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.