Link magazine, Spring 2008 [PDF, 4,450k] - South Norfolk Council

Barn to be wild!Barn owls, one of Britain’s most beautiful andsecretive birds of prey species, still makegood use of old barns and farm buildingsas both breeding and roosting sites but thenumber of these refuges is fast reducing dueto redundancy or conversion.For the past three yearsSouth Norfolk countrysiderangers have been involvedwith a project to installpurpose built nest boxes atsuitable locations acrossthe district. The project,originally started by TheUpper Waveney CountrysidePartnership, has been runningfor seven years and to datehas put up more than 120boxes. Initially these werelocated along the Waveneyvalley, but now we are lookingto expand the work withinSouth Norfolk.This year, 32 barn owl chicks,14 tawny owls and one littleowl were ringed, plus 17kestrels, and an assortmentof jackdaws and stock doves -also very fond of the boxes!Talk to the trees...How you can helpHelp us meet the cost of theboxes through donations andsponsorship; each sponsorreceives a certificate, detailsof their box and regularupdates on its progress.Would you like a box?If you have suitable habitatsand are interested inhaving nest boxes on yourproperty please contact us!All the work is carried outby the rangers and trainedvolunteers.For more details about theproject please contact SteveHammond, Head CountrysideRanger, Tel 01508 533684countryside@s-norfolk.gov.uk21CountrysideThe annual Autumntradition of collecting treesand hedges to celebrateNational Tree Week wasagain a success in SouthNorfolk.Around 36 parishes fromacross the district sent theirvolunteer Tree Wardens tocollect free hedging and treesfor planting.Since this initiative wasstarted by the council in2000, a total of eight miles ofhedges and 4,288 trees havebeen planted.Date for your Diary:The next National Tree Week is 26 Nov to 7 Dec 2008Every year The Tree Council mounts its national CommunityAction Programme - initiatives aimed at involving as many aspossible in planting, caring for and enjoying trees and woods.Visit www.treecouncil.org.uk and click on the Programmes tabfor information on:Seed Gathering Season, National Tree Week, Tree CareCampaign and Walk in the WoodsBelow: Volunteer tree wardens all set and ready to go!South Norfolk Deputy Leader,Councillor Martin Wilby isa Tree Warden and was atthe council on Friday 23November to collect his treesand hedges for the parish ofDickleburgh.