Welcome
to BANC and ECOS!
Painted Lady butterfly in a
West Sussex garden, 16May09 (c) Graeme Duckworth
This is the home of the British
Association of Nature Conservationists. Here you can find out about us,
read sample articles from
ECOS
, our flagship publication on nature
conservation and
environmental politics, and (we hope!) become a member by
subscribing
to ECOS.
What's
New?
MEMBERS' VISIT
& AGM -
SAT 3rd OCTOBER 2009
Alkborough
Flats, north Lincolnshire
This year we visit the pioneering
Alkborough Flats project in north
Lincolnshire, a huge realignment of the Humber Estuary providing
tidal flood defence and new wetland habitats.
The AGM will be held immediately after the visit. All BANC
members are invited to attend, but numbers are limited. For more info.,
please
click
here.
ECOS SUMMER
2009 OUT NOW!
Nature
At Our Service?
"
‘Biodiversity’
and ‘ecosystem services’ are contrived terms
– invented and agonized over in committees. They have no
resonance with most people, as Defra’s own research has
unsurprisingly shown. They come from and belong to the land of wonks
who inhabit Westminster village".
WEB SITE OF
THE MONTH
LivingRoofs.org
Intentionally vegetated roofs can provide a wide range of benefits to
buildings, their owners and users, and the surrounding environment.
LivingRoofs.org
is an independent site promoting living roofs and advising on
their installation.
LIVING WITH
MAMMALS
Take part in
PTES's annual urban mammals survey
Wildlife conservation charity, the
People's Trust for Endangered
Species (PTES), is asking all wildlife lovers to take part in
Living with Mammals,
their 7th annual survey of mammals in the urban environment. For more
info., please
click here.
NO NETTLES
REQUIRED
The reassuring truth
about wildlife gardening
In this 4th March lecture at the
Garden
History Society, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1, plant
ecologist Dr Ken Thompson suggests that any garden, large or small,
rural or urban, is a haven for wildlife, and encouraging wildlife is
entirely compatible with ordinary gardening, whether or not 'native'
plants are used. For more info., please
click
here.
WATER! FROM
SOURCE TO THE SEA
Free public lecture
series at Birkbeck
This series of six free lectures at Birkbeck, University of London,
between 13th February and 20th March, examines freshwater ecosystems
and habitats from London to the national level, their degradation,
restoration and management, the challenge of new legislation to deal
with new problems, and perhaps some positive solutions. For more info.,
please
click
here.
(c)
Greg Hitchcock
WEST THURROCK
MARSHES APPEAL LOST
Court approves
destruction of marshes and its wildlife
West Thurrock Marshes are rated as one of the three most important
sites for endangered wildlife in the country. On 28th January, after a
three-year battle to save the marshes from destruction, the Court of
Appeal found against
Buglife and judged that the decision to build on the site was
lawful. Buglife now faces legal costs of £30,000. For more
info.,
click
here.
HAVE YOUR SAY
ON WATER
River Basin Management Plans consultation
Everyone uses water in their daily lives, whether for recreational
activities, industry, agriculture or as a water consumer. River Basin
Management Plans are the nation's plans for improving water and
wetlands. The
Environment Agency wants to know whether these draft plans
focus on the right areas, whether they go far enough and how you can
help achieve the targets.