Chairman's thought - A special place and a big
challenge
It is nearly 5 years
since the Biosphere community came together to create
our Management and Action Plans, 2008-2012. Together,
they set out the qualities that make our Biosphere
'world class' and throw down the challenge to enhance
our environment, while making it work harder for our
economy and quality of life.
The Biosphere Partnership
has recently reviewed achievements so far and the key
priorities for the remainder of the Plan period in the
context of today's tight funding environment. There has
been some excellent progress by the Partners,
including:
* Design of new Marine Conservation Zones
for north Devon
* New management measures
to enhance the vegetation communities of our core area,
Braunton Burrows
* A new management plan
for the estuaryA strong engagement into the Local
Development Framework Joint Core Strategy of our local
authorities - a crucial planning policy for the
future
* An education strategy and lots
of work with schools
* A vibrant
engagement of the arts sector (see
below)
* A great deal of volunteering
However, we have not yet delivered all we had hoped
and need to enhance our partnership working,
particularly with the land management / farming
communities away from the coast and across the whole
Biosphere. We must continue to work together to create
the right policies, community engagement and funding
environments that will allow north Devon to be as
special for our children tomorrow, as it is for us
today. This newsletter shows a snap-shot of our
progress.
Mike Moser, Chairman of Biosphere
Reserve Partnership
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Cleaning-up your community, 13th to 19th
June.
North Devon's Biosphere
Reserve is launching a community clean-up initiative to
take place from 13th to 19th June 2011. The Biosphere
Reserve team would like as many individuals,
organisations and companies as possible to support us by
organising a litter pick event, sponsorship or just
taking part. Interested?
How does the work of the photographer James
Ravillious inspire you to think about your local
environment ?
This is the question we
asked of over 40 schools across the county of Devon. The
pupils responded by creating photographs that tell the
changing stories of where they live.
Several hundred young
people were involved in Discovering a Sense of Place.
The project developed an awareness of their surroundings
and how they have changed over time and are still
changing today. It also encouraged a sense of nurturing
and stewardship through sustained local investigation
and creative responses. The project will be celebrated
with an exhibition of pupils' work at Beaford Arts,
Greenwarren House from 18.00 pm on Friday June 10th to
17.00 pm on Sunday June 12th. Admission is free.
The project was run by Beaford Arts (who hold the James
Ravillious Archive), the Biosphere Reserve and the Devon
Learning and Development Partnership.
Confluence, a £70,000 arts and science project will
begin after Easter 2011.
Keeping on the theme of
engaging people with their environment through creative
activities, a new Project called Confluence has recently
received funding. During the project, four confluence
artists will work with communities, schools groups and
local artists together with I-dat, a research group at
the University of Plymouth, at a number of locations
along the River Torridge between Beaford and Appledore.
They will use data collected by ECOIDS (small sensor
devices which collect live data, such as water levels,
sounds, and temperatures) to see how the conditions in
the river change and respond to it to explore people's
impact on the environment. More
Tarka-line Sonic Journeys
 Sam Shackleton, the
internationally-renowned electronic music producer and
Dartmoor lyricist Earl Fontainelle (aka Vengeance
Tenfold) have produced a sonic journey soundtrack for
the Tarka Line rail journey through the Biosphere in
partnership with Beaford Arts.
It explores the thinking behind North Devon's
designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and what that
means for the landscape outside the train window. More North Devon Journal article.
Hillsborough exposed
 If you were to visit Hillsborough
overlooking Ilfracombe today, you will notice a huge
difference. The ancient earthworks have been cleared of
vegetation, which has revealed the true extent of the
iron-age ramparts. Four new interpretation boards have
been installed that tell the stroy of the site with one
more to come, most probably in May. Newsletter
In partnership with the
site owners (North Devon Council), Dave Edgcombe from
the AONB team organised three scrub-bashing work parties
that attracted over 40 local volunteers. Public
information events including an open day, a presentation
to the local community and a site tour have attracted a
further 140 people.
This enhancement project
is part of the South West Coast Path "Unlocking Our Coastal Heritage
Project" that is enhancing heritage assets along the
South West Coast Path from Minehead to Pool.
Fruit Route
 NDABS have been working with the
Bideford Sustainability Group to plant up a new
traditional orchard besides the Tarka Trail in Bideford
on a site that was previously covered in brambles. The
Sustainability Group are keen to raise awareness of the
importance of local food and it is hoped that the
traditional apple varieties that were planted will show
that food can easily be grown on small areas of waste
land. Picture:
Councillor Adam Symons and son planting on
site.
The Tarka Trail has a
number of apple trees already growing along it, which
are thought to have grown from apple cores thrown out of
carriage windows when it was a railway. There is a plan
to put more apple trees along the Trail to show the
great variety of apples that have traditionally been
grown in Devon.
Supporting our Natural Health Service
Our partners, Transform
in Ilfracombe and Taw Torridge Volunteer Services have
been providing support for Walking for Health Schemes in
the Biosphere. In the battle to confront health problems
our natural environment is vastly under used and medical
evidence shows that access to it is good for us. Between
November 2010 and 1st March 2011:
- 825 people have taken part in Walking for Health
walks across the biosphere
- New volunteer walk leader training has been held
and at least 15 new leaders trained
- Promotion and marketing support has been offerred
to all the Groups
- A new "Pramblers" group for parents with young
children has been formed in Ilfracombe
- A new Group has been formed in South Molton
Our thanks to Transform, TTVS and all of the Walking
for Health volunteers. We believe that the scheme will
go from strength to strength. |
 Tarka Trail Sustainable
Management
Over the last few months, the North Devon AONB and Biosphere Service
(NDABS) has been leading a partnership group to
develop a new Management Plan for the Tarka Trail
Regional Route.
A main theme for the Plan is sustainability -
financial and social as well as environmental. There are
many examples of this apporoach in practice. More
Volunteers
This winter NDABS volunteers have cleared invasive
laurel at Ford Wood Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in
Bideford and cleared scrub and coppiced hazel at
Fremington LNR.
The Volunteers Group has also been continuing the
coppicing programme along the Tarka Trail which keeps
views open for users of the Trail and rejuvenates the
scrubby habitat which is very important for the dormice
that are found in many areas beside the Trail. Teams
from Sustrans and Groundwork have opened up views,
repaired structures and generally helped with the
important on-going maintenance of the Tarka Trail.
Do you have more volunteer news that you
think we should know about for future newsletters?
Contact
us.
Biosphere Action Week
2011 Biosphere Action Week from 15th to 23rd
October will be bigger and better. It will be
themed on the topic of forests, woods and trees and
their value to the Biosphere Reserve and will support
the United Nations International Year of the Forest.
 Do you have an idea for a woodland
themed community activity? Contact us
Marine Conservation Zones - update
 In 2010 the UNESCO North Devon
Biosphere Reserve partnership began a process involving
partners representing fishing, leisure and tourism
interests to produce a Marine Conservation Zone proposal
for the north Devon coast. This has now been submitted to
Government.
The responsible government body has complimented the
Biosphere Reserve Marine Working Group on the quality of
the submission, and the way in which a whole area,
rather than individual interests, had been represented;
all made possible by the existence of the Biosphere
Reserve.
In 2009 Parliament enacted the Marine Bill, intended
to bring to the marine environment the same degree of
planning and protection as the land. Marine Conservation
Zones are being created as a result of the Bill
 North Devon Coast
AONB
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