|
frequently
asked questions |
|
Lancashire
Wildlife Trust (LWT) - FAQs |
| Who
are you?
LWT is a registered charity, governed by a Council of Trustees
who are elected from the membership. For more details, see Who
we are. |
How
are you funded?
In order to continue our work we depend on income from
a number of sources, including membership
subscriptions, charitable funders, donations,
appeals, legacies,
fundraising events and corporate
sponsorship. |
How
can I become a member?
You can contact us direct or visit our Join
Us page. |
What
area do you cover?
We operate throughout Lancashire, Manchester and North
Merseyside, north of the Manchester Ship Canal. |
Are
your reserves open to the public?
Most of our reserves are open to everyone.
Some are restricted to LWT members, in order to protect fragile habitats or species
and occasionally for safety reasons. If you want to visit a particular reserve,
refer to the Reserves page,
contact us if appropriate and we will help. |
Is
it possible to do conservation work on LWT reserves?
Volunteers do vital
work on most of our reserves. Find out about volunteering
opportunities. |
| Are
there any other ways I can help?
You can use your skills and experience
as a valued volunteer, in
many aspects of our work. Like all organisations, we have management/administration/support/finance
functions and are usually able to accommodate people who can give us a little
of their time. You
can also make a commitment to our future work by remembering LWT
in your will. To find out more visit our pages on Volunteering
and Legacies. |
Can
I take pictures at a reserve?
Visitors to our reserves are welcome to
take photographs as long as the wildlife is not disturbed. For this reason and
for your own safety, please keep to paths and hides, observe any local notices
and be careful during breeding and nesting seasons. Please do not record images
of people as this would require written permission. If you are a specialist wildlife
photographer and wish to get closer to your subjects at an LWT reserve, then please
contact us. |
Can
I film on a reserve?
Visitors to our
reserves are welcome to use personal video cameras with the same requirements
as for still photography above. If you are wish to film at a reserve as part of
a student or professional production, you must contact LWT. |
| Can
you give me some advice on attracting wildlife to my garden?
 | Buy
native species because these will usually survive well in your garden. |
| Choose
plants rich in nectar and pollen. | | Have
plants that produce berries in your garden to attract birds as well as those that
naturally produce spaces for roosting. | | Ask
for peat-free products when buying from your local garden centre |
| Make
your own compost | | Avoid
using chemicals in your garden | | Create
log piles to provide shelter for a range of animals |
| Feed
the birds in winter and install nest boxes to encourage breeding |
| Don't
be too tidy | |
Our
Wildlife Gardening book, produced with the Royal
Horticultural Society, gives lots of useful advice
and is available from The Barn at a cost of £10.00
inc postage. |
|
Do
you provide wildlife information for schools?
We're very happy to do
so. Go to the Education page for details.
|
Where
can I get advice on objecting to a planning application?
Consult the
planning department at your local council. Some councils have advice on how to
submit objections on their websites. |
Do
you help with planning issues?
We monitor planning applications for possible
damage to wildlife habitat and make suggestions or objections where necessary.
We also offer appropriate advice to developers and land management services on
a consultancy basis. Go to the Standing
up for Wildlife or Consultancy
page for details. |
Who
deals with wildlife matters at my local council?
Many local councils
now have a nominated biodiversity officer, ecologist or countryside manager. Contact
your local
Council offices for help. |
Who
should I get in touch with about the felling of trees?
Contact the planning
department at your local council. If you live in an area with a Parish Council,
ask your Parish Councillor for details of your local Tree Warden. |
Is
it possible to be buried on an LWT reserve?
In order to avoid disturbing
natural habitats, we do not allow burials on our wildlife reserves, but the scattering
of ashes in a sensitive manner may be permitted. In exceptional circumstances
a memorial may be considered |
| Who
should I contact about a sick or injured animal?
General - contact your
local RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals), details
can be found here.
|
Who
should I contact about wildlife crime?
Contact your local police wildlife
liaison officer through any police headquarters. More information is available
at www.defra.gov.uk/paw |
Who
should I inform about sightings of rare species?
Incredibly, there has been no integrated Local Biological
Record Centre or network for our area since the local
government reforms of 1974! A project has just been
launched (July 2006) to develop one for Merseyside.
There still isn't one for either Greater Manchester
or for Lancashire County, though we are working with
partners to try to revive networks for both areas. For
details of national biological recording schemes see
the National Biodiversity Network website http://www.nbn.org.uk. |
What
is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is an abbreviation of biological diversity
and only came into use after the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. It doesn't just mean
the number of species and the variation amongst them, but also the interactions
between species and their relationships within complex ecosystems. A very useful
definition of biodiversity is "the variety of life". |
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