Local Action in Cornwall

Wild Penwith hedge survey commences 7 July 2011

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Wild Penwith hedge survey commences  7 July 2011
This summer 22 local residents are volunteering their time to Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Wild Penwith project, helping to gather information on the wildlife, history and landscape value of the traditional Cornish hedge.  The stone-faced earth hedge bank is perhaps one of the most appealing features of the West Penwith landscape, and is frequently covered with an abundance of wildflowers, such as foxgloves, bluebells and red campion.

Jan Dinsdale, Wild Penwith Project Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust says, “The response to our call for local people to get involved in surveying hedges was amazing. We ran a training day with the help of local hedge experts Robin Menneer and Sarah Carter, and we now have a fully trained team of Wild Penwith hedge survey volunteers who will be out surveying on West Penwith’s farms this summer.”

The volunteers will be recording a wide range of information on each hedge they survey, including: bugs and beetles, sizes of mammal holes, numbers of tree species and whether any of the trees are ancient. They will also be looking at the style and structure of the stone-faced hedge bank and searching back through old maps to date the hedges. 

Hedge survey volunteer, Valerie Forgan from Sancreed, says, “I am really enjoying getting started with our first hedge surveys. It’s a lovely opportunity to spend some time outdoors and work with friends.  Having almost taken Cornish hedges for granted, it is amazing to find out what hidden wildlife they contain.”

Mandy Boyd, Wild Penwith Hedge Survey Volunteer Co-ordinator, says “We are extremely grateful to the large number of farmers who have already given us permission to survey their hedges. We are hoping that the group will survey up to 200 hedges this year”.   

Cornwall Wildlife Trust protects wildlife on land and in our seas, and is the county’s leading wildlife conservation charity, with 140,000 members and 86 Business Supporters. The Trust’s Wild Penwith project is supported through grant funding from The Tubney Charitable Trust, South West Water, the Environment Agency, the Big Lottery Fund and the West Cornwall Local Action Group (funded from the Rural Development Programme for England with finance from the EU and Defra).

If you are a local landowner and are interested in having a visit from Wild Penwith’s hedge surveyors, please contact Mandy at penwith.hedge@cornwallwildifetrust.org.uk or call 07938 985419 for more information. To find out more about the project please visit www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildpenwith.

                                      ENDS

Contact:

Jan Dinsdale, Wild Penwith Project Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust, 07779 457410.

Photographs:

• Wild Penwith’s team of volunteer hedge surveyors trained, equipped and ready for action, photo by Natasha Bligh

(From left to right: Mandy Boyd (Wild Penwith Hedge Survey Volunteer Coordinator), Lois Knight, Robin Knight, Julian Little, Vaughan Williams, Rosalind Clough, Alison Smith (OPAL Community Scientist), Jan Dinsdale (Wild Penwith Project Officer), Gail Charman, Sally Luker, Reg Roberts-Knowles, Sarah Carter, Robin Menneer, Howard Charman, John Bergin.)

• Wild Penwith volunteer hedge surveyors training at Sancreed last month, photo by Natasha Bligh

Editor’s Notes:

Cornwall Wildlife Trust

• Cornwall Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading environmental voluntary body, with 14,000 members including 2,500 junior members and over 85 Business Supporters.
• The charity manages 55 nature reserves all over the county, including a range of habitats such as woodlands, meadows, wetlands and heaths.
• The Trust runs a number of marine and terrestrial based conservation projects, including education work in schools.
• The Trust hosts the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS).
• The Trust relies on charitable donations, grants and the generous support of its members and the general public to raise more than £1.7 million every year. Money raised is spent maintaining our work for wildlife conservation and education in Cornwall, for present and future generations.
• The Trust is one of 47 in the UK. Together, they make up the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.
• Cornwall Wildlife Trust has Local and Specialist Groups based around the county. All play an important role in the Trust’s work and are always looking for more volunteers.
• To find out more about Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s work, events and news visit cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk
• Press contacts at the Trust:
• Serena Pettigrew-Jolly, (01872) 273939 ext 205, serena.pettigrewjolly@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk,
• Jasmin Appleby, (01872) 273939 ext 251, jasmin.appleby@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk.

West Cornwall Local Action Group

There is currently a temporary suspension of new Local Action Group project activities, pending a national review of Local Action groups and their future budget allocations by Defra, starting in April 2011. It is expected the review will take place over the summer, and a way forward established in September 2011.  
For more information on the West Cornwall Local Action Group please contact Clare Leverton, West Cornwall Local Action Group Manager, Cornwall Development Company, 01209 611116 / 07528 983335 web:  www.localactioncornwall.info