Volvox Happy Spring everyone! How fantastic to see a little more of the sun in recent weeks (after all that rain!) I do hope you have had a chance to get out and about on a YWT Reserve somewhere near you to enjoy the changing season. If you are one of our already active volunteers, you should have received an invitation to our upcoming Volunteers’ Conference which will take place in Leeds (at University House) on Saturday 7th June. This event is taking place to mark National Volunteers Week 1—7 June 2014. There hasn’t been room here to list all that is happening over the week, but if you are volunteering alongside a member of Trust staff — ask them what they have planned. If you are reading this and haven't volunteered with us yet then please have a look at our calendar to see what may be taking place near to you. There are some specific appeals for volunteers to help on the back page of this newsletter too. The Conference will be a chance to come along and meet fellow volunteers and share ideas. Staff and volunteers will be showing pictures of what they have been up to across the County and there will be workshops and an outside walk in the afternoon. If that wasn’t enough to tempt you—there is also LUNCH thrown in too!! If you have had your invitation, please RSVP to let us know if you can come by April 18th, numbers are limited to 100 so book early! If you haven't received an invitation but would like one, please get in touch with me by email [email protected] or by phone on 01302 853941. Look forward to meeting and talking to more of you then! Cassa Townsend, YWT Volunteering Development Manager The Wonders of Water Voles For the last three years the Trust has worked in close partnership with Co-op Farms Ltd on a project called Habitat Heroes, surveying for water voles at Pasture Farm near Goole, East Yorkshire. The farm is mainly intensively managed arable land which you could be forgiven for thinking would not be the most likely location for finding Britain’s fastest declining mammal. However results have been spectacular with many thriving, if isolated, colonies located through the drainage ditches, dikes and streams. Last summer the project expanded to encompass Thorne Moors NNR owned and managed by Natural England. This is where things really got interesting. From the very first morning that staff, voluntary trainees and volunteers started surveying the dikes of this former peat extraction site, they knew they had found something special. Throughout the summer over 15km of dikes were surveyed with incredible numbers of field signs found on every dike looked at. These included latrines, feeding piles, burrows and even frequent sightings, all recorded using GPS. When these results were collated and assessed at the end of the survey season, the results were astonishing. Thorne Moors is certainly one of the most important sites in Yorkshire for this incredibly rare and endangered species and could even be of national significance. The results have been so encouraging that Natural England has included the water vole in their re-application for SSSI Thorpe Marsh status to reflect the importance of this site for the long term future of the species. Many thanks go out to all the volunteers and voluntary trainees who worked incredibly There will be a "Spring hard throughout the hot summer to gather the results, often being flowers and butterflies” eaten alive by horse flies and struggling through very difficult walk on Saturday 19th surveying terrain. Stephen Meays, YWT Project Officer If you are interested in taking part in water vole surveys this season, both in the Goole area and in Barnsley, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] April (Easter Saturday), at 10.15am Meet at the Norwood Gate on Fordstead Lane Practical Conservation Task Days: April—June 2014 SOUTH & WEST Contacts for taskdays Hetchell Wood, Broadhead Clough, Willow Garth, Stoneycliffe Wood, Sherburn Willows, Stocksmoor Common, Adel Dam Karen McDiarmid 07780 666173 Wheldrake Ings, Moorlands Askham Bog, Kiplingcoates [email protected] North Newbald Becksies North Cave Wetlands, Barlow C North Cliffe Wood, Calley Heath Flamborough, Pulfin, Strensall Mark Roberts 01302 570077 [email protected] Harrogate Group contacts— Staveley, Ripon Loop, Burton Leonard, Bishop Monkton Antony Sykes 01484 315041 [email protected] Potteric Carr, Denaby Ings, Thorpe Marsh, Hammonds Field, Owston Meadows, Woodhouse Washlands Upper Park Wood NORTH & EAST Contact details for taskdays John Wollaston 07977 287012 [email protected] Andrew Dodd and Rachel Green [email protected] [email protected] Jim Horsfall 01302853941 [email protected] Upper Dunsforth Carrs, Chafer Wood, Fen Bog, Leyburn Old Glebe, Ellerburn, Seata Quarry, Burton Riggs, Birch Wood OR Andrew Cochrane 07787 535784 [email protected] Peter Christopherson 07787 535812 [email protected] Low Wood John Preshaw [email protected] Vale of York Bishopthorpe Palace & Crem Claire Burton 07771372397 [email protected] Stirley Community Farm Kim Warren 07557 002113 [email protected] Garbutt Wood Keith Gittens 07968 840623 [email protected] Waterhaigh Woodland Park, Kippax Meadows, Hollinhurst Wood, Rothwell Pastures, Rothwell Country Park, Ledston Luck, Letchmire Pastures Kara Jackson 07788385500 [email protected] Allerthorpe Common Jonathan Proud 01759 368254 [email protected] Grass Wood Gordon Jackson [email protected] Cadeby Hill Carys Hutton 07827 894786 [email protected] Brockadale Paul Simmons 01977 620725 [email protected] Maltby Low Common KEY: The letters in brackets indicate the activities for the day Y—Tree planting D—Gardening B—Weed control (balsam, bracken, M—Reserve maintenance P—Path maintenance R—Repairs/building work T—Cleaning and tidying H—Hedge laying/hedgerow work ragwort etc) C—Rush/reed control F—Fencing S—Scrub clearance G—Grassland management L—Litter picking V—Water vole survey W—Woodland management O—Pond work April Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 1 2 3 4 5 Upper Park Wood (W) 6 Potteric Carr (S) Allerthorpe Common (M) Potteric Carr (S) Denaby Ings (gate) Stirley Community Askham Bog (M) Farm (D,R) Adel Dam (M) Maltby Low Common (tbc) Burton Riggs (M) 8 9 Potteric Carr (S) Hammonds Field (F) Stirley Community Moorlands (M) Farm (D,R) Ripon Loop (M) 10 Grass Wood (W) Low Wood (M) 11 Broadhead Clough (C) 12 Hollinhurst Wood (M) 13 Potteric Carr (P) North Cliffe Wood (M) 14 Owston Meadows (F) Ledston Luck (M) 15 16 Potteric Carr (F) Stirley Community Farm (D,R) 17 Grass Wood (W) 18 19 20 Brockadale (M) 21 22 Potteric Carr (tbc) Stirley Community Farm (D,R) 24 25 Woodhouse Washlands (L) Staveley (M & seed sowing) 26 27 28 29 30 Potteric Carr (tbc) Calley Heath (F) Stirley Community Farm (D,R) 7 23 Wheldrake Ings (M) Stocksmoor Common (C) DIG IN Project, York Volunteer with us at one of our weekly gatherings at any of the four Community Garden Sites. The gardens are in Chepelfields, Heworth, Acomb and The Groves. Please contact Marie (Dig In Project Officer) directly for more info [email protected] May Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 1 Maltby Low Common (tbc) Burton Riggs (M) Brockadale (F) 2 3 4 Potteric Carr Upper Park Wood (tbc) (W) Allerthorpe Common (M) 5 6 7 Potteric Carr (tbc) Denaby Ings (tbc) Stirley Community Wheldrake Ings (M) Farm (D,R) Adel Dam (M) 8 Grass Wood (W) Low Wood (M) 9 10 Waterhaigh Woodland Park (M) 11 Potteric Carr (tbc) North Cliffe Wood (M) 12 13 14 Potteric Carr (tbc) Brockadale Stirley Community (boardwalk) Farm (D,R) 15 Flamborough (M) 16 17 Staveley (M) 18 Brockadale (M) 19 20 21 Potteric Carr (tbc) Hammonds Field (F) Stirley Community Moorlands (M) Farm (D,R) 22 Flamborough (M) 23 24 25 26 27 28 Potteric Carr (P) Brockadale Stirley Community (boardwalk) Farm (D,R) Ripon Loop (M) 29 30 31 Friday Saturday Waterhaigh Woodland Park (M) June Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 1 Potteric Carr (P) Allerthorpe Common (M) 30 2 3 Potteric Carr (B) Stirley Community Farm (D,R) Adel Dam (M) 4 Upper Dunsforth Carrs (B) 5 Maltby Low Common (tbc) 9 10 Potteric Carr (tbc) 11 Denaby Ings (P) Wheldrake Ings (B) Birch Wood (B) Willow Garth (B) Rothwell Country Park (B) Staveley (B) 16 17 Owston Meadows Potteric Carr (P) (B) Staveley (B) 23 Sunday 24 Potteric Carr (P) Ripon Loop (B) Hetchell Wood (B) 7 Upper Park Wood (W) 8 Potteric Carr (tbc) North Cliffe Wood (M) 12 Burton Riggs (M) 13 Grass Wood (W) Broadhead Clough North Newbald (B) Becksies (B) Low Wood (M) 14 Chafer Wood (G) 15 Brockadale (M) 18 Wheldrake Ings (B) Brockadale (B) 19 North Cave Wetlands (B) Stocksmoor Common (B) 20 21 25 Wheldrake Ings (B) Fen Bog (B) 26 Woodhouse Washlands (B) North Cliffe Wood (B) Stoneycliffe Wood (B) 27 28 6 22 29 Useful Information for Task Days All our current volunteering opportunities can be found at http://www.ywt.org.uk/volunteer or telephone the relevant contact below. ‘Welcome calls’ Passionate about wildlife? Enjoy talking to likeminded people? Then we have the perfect volunteer role for you! We need confident people with some knowledge of Trust reserves to help us welcome new members to the Trust with a quick, friendly telephone call. This will only take a couple of hours a week and can be done either from our office in York or Potteric Carr or even from home if you prefer. Welcome Calls are a really important way to make new members feel like a valued part of the Trust and have proved really popular with members. If you would like to find out more about this role then please contact Jessica Thompson on 01904 659570 or email [email protected] Things you need to know: - Task days start at 10am and usually run until 4pm - Sometimes task days may change because of adverse weather. Please check the website for updates - If you’re new to a site, please call the relevant contact to check task day details and let them know you’re coming - New volunteers will need to provide emergency contact details and relevant medical details before beginning, just in case of an accident What you should bring: - A packed lunch and plenty to drink - Hardwearing shoes, boots or wellies - Old clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty - Bring waterproofs, sunscreen and insect repellent when necessary, you never know what the weather will do! - Tools and gloves will be provided Please visit www.ywt.org.uk/reserves for maps and directions to sites STIRLEY FARM REQUEST Get Cooking at Stirley Community Farm! We want visitors to get a taste of the amazing produce from our fruit and veg gardens, and help the Farm business to be financially sustainable. We are looking for a small team of volunteers who are passionate about seasonal, healthy food to come and help cook and serve simple meals and refreshments at our monthly Sunday morning event days. These will be held on the first Sunday morning of each month, from 10am – 1pm, and there are also opportunities to cook and serve lunches on occasional weekdays. For more details, please contact Helen Taylour (details below left) Be Part of the Stirley Community Farm Roadshow Stirley Community Farm is the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s gateway site for West Yorkshire, set in 240 acres of Pennine farmland. We will be taking roadshows to venues all over West Yorkshire to promote the wonderful work of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, promote our Beef Box Scheme, offer people a taste of our farm produce and encourage visitors to come and be inspired at our year round events and activities. We’re looking for volunteers to join the roadshow team at events at Stirley Community Farm and all over the West Yorkshire region, with opportunities on both weekends and weekdays. If you love talking to people and are passionate about getting involved in the work of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, please contact Helen Taylour (details below left) Contact information : Cassa Townsend T 01302 853941 Volunteering Development Manager If you are interested in receiving this newsletter in an alternative format please Jo Meays T 01904 659570 contact us. Volunteering Trainee Development Officer Helen Taylour T 01302 853941 Yorkshire Wildlife Trust works for Volunteering Development Officer - South and West Yorks a Yorkshire rich in wildlife, valued Harriet Linfoot T 01482 441013 and enjoyed by people Volunteering Development Officer—North and East Yorks E [email protected] Registered in England, Company No. 409650 Registered Charity No. 210807 VAT No. 170 391475