Latest news with #GloucestershireWildlifeTrust
BBC News
a day ago
- Science
- BBC News
National Star students take part in 24-hour wildlife survey
Students at a special educational needs college have teamed up with ecologists to find and identify the species found on their 80-acre Star College near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire took part in this week's "BioBlitz" with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to assess biodiversity on are now working on strategies to support nature and try to boost the numbers of vulnerable student said she had learned how small changes can make a big difference to wildlife. The students found that hedgehogs, rabbits, deer and foxes call the college's grounds home, as well as a huge variety of insects, including many Adamou, a community action officer with the wildlife trust, said the event aimed to give students autonomy to decide how best to help the species they found."My mission in Gloucester is to make sure everyone has the opportunity to do something for nature - to build a relationship, to take meaningful action, to do something that makes nature more important for them and therefore protect it," she said. "It's so easy to just say 'this habitat needs this, this is what needs to happen' - there's no co-ownership."Students spent the weeks leading up to the event learning to identify different species and also considering ways to help them, such as building hedgehog student, Isabella, said: "Hedgehogs are vulnerable to extinction and we need to look after them, but small changes can make a big difference."Elaine Hodgin, the college's sustainability lead, said staff and students were working to reduce the site's carbon footprint. "It's also about educating the learners about what they can do with regards to climate change," she Star now plans to hold the event annually.
BBC News
20-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust 'disappointed' by 4x4 damage
A wildlife trust has said it is "really disappointed" after what appears to be tyre tracks were left across one of its nature reserves.A video posted by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust showed churned up mud across its Sapperton Valley nature reserve, which it claims was left by "a few irresponsible 4x4 users".The site near Cirencester is a feeding area for the marsh tit, which is on the red list of birds of conservation concern, meaning it is at danger of trust said it reported the incident to Gloucestershire Police. 'Very upsetting' A video of the damage was taken on Friday morning by a visitor and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust believes it happened the previous night."We are really disappointed to see this damage caused to our land," a trust spokesperson said."We are in a biodiversity crisis, with limited space set aside for nature. Spaces like Sapperton Valley are crucial to our cause."Staff and volunteers have worked hard over a number of years to create this important habitat for wildlife, seeing it undone by a few irresponsible 4x4 users is very upsetting." The trust said in addition to providing feeding areas for bats and birds, Sapperton Valley hosts rare plants and including the protected species of the mountain bulin and Roman snail, and the silky snail, which is hairy, also call the valley home, as does the grass snake."These wet grasslands provide an important role in slowing the flow of the river Frome in high flows, thereby reducing flood risk downstream," the trust said."This damage undoes a lot of the hard work of staff and volunteers to create this habitat which helps both wildlife and humans."The BBC has contacted Gloucestershire Police for comment.
