29-465: The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people of the county. As of January 2017, it has over 34,000 members and runs 87 nature reserves, 2 nature parks and 11 visitor centres. Essex has one of
58-504: A Geological Conservation Review sites, 2 are scheduled monuments and 7 are local nature reserves . Download coordinates as: The site is a river valley marsh close to the River Stort , which has a varied wetland flora. Grazing and cutting of the marsh in rotation maintains biological diversity. Uncommon plants include marsh willowherb , marsh valerian and marsh arrow-grass , and drainage ditches and two ponds have
87-411: A children's naturalist club. By the late 1980s membership had reached 200,000, increasing to 260,000 in 1995, and over 500,000 by 2004. The combined membership for 2007 stood at 670,000 members, 108,000 belonging to the junior branch Wildlife Watch. By 2012, membership was over 800,000, with over 150,000 Wildlife Watch members. Reed bunting The common reed bunting ( Emberiza schoeniclus )
116-500: A common interest in wildlife and biodiversity, rooted in a practical tradition of land management and conservation. Almost all Wildlife Trusts are significant landowners, with many nature reserves. Collectively they are the third largest voluntary sector landowners in the UK. They often have extensive educational activities, and programmes of public events and education. The Wildlife Trusts centrally and locally also lobby for better protection of
145-480: A mixture of pasture and fen. Some brownfield sites, often on contaminated soil, have populations of nationally scarce species, particularly invertebrates. The EWT's first site was Fingringhoe Wick , which was established in 1961; its visitor centre has views over the Colne Estuary . The largest site is the 400-hectare (990-acre) Hanningfield Reservoir , which has nationally important numbers of gadwalls and
174-419: A rare moss. The smallest is Horndon Meadow at 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres); it is an unimproved hay meadow which has 80 flower species. The whole or part of 6 sites are Ramsar internationally important wetland sites, 29 are Sites of Special Scientific Interest , 3 are national nature reserves , 4 are Special Protection Areas , 2 are Special Areas of Conservation , 7 are Nature Conservation Review sites, 2 are
203-478: A rich aquatic life. The highest part of the island has thorn thickets, separated by grassy rides. The lowest land is saltmarsh, and there is also extensive rough pasture with brackish pools. Flora include sea hog's fennel and lax-flowered sea-lavender , and there are breeding birds such as shelducks and oystercatchers . This former gravel quarry is bisected by the River Hassenbrook. It has one of
232-413: Is monogamous . The nest is built using twigs, grass and reeds lined with finer materials such as hair, moss and rootlets in a bush or reed tussock. 4–5 olive-grey eggs are laid, which show the hair-like markings characteristic of those of buntings. The incubation period is 12–15 days where the chicks are fed by both parents. The reed bunting is not globally threatened and classified as least concern by
261-470: Is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches , Fringillidae. The genus name Emberiza is from Old German Embritz , a bunting. The specific schoeniclus is from Ancient Greek skhoiniklos , a now unknown waterside bird. It breeds across Europe and much of the Palearctic . Most birds migrate south in winter, but those in
290-539: Is a medium-sized bird, 13.5–15.5 cm (5.3–6.1 in) long, with a small but sturdy seed-eater's bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head, and is more streaked below. The song of the male is a repetitive srip . Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. Breeding normally starts in early April, finishing in late August depending on location and altitude. The species
319-407: Is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) . The Wildlife Trusts offer a Biodiversity Benchmark scheme through which companies can be assessed and recognised for their contribution to biodiversity. The assessment covers the organisation's performance under the headings of "Commitment, Planning, Implementation, and Monitoring and Review". The Wildlife Trusts are one of
SECTION 10
#1732772704777348-467: Is an independent charity, with a membership formed of the 46 individual charitable Trusts. It acts as an umbrella group for the individual Wildlife Trusts, as well as operating a separate Grants Unit which administers a number of funds. King Charles III serves as the patron of the Wildlife Trusts. David Bellamy was president of The Wildlife Trusts for ten years between 1995 and 2005, and
377-602: Is mainly coppiced hazel, and other tree include small-leaved lime , crab apple , oak, ash, sweet chestnut , field maple and rowan . There are flowering plants such as wood anemones and foxgloves . The site lies between two tidal creeks which run into the River Crouch . It has saltmarsh and rough grassland with an unusual transition zone between them. Birds include reed buntings , yellow wagtails and meadow pipits , and there are common lizards and slowworms . The Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trusts ,
406-1501: The Pallas's reed bunting , which are sometimes classified as being in the genus Schoeniclus. Nineteen subspecies are recognised, including- E. s. schoeniclus , the nominate subspecies , which occurs in most of Europe, E. s. witherbyi which is found in south Portugal , western Spain , France and Sardinia, E. s. intermedia from Italy and the Adriatic coast to northwest Albania , E. s. reiseri from southeast Albania, northwest Greece , south North Macedonia and west and central Turkey , E. s. caspia from east Turkey and northwest Iran , E. s. korejewi from southwest and eastern Iran and south Turkmenistan , E. s. pyrrhuloides from north Caspian sea region to western Mongolia , southeast Kazakhstan and central Tien Shan , E. s. passerina from northwest Siberia, wintering in south Asia, E. s. parvirostris from central Siberia wintering in northern China , E. s. pyrrhulina from Kamchatka and northern Japan , wintering in central Japan, Korea and eastern China, E. s. pallidior from southwestern Siberia wintering in southwest Asia, E. s. minor from Russian Far East and northeast China, wintering in east China, E. s. ukrainae from Ukraine and adjacent areas of Russia, E. s. incognita from southeastern European Russia to north Kazakhstan and E. s. zaidamensis , endemic to northwest Qinghai , China. The common reed bunting
435-582: The type locality as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden. Nineteen subspecies are recognised. The bird family Emberizidae contains around 300 seed-eating species, the majority of which are found in the Americas, although the genus Emberiza , with more than 40 members, is confined to the Old World. Within its genus, the reed bunting is most closely related to the Japanese reed bunting and
464-637: The Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR), which was formed by Charles Rothschild in 1912. It aimed initially to draw up a list of the country's best wildlife sites with a view to purchase for protection as nature reserves, and by 1915 it had drawn up a list of 284 (including the Farne Islands and the Norfolk Broads ), known as Rothschild Reserves. During the early years, membership tended to be made up of specialist naturalists and its growth
493-560: The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla schoeniclus . This bunting is now placed in the genus Emberiza that Linnaeus had introduced in the same edition of his Systema Naturae . The specific epithet schoeniclus is from the Ancient Greek skhoiniklos , a word that was used by Greek authors for an unidentified bird. Linnaeus specified
522-481: The UK's natural heritage, by becoming involved in planning matters and by national campaigning through the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts . The Trusts rely heavily upon volunteer labour for many of their activities, but nevertheless employ significant numbers of staff in countryside management and education. Thanks to their work promoting the personal and social development of young people, The Wildlife Trusts
551-659: The first urban Wildlife Trust (now the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country ) was established in the West Midlands , rapidly followed by others in London, Bristol and Sheffield. This was a watershed for the movement that strengthened its focus on wildlife and people. It was during this period that some Trusts changed their names from Naturalist Societies to Trusts for Nature Conservation. In 2002
580-589: The geographical areas they served. Encouraged by the growing number of Trusts, the SPNR began in 1957 to discuss the possibility of forming a national federation of Naturalists' Trusts. Kent Naturalists Trust was established in 1958 with SPNR being active in encouraging its formation. In the following year the SPNR established the County Naturalists' Committee, which organised the first national conference for Naturalists' Trusts at Skegness in 1960. By 1964,
609-456: The group changed their name to The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. The badger logo was adopted by the movement to establish its common identity. Also in 2002, the newest wildlife trust was formed, in Alderney . As the number of Trusts grew, so did their combined membership, from 3,000 in 1960 to 21,000 in 1965. Membership topped 100,000 in 1975, and in that year Wildlife Watch was launched as
SECTION 20
#1732772704777638-438: The largest reedbeds in the county, together with rough grassland and marshes. The bird life is diverse, including water rails , grey wagtails and bearded tits . This is coastal freshwater marsh which is grazed by sheep, and is worked by traditional methods which encourage wildlife. Areas of ungrazed rough pasture have badgers , and field voles and pygmy shrews are hunted by hen harriers and short-eared owls . The wood
667-549: The longest coastlines of any English county , with saltmarshes, lagoons, mudflats, grazing marshes, reedbeds and shingle. Its ancient forests were formerly important to the local economy, with wood being used for fuel, construction and bark in the tanning industry. Coppicing is being re-introduced by the EWT to encourage woodland grasses, flowers, invertebrates and birds. A few grasslands on the heavy clays of south- and mid-Essex are still grazed according to traditional methods, supporting
696-414: The milder south and west of the range are resident. It is common in reedbeds and also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and cultivation. For example, it is a component of the purple moor grass and rush pastures , a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe. The common reed bunting was described by
725-492: The number of Trusts had increased to 36 and the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves had changed its name to The Society for the Promotion of Nature Conservation. In recognition of the movement's growing importance, its name was changed to The Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1981. The movement continued to develop throughout the 1970s, and, by the early 1980s, most of today's Trusts had been established. In 1980,
754-494: The steering group partners of Neighbourhoods Green , a partnership initiative which works with social landlords and housing associations to highlight the importance of, and raise the overall quality of design and management for, open and green space in social housing. Kathryn Brown OBE was appointed as the charity’s first director of climate action in January 2022. Today's Wildlife Trust movement began life as The Society for
783-592: The trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts , is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom , the Isle of Man and Alderney . The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than 2,300 nature reserves , covering around 98,500 hectares (243,000 acres). As of 2020 , the Trusts have a combined membership of over 870,000 members. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT)
812-894: Was comparatively slow. The first independent Trust was formed in Norfolk in 1926 as the Norfolk Naturalists Trust, followed in 1938 by the Pembrokeshire Bird Protection Society which after several subsequent changes of name is now the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that more Naturalists' Trusts were formed in Yorkshire (1946), Lincolnshire (1948), Leicestershire (1956) and Cambridgeshire (1956). These early Trusts tended to focus on purchasing land to establish nature reserves in
841-494: Was succeeded by Aubrey Manning . Sir David Attenborough, Simon King and Tony Juniper are all Presidents Emeritus. Stephanie Hilborne OBE was chief executive for 15 years, and left in October 2019. Craig Bennett became CEO from April 6, 2020. Wildlife Trusts are local organisations of differing size, history and origins, and can vary greatly in their constitution, activities and membership. However, all Wildlife Trusts share
#776223