Go wild in your park with the RSPB

Aldi & RSPB Wild Parks- David Broadbent 

• RSPB Connecting with Nature report revealed that only one in five children are connected with nature and are not spending a healthy amount of time outside.
• The RSPB and ALDI have today launched the Wild Parks project aimed at getting families to take a step closer to nature by discovering the wild side of their city.
• Families will be able to join an RSPB expert in parks across Liverpool throughout the summer.

 

With the amount of time children and families are spending outside in nature in decline, Europe’s largest conservation charity and discount supermarket ALDI, are challenging families to get out and go wild in their local city park this summer with the RSPB.

The RSPB Connecting with Nature report revealed that children in the UK were missing out on a wealth of mental and physical benefits from not spending enough time outside, with only one in five having a healthy connection to nature.

To encourage more children and their families to take a step closer to nature the RSPB has launched Wild Parks aimed at getting people to uncover the wild side of their city.

From now until September, families will be able to join an RSPB expert in parks across Liverpool for a range of fun and engaging activities aimed at helping families take their first steps on their own wild adventure. There are a number of activities on offer ranging from minibeast safaris and scavenger hunts to bioblitzing and national treasure hunts, which are all free and do not require pre-sign up.

Mary Breeze, RSPB Wild Parks Family Events Officer for Liverpool, said: “Families gain so much from being outside exploring and discovering nature. Summer is the perfect time to get outside and connect with the natural world. You don't have to travel far from home to embark on your wild adventure; there is loads of wildlife just waiting to be discovered in your local park. From bugs to butterflies, hedgehogs to house sparrows – it’s always a thrill to see what wildlife is making its home there.

“Getting outside and discovering nature is important whether your motivation is happy healthy children, memorable family time or to see our towns and countryside richer in nature. The opportunity to connect with nature should be a part of every child’s life and the RSPB Wild Parks project is here to help every family to explore the wild side of their city.”

Wild Parks also offers the opportunity for families to start their own wild adventure at home with the RSPB Wild Challenge. With 24 activities to choose from, the Wild Challenge will take you from your own back garden to exploring wildlife in towns, cities, woodlands and even the coast. Participants can then log their achievements on the Wild Challenge website in order to collect their bronze, silver and gold awards.

The RSPB’s ambition is for the Wild Challenge to help more families across the country reap the benefits of spending time outside in nature. Research has shown that children who have a healthy connection to nature are more likely to benefit from higher achievement at school, better mental and physical health, and develop stronger social skills.

Jonathan Neale, Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying at Aldi, said: “We’re proud of what our partnership with the RSPB has achieved so far, and are pleased to help promote the importance of safeguarding the environment, while helping families get closer to nature through this new Wild Parks initiative.” 

For further information about park events happening near you, visit www.rspb.org.uk/wildparks

To start your own wild adventure, visit www.rspb.org.uk/wildchallenge

Saturday 3 June

Wild Parks - Stanley Park

Sunday 4 June

Wild Parks - Newsham Park

Wednesday 7 June

Wild Parks - Wildlife Workshop - Stanley Park

What’s going on in the garden? New poll reveals what people are up to in their gardens and backyards

Gatekeeper

Have you ever wondered what’s going on in your neighbour’s garden? Are you worried that you’ll be caught having a gawp? Well now you don’t have to. Recent RSPB polls have revealed what’s going on in people’s gardens all over the UK – from what wildlife they’d like to see more of in their outdoor space to what is the most likely item to be passed over the garden fence.

   

It was revealed that almost two-thirds (65%) of people in the UK would like to see more butterflies in their garden, making them the most commonly desired garden species. Garden birds, such as robins, starlings and house sparrows, swiftly followed with 62% of people wanting to see more of them, with the top three rounded off by hedgehogs (53%) 

 Robins

Commenting on the results, Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation’s Head of Recording, said: “Butterflies bring bright colours and graceful movement to our gardens and epitomise the long, warm days of summer. They also provide an important signal about the state of other pollinating insects; a garden full of butterflies will support a myriad of other beneficial and fascinating creatures too.”

As to be expected relaxation proved to be the most popular main function for many gardens in the UK, with 44% of people with an outdoor space using them to kick back and relax. However, almost 1 in 10 (9%) see the main function of their garden or outdoor space is to help support wildlife .

Richard Bashford, RSPB Giving Nature a Home Project Manager, said: “Gardens and outdoor spaces are a place that people love to socialise, spend time with the kids and just generally relax after a long day. But the great thing about gardens is that they are multi-functional – we can socialise and relax in them but they’re also a perfect place for people to help support wildlife. And having a garden brimming full of wildlife makes them even lovelier places to enjoy.”

Hedgehogs

You don’t need green fingers to make your garden more wildlife-friendly. The RSPB’s free Giving Nature a Home guide is full of useful hints, tips and activities for the whole family - there’s something for everyone and every size of garden.  

Richard added: “The polls showed three-quarters of the UK population with a garden or outdoor space feel that it is important to encourage wildlife into gardens . The RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign encourages people to get out in their garden and do something for nature; no matter how big or small, it will make a huge difference and help nature find a home.”

It was also revealed that the UK is a nation of people who enjoy a gossip with their neighbour. In the answer to the question ‘which, if any, of the following items are you or your neighbour most likely to pass over the garden fence’ 21% of people surveyed answered ‘gossip’, another 6% answered ‘flower bulbs/seeds’ and ‘ladder’, and 5% said ‘hedge clippers’ and ‘wildlife/gardening advice’ .

The polls were carried out to get an insight into how people helped UK wildlife in their garden or outdoor space, and if they felt it was important to encourage other people where they lived to do the same.  

Through the RSPB’s campaign Giving Nature a Home you can help tackle the housing crisis facing the UK’s threatened wildlife. The charity is asking people to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and outside space – whether it is by pollen-rich plants to attract bees and butterflies, putting up a nest box for a house sparrow, or creating a pond that will support a number of different species.

To find out more about the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign and how you can help, visit: www.rspb.org.uk/homes

Calling Competition Kings & Queens

For the poets

Closing date March 1st 2015.

http://www.therialto.co.uk/pages/nature-poetry-competition-2014/

(http://www.therialto.co.uk/pages/2014/01/30/the-rialto-rspb-poetry-competition-2013/)

2013 winner  -Kites

Seems all the city's sly guys pitched up at the park.
A couple of hundred pariahs, idly climbing spirals
Of dense dusk air, twisting their two-finger tails:
A devil crowd, loafing on thermals, presaging dark.
This is no free-flowing flock, no liquid shoal that wheels
As one in-unison wave: these are scavenger anti-souls
Forming vortices of slo-mo dervishes,
Each spiky silhouette in separate gyration.
Hell-born hoodlums, who thrive on all that perishes.
Some pack out the lifeless branches of a leafless grove:
They lift lapels to check the contents of their pockets,
Correcting brown-coat buttons with a flick of their beak-knives,
Or brush the Delhi dust from their death-black jackets;
Then one by one flap up to join the anarchist claque
That cracks the abnegate sky - that lumbering bomber stack
Of cut-outs, off on a night-raid, stark-hard flags unfurled.
They soar and scorn the din, pharp-parping to damnation,
The busy-ness below, the choke-locked inner ring,
The humans who learned today they're more than half urban.
No: this couldn't-care-less congregation would not lift a wing
If you told them tomorrow is doomsday, and they the last left alive.
Forewarned, they'd still flop off to run their lazy rackets,
Go poke through piles of plastic trash in derelict dives,
Then gather to shrug disdain at the end of the day, or world.

For the Snappers

RSPB Calendar competition 2016

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/competitions/calendar.aspx

VOTE FOR BOB

https://www.voteforbob.co.uk/

Hi, I’m Bob.

I may just be one small red squirrel, but I have big ambitions. I want my young,

and yours, to inherit a world where they can thrive.

I’m challenging all politicians to take care of the wildlife and natural places we all enjoy.

I’m not asking you to become a treehugger – that’s my job. But in the run-up to the

UK General Election, while our politicians are busy creating manifestos full of ideas

they believe will win them votes, now’s the time to get nature on their agenda.

It’s time to buzz around the politicians’ ears, fill their inboxes and invade their newsfeeds

with our message.

It’s time to tell them to stop counting the cost of saving nature and start seeing

how much it’s worth.

It’s time to say remember, nature’s your home too.

Tell your politicians you care about nature.

Vote for me now by adding your name to my petition at voteforbob.co.uk

https://www.voteforbob.co.uk/

Red Squirrel, Formby Reserve

Ta

Laura

A Merry Christmas From RSPB Liverpool

Dear members and blog followers,

I would like to say that 2013 has been an interesting year.

Our group continues to grow. The speakers have been excellent and thought provoking. The outdoor field trips have seen us enjoy some great spectacles, wonderful birds and nature but even better great camaraderie. The idea of hiring community transport has helped us cut down on our carbon footprint and made us a greener group. There are a few new ideas for 2014 which I hope you will all enjoy and I look forward to leading you in 2014.

The groups committee has seen a few changes but we need to continue to adapt. New technologies have given us a great way to communicate with people and help to raise the profile of RSPB Liverpool and the RSPB and our ethos.   We have developed some wonderful partnerships with Mersey Ferries, Liverpool Palm House, the National Wildflower centre and others.

I'm sure you would all like to thank the committee and our helpers who support us throughout the year.

As I look forward to 2014 I wish to see the group numbers grow to over 200. On a sad note birds and nature are still struggling in our area and we must continue to support and raise fund which can be used by RSPB to create new nature reserves or build better sea defences.

I wish you all a happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Keep Birding.
Chris

Chris Tynan
Leader
RSPB Liverpool Local group
email: christtynan@aol.com

Just one in five UK children connected to nature

 RSPB Wildlife Explorers Liverpool

Just one in five UK children  connected to nature , groundbreaking study finds For the first time ever, a study to determine how connected UK children are to nature has been carried out.

A three-year research project, undertaken by the RSPB, found that only 21% of children in the UK have a level of connection to nature that can be considered  realistic and achievable  for all children. The report s findings will be released at an event at the Houses of Parliament tonight [16 October].

The report comes as a result of growing concerns over generations of children with little or no contact with the natural world and wildlife, which the RSPB believes is one of the biggest threats to UK nature.

The new study shows there are statistically significant differences between children s connection to nature at a national level across the UK, as well as between boys and girls, and British urban and rural

homes.

In May, 25 wildlife organisations, including the RSPB, released the groundbreaking State of Nature report , which revealed 60 per cent of the wildlife species studied have declined over

recent decades. The charity believes that ensuring young people are connected to nature will mean they develop deeply-held feelings and attitudes towards wildlife and the world we all live in, and as a

result will care enough to help save it in the future.

Dr Mike Clarke, RSPB Chief Executive, will address MPs at a reception tonight, where he will reveal the report s findings and urge governments and local authorities to adopt this new approach.  He will

say:  This report is ground-breaking stuff. Millions of people are increasingly worried that today's children have less contact with nature than ever before, but until now there has been no robust scientific attempt to measure and track connection to nature among children in the UK, which means the problem hasn t been given the attention it deserves.

Nature is in trouble, and children s connection to nature is closely linked to this. The recent State of Nature report shows that nature in the UK is being lost at a dramatic rate. We can all take action to put

nature back into childhood, to ensure young people have better lives and a better future.

For the first time, we have created a baseline that we and others can use to measure just how connected to nature the UK s children really  are. By adopting this new approach, we can all monitor childrens connection and we are recommending that governments and local authorities take action to increase it through policy and practice decisions.

Over the last decade, a large amount of research has been carried out into the diverse benefits for children of contact with nature and outdoor experiences. These benefits include positive impacts on education, physical health emotional wellbeing and personal and social skills.

Evidence about the impact of an inactive and indoors childhood has grown over the summer with the Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation calling for a return to the  traditional outdoors childhood 

The RSPB believes everyone, from governments to organisations and individuals, has a role to play in connecting children to nature, which is why it has signed up to The Wild Network. The Wild Network is a

unique and pioneering collaboration between organisations with an aim to let kids get back their  wild time  and reverse the trend of children losing touch with the natural world and playing outdoors.

In North West England, the RSPB has a number of nature reserves offering a range of facilities and activities to encourage children and their families to get more connected with nature. On 31 October, Leighton Moss at Silverdale is giving children the opportunity to make a hedgehog hotel for their garden. The reserve also

runs Nature Tots, a monthly interactive trail for toddlers with the next event on 6 November.

The kind support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the University of Essex made this research possible.

Andrew Barnett, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the UK, says:  We are delighted to have supported this groundbreaking study. Robust evidence of children s connection with nature will be a

powerful lever for change.

Find out what the RSPB is doing in North West England on Facebook at RSPB North West England.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/RSPB-North-West-England/165174903685296

STEPPING UP FOR NATURE

MAKE YOUR NATURE COUNT ARRIVES IN MERSEYSIDE

JUNE 2 - 10

The RSPB is well known for its dedication to helping everything that tweets, but the launch of its forthcoming Make Your Nature Count survey confirms how much the conservation charity is just as keen to support all garden wildlife from those that snuffle and forage to those that slither and slime.

Make Your Nature Count, running from the 2-10 June 2012, asks people to count the wildlife in their garden or local park over the summer.

Not only is the RSPB asking people to record birds in Merseyside, but it also wants to know about some of the other wildlife visiting gardens in the area, like hedgehogs, squirrels, deer and for the first time ever, slow-worms.

Last year 80,000 people nationwide stepped up for nature and took part in the RSPB’s summer survey. Everyone can help save nature by taking part and by doing this survey it helps the RSPB understand what is happening in gardens so they can act by directing their efforts where needed. 

Results revealed almost half of Merseyside gardens had baby blackbirds.  Many of those taking part also said that they saw bats in their gardens, with 22% seeing them regularly in the county.

In Merseyside, hedgehogs were seen in 19% of gardens monthly compared to 23% nationwide 

Sarah Houghton, the RSPB’s Make Your Nature Count manager, said: “Gardens are teeming with wildlife at this time of year so it’s the perfect time to take a moment and enjoy it. It also helps to build an important snapshot of summer wildlife in our gardens so we can see which species are thriving and which might need our help.”

Last year’s survey also revealed that grass snakes were around eleven times more likely in rural gardens than urban ones, with nearly one in fifty participants nationally reporting regular sightings.

At this time of year, gardens and green spaces are alive with young birds and the RSPB is asking people to look out for blackbird, robin and song thrush chicks. Counting young birds helps to give an indication of how important our gardens are for these birds to breed in.

Similar to how the RSPB’s winter survey, Big Garden Birdwatch, identifies trends among wintering bird populations, the RSPB believes, in time, Make Your Nature Count will build a picture about summer wildlife in gardens and green spaces nationwide.

Since its launch in 2009 many different species have been recorded in gardens and green spaces in summer. This information is helping identify how summer species are faring and which may need help. By participating in Make Your Nature Count you can help the RSPB save nature.

The RSPB also offers advice on how to make your garden more attractive to wildlife, so that you can see even more wonderful creatures. 

But don’t worry if you don’t have a garden; why not take your friends and family to the local park, have a picnic, relax, enjoy the sunshine and watch the wildlife that lives there too.

Sarah added: “We hope thousands of people will step up for nature and donate a little bit of their time in June to help save the nature on their doorstep by taking part in this simple garden wildlife survey.”

To take part, simply spend one hour during the week of 2-10 June, counting the birds and the other wildlife that visit your garden or green space, record the highest number of each species seen at any one time and send us your results.

For further information about Make Your Nature Count visit the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount where an online survey form will be available from 2^nd June.

Alternatively, ring 0300 456 8330 for a Make Your Nature Count survey form. The hotline number will be operational until 6^th June 2012.

The table shows the percentage of Merseyside gardens that recorded other wildlife than birds in 2011:  

Species	% seen regularly (at least monthly)
Bat	22
Frog	33
Hedgehog	19
Toad	7
Badger	0.5
Grass snake	0
Great crested newt	1

Make Your Nature Count is part of Stepping Up for Nature, the RSPB’s latest campaign to help save nature. See www.rspb.org.uk/steppingup  for more information