Young People's Forum at Strawberry Hill

2024 kicked off with a face-to-face meeting for our incredible Young People's Forum. Strawberry Hill was the location, a 150-hectare farm in Bedfordshire which has been left to rewild for 25 years. The group got to meet and work with Chantelle Warriner, Reserves/Conservation Officer, who provided an overview and background of the site and guidance for the tasks which required completing. The group always enjoy visiting this site and were more than happy with some essential scrub clearance. Scrub provides valuable shelter for birds and insects but too much of it can be a bad thing where it's encroaching into grassland, heathland and wetland habitat. The group learned that their work would help provide more variety of wildlife habitat, allowing light to reach the ground and protecting the soil conditions. The practical session was followed by well-earned pizza and a team meeting.

We welcome applications from Wildlife Trust BCN members aged 13-24 to join this motivated group of young voices inspiring action for wildlife. 

Meeting Groundworks at Paxton Pits

In February, Rebekah and I visited Eve and Jacob, who are training and skills project officers for Groundwork East, at Paxton Pits. They are working on The Green Recovery Project, a partnership between Groundwork East and Huntingdonshire District Council with the aim to improve public spaces, boost biodiversity, and engage local communities. To achieve their goals, they work with local volunteers (19+) who are looking to develop their personal and practical skills. On this occasion, the group were learning to lay hedges.  This means partially cutting through and then bending the stems of a line of shrubs or small trees, near ground level, without breaking them, so as to encourage them to produce new growth from the base. It creates valuable habitat for many species.

This was a very useful visit for us as it helped us continue planning and developing the traineeships and internships which will be delivered as part of Peatland Progress. When chatting with the people attending the sessions, it was wonderful to hear how fulfilling the course was for them and how grateful they are for the skills attained through the project. Eve and Jacob are both fantastic leads and support and it was so lovely to meet with them and see all the wonderful work they are doing. Thank you for inviting us over!

BTO Youth in Nature Summit

Later on in February, Laura and I took part in the BTO Youth in Nature Summit in Cambridge. The youth-led event was organised as a collaboration between BTO’s Youth Advisory Panel, RSPB’s Youth Council, and WWF-UK’s Youth Ambassadors. We were invited to have a stand, which we used to highlight Wildlife Trust careers and our youth engagement activities. It was a very inspiring day with presentations from Megan McCubbin - TV wildlife presenter and zoologist, Ajay Tegala - wildlife presenter and conservationist, Şeniz Mustafa - Key Organiser - UK Youth for Nature and Cel Spellman – actor, broadcaster and WWF ambassador. It was also a fantastic opportunity to network with members of the BTO Youth Forum, Butterfly Conservation Trust, Wildlife Trust representatives and other conservation organisations. Broadening our connections like this can only serve to improve the success of the Peatland Progress project as we share lessons learned and new ideas for successfully engaging young people with the environment. 

Fenland Wildlife Exhibition

In March, both the month and the name of the local town, St Wendreda's Church hosted the Fenland Wildlife Exhibition and invited us to participate. This event presented a brilliant opportunity to showcase the wonderful wildlife of the Great Fen via some of our volunteers’ and supporters’ photography and craft skills, alongside information about Peatland Progress. Our enormous thanks to all who contributed, from photographs, paintings and sculptures to crocheted insects and a stained glass fox! Rebekah and I enjoyed chatting with attendees and meeting other exhibitor’s including March Camera Club and James Evans Photography. Rev Ruth Clay, St Wendreda’s Church did an amazing job of co-ordinating and hosting a well-attended event! We hope it introduced the Great Fen to lots of new people who will now come to explore and see these wildlife species for themselves. 

Peterborough City College Career Day

Another opportunity to promote the careers available through the Wildlife Trust came at Peterborough City College's Career Day. Alison and Rebekah were joined by Lara Jones from the membership team and the college mascot! It was a fantastic event where lots of students spoke with us about Trust's work and the Peatland Progress project. Showing these students that there are real actions being taken to fight climate change and to protect and restore wildlife habitats around them was very well received. It's so important that our next generation of conservationists are inspired to participate in projects like ours, and to know their voices are heard in the fight for our planet too. 

ITVX Filming

We've closed this quarter's busy diary with the great news that even more people wish to hear about the wonderful work taking place in the Great Fen. ITVX approached the Trust with the desire to make a video about what the Great Fen means to the local community. Journalist Elodie Harper and a cameraman joined us on a chilly but (unusually) dry day in March. Whilst they visited, one of our regular Forest School groups from Ramsey Junior School was in action. The children and teaching staff were pleased to share why they love visiting our site and how it benefits them mentally and physically. One of the teaching assistants has lived locally for a long time so she was able to talk about her strong connection to the area, from bringing her children to visit the Great Fen when they were small to now supporting her students and taking family visitors for scenic walks.  

Paul Springford, chairman of the Great Fen Heritage Group spoke to Elodie about the site, the kilns and its heritage. Laura and the working party from Supported Steps (for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities) also shared why they like visiting and how it feels to be learning new skills and benefiting the wildlife with their work. From the bird hide at Ramsey Heights we were delighted to see a young Little Grebe showing off their diving talents. 

After the visit to Ramsey Heights, Rebekah and I took Elodie to Woodwalton Fen NNR to talk about the Peatland Progress project and give an insight into the work taking place with community groups, schools and local organisations. Due to flooding, we couldn't venture further than the entrance bridge but hopefully by the time it's released viewers will be able to head in for real! Do keep an eye on our social media and the nature reserve's page for closure updates. 

We'll let you know as soon as the footage is available to view online!