Friday 11 November 2016, Pearson Centre, Beeston

Twenty-two people attended an engaging impromptu talk about Attenborough Nature Reserve by Mike Spencer, Trustee of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, on the evening of Friday 11 November.

Dating from 1966, the Reserve is one of the most important sites for nature conservation in the East Midlands. Centered on Attenborough, it extends over 360 acres from near Beeston lock in the east to the Derbyshire county boundary in the west, and all within a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Prior to gravel extraction the land was rough grazing and willow.

Sand and gravel have been quarried for nearly 90 years, starting at the Beeston end, leaving ponds and islands that are home now to many species of wildlife. Cemex, the present owners, are in the process of winding up their operation and transferring ownership to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust who manage and operate the site. Gravel was last extracted in the late summer this year.

Already the familiar barges have slipped quietly away and the bridges connecting the manmade ponds will follow soon. As extraction moved west, bridges allowed barges to access the Attenborough screening plant directly from the new ponds without going down the Trent, but in doing so pollutants from the Erewash were able to spread the length of the Reserve. Over the next two years, as part of the transfer of ownership, bridges will be replaced by solid paths to create contaminant free lagoons. The screening plant is being dismantled now, reducing road traffic.

Active management is at the heart of protecting wildlife. The first hide was set up in the mid 1960s. A Tern platform followed in 1977, encouraging Common Tern to nest in profusion. From the outset there has been steady progress in attracting different wildlife species, predominantly birds; some from great distances. Otters have been present since 1999. More domesticated animals, including a rescue pony and sheep, are grazed as part of the management strategy to protect flora reverting to willow scrub. Access is restricted to parts of the Reserve to protect both flora and fauna.

Attenborough Nature Centre on Barton Lane provides education and visitor facilities. This eco-friendly building was opened in 2005 by David Attenborough. Awarded the Gold Award for sustainable tourism in 2007, it is listed in the top ten eco destinations in the world by BBC Wildlife Magazine. Other structures followed. In 2009 the tower hide was built, supplemented in 2012 by a ‘bat-box’ hide, and most recently by a Sand Martin hide. Much work is carried out by volunteers.

New species of every kind continue to be attracted, such as Mediterranean black-headed gulls, spotted in 2016. At a recent count there are 470 species of flower; 350 of fungi; 25 of butterfly; 500 of moths; 150 of bugs; 10 of bats; 250 of birds and 90 species of spider. There are even 120 species of weevil. Wildlife sightings are well documented both on site and on the Attenborough Nature Reserve webpage. There have been 2.5m visitors over the past ten years, with 30k children visiting annually and a 10m social media following, making the Attenborough Reserve one of the most popular visitor destinations in the East Midlands.

This was a most entertaining and informative evening raising many questions. We can look forward to Mike returning soon to talk specifically about the archaeology of the site. Hurry back!

Peter Robinson 30 November 2016

Group Name: Beeston & District Community First Responders

Web Address:www.beestonanddistrictresponders.co.uk

The Beeston & District Responders Group was set up in November 2012, with only two trained EMAS Responders, and one kit and one operational EMAS Call sign.

The Group has grown since we became fully Operational and we now have Eleven fully Trained EMAS Responders. Ten of which are now FPOS Level 3 who can attend Babies-New Born upwards and Falls and certain number of trauma calls.

By the end of the year 2016 the rest of the responders will be FPOS 9 (First Person On Scene) Level 3 Qualified.

The Group covers the following areas: Beeston, Chilwell, Bramcote, Toton, Attenborough, Stapleford& Long Eaton. Our areas of Operation are densely populated, with figures reaching 50,000 +, people in the Six areas of operation.

We do go to calls outside these areas when required when EMAS resources are stretched.

The Group has been busy fund raising since November 2012, and with the support of our local community, including other Charity groups and the help from local councilors and businesses, we have managed to raise enough funds to purchase Eight full response kits and De-Fibrillators (cost of approx £1850 per kit). We also have One adopted kit.

These kits have been attached to our now fully operation NINE EMAS Call-Signs, which as previously mentioned are operating in the above areas.

Two of our call signs also have new terrafix phones which are tracked by EMAS which in turn can give them our position and can send us to calls which are close to us at anytime.

The Group has also purchased each responder with a uniform, which includes a Hi-Visibility reflective winter jacket and a Polo shirt with our group’s emblem. We felt this necessary as it would provide the community with a view to our professional approach and make us easily identifiable.

Since the Group went operational in November 2012 up to the end of October 2016, the group has been logged on and available to attend Emergency calls within our Community for 7,227 hours and has attended over 2,731 Life Threatening 999 Calls on behalf of EMAS Trust.

245 of which were Cardiac Arrests and 22 ROSC and 1 ROSC to Hospital Discharge.

(ROSC =Return of Spontaneous Circulation).

We have also attended 80 calls where we have administered a drug called Salbutamol, which assists to help patient’s breath when suffering from respiratory problems.

The group has made a huge difference to our local community, helping people in their hour of need, prior to the arrival of an Ambulance crew.

On the 23rd April 2015 we achieved the following award from our local area.

I Beeston Awards 2015

Pride of Beeston Winner