Dear Subscriber

What a year this has been? As we emerge from lockdown once again, we wanted to use this space to share some positive stories about what's happening in the Shropshire Hills. Despite the restrictions in place this year, meetings may have moved online, but many conservation projects and landscape enhancement activities have continued on the ground.  A big thank you to all involved in making this happen.

Integrating climate change and nature recovery

We took part in the recent South Shropshire Climate Conference and Phil Holden gave a presentation in the Land & Biodiversity session on integrating climate change and nature recovery responses.  The online conference was attended by 120 people and themes included Transport, Energy & Buildings and Land & Biodiversity.  You can view Phil’s 10 minute presentation on YouTube.

We are working closely with the South Shropshire Climate Action Group and the Shropshire Climate Action Partnership, contributing to the plans for transition to net zero and ecological recovery.  See the resources and opportunities to get involved at https://shropshireclimateaction.co.uk/ and https://zerocarbonshropshire.org/

We're also preparing a Nature Recovery Plan for the AONB. Click on the photograph below to find out more about our priority species for nature recovery in the Shropshire Hills.

Supporting a healthy environment for farming & wildlife

Last autumn we embarked on Defra’s Environmental Land Management Test & Trials with the Upper Onny Farmer Group. This was led by the National Trust as part of the Stepping Stones project. Working collaboratively with the Upper Onny farmers, the project team identified measures which are good for their farm businesses as well as the environment and developed a methodology to write a Whole Farm Plan. The aim of Whole Farm Plans is to ensure a healthy and wildlife rich countryside is part and parcel of viable and profitable working farms.  Five farmers took part in the first phase of testing the methodology, and this autumn a further five farms have volunteered to trial Whole Farm Plans.  The results will be sent to Defra to inform the design of the future Environmental Land Management scheme and we hope some or many of the features of our Whole Farm Plan methodology will be adopted nationally as the new scheme rolls out. 

Tree planting - more, bigger, better & joined

The UK’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have jointly pledged that by 2030 at least 36,000 hectares of new woodland will have been planted or allowed to regenerate – with the right tree in the right place. Here in the Shropshire Hills we have higher than the national average tree cover, but we still need to do our bit.  For a number of years we have been working in partnership with the Woodland Trust to support landowners to plant more trees.  These schemes have included planting small woodlands and hedgerows help to conserve soils, improve water infiltration and to help connect and restore a network of habitats that allow wildlife and people to thrive. Click on the link for information about support for tree planting in the Shropshire Hills through the Woodland Trust’s MOREWoods scheme.

Shropshire Council Community Tree Scheme

Applications are invited from people who wish to plant trees and short sections of hedging and create small areas of woodland in Shropshire. The planting must be fully visible to the public, if not directly accessible, and support the objectives of enhancing landscape and wildlife values.

The Conservation Fund is a small grant pot, administered by the Shropshire Hills AONB Trust, which can award up to £2,000 towards local projects.  Over the years, the Fund has supported many conservation, community and educational projects.  From habitat management for rare species such as the Wood White butterfly, whinchat, dormice and curlew, to creating pollinator gardens in community spaces, restoring village verges and enabling volunteers to monitor wildlife. The Fund has also helped many school children and young people to get outside, enjoy and explore the 'hills' on their doorstep. 

Donating to the Conservation Fund; join Friends of the Shropshire Hills and your subscription goes straight into the grant pot, or make a one-off donation either online or by contacting us.  Local groups have projects they would like to undertake, and the ideas and energy are there: with additional funds we can turn goodwill and bright ideas into positive action in our community.

Restoring Shropshire's Verges Project (RSVP) This started in Egdton with a grant from the Conservation Fund to support verge restoration and raise awareness.  From this, the initiative has grown into a south Shropshire wide campaign, working with Shropshire Council to change verge management policy, and taking on the management of ‘demonstration verges’.   Around 8770m2 of verges are now managed as wildflower meadow by the group.  The Conservation Fund has continued to support other village verge initiatives which has helped to build momentum and formalise the work of RSVP.   Find out more here.

Recruiting project officers for Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons

This national project is currently recruiting the Project Officers for each of the four areas – Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Shropshire Hills and Dartmoor. The roles are four days a week for three years.  If you know of anyone who would be interested in any of these roles please pass this on to them. The deadline is 23^rd Dec 2020 and interviews will be held in the week commencing 11^th January 2021.  Applications are via the National Trust portal at https://bit.ly/3qeYcVb.  For more information about the project click here.

Riverside habitats - a catchment based approach Here in the Shropshire Hills we have over 1000km of watercourses, continuous threads in the landscape, linking uplands and lowlands.  Much of our river catchment work involves improving the health of rivers by preventing soil and nutrients from entering the water. This autumn, 400+ trees have been planted at a farm on the River Clun. The trees will help to improve riverbank stability and reduce the amount of soil entering the river.  We have also created new wet woodland on a low lying wet area of the field, helping to join up habitats along the river corridor.  In the Kemp catchment, we are working with another landowner to divert muddy track and road runoff into small wetlands to trap the silt and nutrients. These projects are two of several planned this winter to restore riparian habitats and improve water quality in the AONB.  Click here to find out more about our river catchment work.  The project is funded by Woodland Trust and the Environment Agency.

Opportunities for young people passionate about the Shropshire Hills

We are delighted to welcome Joe Penfold to our team as the Young Rangers Project Officer.  Working with South Shropshire Youth Forum, Joe will be setting up 4 Young Ranger groups for young people (aged 12-16), who are interested in the environment and would like to learn some new skills and make new likeminded friends.  Practical site-based sessions will run out of school at weekends or in the holidays, with some weekend courses such as hedge-laying/coppicing and occasional longer projects such as building a boardwalk or restoring a footpath.

For more information please contact either Joe or Richard:

• For Bishops Castle/Clun & Pontesbury/Stiperstones areas email Joe Penfold joe.penfold@shropshire.gov.uk 
• For Clee Hill & Craven Arms/Church Stretton areas email Rich Morley richssyf@yahoo.com

We also have opportunities through the ‘leadership’ element of the project for young people of 15-20+ to work with us on big issues such as climate change and nature recovery.  This is an opportunity to learn, to influence and to represent young people’s views to decision makers.  Do get in touch with us to find out more -  please email joe.penfold@shropshire.gov.uk

On the frontline It’s not unusual for some of our most well-known outdoor places to be busy. Sunny holiday weekends and bank holidays are an essential part of keeping the visitor economy afloat. We need the highs to get through the lows, but this year's extremes and restrictions stretched the capacity of many of our outdoor spaces. This was amplified by the closures within Wales, blocking the route to the coast for many thousands of day visitors from all over the West Midlands. A ‘flash-flood’ of post-lockdown visitors put Church Stretton and Carding Mill Valley on the national news when their numbers exceeded the town’s capacity to cope. Even remote places, like Stapeley Common, felt the pressure of more cars and people. Our initial response was to offer what we could to help on the ground.  Members of the AONB team assisted the National Trust at Cardingmill Valley providing an extra presence to manage visitor pressures.  In July, we launched the Church Stretton Shuttle bus, to connect the valley and town to the new overspill car park. In six weekends the bus carried 1,200 passengers. This was part of several measures led by Church Stretton Town Council.  This included a temporary parking field, roadside parking restrictions, new signage, traffic management and support from local community police officers. As everywhere, the profile and behaviour of visitors was different this year.  During the summer we carried out visitor survey questionnaires in Church Stretton and Cardingmill Valley to understand the new trends.  It was clear that many day visitors had come from further away than in previous years, and many were basing visits on word of mouth recommendations.  Further analysis will help us work with partners to manage future peak periods.

Frost Fair at the Discovery Centre this weekend, 5 & 6th December

The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms reopens on 2nd December to welcome visitors. With it's Covid-safe plan in place, the team have been working hard to keep staff and visitors safe. The Centre is a great starting point to find out more about the Shropshire Hills landscape and includes an award winning cafe, interactive exhibition, gift shop and information point.  There is also 30 acres of riverside meadow to enjoy and waymarked walks to help you explore surrounding countryside. This weekend (5 & 6 Dec) is their annual Frost Fair, selling a selection of handmade crafts and Christmas gifts from talented Shropshire crafts people. Find out more at https://www.shropshirehillsdiscoverycentre.co.uk/

A simple gift this Christmas  Support the Shropshire Hills by becoming a Friend from as little as £3/month. Your subscription goes entirely into our Conservation Fund which supports local projects to raise awareness and conserve the Shropshire Hills landscape, its diverse wildlife and rich heritage.

Shropshire Hills AONB is one of 46 AONBs in the UK. The AONB Partnership is hosted by Shropshire Council and funded also by Defra, Telford & Wrekin Council and project funders.

 Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership, Unit 9 Drovers House, 
The Auction Yard, CRAVEN ARMS, SY7 9BZ
01743 254740
www.shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk
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