Blogger: Sarah Green, Project Coordinator - Natura People Partnership Project
‘Yes!’ I hear you cry. Well that’s to be expected as you’re reading this blog. Lots of people appreciate the chance to get outdoors, experience the fresh air, discover some interesting wildlife and generally get involved with the natural world. I got to do this recently and I wanted to share my experiences with you all.
Having worked for the RSPB for a year now, I consider myself very lucky to be able to get the chance to visit and work from some of our fabulous reserves. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to work at our Minsmere office. Now, even though my usual Norwich office is lovely, with a garden that’s great to sit in (in the summer at least!), getting out to Minsmere is always a thrill. This particular visit was made even more special as I persuaded our Livestock Manager and Reserve Assistant to take me to visit the Koniks (thanks Andy and Paul!).
You can’t see it in this shot, but they’ve got a lovely dark stripe going from their neck to their tail.
It’s a rare privilege to get up close with these wonderful animals. Although they are technically wild and don’t get much human interaction, they are also incredibly friendly and not particularly shy. One particular fella got so interested he decided my jacket might make a tasty snack (hint: this is not a recommended equine food source!). Despite the bitter wind and the cold fingers we managed to round up the small herd and scan their microchips, checking that all were well.
On the journey back to Norwich I got to think about the other inspiring creatures I’ve seen.
In April I visited Zwin in Belgium, and, being relatively new to the birding world, I was delighted with the amount of storks on the site (it was later explained to me that these were captive stock). I remember being particularly entranced by their nests – never before had I realised that these nests could get several feet deep, with other birds nesting in them too.
In November I visited Parc du Marquenterre in Northern France and espied my first kingfisher. Excited doesn’t begin to cover it, I was still grinning the next day! The bird stayed put for a few minutes, allowing me to see it diving into the water and returning to the branch several times. Never had I realised the blue was so bright.
So, why did I get to visit these places? Well, I work for a project called Natura People. Provincie West-Vlaanderen in Belgium (working at the Zwin park), Provincie Zeeland (working at Waterdunen) and Natuur –en Recreatieschap de Grevelingen in the Netherlands and RSPB Minsmere are working together to save nature, or as the project brief puts it, “ensuring the long term protection of the natural environment”.
This project is made possible through Interreg funding, specifically the 2 Seas programme. This is a pot of money set up to encourage cross-border working. Since wildlife doesn’t respect human geographical boundaries it is crucial for conservation organisations to work together to achieve our shared goals. The four project partners are working together to improve our visitor facilities and develop the economic case for investing in nature reserves. The more people we get interested in the environment, the more people will value it, and the more species will be saved.
Who can argue with that?
Find out about the 2 Seas programme here. To read more about the Natura People project and Minsmere, visit the reserve’s own blog and view the Interreg tagged posts.