Carillion 'ride' on to competition finals

Yes, it was only a few weeks ago when the weather looked like this and when a number of Carillion staff were out clearing vegetation from rides (woodland paths) at Bradfield Woods. The ' green team' was the last of a number of activities organised between ourselves and Carillion as part of a grant we were awarded in Autumn 2011. One of the long term outcomes of the grant for Pete Fordham MBE, Warden of Bradfield, was the procurement of a brand new mower with which to tackle the miles of rides in this ancient woodland.

Pete said the photo is proof that Carillion did indeed turn up (!) and in fact carried out a tremendous amount of work. Please would you pass on my thanks to them all once again.

Next Spring and Summer these managed rides will become home once again to a  number of different flowering plants attracting butterflies and other invertebrates.

If you like wild places then Bradfield woods is a must see for you. I was there on Thursday this week and the changing leaf colour warmed me to the toes!

Grainger plc freshen up at Trimley Marshes

Just to say a very big thankyou to Grainger plc for supporting the work of Suffolk Wildlife Trust earlier this week.  Brett and Rob did a fantastic job, helping to renovate one of our birdwatching hides that was in need of some good tlc.  Their attitude towards the work was fantastic, and we were also blessed with a perfect day, weather-wise, allowing us to complete the task in hand in a single day.

Andrew Excell - South East Sites Manager

Investor members breakfast with barn owl

The Trust's Investor in Wildlife business members braved the early morning rain to witness two barn owl chicks being weighed and ringed by volunteer monitor Chris McIntyre. Mr. barn owl, Steve Pietrowski, was also on hand to explain the reasoning behind the monitoring process and explain how this has helped the Trust build upon its successful community barn owl conservation efforts. Sara Durham of Carillion said  ‘we were absolutely enthralled by the experience, thank you so much for the opportunity’.

Local business drives support forward

'g.m auto accessories' of Harleston, Norfolk (shhhh!) have supported a simple yet innovative idea in the foyer of their work premises.

When customers purchase spares for their motor vehicles, any loose change is encouraged into a simple vestibule on the counter for the benefit of Suffolk's wildlife. The funds are sent in annually and put in to our third party account. Here it is used to provide match funds for successful grant applications, effectively multiplying their donation by up to ten times its value! In the case of g.m.auto accessories this means that in the three years of support they have already helped to purchase one whole acre of land and create a new nature reserve for Suffolk's species. Thanks Julia and Tom.

Barnes box clever for Suffolk's barn owls

With our vision to bring back Suffolks barn owl to the west of of Suffolk, Barnes Construction have manufactured ten barn owl boxes to a bespoke, tried and tested design for installation over the coming months.

Myself, Nick fayers, Managing Director of Barnes Construction, and Martin Griffiths, carpenter who constructed the boxes offer up the design for all to see.

Our aim is to install as many of these boxes on community sites across the county as part of advisory work to engage with and inspire local people to take action for wildlife on their doorstep.

Have you seen a barn owl? Add your viewing to our interactive map

Carillion's woodland adventure continues...

Carillion and the Trust have once again built upon their ongoing relationship by entering into the Carillion Natural Habitats Fund for 2012/13. Over the past year the specific partnership efforts have focused on the last remaining parcel of ancient woodland at Bradfield woods with the Trust delivering on all of the promotional and beneficial outcomes highlighted in the funding bid. These include:

• New business members event mentioning the forthcoming involvement of Carillion staff at Hannah’s close to an assembled business community.
• Launch with press release and photocall about their involvement over the project period.
• Volunteer feature on our homepage.
• Ongoing blog features
• Best practice case study on website
• One day Plant Identification Course to upskill staff.
• Presentation to Carillion staff in Ipswich about Hannah’s close, Bradfield Woods and the new green oak centre.
• Three practical conservation team days on 'Discovering the benefits of ancient coppice woodlands', 'Creating conditions to restore ancient woodland habitat' and 'Ride Management'.

Legal and General charity event

I attended a charity day at Legal & General in Ipswich last week to promote opportunities for staff to  get closer to local wildlife. Some requested advice about wildlife gardening, some discovered they could visit a local nature reserve near to where they live, and others that we put on over 500 events throughout the year for children, families and adults (see pic below) - something for everyone, from badger watching and beach combing to bushcraft and bug hunting.

Our thanks to Yvette Marsh (CSR Coordinator) and her team for making the day a useful networking event for all the charities attending. This is what Yvette had to say...'The event was a fantastic way for charities to promote their work and for Legal & General to be involved in the local community.  Both staff and the charities benefited from the day, and many opportunities to build upon this great work have been identified as a result.'