A leaflet explaining the important wildlife sites in the Forest of Dean has been produced by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust as part of the “Building on What’s Special” (BOWS) Project (1).
Over a three year period the Project collated all available information about wildlife in the District and carried out additional surveys to bring knowledge of wildlife in the Dean up to date. The data has been lodged with the Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Records (GCER) and is being made available to community groups via Parish Councils through the BOWS Project. Many of the sites identified have been registered as Key Wildlife Sites (2) to ensure the District Council takes into account important habitats when planning ...full article

There's a magic age for composting in Gloucestershire, and it’s 45 according to the first county-wide survey of composting habits.
Final results of the research, which was undertaken by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, reveal that the proportion of people composting in the county suddenly doubles after the age of 45, from three to one to six to one.
The survey was carried out in a bid to accurately assess the level of composting in the county, as waste reduction continues to be a serious issue both locally and nationally. Of the 18,000 postal questionnaires sent out to people all over Gloucestershire, 2,000 were returned and analysed.
“This confirms that people are more inclined to compost as they get older,”...full article

The 18th otter to be recorded by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in eight years was found recently. Like most of the other otters found since 1997, the otter was victim to a car, having probably been forced to take a road route due to a lack of continuity in available above ground riverside habitat.
This recent otter was found on the A48 between Aylburton and Alvington in the Forest of Dean near the River Severn. The river is likely to be the main source of the otter’s food and shelter. The road casualty is obviously a blow for otter conservation. But, as detailed in a forthcoming report called ‘Return of the Native’ in Wildlife News, the magazine of the local Wildlife Trust, the recording does tell us more about th...full article

Gloucestershire’s 25-40 year olds need to get composting according to the county’s Wildlife Trust, which has discovered that this is the age group least likely to compost their potato peelings and grass cuttings.
Results of the first county-wide survey of composting habits have been released by the Trust in the run up to International Compost Awareness Week (1 – 7 May). The survey’s finding have revealed the 25-40 age group to be the least likely to compost, while those aged 65+ are the county’s most active composters.
They also show that the main reason people don’t compost is for lack of a bin or information, and moving home as the main reason people give up composting. However, with a new composting action p...full article

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is today issuing a stark challenge to local prospective parliamentary candidates, to ensure that conservation of the natural environment is high on their agendas in the run up to the general election.
Local Wildlife Trust members and supporters are being urged to cast their vote for candidates that commit to making a real difference for the environment over the next parliamentary term. In Gloucestershire there are some 19,000 members, and across the UK, the 47 Wildlife Trusts collectively have over half a million members. Together with other conservation bodies, their members represent a significant proportion of the electorate, in total over 7 million people.
At the last general ...full article

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is calling on all local garden owners to take part in the first countywide wildlife survey of its kind. The survey will be conducted over the weekend of the 14th and 15th May and is the first step in finding out exactly what creatures live in Gloucestershire’s gardens.
Getting involved is simple - everyone can join in, from children in their garden to grandpa on his allotment! Twenty species are being focused on from the once common house sparrow, (which national surveys have estimated is in decline by up to 50%), to the slow worm, whose status is unknown in Gloucestershire.
“We have plenty of data about wildlife in the countryside, which gives us a good picture of rural Gloucest...full article

Staff and volunteers at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and Gloucestershire Wildlife Management (GWM) are ‘over the moon’ about receiving a ten year award for excellence in people management. Top executive of the Group (1), Dr Gordon McGlone received the ten year ‘Investors in People’ award at a special business ceremony last week.
Several awards were handed out by Business Link managing director Nick Weaver to organisations who have achieved the IIP standard for ten years in a row since the award scheme was introduced in 1992.
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is a locally focused charity of 30 employees and some 300 volunteers working with all sectors of society to ensure the county is rich in wildlife. GWM is a ...full article

Can the parish of Awre in the Forest of Dean take up the challenge of eliminating kitchen waste from landfill? And shine as an example of a community making a difference for wildlife?
On the 19th February Awre Village Hall will be buzzing with the excitement of a Go Compost Crazy day, as part of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s Don’t Waste Wildlife project. Locals are invited to come between 1.30pm and 4.30pm to talk to compost experts and enthusiasts and to find out how they can start composting. The event is family-friendly and children will be able to get creative by making compostable creatures and doing other fun activities.
The Go Compost Crazy day in Awre will be the first event in Gloucestershire to fea...full article

Volunteers will be clearing away scrub at a nature reserve on Tuesday 1 February as part of
a Banquet for Barbastelle Bats project supported by the Carillion Natural Habitat Fund.
Chedworth Nature Reserve where the work will take place is owned by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and is located in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, adjacent to the Chedworth Roman Villa.
Around a dozen keen volunteers, including a member of staff from the Carillion GCHQ site will be cutting back overgrown areas of scrubby bushes and small trees on the reserve. This will widen grassy paths and glades to attract moths, insects and spiders, the barbastelle bats’ favourite mix of food. Barbastelles are one of the UK’...full article

Cirencester Rotarians and special needs pupils from Paternoster School recently celebrated new access to bird watching hides at Whelford Pools Nature Reserve within the Cotswold Water Park near Fairford.
A dozen Rotarians have made it possible for people with limited mobility to get into the Reserve, a refuge for wetland birds and other wildlife, by voluntarily constructing a suitable pathway from the car park to the hide. Now wheelchair users, people with walking difficulties or even children in buggies can easily make the trip into the Reserve and enjoy wildlife watching all year round.
The Cirencester Rotary Club has been volunteering at the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust owned site for six years. Group spo...full article