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THE FIELD CLUB AND OTHER CONSERVATION BODIES AND SOCIETIES
In Newsletter No. 21 our president suggested that the Field Club should seek closer links
with other conservation bodies and societies.
I feel that this is most desirable, particularly with regard to the Essex Wildlife Trust. The
knowledge of the Field Club members, many of whom are experts in their chosen fields
of interest, could surely be of greater use to the Trust than has been the case hitherto.
Similarly close co-operation with the Trust could lead to a higher profile for the Field
Club, and hopefully, an increase in membership. I am aware that most Field Club
members are EWT members too, and have in the past done much recording work on
reserves.
Biodiversity is all the rage at present, but unless owners of wildlife sites are fully aware
of the biodiversity in their charge, how can they possibly prepare management plans and
the like? Birds and plants tend to be the main consideration on most reserves with
relatively few records available for other orders.
With this in mind, a small group of Field Club members decided several years ago that it
would be a good idea to concentrate their study and recording on one particular site, with
the intention of producing a wide database of species to be used for future monitoring and
to assist management decisions. The site chosen was Rushey Mead, a small EWT reserve
in the Stort Valley. Permission to survey the site was granted and with the co-operation of
the waiden, records began to accumulate.
Initially the survey was entomological, but was subsequently widened to include
Mollusca, Bryophytes, Lichens and Fungi. At least 7 members of the Field Club and 2
members of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society were involved in the survey and the
whole operation began to give an idea of what could be achieved if the expertise of a
number of specialists was concentrated on one project.
By 1995 an interim report was prepared which ran to 24 pages and listed over 800 insects
including a number of locally notable and Red Data Book species. This report was
submitted to the Essex Wildlife Trust with the comment that much more needed to be
done and more information would be obtained.
Since then we have heard nothing and the report has not been acknowledged or
commented upon by the Trust.
No further recording has been done. It was felt that the Trust could at least have shown
some interest in our efforts. Indifference leads to ill feeling, which in turn will not help
conservation in Essex.
Perhaps the Field Club should approach the Essex Wildlife Trust at this stage, with a view
to improving relations and to see if closer co-operation could be mutually beneficial.
These comments are not written in a sense of sour grapes, but a sadness at an opportunity
lost, and the views expressed are of course my own, and not those of the Field Club.
Charles Watson
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 22, August 1997