Wednesday 11 September 2013

What Matters To You Survey for Wiltshire Council

Wiltshire Council are committed to developing and delivering services that refelect the differing needs of local communities. To help them understand these needs they are asking Wiltshire residents to complete a simple survey. Link2Nature supports this as many of the questions are linked to its aims of improving the natural environment and making access to nature part of everybody's life. Therefore, please spare a moment to complete the survey and add your voice by clicking here

Link2Nature August 2013 Update

An update for activities that your Local Nature Partnership has been undertaking on your behalf during July and August can be read by clicking here.

Monday 29 July 2013

Link2Nature Small Grants Fund Launched

Link2Nature has a small grants fund available kindly provided by Public Health Wiltshire to award to local community groups. To find out more about the fund and how to apply please see the Small Grants Fund section of this site under Projects.

Friday 19 July 2013

Link2Nature Coordinator appointed

The new coordinator for Link2Nature, the Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Partnership, has taken up his position. Bill Blumsom was appointed at the beginning of July replacing Zoe Pittaway, the previous Coordinator.

Bill has worked for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for the past year, following his previous 27 year career in the Financial Services Sector.

Bill has always been passionate about wildlife and much of his spare time has been involved in practical wildlife activites. Bill has specialised in the study of spiders and is also a keen birder.

Wednesday 22 May 2013

State of Nature UK report published today

For the first time ever, the UK’s wildlife organisations have joined forces to undertake a health check of nature in the UK and its Overseas Territories. The full report is online at:
www.rspb.org.uk/stateofnature

The report reveals that 60% of the 3,148 UK species assessed have declined over the last 50 years and 31% have declined strongly.

Dr Gary Mantle, Chair of Link2Nature and Director of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust said: "The State of Nature report is a wakeup call for all of us – conservationists, the public and governments. While there have been some notable conservation successes in recent years, the overall picture is clear – the decline in wildlife continues unabated. Targets agreed by government to halt these declines continue to be missed. The state of nature is in decline, the pressures it faces are growing, and our responses are not ambitious enough.

“This matters because our current and future health and happiness is dependent on nature through the many free services it provides. And it matters because we have a moral responsibility to live in harmony with the species with which we share this planet.

“We cannot save wildlife in Wiltshire with nature reserves alone; there must be a step change in the way we tackle this problem. We all have a role to play, not just farmers and conservationists, but politicians and business leaders too.

“We are challenging all decision-makers to think differently about nature so that short term actions taken to address socio-economic problems today do not sacrifice the long term future of wildlife and our children’s future."

Dr Mantle added “We have so much to lose; Wiltshire has a unique diversity of wildlife, possibly greater than most other counties in the UK. We may have the lowest extinction rate for wild flowers, the most biodiverse rivers, the finest hay meadows and the greatest expanse of chalk downland anywhere in Europe. But we are still losing species. What was once common is becoming rare and what was rare is becoming endangered or extinct. We cannot continue on the same path. Wiltshire is a stronghold for many rare or endangered species, such as the snakes-head fritillary, the green winged and burnt orchids and marsh fritillary butterflies. The once common water vole has become extinct elsewhere in the South West. Wiltshire has a vital role to play in securing nature’s recovery.”

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's response is online at: www.wiltshirewildlife.org/News/Wiltshires-Nature-in-Trouble 

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Link2Nature's Strategic Plan, Work Programme and Terms of Reference now available to download

Link2Nature's Strategic Plan, Work Programme and Terms of Reference were approved by the Board in May 2013 and are now available to download from the Link2Nature website.

Thursday 7 March 2013

Launching ‘Link 2 Nature’


Link 2 Nature, the recently formed Local Nature Partnership in Wiltshire and Swindon launched on Wednesday 6th March at Laverton Hall in Westbury.  The Launch was well attended by a wide diversity of people and supported by a number of senior figures from a range of sectors.  
Dr Tom Tew,


Dr Tom Tew, Chief Executive of the Environment Bank gave the key note presentation and discussed many of the challenges that we face due to the loss of biodiversity and a more rapidly changing climate.  Leader of Swindon Borough Council, Rod Bluh and Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member, Toby Sturgis also gave short presentations confirming their support.  The Corporate Director of Public Health and Public Protection in Wiltshire, Maggie Rae, talked about the positive impact of nature on health and wellbeing.  To conclude the talks, Dr Mark Robins of the RSPB spoke about the importance of giving the environment a voice and how all sectors, such as health, business and the community, can benefit from working in partnership.


The Launch took place at the first Annual Forum of Link 2 Nature, partners were invited to identify the shared challenges facing the natural environment and prioritise the greatest risks ahead.  The feedback that was collected is being used to inform and shape Link 2 Nature’s Strategic Plan and will help to guide a positive partnership approach to tackling these wider issues.


The Government first introduced the concept of Local Nature Partnerships in 2011, and Link 2 Nature was officially recognised by Government in September 2012.  One of the main purposes of this partnership is to coordinate a new approach, helping partners from a wide range of sectors come together more effectively to protect and restore our local environment.  Link 2 Nature has recently appointed a new strategic board of senior leaders to champion the environment at a local level and is made up of representatives from a wide range of sectors. 
To find out more about Link 2 Nature and how you can get involved please visit
Thanks
Zoe
(Link 2 Nature Coordinator)