Latest news with #Trevelyan
Vancouver Sun
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Brit dressed as giant bird walks 85 km in support of endangered curlew
Article content This one is for the birds. Article content A bird enthusiast recently walked 85 km dressed in a homemade bird costume to raise awareness for one of Great Britain's most iconic and threatened birds. Article content Matt Trevelyan, 46, made the trek dressed as his favourite winged species – the Eurasian curlew – which is endangered in the United Kingdom. Article content The elaborate costume was three yards long and was made out of split bamboo, muslin and polystyrene. Article content Article content Trevelyan, a Farming in Protected Landscapes officer, walked with friends and family around the Nidderdale Way route in the Yorkshire Dales in support of conservation projects. Article content Article content 'They have such a beautiful song — it pulls at your heart strings — it was great to hear it whilst walking the awareness-raising adventure.' Article content The bird lover finished the walk over the Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend ahead of World Curlew Day on April 21. Article content Article content The day was created in 2017 by Mary Colwell to raise awareness of the declining numbers of curlews and the issues they face because of habitat loss, land-use changes and climate pressures. Article content Article content The walker covered 40 km on the first day, including a 22.5-km trek, before stopping for lunch and then going another 17 km. On Day 2, he walked and occasionally ran the remaining 45 km. Article content 'The walk was a joy — there were beautiful views and the weather was perfect,' Trevelyan said. Article content 'I underestimated how fast I could walk, meaning I was trundling along for a solid 12 hours a day.
BBC News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Walking 53 miles dressed as a giant bird was harder than I thought'
On Easter Sunday morning as the minds and mouths of many turned to the thought of demolishing chocolate eggs, Matt Trevelyan was thinking about protecting actual eggs. Like other walkers, he strapped on his boots, but unlike other hikers he then donned a 10ft curlew costume for his day ahead. Mr Trevelyan was on the day two of a three-day 53-mile walk to raise awareness and funds for the endangered bird species - dressed as Cathy the Curlew. The creature's call is a common sound in Nidderdale, because the European wading bird makes its nests in the traditional pasture land that surrounds the eastern edges of the Yorkshire Dales. But, according to Mr Trevelyan, the birds have declined by about two thirds in the last 50 or so years with the once-common song becoming unknown to local children. And due to recent changes to government policy, farmers are no longer paid to protect curlew. "If kids grow up and they don't hear the call then they've lost something, they won't know it but it's like losing your sense of smell. "You're going to lose some richness in your life and there's so many kids who are growing up in parts of England who will only ever hear curlew on the TV," says Mr Trevelyan, from Middlesmoor, North Yorkshire. "In any film, when they want to put a bit of atmosphere in, whether it's the wrong time of year or the wrong environment, they always play a bit of curlew song because it makes you feel special and wild and magical. "Curlew, culturally, has been a vehicle for poetry, romance, it's an important cultural facilitator to speak about things that are difficult." The Cathy costume was created using polystyrene, bamboo and hand-painted muslin. The long beak and narrow head meant Mr Trevelyan had reduced vision as he walked the almost 20-mile days through Pateley Bridge, Middlesmoor, Guisecliff Wood and Brimham Rocks. "I totally underestimated it. I'm not used to doing long walks like this," he said. "So what I thought was a seven-hour walk was really like a 12-hour walk each day. "You need supporters to push you on, especially when you've got tunnel vision, you need navigated because you don't have your usual perceptive abilities." Mr Trevelyan is a Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer for the Nidderdale National Landscape (previously known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and works alongside farmers to protect endangered species. He says curlew have suffered because of the industrialisation of farming practices. "Farming has become horribly efficient. You've got one man and a very big machine as opposed to 10 men with very small machines. "You have contactors coming in and taking all the grass off a farm in one afternoon. And probably doing that three times over the summer, so that will take out the nest and the chicks. "We can do something about it. We can locate nests with drones. They fly at a height curlew don't mind and curlews are masters of hiding their nests which makes it difficult to protect them. "Most farmers don't want to mow a nest on purpose so if it's been found they can avoid it." The money raised by Mr Trevelyan will go towards a private fund to pay famers to delay making hay until July, when the fledgling chicks will be old enough to fly away from any dangers. 'Joy and celebration' Cathy the Curlew's adventures are not over yet. While currently held up in the council chambers in Pateley Bridge, her calendar also includes a visit to Harrogate Flower Show and The Fellsmen fell run race. "I'm going to milk the Cathy costume for all it's worth," says Mr Trevelyan. "Eventually people will get bored of seeing her. But she will go to assemblies in schools and hopefully lay eggs, kids love it." Mr Trevelyan also hopes Cathy will inspire future generations of conservationists, because, he says, you've got to learn to love an animal before you learn to save it. "The first stage in any exercise in conservation is coming out and learning to love the bird, celebrate it. "The curlew cry has major and minor notes in it, the minor notes in the call make you feel wistful and sorrowful and the major notes give you a feeling of joy and celebration. "That's life isn't it in a nutshell. It's very profound. The call of the curlew makes you feel something and, perhaps, connects you with loss and pain." Curlew decline According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the curlew is the largest European wading bird and about 30% of the west European population spend winter in the UK. In the spring and summer they search out areas of rough pasture, heather moorland and wetland to breed, laying their eggs in a nest on the ground. In 2015, curlews were added to the Red list on the UK Conservation Status Report. Red is the highest conservation priority. On World Curlew Day, the RSPB launched the UK Action Plan for Curlew. The plan calls on government and agencies to support urgent action to reverse their decline. The RSPB's Suzannah Rockett said the species had been in sharp decline across the UK since the 1980s. "Changes to farming practices, driven by agricultural policy, have led to a loss of habitat, and a rise in predators is impacting on the numbers of chicks surviving," she said. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Pateley Bridge Curlews
BBC News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Curlew man Matt Trevelyan on why he walked 53 miles dressed as a giant bird
On Easter Sunday morning as the minds and mouths of many turned to the thought of demolishing chocolate eggs, Matt Trevelyan was thinking about protecting actual other walkers, he strapped on his boots, but unlike other hikers he then donned a 10ft curlew costume for his day Trevelyan was on the day two of a three-day 53-mile walk to raise awareness and funds for the endangered bird species - dressed as Cathy the creature's call is a common sound in Nidderdale, because the European wading bird makes its nests in the traditional pasture land that surrounds the eastern edges of the Yorkshire according to Mr Trevelyan, the birds have declined by about two thirds in the last 50 or so years with the once-common song becoming unknown to local due to recent changes to government policy, farmers are no longer paid to protect curlew."If kids grow up and they don't hear the call then they've lost something, they won't know it but it's like losing your sense of smell. "You're going to lose some richness in your life and there's so many kids who are growing up in parts of England who will only ever hear curlew on the TV," says Mr Trevelyan, from Middlesmoor, North Yorkshire."In any film, when they want to put a bit of atmosphere in, whether it's the wrong time of year or the wrong environment, they always play a bit of curlew song because it makes you feel special and wild and magical."Curlew, culturally, has been a vehicle for poetry, romance, it's an important cultural facilitator to speak about things that are difficult." The Cathy costume was created using polystyrene, bamboo and hand-painted long beak and narrow head meant Mr Trevelyan had reduced vision as he walked the almost 20-mile days through Pateley Bridge, Middlesmoor, Guisecliff Wood and Brimham Rocks."I totally underestimated it. I'm not used to doing long walks like this," he said."So what I thought was a seven-hour walk was really like a 12-hour walk each day."You need supporters to push you on, especially when you've got tunnel vision, you need navigated because you don't have your usual perceptive abilities."Mr Trevelyan is a Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer for the Nidderdale National Landscape (previously known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and works alongside farmers to protect endangered says curlew have suffered because of the industrialisation of farming practices."Farming has become horribly efficient. You've got one man and a very big machine as opposed to 10 men with very small machines."You have contactors coming in and taking all the grass off a farm in one afternoon. And probably doing that three times over the summer, so that will take out the nest and the chicks."We can do something about it. We can locate nests with drones. They fly at a height curlew don't mind and curlews are masters of hiding their nests which makes it difficult to protect them. "Most farmers don't want to mow a nest on purpose so if it's been found they can avoid it."The money raised by Mr Trevelyan will go towards a private fund to pay famers to delay making hay until July, when the fledgling chicks will be old enough to fly away from any dangers. 'Joy and celebration' Cathy the Curlew's adventures are not over yet. While currently held up in the council chambers in Pateley Bridge, her calendar also includes a visit to Harrogate Flower Show and The Fellsmen fell run race."I'm going to milk the Cathy costume for all it's worth," says Mr Trevelyan."Eventually people will get bored of seeing her. But she will go to assemblies in schools and hopefully lay eggs, kids love it."Mr Trevelyan also hopes Cathy will inspire future generations of conservationists, because, he says, you've got to learn to love an animal before you learn to save it."The first stage in any exercise in conservation is coming out and learning to love the bird, celebrate it."The curlew cry has major and minor notes in it, the minor notes in the call make you feel wistful and sorrowful and the major notes give you a feeling of joy and celebration."That's life isn't it in a nutshell. It's very profound. The call of the curlew makes you feel something and, perhaps, connects you with loss and pain." Curlew decline According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the curlew is the largest European wading bird and about 30% of the west European population spend winter in the UK. In the spring and summer they search out areas of rough pasture, heather moorland and wetland to breed, laying their eggs in a nest on the ground. In 2015, curlews were added to the Red list on the UK Conservation Status Report. Red is the highest conservation World Curlew Day, the RSPB launched the UK Action Plan for Curlew. The plan calls on government and agencies to support urgent action to reverse their RSPB's Suzannah Rockett said the species had been in sharp decline across the UK since the 1980s. "Changes to farming practices, driven by agricultural policy, have led to a loss of habitat, and a rise in predators is impacting on the numbers of chicks surviving," she said. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Independent
22-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
Why a man walked 53 miles dressed as a curlew over Easter
People out for an Easter walk in Nidderdale must have done a double-take after seeing a man going for a stroll while wearing a giant bird costume. Ex-puppet maker Matt Trevelyan took his former vocation to new heights at the weekend when he decided to dress as a giant curlew and walk 53 miles in the outfit over just two days. But far from a jolly hike, Mr Trevelyan was instead aiming to raise awareness for the bird he was dressed like and warn against its extinction. He told The Independent: 'I've always made giant puppets, and I'm prone to saying things like: 'I'll walk the Nidderdale way dressed as a curlew,' and then you've got to do it.' Mr Trevelyan, a farming officer for Nidderdale National Landscape in Yorkshire, started his walk at Pateley Bridge on Saturday and finished on Sunday at Brimham Rocks, just in time for World Curlew Day on Monday. He wore a 10-foot-long costume of the Eurasia curlew, which is Europe's largest wading bird, as he made his journey. The bird is known for its down-curved bill, brown upperparts and long legs, and was added to the UK Red List of highest conservation concern in 2015. 'I'm really worried [about the curlew],' he said. 'Every nest, chick and egg matters.' While Nidderdale and the rest of the Pennine chain have previously been a 'stronghold' for curlews, they have faced a huge decline in numbers over the years, similar to areas in the south of England such as Shropshire. He added the population had been 'decimated' in places like Ireland and Wales. 'We need something like 10,000 more curlews a year to become a sustainable population,' he said. 'We need curlews to be fledging one chick every two years, and they lay four eggs a year that generally don't fledge any chicks. 'One chick every other year. That's all we need to have a sustainable population, but we're a long way off that,' he added, calling for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to take action. The RSPB released its action plan to save UK curlews from extinction on World Curlew Day, calling on 'government and agencies to support urgent action to reverse the decline of our curlew populations'. A Defra spokesperson said: 'Nature across Britain is suffering. We are losing our precious species, our rivers are awash with pollution and many of our iconic landscapes are in decline. 'This cannot continue. This government is putting nature on the path to recovery.' World Curlew Day was created by Mary Colwell in 2017 to raise awareness of the dangers that curlews face due to habitat loss, climate pressures and changes in land use. The farming officer revealed there was an issue getting chicks to the fledgling stage during breeding season, caused by changes in the way farmers manage the landscape while making silage for cattle. While Mr Trevelyan has worked with farmers to take later cuts and be careful farming around curlews, he said that predation was another issue, with mid-level predators such as crows and foxes taking eggs and chicks. The hiker said he made his lightweight costume out of polystyrene and bamboo. 'The curlew was actually quite a streamlined costume, it's quite lightweight and I had wonderful support,' he told The Independent, describing the trek itself as 'hard work'. 'I had a little bit of tunnel vision looking through a peephole in the neck of the curlew, but it's an amazing landscape, Nidderdale,' he added. Mr Trevelyan is raising money for the Nidderdale National Landscape.
The Independent
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Descendants of slave owners in the Caribbean call for reparations at the UN
The great-great-grandson of 19th-century British Prime Minister William Gladstone said he was horrified to learn seven years ago that his ancestors were slave owners in Jamaica and Guyana. And former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan said she learned after records of Britain's Slave Compensation Commission were put online in 2013 that one of her ancestors, Sir John Trevelyan, owned sugar cane plantations in Grenada and about 1,000 enslaved people. They spoke at a meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York this past week where, for the first time, descendants of slave owners and enslaved people in former British colonies in the Caribbean sat at the same table with diplomats and experts from those nations discussing the contentious issue of reparations. 'This was a historic event,' said Trevelyan, who moderated the meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent's weeklong session. From about the year 1500, millions of West Africans were sent to work mainly on plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas, including the southern United States. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk told the forum that an estimated 25 million to 30 million Africans were uprooted for the purpose of slavery. Few nations have apologized for their role in slavery, and reparations have been the subject of much debate. The Geneva-based Human Rights Council has called for global action for years, including reparations, apologies and educational reforms to make amends for racism against people of African descent. The 15-nation Caribbean Community, known as CARICOM, has a 10-point plan for reparatory justice, starting with demands for European countries where enslaved people were kept and traded to issue formal apologies. Türk noted a European Union statement in 2023 profoundly regretting the 'untold suffering' caused by the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the African Union's designation of 2025 as the 'Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.' At the meeting of descendants of enslaved people and slave owners on Tuesday, Trevelyan spoke of her family's decision to apologize to Grenada and to make a contribution of 100,000 British pounds (about $133,000) toward education in the Caribbean island nation. Going to Grenada with family and apologizing 'wasn't exactly smooth sailing,' said Trevelyan, who left the BBC and has become a campaigner for reparations. There were protests by one group that thought the apology was inadequate and the money not enough. Also at the meeting was Aidee Walker, who said she was shocked when a DNA test revealed she was not only predominantly Scots-Irish but also part Nigerian, then discovered that her great-great-great-grandfather, who moved to New Zealand, was the son of a slave owner in Jamaica named John Malcolm and an African housekeeper. Walker and her sister, Kate Thomas, said when they found out they felt they had to do something. Thomas said she discovered what Trevelyan was doing and got in touch with Verene Shepherd, a professor emeritus and vice chair of the CARICOM reparations commission, who encouraged the sisters to start with the apology. Charles Gladstone, meanwhile, said he felt 'a profound sense of guilt' after learning that former Prime Minister Gladstone's father owned estates with enslaved people — and that a great deal of his privileged life 'was essentially connected to this criminal past.' He said he apologized to Guyana and Jamaica and will try to do something 'to make the world a better place.' While Britain's role in abolishing slavery in 1833 is widely taught, Gladstone said, its involvement in the trade 'has been completely buried.' The history must be told, he said, because "the evils of this crime against humanity are not historical, they're felt very, very profoundly today.' Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador, James Kariuki, attended the meeting but did not speak. The British Mission, asked for a comment, sent a statement from Development Minister Anneliese Dodds to Parliament on Feb. 25 saying she and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have been 'absolutely clear that we will not be making cash transfers and payments to the Caribbean.' Gladstone said supporters of reparations must keep working together. If thousands of families like his stand up and say, "'We would like to do something about this,' then there is a chance that the government in Britain could do something more substantial," he said. Thomas agreed. 'If we can get the numbers, then that could influence institutions and governments to act,' she said. 'It's a really great start to what I think will be a lifelong journey." Shepherd, who taught at the University of the West Indies, said there have not been many apologies and, while some Europeans express remorse or regret for slavery, 'no one is talking about reparations.' Arley Gill, chairman of Grenada's National Reparations Commission, said, however, he sees positive movement toward reparative justice globally and believes 'we are on a good path to ensure these crimes against humanity are being recognized by the colonial powers.' Antigua's U.N. ambassador, Walton Webson, who is chair of the Caribbean ambassadors' caucus, ended the meeting by saying, 'We have reached the point where speaking of reparations is no longer taboo.' Now, he said, it's time to put reparations 'on the lips of every child, every person' and start to take action.
