PRESS RELEASE

2nd June 2009
SPRINGWATCH FILMING AT CWT RESERVE

The BBC spent the first day of summer filming at one of Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s nature reserves for the popular Springwatch television programme, shown on BBC Two at 8pm on various weekday evenings.

The camera crew visited the Gowy Meadows nature reserve just outside Chester on Monday 1st June to record volunteers at work and the management of the native breed cattle owned by the Trust, which are used to maintain the reserve as part of the Trust’s Conservation Grazing Scheme.

Volunteers from M&S Money undertook maintenance work on a sluice and ditch at the reserve, which is a floodplain for the River Gowy featuring 165 hectares (409 acres) of grazing marsh criss-crossed with water-filled ditches.

The Springwatch filming focused on the fact that the nature reserve is flourishing, unaffected by its proximity to a large industrial area including the Stanlow oil refinery operated by Shell UK Ltd, which owns the Gowy site and leases the management of it to Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

“Gowy Meadows is home to rare plant species such as the fine-leaved pondweed, bladderwort and ivy-leaved crowfoot (a Cheshire Biodiversity Action Plan species),” explained CWT’s Conservation Grazing Officer Richard Owen who was interviewed for the television programme. “The ditches host endangered creatures such as water voles, the lesser silver water beetle and mud snails.

“The sluices are used to control water flows throughout the site, while the native breed cows and sheep are employed to manage the vegetation growth. Native breeds are better designed to cope with the wet land underfoot while their grazing requirements promote growth of the important plant species and eliminate invasive species such as ragwort and birch."

The site is also home to 15 types of dragonfly, at least 17 species of butterfly and around 100 bird species.
The reserve acts as a flood alleviation area for the River Gowy corridor, absorbing excess water to lessen the risk of homes and businesses from being flooded when water levels rise, and so plays a vital role for human benefit as well as that of wildlife species.

M&S Money and other corporate volunteers regularly undertake practical maintenance work for CWT saving the Trust hundreds of pounds in labour costs and providing the volunteers with a great team bonding day out. Part of the Springwatch filming was to highlight how local or business community volunteers such as this can really make a difference for wildlife.

For information about the Springwatch programme visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/springwatch/

Further information about Gowy Meadows and volunteering opportunities is available from www.cheshirewildlifetrust.co.uk or call 01948 820728.

-ENDS-