About the Project

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) is taking a lead role in attempting to protect and enhance the natural heritage of Staffordshire. Our efforts have been boosted thanks to Natural England’s Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action Fund, which is funding a two-year project, running from April 2006 to March 2008.

Working in Partnership

Project objectives

• There are several aspects to the Countdown 2010 project and some of the principal objectives include:
• Collection of data over large areas (habitat mapping of the target areas) to gather baseline information about how much of our (semi-)natural habitats still remain.
• Identification of good-quality habitats and detailed surveys of these sites to provide information about the condition of our biodiversity resource.
• Designation of such sites as County Wildlife Sites to facilitate their protection and safeguard their future existence.
• Identification of key sites that may be worthy of restoration to permit both an enhancement and expansion of habitats for biodiversity.
• Identification of sites that could be utilised as seed sources to carry out restoration and/or re-creation projects.
• Development of good relationships with farmers and landowners through liaison work and provision of management advice (including assisting with applications to Environmental Stewardship Schemes).
• Community involvement.
• Raise awareness of conservation issues and the project itself.

Survey work

An important element of the project is to gather baseline data through surveying and habitat mapping the large target areas, using extended phase one methodology. Data collection takes the form of a walkover survey to categorise the habitats field by field. It is particularly concerned with the identification of areas that are botanically diverse. Such sites may already be sympathetically managed e.g. hay meadows that could be suitable to act as seed sources, or they may be in a poorer condition and therefore require more appropriate management to restore or enhance the current biodiversity.  Such data will provide a platform to aid future decisions about how biodiversity gains can be made, both at the farm-scale and at the landscape-scale.

Protection & enhancement of biodiversity

The protection and conservation of sites that are already species-rich is of great importance and our aim, through the Countdown 2010 project, is to attempt to preserve as many sites as possible so that they continue to exist well into the future. We hope to achieve this through their designation as SBIs and through the promotion of Environmental Stewardship Schemes, which should guarantee appropriate management for the site for the lifetime of the agreement. Such schemes may also permit the expansion and enhancement of wildlife sites through the specific targeting of management regimes e.g. application of appropriate stocking levels or by methods such as hay strewing, for example.

Project achievements

• Some major targets of the project have been met:
• Almost 5000 hectares have been mapped to date 
• 25 new SBIs have been designated as County Wildlife Sites with a further 30 in the pipeline. 
• From 915 hectares surveyed in the Tittesworth target area, over 90 hectares of species-rich grassland (10 % of the surveyed area) was identified. 
• Significant finds for SBAP have been made, e.g. habitats such as unimproved grassland, lowland hay meadow & wet grassland. 
• A number of uncommon and rare plant species (in Staffordshire) have also been recorded at these new sites (Eyebrights, Mountain Pansy, Round-Leaved Sundew, Bog Asphodel, Common Cotton-Grass, Hare's-Foot Cotton-Grass and many others).
• Repeat successes have also occurred in the Churnet Valley target area (about 4000 hectares mapped) which was completed in early summer 2007. 
• Following a well-attended function to inform landowners of the project and provide information about the relatively new Environmental Schemes, 75 % of those that attended said they would be more likely to enter into stewardship.
• Several successful applications into both the Entry and Higher Level Stewardship Schemes have been submitted.

Contact details