New
Year's Day 2010: the Visitors' Centre Extension, and Bearded Tits | As
is customary on New Year's Day, the Reserve was packed with people enjoying the
two RSPB guided tours, and the Visitors' Centre was busy warming people up with
tea, coffee and soup after spells outside in the bitterly cold but sunny weather.
For
many people, this was the first time they'd benefitted from the brand new extension
to the Vistors' Centre. There's now twice as much open space, an office, additional
storage, and more space for The Friends to serve refreshments.
Out on the reserve, those who'd wrapped up well were rewarded with views of
bearded
tits (strictly, bearded reedlings); very rare visitors. We're hoping to borrow
a picture taken by one of the photographers soon.
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Little
Paxton Quarry wins National Conservation Award, July 2009 | Bardon
Aggregates' Little Paxton Quarry has been awarded first place in the Conservation
category of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) - British Energy Business
Bird Challenge 2008. The biennial competition aims to find the country's best
industrial and commercial sites for birds.
The Conservation category allows
companies to showcase initiatives which attract birds and demonstrate commitment
to conservation.
This is the fourth consecutive competition in which the Quarry
has won an award in the Business Bird Challenge. The company's conservation efforts
had already been recognised through award of the prestigous Biodiversity Benchmark
by The Wildlife Trusts.
Once restored, much of the quarry will become part
of the planned extension to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. Ray Matthews, Chairman
of the Friends of Paxton Pits said, "We congratulate Bardon Aggregates
on this achievement, and we are delighted to be working with the company to deliver
a superlative restoration scheme. When open to visitors, this part of the extended
Nature Reserve will be a fabulous birdwatching spot".
Delia Shannon,
from Bardon Aggregates, explained: "We are delighted that Little Paxton
Quarry has been awarded this prize by the BTO. We pride ourselves on our ongoing
commitment to biodiversity, and the fact that so many bird species (165 in 2008)
have been spotted in our quarry is evidence that we are delivering on this commitment".
"As part of our restoration plan agreed with the local community,
Bardon Aggregates has worked hard to ensure that the site is restored to a high
standard that enables wildlife to flourish."
Kate Aldridge, Business
Bird Challenge organiser at the BTO said: "The scale and quality of the
restoration work carried out by Bardon Aggregates at Little Paxton Quarry is outstanding
- in particular, the creation of an 800m long clay bund, which will create attractive
habitat for a range of wetland birds".
"What really stood
out, however, is the sensitive and reactive way in which the Company has integrated
its responsibility for the wildlife using the site, into the management of its
operations. Congratulations to all those involved!"
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The
Director of the BTO, Andy Clements (right), presents the award to (right to left)
Ray Matthews (Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve), Delia Shannon (Bardon Aggregates)
and Jim Stevenson (Senior Ranger at Paxton Pits).
(Photo: BTO.)
Download
the Press Release (Word, 213kb) |
| National
award for Children's Wildlife Group - 28th March 2009 |  | Just
one year on from its launch, the Wildlife Watch/Wildlife Explorers Group based
at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve has won Best New Group in the Watch
Group of the Year competition run by The Wildlife Trusts.
The special
"Green Wellie" award was presented to the Group by Michael Allen, Chairman
of the Wildlife Trusts at the Visitors' Centre, Paxton Pits Nature Reserve on
Saturday 28 March.
The Group's monthly meetings at the Reserve include
a range of fun activities tailored to the ages and abilities of the 30+ children.
Sessions last year included, bird feeding, nest-box building, pond dipping, wild
songs, bug Olympics, and a mass migration – a journey that took the children
from the ice fields of Scandinavia to the rich feeding grounds of Paxton Pits,
all in 2 hours! The aim is for the children to go home from each session with
an item in their hand, a wildlife message in their head, and a smile on their
face.
People and Wildlife Manager for the Wildlife Trusts, Helen Freeston,
said:
"The Group made good advantage of the Visitors' Centre and
gorgeous surroundings, creating a programme with lots of variety and hands-on
outdoor activities."
Helen was also impressed by the support shown
to the group. Besides help from the local Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire,
Northamptonshire & Peterborough (BCNP) and the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds (RSPB), the group has benefited from strong support by the Friends of
Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, Huntingdonshire District Council, and Little Paxton
Parish Council.
The committed team of 10 volunteer leaders puts the Group's
success down to the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the children and their
parents, and the sheer fun and enjoyment of creating and delivering educational
wildlife activities.
The Group's success has resulted in a waiting list
for children wanting to join in the fun. The leaders urge anyone who is interested
in this kind of group, either for their children or for themselves as a leader,
to contact the RSPB or Wildlife Trust BCNP for details of other groups in their
area. |
"Mountain
moved" for new Environmental Education Area, February 2009 |  | Huntingdonshire
District Council Countryside Services' plan for an Environmental Education facility
at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve has taken a major step forward thanks to the generosity
of neighbouring Bardon Aggregates Little Paxton Quarry. The
company has cleared away a mountain of earth that was blocking progress on the
development, and also excavated a special pond to provide safe pond-dipping facilities
for the visiting schools and the Reserve's own children's wildlife group. The
earth had been stockpiled on the site after excavation from the Reserve's Great
Meadow wetland restoration project. The spoil, which needed to be removed
from the River Great Ouse flood plain did not go to waste, and was used for restoration
purposes within the quarry. Ray Matthews, Chairman of the Friends of Paxton
Pits Nature Reserve said: "The Friends is pleased to have played
a key role in arranging for this outstanding gift from Bardon Aggregates to the
Reserve. Some 8,000 cubic metres of earth have been shifted to clear the
site and create the pond. We are also indebted to Lafarge Aggregates, Oxford
University Chest and Cambridgeshire County Council's Mineral and Waste Group for
their crucial cooperation in the complex arrangements." Fred Dooris,
Bardon Aggregates's Quarry Manager, commented: "The Company is delighted
to support this important development. It's obviously not an easy project
for us to undertake in the currrent economic climate, but we felt that this timely
and appropriate chance to invest in the future of local children could not be
passed up." The Reserve's Senior Ranger, Jim Stevenson, is full
of praise for the Company's initiative: "We are so relieved to see
the back of what had become known as 'Mount Jim', and the new pond within the
Education Area will enable us to provide the children with their favourite wildlife
activity without a long trek to one of the Reserve's lakes. We can
now plan classroom facilities and a range of sample wildlife habitats within the
Area." |
Scout
group's "mud bath" helps wildlife (15/02/2009) | | Wetland
wildlife will benefit from the work of the Godmanchester Beaver, Cub, Scout and
Explorer groups at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. The massed group of 40 youngsters
and 25 parents and leaders dug a series of mini-ditches to allow the waters of
the Reserve's Cloudy Pond to spill over into the surrounding meadow. The
mini-ditches will make the area of sedge and reed adjacent to the pond much wetter
throughout the year, increasing the feeding opportunities for marshland birds
such as moorhen, snipe and water rail. The tasks were organised by The
Friends of Paxton Pits and Huntingdonshire District Council Countryside Services
Rangers, and supported by Bardon Aggregates, which operates the quarry to the
north of the Reserve. Senior Ranger Jim Stevenson said:
"The
youngsters got through an amazing amount of work in very muddy contitions.
Their efforts will make a big difference to the wildlife in this corner of the
Reserve. Also, the area is easily viewed from the Ouse Valley Way, so they
can return and watch the results of their project." Cub Scout
Leader Sheila Wotherspoon said:
"The children threw themselves
into the task, in some cases literally, to judge by the state of their clothes!
They were definitely in their element - mud, water and teams competing to dig
the longest ditch. I think the parents rather enjoyed it too" |  |
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