Norfolk Wildlife Trust has been awarded £81,600 from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to work with local communities at 100 sites across Norfolk. The aim is to encourage local communities to visit, enjoy and learn about the wildlife on their local sites, with more people getting involved in wildlife surveying.
There are more than 1,300
County Wildlife Sites (CWS) and more than 800
churchyards in Norfolk, which provide vital homes for species outside of nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). They are crucial to ‘Living Landscape’ conservation as they often provide the vital links between these designated nature areas enabling wildlife populations to move and thrive. The project will also enable NWT to carry out much needed wildlife surveys on these sites many of which have not been surveyed for ten years or more.
Local volunteers will receive free training, advice and support on the best way to record wildlife and help with surveys. As part of the project NWT will organise guided walks, ‘bioblitz’ events, talks, family days, workshops and much more enabling more people to learn about and enjoy these special places.
Chief Executive of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Brendan Joyce said: “This project is a fantastic opportunity for people to develop skills in wildlife recording, learn more about the contribution these sites make to the Living Landscape and to make a real difference to wildlife conservation through helping to survey and monitor these important wildlife sites.
“We are very grateful to Heritage Lottery Fund for their support. We identified a pressing need to expand our current activity regarding County Wildlife Sites to secure a more in-depth understanding, better management and thereby protection for the wildlife dependant on these sanctuaries. We hope the results of these wildlife surveys will mean more people recognise just how important these places can be for wildlife and that more people enjoy watching and recording their local wildlife.”
Robyn Llewellyn, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East of England, said: “This project is a fantastic opportunity for local people and communities to explore and get involved with the incredible range of natural heritage on their doorstep. We are delighted that, thanks to National Lottery players, we’ve been able to support people to learn about wildlife, develop new skills and enjoy these important sites”.
We would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in helping the project whether through carrying out wildlife surveys or helping at events. If you would like to know more or be kept informed of events and activities being running through the project, please get in touch by email
[email protected] or phone 01603 625540. We will begin training for new survey volunteers in March and April.