BIAZA Newsletter | Winter 2017 | Issue 13

Wildlife Trust connections: how some of our members are workingwith their local Wildlife Trust

In 2015, BIAZA and The Wildlife Trusts joined forces to create a ‘Wildlife at Home’ partnership for native species conservation. Here we highlight some of the ways our members have connected with their local Wildlife Trust. If you have examples of projects you are working on with your local Wildlife Trust we would love to hear from you.

Alderney WT + Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Alderney WT has had a working relationship with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust through the provision of educational material for their Living Islands Live project. The springtime project is delivered via an online platform where participants can view live footage of nesting birds and read updates on Channel Island conservation projects. Cheshire WT + Chester Zoo A partnership between Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England, the Cheshire Dormouse Project has brought this rare mammal back to the Cheshire countryside thanks to a successful reintroduction project. Cheshire was one of the first areas in the UK to be involved in this UK-wide initiative with Chester Zoo breeding dormice and providing expertise on their breeding behaviour following their release. Chestnut Centre + Staffordshire WT + Derbyshire WT The centre regularly donates to many Wildlife Trust projects and over the years the two regional Trusts and their members have visited the centre. Chestnut Centre staff have also gone out and given wildlife talks at various locations within the county. Hampshire & Isle of Wight WT + Bristol Zoo Gardens + Paignton Zoo The Hampshire & Isle of Wight WT has an ongoing project with Bristol Zoo Gardens and Paignton Zoo who provide housing for their juvenile white- clawed crayfish as part of the South West Crayfish Partnership. The project has established safe refuges and provides a captive breeding programme to produce crayfish for wild release and brood stock for BIAZA zoos and aquariums. Lincolnshire WT + Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Nature Centre Lincolnshire WT has a very good relationship with Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary which rescues and treats seals from Donna Nook and other Lincolnshire coastal sites.

New Forest Wildlife Park + Isle of Wight and Hampshire WT As a corporate member of their local Wildlife Trust, New Forest Wildlife Park has worked closely with some of their projects and taken advice from their experts, for example on otter releasing sites in Hampshire and Suffolk as well as working with them on water vole conservation. North Wales WT + Welsh Mountain Zoo North Wales WT runs a number of small-scale children’s activities at Welsh Mountain Zoo. The zoo and their local WT have also assisted each other by writing letters of support for grant applications - a great example of how the WT partnerships can deliver reciprocal benefits. relationship with Manor House Wildlife Park. Their partnership has led to the creation of a trust fund to raise money for conservation projects in the zoo, as well as jointly promote their field conservation projects, including red squirrels and beavers. Surrey WT + Chessington World of Adventures Surrey WT has been working with zoo staff at Chessington World of Adventures, specifically their zoo, to try and develop some joint education sessions with schools. They are currently looking into international species adaptation within the zoo and then bringing it down to a local level using the surrounding woodland. Yorkshire WT + Flamingo Land Yorkshire WT has carried out advisory work on Flamingo Land’s Biodiversity Action Plan and more recently on invertebrate monitoring. South & West Wales WT + Manor House Wildlife Park South & West Wales WT has a good

19 BIAZA News • Winter issue 13