Wild Boar – welcome back? (7th December 2005)

at Nature in Art, Wallsworth Hall, nr Gloucester, 7 December 2005

A workshop to discuss the implications of feral wild boar is to be hosted by WN and BANC. The workshop is being held in advance of the closing date of the DEFRA consultation on wild boar and thus may be of help for those considering a response to the consultation. The event will:

• Hear from wild boar experts

• Illustrate wild boar management issues

• Allow everyone to learn about and debate the key issues

Speakers will include:

Charlie Wilson, Defra
Martin Goulding, author ‘Wild Boar in Britain’
Derek Gow, consultant ecologist
Derek Booth, founder, British Wild Boar Association 
Jenny Farrant, farmer with regular experience of wild boar on her family’s farm
Ian Horrell, Chair of the British Wild Boar Association

Full details of the program and a booking form can be downloaded here (PDF 20kb)

Bookings contact:
Jocelyn Murgatroyd, 34 South Street, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 3SE
jocelynmurgatroyd@hotmail.com  Tel: 01788 560247

A TRAVELSHARE to the workshop is being administered by WN. Once you have booked for the event, and have car space available, please email webmaster@wildland-nertwork.org.uk with your name, where you are travelling from, what day you are travelling, a phone number, email address and any additional notes. The offers of lifts will be posted here (PDF, 10kb)

Holland Goes Wild - a Message for British Landscape? (26th Oct 2005)

Royal Geographical Society, Wednesday 26 October 2005
Presentation by Frans Vera, Hans Kampf and Fred Baerselman 

Come and witness an enthralling account of how Europe¹s most highly developed country created Oostvaardersplassen, a large wilderness area scarcely 20 miles from Amsterdam, on land reclaimed from the sea ­ and now roamed by large herds of ancient Konik horses and Heck oxen as well as beaver and sea eagle.

Renowned ecologists from the Dutch Agriculture Ministry and Forestry Service also explain how Oostvaardersplassen fits into a network of "eco-corridors" being established to link habitats throughout Holland and internationally, involving relocation of roads, houses, even entire industrial estates in a quest to rebuild large-scale wildland biodiversity.

At a time when EU Common Agricultural Policy reforms could promise huge opportunity for large-scale restoration in Britain, this presentation is a must for all those interested in wildlife and wildland habitat, in how to address the impact of climate change on species distribution ­ or simply to hear an amazing story of how government can be persuaded to embark on such a visionary programme.

For further detail see the attached article (PDF 612kb)

Doors Open 6.30pm
Presentation starts 7.00pm

Venue: Royal Geographical Society
1 Kensington Gore
LONDON SW7 2AR
(8 minutes due East from Kensington High Street tube station)

Tickets: £12 (event) £25 (event and reception)

Proceeds to the Large Herbivore Foundation (www.largeherbivore.org) which promotes conservation of wild herbivores and their habitat, with emphasis on encouraging largescale ecological processes.

Send cheque payable to Toby Aykroyd with s a e to: Stag House, 37 Pembridge Villas London W11 3EP.
Tel: 07793 551542  Email: tobyaykroyd@btconnect.com

8th World Wilderness Congress (30th Sept - 6th Oct 2005)

Anchorage, Alaska

The WWC convenes every three to four years around the world, and is always focused on wilderness and people. Previous Congresses have met in South Africa, Australia, Scotland, the USA, Norway and India. The 8th WWC will be held in Anchorage, Alaska,30 September-6 October 2005, with associated events in Kamchatka and the Russian Far East. Approximately 1,000 delegates from over 40 nations will attend.

The theme of the 8th WWC is Wilderness, Wildlands and People – A Partnership for the Planet. This Congress will generate the most up-to-date and accurate information on the benefits of wilderness and wildlands to contemporary and traditional societies, and will review the best models for balancing wilderness and wildlands conservation with human needs.

The 8th WWC will have delegates from around the world (including WN members), and the models, projects, data and analyses presented will be global in scope. This Congress will also have a special focus on the wilderness, wildlands, and marine resources of Alaska, Siberia, Canada, and the North Pacific, and will mark the first time that WWC events are held in Russia.

For more information, see www.8wwc.org

Restoring natural processes and grazed habitats (22-23 Sept 2005)

Grazing Animals Project field trip, Cumbria

Two one-day visits arranged back-to-back to enable people to come to both or either one. Both days will involve sites where coniferous forestry is being restored to grazing habitats. The first day will comprise a visit to Farrers Allotment, owned by the Forestry Commission and forming part of the larger Whitbarrow NNR in South Lakeland. The removal of pines from much of the 170 ha site has allowed limestone heath and grassland habitats potential to regenerate naturally from relict fragments that survived the dense shading of the conifers. The site is now being grazed by cattle, in conjunction with an adjoining 100 ha of non-afforested land on the NNR, owned by Cumbria Wildlife Trust and which indicates what Farrers Allotment would have been like if the planting had never happened.

The next day will be spent visiting the Wild Ennerdale project, which GAP News readers will be familiar with from last autumn’s edition as an innovative project with a vision of allowing natural processes (including large herbivore grazing) to shape the landscape and ecology of this valley. Overnight youth hostel style accommodation and meals will be provided at Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre (which has been reserved for our exclusive use) for 22 September. The cost will be about £20-30, depending on how many people book on, payable near the time or on the day. Single days can also be booked.

For further information and to book, please contact Adam Cormack at the GAP office on 01636 670095, enquiries@grazinganimalsproject.info

Wildland in Britain - the new potential (9th May 2005)

A review of progress on achieving wilder landscapes, School of Geography, University of Leeds

This one day meeting will bring practitioners, researchers and interested individuals together to discuss:

the opportunities for achieving wild land

how wild land is being identified and mapped

the challenge of reintroductions

the values behind wild land projects

the benefits and potential of wild land for people and the environment

The event will include:

presentations and facilitated workshops

launch of a new book from Earthscan and BANC, by Peter Taylor: 'Beyond Conservation - a Wildland Strategy'

a lunch time market place with information on projects and research

setting up of the new Wildland Network, for practitioners involved in promoting and achieving wild land

This event is all about getting the network up and running - so please come prepared to offer ideas and play your part in this voluntary network.

Meeting agenda:

10:30 - 11:00 Delegate arrival, registration, coffee
11:00 - 12:30 Morning session:
        - Introduction to the Wildland Network
        - Peter Taylor: 'Beyond Conservation - a Wildland Strategy' book launch
        - Simon Bates and Steve Carver: Mapping initiatives
        - Derek Gow: Re-wilding and re-introductions
        - Toby Aykroyd: Economic benefits and the Wild Britain initiative
        - Questions/discussion
12:30 - 13:30 Buffet lunch, including chance to inspect posters and network with colleagues
13:30 - 14:40 Discussion groups/themes
        - Mapping
        - Economic benefits
        - Re-introductions
        - Rewilding projects
14:40 - 15:00 Tea
15:00 - 16:30 Plenary discussion: the future of the Wildland Network
16:30 Departure

Registration:
All inquiries and registrations to Steve Carver at the following address. The registration fee is £20 (£10 concessions). Cheques made payable to "The University of Leeds". Numbers are strictly limited to 80 delegates on a first come - first served basis.

Contact details:
Dr Steve Carver
School of Geography
University of Leeds
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS2 9JT
Tel: 0113 3433318
Fax: 0113 3433308
Email: S.J.Carver@leeds.ac.uk

Travel details:
Leeds is centrally located in the UK and easily reached by rail, road or air. Maps of Leeds and the approaches to the University are available here.

Accommodation:
There is no accommodation available on site, but those people wishing to stay over in Leeds are directed here.