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Green Bits is your guide to the environment brought to you by the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and the Evening Gazette. Published as a supplement of the Evening Gazette, with more than 70,000 copies produced four times each year, Green Bits is circulated with the newspaper and direct to members and corporate supporters of the Wildlife Trust. To read the latest edition of Green Bits online, click here |
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Green Bits gives a regular update on the activities that are going on to improve and care for Tees Valley’s wildlife and wild places. You can find out about all developments and activities for wildlife and there is also lots of information on how you can get involved in your environment, from conservation volunteering to waste recycling.
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For info on Green Bits editorial contact |
For info on Green Bits advertising contact |
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Jeremy Garside Tees Valley Wildlife Trust Margrove Heritage Centre Margrove Park Boosbeck TS12 3BZ
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Patricia Hope Business Development Executive Gazette Media Company Ltd Gazette Buildings Borough Road Middlesbrough TS1 3AZ Tel. 01642 234363 |
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A new green route has been added to Stockton’s footpath network thanks to funding from English Nature’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund and Northern Green Networks.
The surfaced footpath gives people a safe and pleasant route to walk between Ingleby Barwick or central Stockton and Preston Hall Museum. It is also part of the Teesdale Way long distance route that follows the river from source to mouth.
The path has lovely views over the Tees towards the old Barwick Quarry and beyond to the Cleveland Hills. The grant schemes have also supported woodland planting on land around the path and a new hedgerow, which follows the path along its full 520-metre length.
The aim of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund is to address the social and environmental costs of aggregates extraction. It achieves this by delivering environmental improvements and reducing the demand for primary aggregates. The new path at Preston Farm has been constructed entirely from recycled aggregates, with work teams using recycled road surfacing as a sub-base and crushed steelworks slag as a surface dressing. |
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Hedgehogs at School
As part of an “Award for All” lottery funded project, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust has been supporting 20 eco-schools in the Tees Valley by providing them with hedgehog boxes.
Pupils from the schools have been learning all about hedgehogs and what they can do to help them. Some have even been designing their own leaflets and posters. They have been encouraging people not to throw rubbish away and not to use slug pellets – both harmful to hedgehogs. Pupils were involved in concealing the boxes in wildlife areas in their grounds and they will be monitoring them to see if they are used. |
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Awards go to Middlesbrough Projects
Two local projects have taken honours at the 2008 Waterways Renaissance Awards.
The Hemlington Lakes Angling Improvements Scheme won the Defra-sponsored Community Award, and Middlesbrough’s Clean Becks Campaign was also commended in the Natural England-backed Natural Environment category, at the well-attended gala ceremony at Manchester’s Imperial War Museum North.
Both projects are part of the Environment Agency’s Tees Valley Project, which aims to tackle environmental issues across the region. At Hemlington Lake the Agency is working with partners and the local community to improve and promote fishing facilities and access and protect the lake’s wildlife. The first phase of improvement work has included the installation of 17 fishing platforms made from recycled plastic and increased access to the lake for all, including disabled and wheelchair-bound visitors. The Clean Becks Campaign is a partnership project involving the Environment Agency, Middlesbrough Council and the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and tackles littering and fly-tipping in the town’s beck valleys.
The work has been funded by the Environment Agency, Groundwork South Tees and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund through the Middlesbrough Partnership.
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Wildflower WalksThe Wildflower Ark has produced a 36-page full colour booklet containing 10 illustrated wildflower walks, each providing an opportunity for the beginner with an interest in wildflowers to visit a selection of habitats and discover some of their plant life. The walks, which are of varying length, have been contributed by members of the Cleveland Naturalists Field Club and Hartlepool Natural History Society, and are laid out so as to make the finding and identification of the wildflowers named as easy as possible. The production of the booklet has been funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This means the booklet will be on sale for just £1.50, with all proceeds going towards future reprints. It is on sale in the Reception at Nature’s World, in local bookshops and visitor centres or directly from The Wildflower Ark, Nature’s World, Ladgate Lane, Acklam, Middlesbrough TS5 7YN.
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Green hearts take root Rachel Clarke is the new Heritage and Environmental Arts Officer at Tees Valley Arts. She introduces an exciting new project on which she is embarking in partnership with the Wildlife Trust and Tees Forest "I am really looking forward to getting outdoors and getting to know some more of the fantastic green hearts in the Tees Valley. Green HeArts is the first project to take shape with Tees Forest, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, artists and five primary schools in the area." Schools involved will visit a local wildlife site and work with three artists using natural materials, sound and writing to interpret the environment. The art work created will be brought together in a leaflet and manual so that other schools can experience different ways of learning about the wildlife in their local area. The artists involved have had previous experiences working in wild places, including Antarctica and Finland. “This is a fantastic project”, said composer Craig Vear who will be working on the project. “It provides great opportunities to work with young people, teachers and environmental organisations creating a lasting legacy.” Green HeArts has been supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. If you would like further information about the project or Tees Valley Arts contact Rachel Clarke on 01642 264651 |
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Ten thousand square metres of new woodland has been planted on the banks of the Tees in Stockton, thanks to support from Gazette readers and Wildlife Trust members.
More than 200 people made donations to the Wildlife Trust and through the Evening Gazette, with five trees planted for every ten pounds donated. Lots of different people have helped plant the trees including employee groups, volunteers and staff from the Wildlife Trust.
Tree species have been chosen to match Bassleton Woods and other areas of established woodland growing along the Tees, so that the new woodland reflects the character of local woods, rather than having the appearance of landscape planting. This means that a fairly narrow range of tree species have been planted and most of them will be oak, ash or elm.
Small, young trees have been planted, as these are quicker to establish their roots and begin growing than if bigger trees were planted. The area is sometimes visited by roe deer (they even turned up while volunteers were tree planting) and deer like to nibble the soft tops of young trees, so tree guards have been used to protect the saplings during their early years.
Local companies have made a special contribution towards establishing the woodland. White Young Green, an engineering and environmental consultancy with offices in Stockton, paid for 25 trees to be planted and Plus Fives Out of School Care paid for 10 trees. Browns estate agents, another Stockton firm, decided to plant 160 trees and staff from the company chose to visit the site for an afternoon to plant some of the trees that they had contributed.
The new woodland at Preston Farm is best visited from Preston Park (which has car parking and other facilities.) Follow the Teesdale Way footpath back towards Stockton. The new woodland is on a south-facing slope overlooking the river, just beyond the buildings of Preston Farm.
There is plenty of space left for more trees at Preston Farm. If you would like to help with this project send your donation (£10 for five trees) to Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, Margrove Heritage Centre, Saltburn TS12 3BZ |
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A new conservation team is making huge improvements to the path routes around Middlesbrough. Last summer the Team were responsible for a beautiful looping path route around the Fairy Dell on Marton West Beck. In the Autumn, they went on to renovate a network of paths in Linthorpe Cemetery Local Nature Reserve. And now they are back on Marton West Beck, repairing paths, steps and timber walkways so that the locals can safely gain access to the countryside on their doorstep. Stewart Williams, the Public Rights of Way Officer for Middlesbrough Council said, "I'd like to thank the Team for all the work they have carried out last year and this on the Marton West Beck route and other sites. I have been impressed at both the work that has been done and the professionalism of all who have been involved." If you could benefit from the services offered by the Work Team, please contact Tricia Regan at Tees Valley Wildlife Trust on 016287 636382. |
More Greenbits can be seen at: www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/the-environment/green-bits/
