The Berkshire Local Nature Partnership (BLNP) had its first conference last week. We had over 40 attendees, representing more than 20 nature organisations in Berkshire at a venue kindly donated by Oracle.
After a morning hosted by the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre, the afternoon kicked off with Andrew Cameron, chair of the BLNP. He introduced the BLNP and our achievements to date; the establishment of an executive board and steering group, agreeing a constitution, hiring an officer, successful funding bid to collate nature success stories, the creation of our website and developing our strategy for protecting and enhancing Berkshire's natural environment. The key message was that we need you, all of you living and working in Berkshire to get involved and help us take action for the benefit of our natural environment and the services we receive from it. Engaging people, and inspiring them to take an interest in, and build a bond with nature.
Matt Jackson, our partner from the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust then gave a presentation about our Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (BOAs). We have done an excellent job of setting up nature reserves, with many areas of good quality natural habitat across Berkshire. However we must now think about the larger scale, and not let these areas become isolated pockets which would be at risk. The answer, as set out in the Lawton review; "Making Space for Nature", is to create a functioning network of habitats across the landscape – "more, bigger, better, and joined up" is the widely recited motto.
The final talk of the afternoon was by Graham Scholey from the Environment Agency on their Fobney Island Nature Reserve project. This river and wetland restoration project transformed six hectares of rough improved grassland, which had a reputation of misuse for anti-social activities. The project created new wetland, enhanced the river habitat including a refuge for fish, added a footpath to allow public access, installed bird viewing areas for local enthusiasts, and improved flood storage. A local 'friends of' group has been set up to help manage the site as well as improved and on-going community engagement.
After a refresh of tea and coffee, we ended the afternoon with a workshop session. Attendees split into three groups to brainstorm. Group A discussed the challenges and advantages of BOAs, led by Matt Jackson, BBOWT and Jeremy Davy from West Berks council. The group identified many advantages of BOAs including the ability to guide strategic planning, a tool to concentrate resources and ensuring a 'joined up' landscape, and the use as a way of identifying opportunities for offsetting schemes.
Dan Carpenter from Bracknell Forest led a discussion about what tools and resources we need to achieve our aims in Berkshire. This group felt that establishing better connections between people working in the natural environment, conservation and recording would be of great benefit, suggesting a directory of experts, equipment and volunteer groups. They emphasised that knowledge and data sharing were important, as is the need to identify what data is required to achieve our aim.
The Chair of our steering group, Oliver Cripps, led on the topic; how to engage people in the natural environment. Ideas from this group included taking advantage of current campaigns and identifying the motivations of our different audiences so as to best tailor our message. Tea and cake was identified as a good motivation for many (I think they may have been getting hungry by this point!). The use of media and marketing was mentioned, and identified as a potential training need for nature organisations in general. We would like to thank all attendees for their contributions, and we will be using the ideas and suggestions to shape our future strategy.
The BLNP is currently offering free membership to all individuals, groups, and organisations in Berkshire with an interest in the natural environment. To join us, go to our website; www.BerkshireLNP.org and go to the membership section of 'get involved'.