West of England Nature Partnership 2024 Conference: From Strategy to Action for Nature

Join us at this year’s conference to get a first look at the priorities for nature’s recovery in our region’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy. The Partnership will also launch its Nature Recovery Prospectus, setting out how we will secure investment over the coming years to bring the strategy to life.

You will hear from the West of England’s environmental leaders, politicians, businesses and other partners about pioneering programmes like the Western Forest, chalk and limestone landscape restoration, reconnecting rivers for species like salmon and eel, and managing our coastlines for nature and climate resilience. Full programme coming soon – please refer to the Eventbrite page for updates.

This year’s conference will be held on Thursday  7th November 2024 at the Bristol Pavilion, Gloucestershire County Cricket Ground.

REGISTER NOW to secure your place. The event will be in-person only.

Festival of Nature 2025 – a new water theme!

Festival of Nature is a West of England wide programme – in 2024 over 110 organisations took part, delivering 96 events to over 30,000 visitors.
The aim is to raise awareness of nature, places and projects in the region – as well as providing audiences with tangible opportunities to take positive action for nature.

In 2025 the Festival is taking on a theme – water. We’ll be celebrating our rivers, wetlands, garden ponds – a range of habitats and species. We’ll be showcasing major infrastructure projects, and inviting the region’s cultural industries to help us surface history and write new stories about the role of water in the West of England.

We’re developing the approach, and will announce our plans in September 2025. We’d love to hear from any WENP members keen to collaborate – please contact Ellie at ellie@bnhc.org.uk.

Wider Partner Updates

Avon Needs Trees is excited to be starting work on the Lower Chew Landscape Recovery Project.
Landscape Recovery (LR) is one of DEFRA’s post-Brexit land management subsidies and is a large-scale, long-term scheme that supports land to be managed for nature. ANT has been awarded Development Funding, which means that over the next 18 months, they will be developing a plan to manage land for nature alongside the other landowners involved. The plan will be implemented over several decades, during the Implementation Phase.

Two of ANT’s woodlands – Great Avon Wood and Lower Chew Forest – are nested within the 860+ hectare catchment and the scheme offers an opportunity to enhance woodland connectivity across the landscape. ANT will be working closely with BART who will be delivering on the river-based elements of the project.

Over the next 18 months, ANT will be undertaking widespread ecological baselining of the landscape, identifying opportunities for landscape recovery and forming a plan to deliver this. ANT will also be developing a Blended Finance plan to fund the project over the next two decades.

ANT has now hired its new LR team, with 3 team members starting in the next 4-6 weeks.
ANT is also currently recruiting for Head of Business Development who will be leading on this – please head to our website to find out more.

Bristol Avon RiverBlitz 2024: Calling All Citizen Scientists!

The annual Bristol Avon RiverBlitz is underway!
From July 5th to July 12th 2024, we invite everyone in the Bristol Avon area to participate in sampling your local rivers, streams, and ditches.

To register for the Bristol Avon RiverBlitz 2024, please follow this link: https://bristolavonriverstrust.org/riverblitz/register
By signing up, you will receive a free water quality testing kit, which includes everything you need to conduct a RiverBlitz at your chosen river site, along with detailed instructions on how to accurately collect your data.

BART will also be hosting two in-person events where participants can if they wish, collect their kits and learn how to undertake sampling in person:

1. Land Yeo
   Watercress Farm, Bristol Road, Wraxall, BS48 1NE
   Sun, 7 Jul 2024, 10:00am to 2:00pm BST
2. Wiper and True Brewery & Taproom
   Unit 11, City Business Park, Easton Road, Bristol, BS5 0SP
   Thu, 11 Jul 2024, 4:00pm to 8:00pm BST

Floating Ecosystems Launched in Bristol Harbour

Bristol City Council and Biomatrix launched the first phase of a 700m2 Floating Ecosystem project into Bristol Harbour, as part of this year’s Festival of Nature.

This exciting initiative is part of Bristol City Council’s project (funded by the West of England Combined Authority) to provide new moorings and facilities for the boating community at Capricorn Quay, a picturesque area within Bristol’s floating harbour, located just across from the iconic SS Great Britain.

The launch was a hands-on community event, bringing together festival-goers of all ages. Enthusiastic visitors, both young and old, rolled up their sleeves to help plant the Ecosystems and carefully transport them to the launch site at Canon’s Marsh Amphitheatre. From there, the newly planted islands were towed along to their new home at Capricorn Quay.

More details and photos can be found here, Biomatrix at the Festival of Nature in Bristol (mailchi.mp), as well as a BBC article: Platforms covered in native plants released in Bristol Harbour – BBC News

South Gloucestershire Council Vacancy – Climate and Nature Emergency Project Manager

If you are passionate about nature recovery and partnership working, this is a fantastic opportunity to join our team and work with partners and communities in South Gloucestershire and the West of England to develop and deliver landscape scale nature recovery and climate resilience work across the Lower Severn Vales, Levels and Shore. This area is internationally important for wildlife and key areas of work will include habitat creation and restoration, catchment recovery, high tide roosts, fish passage, biosecurity, species recovery (including European eel, water vole, glow worm), and engagement with communities and landowners. Info below, and get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Closing date 14 July

Job ad: Climate and Nature Emergency Project Manager in Yate – South Gloucestershire Council (southglos.gov.uk)

Contact: Rowena.Kenny@southglos.gov.uk ; Matthew.Lipton@southglos.gov.uk ; Barry.Wyatt@southglos.gov.uk

The Wst of England Combined Authority have partnered with Wildscreen, a wildlife conservation charity based in Bristol, to invite young people aged 13-18 years old from Bath, North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire to tell their nature stories in Summer 2024 through photographs and short films.

The ‘Wild West’ youth film and photography competition is open until 31st August. More details, resources and submission forms available on the Wildscreen website here: Wildscreen ARK

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