Author: fertilitycult

Since its creation in 2015, Wyrd Harvest Press -the publishing arm of Folk Horror Revival has charitably donated all of the profits from sales of its creations on its online bookshop  www.lulu.com/spotlight/andypaciorek
to various projects undertaken by the The Wildlife Trusts.

They have just been in touch to update us on the progress of some of those projects.

 

Northumberland Wildlife Trust

1. £771.92 for Living Seas Appeal.  The total amount raised on this appeal was £7,745.17 (between July 2014 and last donation on June 2016). The appeal has concluded, with an appeal for further funding for a new marine project possibly coming soon. This project has focussed primarily on education and awareness of how amazing our living seas in the north of England are and how people can discover more about them, and support them going forward.

 

2. £771.92 for Red Squirrel conservation work. This is an ongoing project badged as RSNE (Red Squirrels Northern England). It, along with numerous other work by The Wildlife Trusts to preserve Red Squirrel populations, is a successful project with promising results in latter years regarding the actual number of reds. As well as the important conservation work carried out by the Trust and partners, it also encourages people to support the project by reporting Red Squirrel sightings in their local area.  In the financial year 2017/18, Northumberland Wildlife Trust received approximately £13,000 in donations towards the project.

 

Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust

We would like to send a thank you to Folk Horror Revival for their kind contribution to our Help the Hedgehog appeal last year.

 

A recent poll voted the hedgehog to be Britain’s most popular species with the public, but numbers of this once common animal have declined seriously in recent years due to the reduction of hedgerows, changes in agricultural practices and changes to suburban gardens and there are now thought to be less than a million left in the UK.

 

Our campaign was launched by renowned wildlife expert and hedgehog fan Hugh Warwick and successfully delivered several hedgehog-focused initiatives including some habitat work, restoring hedgerows and urban woodland; raising awareness among gardeners of the benefits they derive from hedgehogs and how to encourage them; installing hedgehog-friendly fencing at one of our nature reserves (with gaps underneath to allow hedgehogs in and out) and a citizen science project to spot and record hedgehogs.

 

Below a SRWT ecologist is setting a hedgehog tunnel to record the nocturnal wanderings of an urban hedgehog – basically a tunnel containing an ink pad and a sheet of paper. And on the right, what was found the following morning!

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust

Thank you for your support of our Pollinators Appeal in 2016. This appeal was successfully concluded and the funds raised were used to support a variety of work aimed at protecting the habitats needed by these essential insects. For example:

• We have been working with a local landowner to convert arable land to a wildflower meadow to provide additional nectar sources for bees and other insects.
• We are campaigning for an outright ban on harmful pesticides (particularly neonicotinoids) which have been shown to disorientate and confuse bees seeking food.
• We now manage over 50 nature reserves, including meadows, heathland and downland, all part of the essential mix of habitats our landscape requires to support a wide range of insects and pollinators.
• We hope to inspire others to support wildlife too. Simply planting bee-friendly flowers can support pollinators and can make a big difference even in a small space whether that’s a garden, allotment or window box.

 

Our current appeal has turned our attention to the protection of the marine environment. We are raising match funding for a Heritage Lottery Funded project called Secrets of the Solent. We want to vastly improve local awareness and appreciation for our seas and are looking to tackle and improve issues like plastic pollution and habitat damage. We will do this by working with local people and businesses in a variety of different ways. You can find out more here: http://www.hiwwt.org.uk/SecretsoftheSolent

Devon Wildlife Trust

The River Otter Beaver Trial crowdfunding appeal has concluded and raised just over £30,000 from more than 600 donors, which we feel is a fantastic result for the project. We are extremely grateful to Folk Horror Revival for their generous donation that formed part of this fundraising effort. Those donations helped to boost our other fundraising from individuals, corporate supporters, and charitable trusts – all of which have made a massive difference to the work with beavers, local landowners and communities. An overview of the project’s current status is given below, and please also see the photos attached.

 

• The River Otter Beaver Trial (ROBT) is now about two-thirds through its five year duration, and is indicating that the return of beavers to the English landscape can be carried out successfully and with generally positive impacts on the communities and wildlife that occupy the valley.
• The beaver population is in a healthy state and growing steadily, with approximately 26 beavers living in eight family groups. The number of territories suggests that the larger family groups have dispersed and separated, and young pairs are forming new territories. They are still causing relatively few conflicts, with those that occur being mitigated successfully using techniques widely used elsewhere. Landowners are constructive and open-minded in almost all cases, which enables techniques to be trialled and refined, and experience gained.
• Public interest in the project and beaver ecology remains high. This is now a major element of the trial, which we believe helps to prepare the way for other projects in the future, locally and nationally. In total, since the start of the Trial we have given 170 presentations to approximately 10,700 people, an additional 40 guided walks along the River Otter to about 1,000 people, and a further 52 walks around the Enclosed Beaver Project in West Devon to around 500 people.
• For more details, please see our website at www.devonwildlifetrust.org/river-otter-beavers.

 

Devon Wildlife Trust are also currently operating two other appeals:

• The Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat project is making good progress with its aim of reversing the decline of this nationally threatened species, working with landowners and communities to create more bat-friendly habitat and raise awareness of the public can help Greater Horseshoes. See http://devonbatproject.org/ for more details.
• The Freshwater Pearl Mussel project is a partnership project helping to conserve this rare and endangered species that is easily-overlooked, but vital species for our rivers’ health. The work involves a captive breeding programme that is showing promising results so far, as well as river restoration and engagement of local communities. See www.devonwildlifetrust.org/freshwater-pearl-mussel-project for more details.

On behalf of all my colleagues at these various Wildlife Trusts, thank you again for your wonderful support of these projects. There is such an incredible variety of critical work within this list that simply wouldn’t be possible without support such as yours.

Best wishes,Sam

 Sam Gee