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CHAPTER 1

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

By the end of the 1950s, the time was ripe for a new county-based conservation organisation in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The countryside was changing and its wildlife was disappearing. Mixed farming was being replaced by arable farming with enormous corn fields. Marginal land such as downland was going under the plough and wetlands on the floodplains of Hampshire’s rivers were being drained. In the 1950s, pastoral farming virtually disappeared in Hampshire and only five per cent of former chalk downland was left. In 1955 the last remaining grazers, the rabbits, were virtually eradicated by myxomatosis and the downs rapidly became scrubbed over. In addition to the farming revolution, the amount of urban development in Hampshire had vastly increased in the post-war years. The south Hampshire axis cities of Southampton and Portsmouth both underwent explosive growth. A new town had developed at Basingstoke. The largest refinery in Europe had been built on the edge of the New Forest, at Fawley. Yet in Hampshire there was only one National Nature Reserve, Old Winchester Hill, and there were no reserves managed by either the RSPB or the National Trust. It was time to act, time to rescue something of wildlife from the advancing jaws of industrial and agricultural development.

The initiative for the formation of a new Trust came from members of Portsmouth Natural History Society. Alick Westrup was a very capable botanist and was following up the Botanical Society of the British Isles’ national plant survey

with a Hampshire Flora. Ron Wells was Biology Master at Portsmouth Grammar School and an ardent field naturalist. They wrote to the only county-based organisation, the Hampshire Field Club in Winchester. Although the Field Club had an ornithological section, it was primarily interested in the archaeology and history of the county, and it declined further interest in setting up a conservation trust. However, the Field Club did send the Trust’s first Company Secretary, Michael Bryant, a list of all the potentially interested groups in Hampshire. Bryant promptly wrote to them all, asking them to send a representative to a meeting to discuss the establishment of a County Naturalists’ Trust.

founding the trust

The first meeting was held on the 26th March 1960 in the Botany Department of Southampton University. Representatives from 23 organisations attended and a further seven wrote supporting the idea in principle. From the attendees at that meeting an organising committee was formed. A founding meeting was held on the 28th November 1960. Ted Smith, from the lincolnshire trust, addressed the meeting and explained how similar Trusts elsewhere in the country were beginning to operate. Smith had sent Michael Bryant a draft Articles of Association which had been duly modified to make it suitable for the formation of a Trust in Hampshire and the

Opposite: Dartford Warbler Right: The Trust's first logo

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PART II : HAMPSHIRE & ISLE OF WIGHT

frequently featured. Business, finance and publicity managers were in short supply. The meetings often got tangled in personal enthusiasms or minutiae.

The new Trust was to be called the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Naturalists’ Trust. At that time it was a single County Trust as, for some administrative purposes, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were one county. Naturalists’ Trust was a difficult name: it implied that it was a Trust for the students and lovers of nature, and rather excluded those who were less expert or less adoring. Much later at the Annual General Meeting on the 18th May 1991, a large attendance of members voted overwhelmingly in favour of changing the name to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It was changed to an easily-understood name in line with the national Wildlife Trust movement. There was much popping of corks at the office.

The Trust’s first logo showed the Dartford warbler – at that time very much a county bird, confined to the heaths of west Hampshire and east Dorset. The current logo is in line with the logo for the Wildlife Trusts national movement. It includes the badger head, the phrase ‘The Wildlife Trusts’, the names of the two counties, and the message Protecting Wildlife, Inspiring People. It is curious how much passion a change of logo can produce. There are still members who are wearing a shirt with a Dartford warbler emblazoned on the chest.

Isle of Wight. As a result of these efforts the Trust was incorporated as a company. The meeting was presided over by Lord Porchester and Squadron Leader Norman Orr was elected Chairman. The first group of Trustees was also elected.

Following this constitutional meeting an inaugural meeting, open to the public, was arranged at Winchester Guildhall on 4th February 1961. It was chaired by Lord Porchester, now President of the new Trust and the guest speaker was max nicholson. The meeting must have been a huge success; 123 members were recruited at this inaugural meeting and were considered founder members.

organisation of the trust

The founding of the Trust required that there should be a governing Council of Trustees, who would steer the business of the Trust. Initially all the officers of the Trust were also Trustees and acted in an entirely voluntary capacity. Some had the relevant professional qualifications. Michael Bryant, for instance, was a solicitor by profession and the Honorary Treasurer was a banker. But for the most part, the honorary officers and Trustees were enthusiasts for natural history. Some were professional biologists in education and some retired from a variety of professional backgrounds. Retired officers from the armed services

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Ancells FarmArreton DownBartley Heath and Hook CommonBlashford LakesBroughton DownCatherington DownChappetts CopseCopythorne CommonCoulters DeanEaglehead and Bloodstone CopsesEmer Bog and Baddesley CommonFarlington MarshesFoxlease MeadowsFlexfordGreywell Moors

Headley Gravel PitHook HeathHythe Spartina MarshKeyhaven and Pennington MarshesLinwoodLower TestLymington ReedbedsMapledurwell Fen/The HatchMilton LocksNingwood CommonNoar HillNorth Warmborough GreensOld Burghclere Lime QuarryPamber ForestPewit Island

Ron Ward's MeadowRoydon WoodsShutts CopseSouthmoorSt Catherine's HillSt Lawrence BankSt Lawrence UndercliffSwanpond CopseSwanwick LakesTestwood LakesNancy Mason Hoe Road MeadowUpper Inhams CopseWeavers Down BogWhitehouse MeadowWinnall Moors

Farlington Marshes – the Trust's oldest nature reserveMap of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust nature reserves

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the aims of the trust

The modern aims and objectives, and mission statements of the Trust have remained much the same as those in the founding Articles of Association:

For the public benefit:To conserve wildlife by setting up reserves.To conserve places of geographical, geological interest and/or natural beauty.To influence and co-operate with others to conserve wildlife.To gain public and financial support for wildlife conservation.To educate and help people to enjoy and conserve wildlife.To organise research and to keep records of the wildlife of Hampshire, so as to further the conservation of wildlife.

The wording has since changed, introducing concepts such as biodiversity and sustainability, but the underlying principles remain the same today. Perhaps the greatest change has been public perception and sympathy towards the value of wildlife. The first annual report in 1962 had a very modern ring to its section on conservation. ‘Conservation societies have tended to confine their attention to very rare or spectacular species. It is now more generally realised that undue concentration of effort in this way may be harmful and that the health of the wildlife of any area depends on the maintenance of a balanced habitat’.1 Add in a little bit about sustainable population size and the need for wildlife corridors to promote genetic migration, and the statement would be right up-to-date.

sixties success

The Trust has had four disinct phases of growth. Between 1960 and 1968 was purely an amateur and volunteer period in which the Company Secretary acted as Conservation Officer and worked from home. One of the more successful ideas for recruiting members and raising funds was the formation of

Area Advisory Boards in 1966. The county was divided into eight areas including the Isle of Wight. Each area had a chair, a secretary and a committee of workers whose directions were to raise funds, recruit members, deliver the Trust magazines and take an active interest in conservation. It was diffuse, but effective. The Trust projector was swapped back and forward from area to area. Film shows of wildlife in colour could attract up to 300 people and some most attractive films were available. Journey into Spring focused on Selborne and The Life of the Kingfisher on the Upper Itchen. The sale of Trust goods was masterminded by Anne Rutherford. By 1969, sales raised about a third of the Trust’s total income.

first fully-paid officers

In the second phase, 1969 to 1987, the Company Secretary was paid a fairly substantial honorarium, and the first fully-paid officers of the Trust appeared. Jim White (1974–78) became the first Conservation Officer and Chris Hewitt was employed as the first Education and Publicity Officer. The Trust also moved into office premises. Colonel Tregear, Company Secretary from 1969 to 1971, could never resist the grandiose and arranged that the official address should be King John’s Lodge, Romsey. Dating from the thirteenth century, it had no running water, no modern toilet and limited heating so, in practice, the Trust officers operated from rooms over the chemist and optician’s shop on the other side of the square.

The third phase was the grand phase of growth in which the Trust’s principal officer was called a Director. Under the leadership of the first Director, Dr Bob Page, the Trust grew substantially into the modern organisation. Kay Peake was employed as a full-time Company Secretary, and kept everyone and everything in order. Two Conservation Officers, a Publicity Officer and an Education Officer joined the staff. In addition there were project officers such as a Woodland Recovery Officer following the devastation of the great storm in 1987. These project officers were funded by grants for limited periods of time.

bigger offices

As the organisation grew, new office premises had to be acquired. First a converted shop – 71 The Hundred in Romsey – then the first freehold premises – a large house at 8 Romsey Road, Eastleigh – followed by the present, rather grand, ex-residential home – Beechcroft, Vicarage Lane, Curdridge. All this building investment and extensive conversion required capital. The Trust was fortunate in receiving a number of substantial bequests – the principal one by the Honorable Joanne Dutton in 1988.

The fourth and present phase of organisation reflects the huge expansion of the interests and activities of the Trust. There are now three education centres, with full-time staff and nature reserves attached. These are at Swanwick, Testwood Lakes and Blashford Lakes. The grazing project on 830 hectares of Ministry of Defence land in the north-east of the county is a huge commitment. The work on the Isle of Wight has expanded enormously with six reserves, landowner advice and education commitments. In 2003, it was decided to devolve area responsibilities to senior managers for the south-east, west and north of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Offices were established in the north near Basingstoke and on the Isle of Wight near Newport.

reserve responsibilities

The counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are diverse counties with a wide range of habitats. Of the 33 key habitats identified as important to nature conservation under the UK Biodiversity Action Plans, Hampshire has 18.

In the early years it was perceived that there were conservation priorities, but as far as the acquisition of reserves was concerned, the officers of the Trust were beggars, not choosers. In the 1960s there were no funders, so the Trust sought to influence the formation of reserves at almost zero cost. It was a case of influencing existing landowners to allow the Trust to manage their land as a nature reserve.

In 1963 there were 12 reserves or areas of land over which the Trust had some influence and by 1970 this had grown to 18. The tenure and terms of agreement varied from permission to warden and keep off trespassers, to freehold ownership of the land. A lot of this early interest and attention paid off in future years. Areas of land where the Trust had taken an interest in wardening, or just doing a bit of conservation work, such as Farlington Marshes, Chappett’s Copse and Upper Titchfield Haven, became long-term leases or freehold properties.

Since 1970 newly-acquired reserves have usually had a sound basis of tenure and agreed funding to meet the cost of management. Present reserve acquisition also considers value of habitat, critical size for sustaining species and linkage with the

Above: Cattle grazing on the Isle of Wight (no image of ponies)Above right: Noar Hill Reserve – surrounded by farmland the reserve is home to over 35 species of butterfly and many rare plants and flowers

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Diver surveying shallow rocky reef (location)

wider countryside, so that species are not isolated in dangerously small pockets of habitat. Winnall Moors Nature Reserve – 65 hectares of flood plain near Winchester – is a good example of this, as it has close links with upstream River Itchen, St Catherine’s Hill reserve and the Itchen Navigation project. There are now more than 45 nature reserves and the land the Trust manages amounts to some 6,000 hectares. It includes examples of most of the natural and semi-natural habitats in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. In addition, there are approximately 830 hectares of north-east heathland managed in a grazing project for the Ministry of Defence.

membership and volunteers

The Trust started out with an initial burst of enthusiasm with people eager to join. After the inaugural meeting in November 1961 there were 360 members, rising to 1,086 by 1964. After that, growth became depressingly slow with losses occasionally exceeding gains. The greatest problem at that time was that there was very little use of bank mandates and no direct debit. This resulted in a huge amount of correspondence to remind lapsed members that they had not paid their subscription and an inevitable loss of membership if subscription rates were raised.

Between 1968 to 1974 there was an encouraging growth in membership with an average rise of 250 members a year to about 3,000 members.

Present membership now stands at 27,000. This spectacular rise in numbers has been largely due to the introduction of direct debiting and investment in recruitment.

In the early days, the membership also provided the volunteers who ran the Trust and its activities. It would be impossible to mention all the volunteers across the three categories of volunteering all of which required major commitment and initiative. The three categories were: managing nature reserves and conservation projects at specific sites; managing strategy and the central organisation; and promoting and selling the Trust to the general public. However, five names spring to mind of those who made major contributions in the past. Anne Rutherford (1965–75) who was involved in sales and fundraising; David and Rosemary Billet (1960–76) who were volunteer wardens for Farlington Marshes nature reserve; Peter Page (1966–74) who was editor of the newsletter, Honorary Public Relations Officer and storekeeper of tools for conservation work; and Graham Darrah (1981–01) who was Chairman of Trustees.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust started life as a purely voluntary body with no paid staff. Although it has now grown and employs more than 80 staff, it could not achieve what it does

without the contribution of its 750 or so volunteers. Volunteers are still a vital part of the workforce of the Trust, acting in a number of roles – from conservation work and surveying, to assisting at education centres and providing support in the office. Some volunteers are members of regular work parties or ‘friends of ’groups while others work with one member of staff; others participate as part of a project – for example, as part of the Trust’s two youth volunteering projects. This ethos of volunteering is at the heart of what the Trust does and achieves.

partnership working

No conservation body is able to work without sympathy and help from those who are similarly engaged in conservation and land management. Public bodies often involve the Trust as one way of fulfilling their responsibilities. Hampshire County Council, the National Trust and the Ministry of Defence, for example, have all involved the Trust in the management of land for nature conservation. Private landowners, such as the Barker-Mill estates, have engaged with the Trust to look after land with special conservation value – the wetland on the Lower Test for example. In addition there are large numbers of landowners and gardeners who want to manage their land in a way that is sympathetic to nature and who seek and act on advice given by the Trust.

present and the future

The Trust has expanded enormously using the structures set up in the 1960s and 1970s. Reserves are now viewed as core to the idea of ‘living landscapes’, conserving wildlife and giving opportunities to provide green links for wildlife to move through the countryside.

Education through our centres and in schools has expanded enormously. The Environmental Stewardship Scheme has involved the Trust in direct advice to farmers for wildlife management funding. Major projects such as the restoration of the Itchen Navigation, the heathland restoration for the Ministry of Defence and special species

projects, such as the Otter Project and Water Vole Project, have vastly increased the role of the Trust in the wider countryside. Urban expansion means urban planning and the need to protect wildlife sites – such as Dibden Bay on Southampton Water – against exploitation. The Trust is also heavily involved in marine conservation, coordinating the south-east Wildlife Trust’s regional marine programme. There are now more than 90 members of staff and the Trust has an annual budget of £5 million. This is a far cry from £378 in 1962 and no members of staff. There are still problems and opportunities in linking wildlife reserves and spaces and in protecting what is of wildlife value against increasing urban development and intensive agriculture.

Long may organisations such as the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and all their partner organisations thrive – for the sake of nature conservation and the enrichment of all our lives.

by richard hedley Richard Hedley has been a member of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust since 1962. He has held a number of roles within the Trust including Trustee, Upper Titchfield nature reserve warden, Chairman of the South East Area and member of the South East Area Advisory Board. He has been the Chairman of Gosport District Group and Volunteer Manager of Chappett’s Copse Nature Reserve.

Chalk river at Winnall Moors

Pearl-bordered fritillary – found on several trust reserves