Dear Subscriber

From the Shropshire Hills to Skagen, ‘where two seas meet’

In July, two Shropshire Hills Young Rangers, Kai and Juliette, headed to the northern-most part of Denmark, Frederikshavn, for the 19th International Junior Ranger Camp. They were chosen based on the outstanding motivation they showed in a short written application. They travelled to join 45 other young rangers from fifteen different protected landscapes all across Europe. Joe Penfold, Young Rangers Project Officer, accompanied Kai and Juliette on the bumper-packed trip which included a visit to an amazing oceanarium, a trip to Skagen ‘where the two seas meet’ (North/Baltic) and to the Råbjerg Mile, Europe's biggest inland dune system. The young rangers carried out some practical conservation work, travelling to Jutland to help restore dune heath by clearing a non-native rose species, and clearing  some well-preserved Neolithic burial mounds of blackthorn, elder and broom. They also immersed themselves in a large-scale 'land art' artwork and went canoeing and paddle boarding. Kai and Juliette gave a café-style presentation about the Shropshire Hills landscape, its wildlife and history, and talked about the conservation activities they get up to as young rangers. Joe joined workshops with other leaders to share information about our programme and how we have engaged with young people.  This fantastic opportunity was made possible by the Europarc team and Danish hosts, and for our attendees by funding support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.  The Shropshire Hills Young Rangers programme continues until the end of the year.  For more information please contact Joe by email joe.penfold@shropshire.gov.uk

Date for the diary - Saturday 23rd September, European Youth in Parks Day - showcasing what young people can do to contribute towards sustainable development and conservation in Protected Areas.  Please let us know if you want to get involved in our Young Ranger activities on this day.

The tell-tale signs of ancient woodland  

Farming partnerships forged through the Farming in Protected Landscape programme 

Monitoring water quality in the Onny Valley, investigating the condition of the peat soils in the Clun Forest, and carbon accounting in the Clee hills are three collaborative Farming in Protected Landscape projects, involving neighbouring farmers and land managers.

The project in the Onny Valley was awarded £77,485 to monitor water quality across eight farms using sensors to monitor the turbidity, colour, and temperature of water. This data, along with training on how to improve water quality by changing land management practices, will help the farmers to identify projects they can deliver on their land to improve water quality. 

Carbon for Curlews in the Clun Forest was awarded £63,087 to investigate the extent and condition of the peat soils over approximately 500 hectares, including Shropshire Wildlife Trust nature reserves and upland hill pasture managed by several private landowners. The results will show the potential for peat restoration, which could improve carbon storage, habitat value and water retention. 

Carbon Accounting is a joint initiative across 31 farms around the Clee hills. The Clee View Farmers Group was awarded £16,515 to train members in carbon accounting to collate data and undertake carbon auditing on farms, supported by Harper Adams University. The data will enable farmers/land managers to consider how to adapt farm practices to reduce emissions, increase carbon storage and maximise sequestration. 

The shared knowledge and support gained from these collaborative projects builds confidence to develop projects that will help improve water quality, restore peatland and reduce farm emissions in the Shropshire Hills.

The Farming in Protected Landscape programme has been extended by a year to March 2025. Information about the programme and how to apply is on our website at Farming in Protected Landscapes funding programme to March 2025 (shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk) 

Farmer sought to sit on Grant Assessment Panel

Farming in Protected Landscapes grants over £10,000 are decided by a Grant Assessment Panel, and a vacancy has arisen for a farmer to join the Panel for the remaining year and a half of the programme.  Panel members should have a good understanding of the delivery of nature, climate and public benefits by farming and managing land in the Shropshire Hills AONB.  Panel members will be required to undertake training and follow guidance, read a significant number of applications and attend Panel meetings for decision-making (about every 6 weeks). 

This is a formal role with responsibility for awarding contractual grants through Shropshire Council as accountable body, and is governed by Defra guidance.  It is essentially a voluntary role but non-salaried members are able to claim a set contribution towards costs. 

If you have experience of farming and delivering public benefits through farming, and would like to support the delivery of this national programme within the Shropshire Hills AONB then we would be pleased to hear from you. 

Please make an initial expression of interest to joy.howells@shropshire.gov.uk with your name and contact details, and we will provide you with further details. Deadline for expression of interest is Friday 25^th August 2023.

Walks from our weekend Shuttlebus 

The Long Mynd & Stiperstones shuttlebus gets walkers out to the less trodden hills, the finest views and some of the most pleasing pubs in the area. Navigating the often steep, narrow Shropshire lanes by car can be a challenge. The bus takes all the stress away allowing you to admire the views and relax whilst it takes you to the start of your walk. The bus starts from Church Stretton and collects from the Railway Station in the town as well as other stops along the A49 which connect to the 435 Shrewsbury to Ludlow bus. 

New this year, the ‘Round the Mynd’ circuit include stops at Plowden, Myndtown and Wentnor, opening up exciting new walking possibilities for passengers. One such walk is the Wentnor Wander, a six and a half mile circular route which takes you through the beautiful Linley Beeches, a row of ancient beech trees planted by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic War. Get off the bus at Wentnor – at the church near the Crown pub at 1049, and return on the 1535 bus from Wentnor Church for a tour of the Stiperstones and northern end of the Mynd, getting back to Church Stretton at 1715. 

Details of this walk and others are on our website, along with shuttlebus route map, timetable and ticket prices, visit www.shropshirehillsshuttles.co.uk 

New name on the way...

Following the 2019 national review of designated landscapes, a range of measures are being put in place to update and strengthen the AONB designation, and the organisations which support it.  This includes a change to calling the areas ‘National Landscapes’.  This will come with renewed vision and engagement and help the areas to have more relevance to a wider cross section of society.  New branding will strengthen the collective identity of the 38 AONBs in England and Wales, and this will come in from late 2023. 

Look out for the changes in our next newsletter!

Can you help make the Shropshire Hills a beautiful, thriving landscape that everyone can feel part of?

Join our Partnership

• to set out a vision for the Shropshire Hills
• to help deliver for nature, climate and people
• to work collaboratively with others

The Partnership has three main meetings a year plus other opportunities for involvement.  Membership is unpaid.  We are now inviting applications from:

• organisations,
• individuals, and
• members of Parish and Town Councils within the Shropshire Hills. 

We want to make the Shropshire Hills as a National Landscape more relevant to all parts of society, and welcome involvement from those linked to under-served or under-represented communities.

To find out more please email shropshirehillsaonb@shropshire.gov.uk or visit our Membership Application 2023 webpage .  For an informal conversation please call 01743 254741.

The closing date for applications is 26^th September 2023.

News from our partners...

The Lost Cairns of the Stiperstones

Now entering its final year, the Our Upland Commons project in the Shropshire Hills has an exciting programme of work planned around the historic environment on Stiperstones.  

Across the country, the unploughed soils of commons have provided ideal conditions for the safeguarding thousands of archaeological features. Although common land is a small percentage (3%) of our land area, over 3,000 scheduled ancient monuments are found on commons in England.

The Stiperstones common boasts 22 recorded Bronze Age cairns, 5 of which are scheduled monuments. With the help of volunteers, the project aims to survey and map further possible cairns and record the archaeological features around Blakemoorgate. Plans are also underway to protect one of the important scheduled cairns from further (unintended) damage by walkers. 

How to get involved?  You can do as much or little as you wish. Join all of it and get stuck in, or come along for the wash up walk on the 24^th October to find out what has been uncovered. 

• 30^th September - introductory walk
• 15th & 16th October - survey and record possible cairns
• 23rd October - investigating the Tin House and Blakemoorgate
• 24th October - walk to share the survey results

The activities are being led by Matt Williams of Fern Heritage and Archaeology who has supervised other community archaeology activities for the project. Booking is essential, please email Matt at info@fearnheritage.co.uk.

The Our Upland Commons project is a three-year, £3m, 25-partner project helping to secure the future of upland commons on Dartmoor, in the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills. It’s led by the Foundation for Common Land. The project has been made possible by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, grants from Esmée Fairbairn and Garfield Weston Foundations and local funding from the Millichope Foundation, amongst others.

click here to read the community archaeological reports

WI recording in local churchyards

In the hamlet of Whitton lies the tiny Norman church of St Mary’s, it’s churchyard a swaying sea of wildflowers. Peaceful and hidden from the road, this place has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

In June, St Mary’s was host to local WI groups, who came together to discover more about our native wildflowers, and how to identify them.

The churchyard is managed for wildlife by a small team of volunteers and the session started by asking what this involved. Local resident Nicole Landers explained that they do very little: ‘‘the meadow looks after itself’’. However, what the volunteers do is crucial to the meadow’s ongoing survival; they cut the hay and rake if off at the end of the summer to keep the nutrient levels in the soil low and allow the flowers to flourish.

The session was organised by Caring for God’s Acre as part of their Opening the Ark Project (funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund). It was led by Caroline Uff, an ecologist with an extensive knowledge of native flowers and grasses. She explained that the plants we found would fall into one of three categories: 1. the negative indicators, thuggish species like thistle, nettle and dock.  2. the nice, but relatively common species such as buttercup and clover and 3. The rare species, indicative of ancient grassland.

After an enjoyable time recording the WI groups left equipped with the enthusiasm and resources to record in their local churchyards, with the aim of mapping more species rich meadows - the first step in the protection of this increasingly rare and precious habitat. 

New environmental leadership programme for 18-25 year olds across the West Midlands Shropshire Wildlife Trust is working with Uprising, a UK-wide youth leadership development organisation, to champion a new Environmental Leadership Programme.  The programme aims to engage 400 diverse young people from across the West Midlands, over the next four years. The programme, which is free, focuses on nature connection and behavioural change, and offers a safe space to learn about, create and measure tangible change.  Activities include knowledge and skills sessions, access to exciting organisations and speakers, in-person meet ups and the chance to run a campaign. Interested, but want to know more?  Just visit elp2.uk or email hello@uprising.org.uk with any questions.

Outdoor education workshops in Bishop's Castle

Going Wild In Bishop's Castle is delivering a series of outdoor education workshops aimed at local young people this summer. Aimed at young people aged 12 and up, these sessions, which will be free of charge and include lunch, will be delivered in the grounds surrounding the SpArc Centre in Bishop's Castle. We're looking for volunteers to be another pair of eyes and to assist with activities including bushcraft, foraging, mini-beast hunts, tracking and much more. The workshops look to develop the participants’ confidence and agency within nature to make the positive difference that they’d like to see. If you’d like to know more, either as a participant or a volunteer, please get in touch with Dan Hodgkiss by email: goingwildproject@outlook.com

Date for the Diary - Saturday 23rd September, Environmental Fair at Sparc, Bishop's Castle...  see our events page for other events and activities happening in the Shropshire Hills.

Join Friends of the Shropshire Hills to get involved in our activities. Your subscription goes directly into the Conservation Fund to support local projects.

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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