASDA, Nottingham Cricket Club and Notts County FC.

It may come as a surprise for some to know that despite being cared for by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust for almost six decades, Attenborough Nature Reserve still belongs to aggregates company CEMEX UK.

Following intensive negotiations with the company NWT have secured an opportunity to buy the reserve. So, with the backing of the general public, funders and our corporate members to name but a few, we need to raise £1 million to safeguard its future for people and wildlife.  As at the start of December some £60,000 has been donated and NWT has a grant application to the Landfill Communities Fund for £750,000 and expect to hear about this shortly.

This is why NWT have launched the Attenborough Nature Reserve Lifeline Appeal, backed by none other than Sir David Attenborough himself. Follow this link for more information and how to donate  –  https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/lifelineappeal

This link Wildlife Watch programme Autumn 2019.pub  is for the Rushcliffe Country Park Wildlife WATCH autumn programme for children between 8 and 13 who are interested in all things wildlify.