Biodiversity Audits

Dorset Environmental Record Centre and Dorset Wildlife Trust have produced updated biodiversity audits for Dorset LNP. These documents will inform future work such as the development of Local Nature Recovery Networks (coming out of the Environment Bill). For more information email: info@dorsetlnp.org.uk

What have insects ever done for us?

Imogen Davenport, Dorset Wildlife Trust The UK has over 20,000 species of insect, but their numbers are declining sharply. In Dorset over 8,000 species have been recorded over time – no doubt an under-estimate but some 20% of these are now under various categories of threat, are rare, protected or indeed extinct. Some of our …

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Welcome to New Board Members

Following launching our board member recruitment in October, the December 2020 Board meeting welcomed four new independent board members: Pete Etheridge Lee Hardy Durwyn Liley Felicity Rice Thank you to everyone who applied, we were really pleased with the high standard of all the applicants. The meeting also welcomed new BCP Council representative Cllr Mark …

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The Next Agricultural Revolution?

Ian Alexander, Natural England We, humans, started farming at the end of the last ice age, over 10,000 years ago.  Whatever initiated that transition to farming it enabled both substantial population increase and phenomenal technological and cultural development as, buffered by stores of produce, people were freed from the daily need to hunt and gather …

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Board Member Recruitment 2020

Are you a keen advocate for Dorset’s natural environment? Are you committed to champion the benefits of our environment for wildlife, people and the economy? Do you want to help embed the environment into decision making in the county, supporting nature’s recovery, natural capital and nature-based solutions? The Dorset LNP Board is looking to appoint …

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Engaging with Nature

Luke Rake – Chair Dorset LNP It is a privilege to write my first blog post as newly elected Chair of the Dorset Local Nature Partnership. I have been a board member for some time, representing the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) but my interests extend far beyond the economic. We read a lot about the …

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Chesil little tern colony reaches 50 pairs in 2020

Paul Buckley, Dorset LNP Board member and Richard Archer RSPB Chesil Beach Little Tern Project Manager The Dorset LNP invests a lot of effort in conservation policy and strategy work, but of course actual field delivery of conservation is critical and integral to success.  This month we focus on one of Dorset’s rarest and most …

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Time out to think about water, naturally

Fiona Bowles – Chair Dorset Catchment Partnerships Spending more time in the Dorset Frome valley on foot, bike and horseback during lockdown, I can attest to the value of ‘blue space’ for my personal well-being.  I have also knuckled down to some webinars and reading on watery matters. This has led to moments of high …

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Draft Dorset Ecological Network Mapping

DERC has undertaken a review of the Dorset Ecological Network Maps for Dorset LNP and we are undertaking an informal engagement on the draft maps below. We welcome comments on the maps until end of Wednesday 15 July. A revision to the guidance document is being finalised. The Maps will be fed into the evidence …

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On Homeworking

Ian Alexander – Natural England I’m not imagining the day when I’ll pay a virtual visit to my barber but for many businesses Covid-19 has forced them to rethink how their staff work and, for some, the answer has been ‘from home’. Change is predominantly driven when better technology drives out the old.  The Stone …

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