PLACE Autumn Conference 2011

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This 1-day conference took place at the Centre in the Park, Sheffield, on  Saturday 29 October 2011. It was organised jointly by South Yorkshire ECONET (Biodiversity Research Group) and PLACE and attracted nearly 70 people. The introduction by Ian Rotherham was followed by a talk by him on Yorkshire’s forgotten Fenland, which explored the wetland heritage and loss of habitat and wildlife of the county through time. The next speaker, Melvyn Jones, examined the ancient woodlands of South Yorkshire in a talk entitled, Woodman spare that tree. Colin Howes traced the decline of the polecat in Yorkshire from documentary records and showed how the species is now making a comeback in the county. Keith Clarkson then looked at Yorkshire’s changing bird populations, showing which species were winners and which losers. After lunch and poster displays, Chris Firth talked on the River Don fishery and Margaret Atherden reported on the plight of North Yorkshire’s roadside verges.  Unfortunately, Dave Chesmore was unwell, so Ian Rotherham gave a presentation on Eccleshall Woods instead.  Rona Charles replaced Ian Carstairs, who was also unwell, and talked about the Cornfield Flowers Project, which is gradually reestablishing arable flora in parts of the county. The conference closed with a lively debate about the future of Yorkshire’s wildlife.  Many thanks to all the speakers and those who brought displays and posters. We plan to publish the proceedings early next year.
   

 

 

 

 

Posted on by Margaret Atherden