Tees Valley Biodiversity Partnership

INCA and the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust are embarking on a project to conserve brownfield invertebrates in the Tees valley and help delivery of the Tees Valley Brownfields habitat action plan.

Brownfield sites are often rich in biodiversity and form an important refuge for wildlife. They are now included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) as the priority habitat titled ‘Open mosaic habitats on previously developed land’. In the Tees Valley, many brownfield sites contain areas which develop a semi-natural habitat supporting a diverse flora and fauna. Such sites have regional importance for many Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species, including invertebrates.   A summary of the project can be downloaded here.

Buglife, the national trust for invertebrates also has a new  National Brownfield Stepping Stones Project, for which the Tees Valley is a key area.  The national project is looking at the brownfield resource in different regions of the UK ( including the Tees Valley ,South Essex, Peterborough, Stoke-on-Trent and Cornwall). Many species (eg bumble bees, butterflies and reptiles) are becoming dependant/reliant on such sites. The project aim is to identify the most valuable brownfield sites in these regions and attempt to provide habitat linkages (stepping stones) between sites to allow the movement of species, particularly invertebrates. The work will entail scoping surveys, species and habitat surveys and habitat enhancement and management works. Along with working with planners and developers to ensure brownfield sites of conservation important are properly considered and mitigated for in the planning and development process.  Buglife is currently in the process of applying to the SITA Enriching Nature Fund for a grant to carry out work in the Tees Valley.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under News, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.