Severn Trent Water in the Community

They are also reservoirs of wildlife and of opportunities for residents to enjoy the countryside and to help improve it. The two full time rangers, with one seasonal ranger helping out during the summer cover the needs of about 40,000 visitors a year to Foremark, Staunton Harold and Thornton which does not leave much time for positive wildlife conservation activity! A new ranger, Iain Thistlewaite has however been appointed whose speciality is developing the community related activity on the sites through encouraging people to come volunteering. Over the winter, Iain will be kicking off a campaign to recruit local volunteers for a whole range of activities from practical conservation work, lightweight rangering, animal and plant surveys, helping at events and maybe even typing newsletters and producing posters.

"We want to give people opportunities to join in while at the same time there is a growing awareness of the outdoors as a great green gym where the simple activities involved in volunteering can contribute so much to peoples health and fitness" said Iain.

Look out for posters and leaflets about Iain's campaign and for details of the open meetings to be held in January. Alternatively, ring Iain or Karl on 01332 865081 to get on the mailing list.