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Dorset is currently in an amber wildfire alert, yet a fire was started at Stephens Castle, Verwood on Wednesday, which devastated 4.7 hectares of rare lowland heath.
Crews from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service fought the flames for 8 hours before bringing the blaze under control. Crews are still on scene today, two days after the original ignition, damping down hotspots. Whilst firefighting, the mains water outlet they were using collapsed, so they had to syphon water from the heathland pond. When natural water sources are used in this way the crews check and clear the filter regularly. During a regular check they found some rare great crested (Triturus cristatus) and palmate (Lissotriton helveticus) newts had been drawn into the filter. This meant they stopped immediately and very carefully freed the amphibians back into the pond. Sadly, there were several fatalities, along with more heathland creatures which perished in the flames. DWFRS Wildfire Tactical Advisor, Andy Elliott said: “Wildfires at this time of year can be devastating to wildlife with ground nesting birds, reptiles and amphibians all being badly affected. I’m really pleased at how the crews reacted so quickly to this unfortunate incident by immediately stopping all pumping operations and taking action to release the trapped newts. We have to thank our colleagues from Forestry England who provided a tractor and bowser to enable us to continue damping down.” The Urban Heaths Partnership (UHP) works hard to reduce the impacts of wildfires on heathlands across Dorset and to protect and enhance these areas as well as raise the understanding of their habitat and history. Everyone can help protect the heaths from fire. If you see a fire, get to safety and call the fire service on 999. A forest fire broke out at Parley Common Nature reserve on Weds June 7th and was dealt with by fire crews from Ferndown and Verwood. (https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/fire-breaks-dorset-nature-171800709.html?guccounter=1)
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Dorset’s Super National Nature Reserve stands as a testament to the power of conservation and the remarkable beauty of the natural world. Its diverse ecosystems, rich avian life, and protected marine environment make it an ecological gem of global significance. As we navigate an era of environmental challenges, this reserve serves as a shining example of humanity’s commitment to safeguarding our planet’s biodiversity. The Super National Nature Reserve in Dorset is not just a place; it is a testament to our collective responsibility to protect and cherish the wonders of the natural world.
The National Trust: Working together for a national nature reserve We know that working together with like-minded partner organisations has a greater impact on protecting the environment and the recovery of nature. To this end, the National Trust has forged a national nature reserve in partnership with Natural England, RSPB, Forestry England, the Rempstone Estate Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, along with other landowners and managers. Spanning 8,231 acres, the ‘super’ reserve at Dorset’s Purbeck Heaths brings together 11 priority habitats, allowing animals, reptiles, birds and insects to move more easily across the landscape and adapt to the challenges brought by the climate crisis. This will be of great benefit to a variety of rare wildlife, including the sand lizard, the Dartford warbler and the silver-studded blue butterfly. As featured in BBC Springwatch. BCP COUNCIL is set to receive more than £3.7m in funding for active travel projects across the conurbation.
A total of £3.78m will be put towards five schemes in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole with the money coming from the government’s Active Travel Fund. Some £1.3m will be allocated to continuing improvement works to the shared cycling and walking path through the Upper Gardens in Bournemouth. This includes widening, resurfacing and new lighting for the path. A new crossing will be added to Branksome Wood Road to link the Upper Gardens to Coy Pond Gardens. Phase two of the Whitecliff and Baiter Park project will receive £1.1m, continuing the segregated footpath and cycle track around the waterfront. Meanwhile, new crossings will be added to Labrador Drive and Furnell Road as a part of this initiative. A combined total of £980,000 will be put towards cycling and walking infrastructure on Wallisdown Road.Of this money, £500,000 has been given to phase three of the project, including the continuation of segregated cycle lanes south to Scott Road and upgrading the path across Turbary Park.The development of further plans for the remaining sections of the road without ‘adequate walking and cycling infrastructure’ will be allocated £480,000. This includes a section around the Wallisdown Roundabout and the shops, and the section between University Roundabout and Boundary Roundabout. A final £400,000 will be used to install permanent measures at four school streets locations in the conurbation. This may include traffic calming measures designed in collaboration with the local community. The council will be working with Active Travel England in implementing the initiatives, which must start as soon as possible and need to be completed by March 2025. BCP Council has now received a total of £4.97m in active travel grants from the group. Bills could rise after water suppliers in England said they were ready to spend £10bn on tackling sewage spills.
The privately owned companies have apologised for the amount of contaminated water being discharged into rivers and seas, amid mounting public anger over the practice. Some campaigners have cautiously welcomed the move, but others say firms are shifting the cost on to billpayers. The industry paid out £1.4bn to shareholders in 2022. Musician and environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey called it a "half apology" that was another attempt to extract more money from customers. "What I am actually hearing is no apology for the fact we have paid them for a service we haven't got, they are now suggesting we pay them a second time for a service we haven't had," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We should have an apology for the suggestion they are going to put bills up by £10bn for their incompetence and their greed. This is nothing to celebrate." Companies are sometimes allowed to spill sewage into open water following heavy rainfall to prevent the system becoming overloaded and backing up into people's homes. But campaigners have long said these spills are happening too often. In 2022, raw sewage was dumped into rivers and seas for 1.75 million hours - or 825 times a day on average. Water UK, the body which represents England's nine water and sewage companies, apologised on behalf of the industry for not "acting quickly enough". Ruth Kelly, the organisation's chair, told BBC News: "We're sorry about the upset and the anger from the fact that there have been overspills of untreated sewage onto beaches and into rivers over the past few years. "We're sorry that we didn't act sooner, but we get it." For example, in 2022 the CSO at Wimborne STW, spilled 33 times for a total of 403 hours, or about 17 days non-stop. The one upstream of Wimborne spilled 30 times for a total of 252 hours, or about 10 days non-stop. Award-winning beaches across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have once more scooped more Blue Flags than any other UK destination in this year’s awards.
Award-winning beaches across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have once more scooped more Blue Flags than any other UK destination in this year’s awards. Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy announced its iconic Blue Flags for excellent water quality, and our three towns have been confirmed with 12 awards in total with 14 additional Seaside Awards, which celebrate the quality and diversity of our coastline. The recognition follows previous awards* for our coastline after Bournemouth was included on Trip Advisor’s list of the 25 best beaches in Europe 2023. The news comes as BCP Council relaunches its Leave Only Footprints campaign to encourage visitors to help keep our stunning coastline and open spaces clean. Achieving the Blue Flag accolade for the 36thtime in Poole was Sandbanks, which has received the recognition every year since the scheme was launched, with Shore Road, Canford Cliffs and Branksome Chine also being honoured. In Christchurch, Highcliffe Beach, Friars Cliff and Avon Beach were honoured for the second year in a row and in Bournemouth, Alum Chine, Durley Chine, Manor Steps, Fisherman’s Walk and Southbourne received the flags. Under the banner, Leave Only Footprints, beachgoers are invited to enjoy our award-winning beaches and clear up at the end of the day, take litter home or use the bins provided. A NEW community garden has been officially opened with the swing of a watering can. Wimborne Community Garden was opened by town mayor Cllr Carol Butter who, instead of swinging a bottle of champagne, used a watering can to mark the occasion before raising a toast.
The opening, on Sunday April 30, welcomed more than 200 residents who were able to have a look around the vegetable beds, fruit cages, a wild area and more at the community offering. Cakes were munched and the tea flowed, ably assisted by the local Brownie pack who worked throughout the afternoon giving refreshments to visitors. In her welcoming speech, voluntary garden manager Jane Benson said: “We were absolutely blown away by the communities amazing response to our grand opening. “On reflection though, perhaps we shouldn't have been so surprised as from day one the whole community has been behind us. “We've had wonderful support from so many individuals, from a number of generous local businesses and local charities who have been so kind to us, as well as the town council.” Visitors can visit the garden, located at the top of School Lane, on a Wednesday morning, Friday afternoon or Sunday afternoon. Email [email protected] for more information. BCP partnered with the Birds of Poole Harbour charity and Haven Rockley Park to create an Osprey observation point at Ham Common Nature Reserve in Poole.
This follows the charity’s much celebrated success of the Poole Harbour Osprey Translocation Project, which in 2022 witnessed the hatching of the first wild Osprey chick in southern Britain in 200 years. The new Ham Common Lookout was open to the public August 2022 (peak Osprey migration season) with great views out across the Wareham channel where these birds can be observed hunting. Wind turbines have generated more electricity than gas for the first time in the UK.
In the first three months of this year a third of the country's electricity came from wind farms, research from Imperial College London has shown. National Grid has also confirmed that April saw a record period of solar energy generation. By 2035 the UK aims for all of its electricity to have net zero emissions. The majority of the UK's wind power has come from offshore wind farms. Installing new onshore wind turbines has effectively been banned since 2015 in England. Under current planning rules, companies can only apply to build onshore wind turbines on land specifically identified for development in the land-use plans drawn up by local councils. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed in December to relax these planning restrictions to speed up development. Scientists say switching to renewable power is crucial to curb the impacts of climate change, which are already being felt, including in the UK, which last year recorded its hottest year since records began. Solar and wind have seen significant growth in the UK. In the first quarter of 2023, 42% of the UK's electricity came from renewable energy, with 33% coming from fossil fuels like gas and coal. But BBC research revealed on Thursday that billions of pounds' worth of green energy projects are stuck on hold due to delays with getting connections to the grid. Some new solar and wind sites are waiting up to 10 to 15 years to be connected because of a lack of capacity in the electricity system. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65500339) And electricity only accounts for 18% of the UK's total power needs. There are many demands for energy which electricity is not meeting, such as heating our homes, manufacturing and transport. Currently the majority of UK homes use gas for their heating - the government is seeking to move households away from gas boilers and on to heat pumps which use electricity. Ethical cosmetics retailer Lush, has invested £2.3 million in its new Green Hub in Poole, expanding and reinforcing its commitment to the circular economy.
The Green Hub is a building that showcases Lush’s commitment to and investment in finding solutions for materials that could be considered as waste. With six core teams working together at the Green Hub, Lush is creating circular economies, working to close the loop on packaging and water waste, and find solutions to reuse, repurpose, repair and recycle materials from across their business. Lush has operated a Green Hub facility since 2015, and recognising the potential of an in house location dedicated to waste management, the brand invested £2.3m in relocating to and refitting its new 40,000 sq ft premises on the Fleets Corner Business Park. With a building three times the size of its previous location, the capabilities of the Green Hub for processing and reinventing waste have upscaled and expanded. Key functions of the new Green Hub include: granulating plastic as part of the brand’s closed loop Bring it Back recycling scheme; treating wastewater from their manufacturing and laundry processes; repairing machinery to prevent purchasing new; and donating surplus products and lifestyle items to charities and grassroots groups across the country. In 2022, from the new location, Lush was able to recycle 81% of its UK Manufacturing waste, repair over 700 electrical items and donate more than 107,000 products and lifestyle items to those in need. In 2023, with the Green Hub running at its full capacity the capabilities are only set to grow. Using their PET and PPE plastic granulators, the Green Hub team will be able to process 20 tonnes of plastic per week in a closed loop, while the DAF water treatment unit will bring Lush’s wastewater treatment process in-house, processing 500 tonnes of dirty water each year and preventing the need to transport wastewater off-site. As well as taking responsibility for its own waste, Lush wants to encourage and join others in finding solutions to waste problems. The Green Hub will be the first space the brand will be opening to the public on its UK Manufacturing campus, with a schedule of events, workshops and community engagement opportunities designed to allow for environmental focused education and collaboration between local and national businesses, councils, schools and community groups. A series of artificial, concrete rockpools, bolted onto harbour walls in Poole and the Isle of Wight have provided a safe habitat for an abundance of marine life, scientists have found.
The findings show that this could be an effective way to improve coastal ecosystems by helping nature to thrive in urban ports and harbours. A team from Bournemouth University installed 114 of the artificial rockpools – shaped like a typical bathroom sink - across three sites in 2020. For the past three years they have been monitoring the species that inhabit them and comparing the results to species residing on the sea wall. Rockpools retain water during low tide which creates a vital refuge for marine life, providing shelter, food and a nursery habitat. Mobile species like fish and prawns can remain safely immersed in water in the rockpools when the tide goes out. Jess and the team have spotted 65 different species making use of the 45 artificial rockpools installed on a seawall at Sandbanks, including the protected native oyster Ostrea edulis. Other species found include crabs, barnacles, molluscs, small fish, sea squirts and 25 types of seaweed. This compares to 40 species that were found in whatever cracks and crevices they could find on the harbour wall. Inquisitive bass – an important species for the local fishing industry – were also seen investigating the pools during high tide. Further environmental benefits could come from increased biomass - the weight of all living material - in the rockpools, predominantly because of bigger specimens of seaweed. “More biomass means more carbon being removed from the atmosphere and excess nutrients being removed from the water - which can be a problem in Poole Harbour, causing low levels of oxygen,” Jess explained. The artificial rockpools were manufactured by Isle of Wight based eco-engineering company Artecology from low-carbon concrete. To make sure they resembled a natural environment, they were hand finished with rough surfaces and the moulds were lined with giant bubble wrap to create further crevices. “This project has shown how rockpools can help us to ensure nature can continue to survive in urban coastal spaces. They also give residents a chance to connect with nature, learning more about the wealth of wildlife just off the harbour’s edge and the role it plays in preserving our natural environment.” Jess concluded. The project has formed part of the €4.6million Marineff project (MARine INfrastructure EFFects). Marineff is funded by the European Union and involves universities and partners in the South of England and North of France exploring ways to protect and enhance coastal ecosystems. |
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