NEWSLETTER • SPRING 2009

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19th century could benefit ournature reserve today? It’s true...the terrible destruction of Devonfishing village South Hallsands in1917 has now led to an over£40,000 grant to Slapton Ley!

It all started when around 650,000 tonsof offshore shingle was removed tobuild an extension to Devonportdockyard. It was the probable cause ofthe erosion of the low cliffs thatsupported the village – and the villagewas destroyed.

Back to the present time – the Centrerecently made an application to theAggregates Levy Sustainability Fund(ALSF) for improvements to access onthe NNR. The fund is managed byNatural England with monies sourcedfrom companies paying for agovernment licence to extract aggregates.

We were successful and the money willmainly be used to replace the dilapidatedboardwalks at Little Marsh and IrelandBay. They pass directly through largeareas of reed bed, and theseimprovements will allow safe access tofar-flung parts of the reserve, an essentialpart of our guided walks programme.

lapton Ley Field Centre is oneof the first organisations in the

country to be awarded the LearningOutside the Classroom QualityBadge, recognising it as a provider ofquality, safely-managed educationalexperiences for young people!

The Quality Badge is a brand newgovernment scheme, combining learningand safety for the first time into oneeasily recognisable award.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children,Schools and Families, said: “Educationalvisits are among the most memorableexperiences in a child’s school life.Quality Badge offers teachers a guaranteethat not only is a venue providing thesort of educational value that they canbuild on in class long after the visit, butthey also have the appropriate riskmanagement structures in place.

“It should ensure that many more youngpeople have memorable, exciting andvaluable learning outside the classroomexperiences. I congratulate Slapton LeyField Centre on being awarded the badge.”

Andy Pratt, head of Centre said: “I amimmensely proud of Slapton Ley FieldCentre being awarded the QualityBadge. It is a real stamp of approval thatthe activities we offer young people arerecognised as being of high quality.

“We have always worked closely withlocal schools and youth groups toprovide quality learning in a safeenvironment. We know that childrenreally benefit from these importantexperiences and it’s great to have all ourhard work recognised in this way.”

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The 13 students arrived from theUniversity of Plymouth’s volunteerdepartment, Volunteers in Plymouth(ViP), for a weekend of conservationwork around the reserve.

Day 1: The first task was to repairsteps in Slapton Wood leading downto Slapton Stream, a key location forbiology lessons. The timber used tomake these steps was sourced fromwithin the reserve. While they werethere, some of the group put onwaders and grabbed a spade in order

Slapton Leygenesis

Ian Mercer recalls how it all began

n 1957 Gerald Oakley (secretary and treasurer of theField Studies Council), who had saved FSC from

bankruptcy in 1951, met Philip Michelmore on the beachat Slapton. One wanted to expand the FSC; the other tofind someone who could fulfil the terms of HerbertWhitley’s will – to use Slapton Ley and its environs ‘forscientific and educational purposes’.

They did a deal and the compensation for not rebuilding theRoyal Sands Hotel, finally ruined in the D Day rehearsal,

bought the tiny Whitegates House and land around it – andthe nature reserve would be leased for £1 a year.

The first warden was appointed and arrived in January 1959.It was easy to see in a raw, bleak winter wind, with reedsbending out of steely grey water, why the Ley was yet anotherExcalibur site, and that this Field Centre would never competein the glamour stakes with a hall or a mill or a fort. The springbrought concrete, two wooden labs, some adjustment of theground floor of Whitegates – and students arrived in April.

But the summer of 1959 was a remarkable one, long, hot anddry. The Ley contracted to reveal a 15m shore with annualsin concentric zones mixed with aquatics left high and dryand that dullest of rarities – strapwort in large quantities.Rocky shores were balmy, viewpoints clear, and teachinghere was obviously going to be a doddle.

n January a band of students swapped city life for a weekend in thecountryside – and they helped make a big improvement to access and

safety in parts of the reserve used frequently by visiting school groups.

to go in and clear parts of the streamwhich had silted up.

The next job was to start clearingovergrown vegetation fromWood Lane,an ancient pathway leading up toSlapton Wood. Loppers and bow sawswere used to chop back over hangingtrees and clear dense brambles.

After a hard day’s work, an excellentdinner and a pint or two of local ale,the volunteers were looking forwardto their bed!

Day 2: Refreshed and eager to go, itwas back to finish the clearing ofWood Lane. It was a long way to dragbranches to the top of the lane, butthey were a hardworking anddetermined bunch and now the lane isfar more accessible.

Then onto Slapton Sands for a beachclean, as part of the MarineConservation Society’s (MCS) Adopt-a-Beach scheme. To improve thecoastal environment for both visitorsand wildlife, the team walked fromTorcross to the Memorial car park atSlapton picking up litter as they went.After a few hours of cleaning, eightbags of rubbish had been collectedincluding trainers, a bin and even asofa cushion!

Everyone had great fun and left withsome fond memories of Slapton Ley.

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ou are at the heart of what we do – without yourhelp, our work would be greatly diminished. We owe

you, and would like to give you a huge thank you!

A number of local people generously give their time, takingpart in different aspects of our work, including:• carrying out practical management on our reserves• surveying wildfowl, farmland birds and wildlife• monitoring bird populations through a ringing programme.

But we are now at a crossroads. The needs of a nature reserveare constantly changing. As soon as we are successful in onearea, such as delivering the right environment for dormice, orotters, then other issues arise to challenge us. In particular, weknow that the key to the future of conservation will be inextending the understanding and appreciation of the naturalworld, making it relevant to as many people as possible.

We have just finished an exercise to assess how we talk aboutthe nature reserve and portray our field teaching work to thepeople of the South Hams and our visitors. We already do alot, but we realise that we will need to put even more time andeffort in to this over the next few years. We will need moreresearchers, more surveyors, more people ‘meeting andgreeting’ visitors, more listeners and more talkers.

To do this properly we will need resources for recruiting moreand different volunteers, for training in the skills and knowledgethat might be needed, and instilling confidence to deliver thework effectively. So this year we will explore how we mightfind the funds to do this properly and we need to do this infull consultation with our local communities and supporters.

For the moment, we just want to alert everyone about ourplans. In the meantime, perhaps you might consider if you arein a position to offer us the gift of time – whether an hour, a day,a week, a whole month or more... before we come knocking!

Environmental understanding for all

change is as good as a rest, as they say. So duringthe large numbers of geography and biology A level

groups that help fill our Centre for most of the year, it isalways nice to get the chance to teach groups that havedifferent needs and require different experiences. JonBanner (assistant head of Centre) explains why two groupswere both a test to his teaching skills and a rewardingpersonal experience.

The first group was children visiting from Belarus, funded andorganised by the Chernobyl Children Life Line charity andstaying with local families during a four week visit to thiscountry. Their visit to Slapton was an afternoon activityfollowing English lessons in the morning.

The language barrier was a bit of an issue to start with, but aswe walked through the nature reserve we didn’t need to speaktoo much as we used the power of our senses to help usappreciate the wildlife. After walking ‘through the treetops’, wemade a smelly cocktail and discovered the invertebrates of theLey, then ended the walk on the beach. As the children paddledin the water and skimmed stones, this was the highlight of theday for me, because most of them hadn’t seen the sea beforecoming to this country! By all accounts they had a great visitand gained huge benefits from their month in the South Hams.

The second group was ten students (aged 6 to 12) from CoombePatford School in Torquay, a school for children with autism.They had great fun exploring the tank at Torcross, buildingmodels of Start Bay in the shingle and then a bit of pond-dipping in the Ley. It was a very rewarding experience for bothmyself and the students, some of which had boundlessenthusiasm and energy and I was very grateful for the supportI received from the school’s staff!

As well as the personal satisfaction I get from teaching thesegroups, the Centre benefits from allowing us to achieve ourwider organisational aims of ‘environmental understanding forall’ and reaching a larger audience. I hope we continue to getthis wide range of groups visiting the nature reserve; they gainobvious benefits from their experiences and they benefit theField Centre staff that are involved in delivering thoseexperiences.

The summer also revealed the (by thentraditional) use of Slapton Sands for self-catering holiday-making, where pairs ofbuses swung off the A379, slung a tarpaulinbetween them for kitchen-diner, with thenearest bit of reed bed as latrine. Naturereserve? We thought someone must havebeen joking.

But look at it now. Slapton became afieldwork pioneer, ecologically andgeographically, in its first decade andresearch boomed in the next three. That 50year-old enterprise and the physical andpedagogic work of the 1960s have paid offbeyond the wildest dreams of even thoseheady days.

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Wildlife andarts coursesA range of introductory courses tolearn more about wildlife or developyour painting and photography skillsin residential or non-residentialcourses. All courses are led by anexpert in their field.

South Devon birds, sightsand sounds of springMay 1-5An introduction to birdwatching. Learn toidentify the birds of South Devon throughsight and sound. Led by Ian Mercer,naturalist and president of the FSC.

Stroll and sketchMay 29-31Experience the glorious views around Slapton byfoot, stopping to draw as we stroll. Led by HilaryJean Gibson, painter, illustrator and teacher.

Coastal plantsJuly 19-24Identify the flowers of Slapton Sands, StartPoint and the Avon Estuary. Led by DavidStreeter, reader in Ecology at the Universityof Sussex.

The seals of theSouth Devon coastJuly 20-24An introduction to grey seals and the rhythm oftheir year. Observe seal behaviour, identifyindividuals and develop your field craft. Led byStephen Westcott, leading British seal researcher.

Introduction todigital photographyJuly 31-August 2Develop your digital photography skillsthrough photographing wildlife andlandscapes. Led by Adrian Davies,photographer, author and lecturer.

Capturing light in watercolourAugust 7-10Improve your painting with watercolours andpaint the South Devon landscape. Led byGerald Green, professional artist and author.

The run of the eelsWednesday April 8, 10am-12 noonCome and find out about the amazing story ofthe European Eel, and its journey across theAtlantic Ocean to Slapton Ley. After a cup oftea and a short walk over the cliffs, learn aboutand visualise their epic migration, beforechecking some elver traps to see if any of theyoung (glass) eels have made it in one piece!• Meet at the Sea Breeze café, Torcross, 10am• Adults £5, Children £4 • Great fun for all thefamily • Tea & coffee provided

Dawn chorusSaturday May 2, 6am-9amSsssshhh! Join us for a quiet morning strollaround Slapton Ley, listening to the morningsong of our feathered friends as they wake to(hopefully!) a tranquil summer dawn.Afterwards enjoy a breakfast of wholesome,local food prepared in our home kitchen.• Meet at Slapton Ley Field Centre, 6am• Adults £10, Children £7, Family £30 • Sorry,no dogs • Breakfast and tea/coffee included

Badgers and batsJune 18-September 10 (Tuesdays andThursdays)An evening exploration at Slapton Ley,watching badgers emerge from their sett, thenlook and listen for Slapton’s many bat specieson their nightly forage, keeping an eye out forglow-worms too.• Meet at Slapton Bridge. Start time is roughly30 minutes before sunset and varies throughthe summer, event usually lasts two hours• Adults £5, Children £4 • Great fun for all thefamily • Sorry, no dogs

A Bird in the HandSaturday July 25, 8.30am-10.45amEnjoy a feast of food and feathers with us! Joinus for a breakfast of wholesome, local foodprepared in our home kitchen at the FieldCentre, then take a stroll down to SlaptonBridge to get up close and personal with someof our feathered friends by viewing the bird-ringing operation manned by the DevonBirdwatching & Preservation Society. Thenobserve some birds around the Ley (hopefully!)and learn some field ID skills.• Meet at Slapton Ley Field Centre, 8.30am• Adults £10, Children £7, Family £30• Great fun for all the family • Sorry, no dogs• Breakfast and tea/coffee included

Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve (NNR) is owned byWhitley Wildlife Conservation Trust and managed by the

Field Studies Council’s (FSC) Slapton Ley Field Centre.

Head of Centre: Andy Pratt.

Reserve Manager: Nick Binnie.

Booking is essential for all events.Please phone Slapton Ley Field

Centre on 01548 580685.

Please phone Slapton Ley FieldCentre on 01548 580466 for more

information.

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MammalwatchJuly 29 and August 26 (Wednesdays),10am-12.30pmGo wild with otters, dormice, badgers, bats anda whole lot more besides! A morning adventurelooking for animals great and small, and thetracks and signs they leave behind. Then cometo see some photos and videos at the FieldCentre, followed by a lunch of wholesome,local food prepared in our home kitchen.• Meet at Slapton Ley Field Centre, 10am• Adults £10, Children £7, Family £30• Great fun for all the family • Sorry, no dogs• Lunch and tea/coffee provided

Eventsprogramme

Summer Safaris3rd-7th August and 10th-17th AugustAdventure and discovery activities all week atSlapton Ley for 8-11 year olds.• 9.30 am-4.00pm • £17.50 per child

Back to natureThursday August 27, 2.30pm-7.30pmExplore the wild woods of Slapton Ley NationalNature Reserve through nature awareness, shelterbuilding, making fires and storytelling. Anexperience to enjoy with the whole family. Theday will end with an evening campfire on thebeach with a chance to enjoy wholesome, localfood and share stories from the day’s adventures.• Meet at Slapton Ley Field Centre, 2.30pm• Adults £10, Children £7, Family £30• Great fun for all the family • Sorry, no dogs• Dinner provided

Seaside FunWeekdays, July 27-August 28, noon-3pmCome and join our team for seaside fun and gamesthroughout the summer! Events will include beach-based activities, entertainment and exploration,and you might even learn a thing or two!• Meet at Memorial Car park, Slapton Sands• Entrance fee is dependent on activity • Greatfun for all the family • Packed lunch needed

in partnership with:

South HamsDistrict Council

SLAPTON LEYFIELD CENTRE & NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE