Last Monday (28th) I attended the Erewash Valley Landowners and Managers Event hosted by Broxtowe Borough Council, on behalf of the Erewash Valley Access and Wildlife Forum, in partnership with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and The Nottingham Energy Partnership.
The event was held at the Town Hall on Foster Avenue at Beeston and featured the following speakers:
- Steve Fisher (Broxtowe Borough Council) – Erewash Valley Trail project overview
- Gaynor Jones Jenkins (Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust) – the wildlife of the Valley
- Lesley Sharpe (Farming and wildlife advisor) – stewardship and grants
- Jerome Baddley (Nottingham Energy Partnership) – renewable energy opportunities for farmers
Although geared towards farmers, I found most of the evening interesting, especially where it concerned the wildlife of the valley. One notable fact that I found out is that otters have returned to the Valley after being absent for several decades.
Everyone who attended was given five young trees – crab apple, wild cherry, field maple, hazel and hawthorn. Mine were planted yesterday in pots to give them time to develop before I plant them out in the fields next Spring.
I came away with a pack of leaflets and maps to study, as well as information about interesting websites covering not only the Valley, but also other parts of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. I have added some of these sites to the links section.