Thorne and Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum Get Involved!

Get Involved

Thank you for visiting our website after reading our leaflet.  Before you take a look around it we hope you find some of the following information useful.

Thorne and Hatfield Moors are in a period of change as peat-cutting draws to a close. Drainage has been curtailed to allow the water table to rise, modifying the habitat to make it more suitable for species, which have traditionally colonised it.  At the same time the climate is changing, favouring some species, but making life difficult for others.  One of our top priorities is to monitor the effect these changes are having on key species, and to detect new species that have successfully established a foothold.  

To achieve this we need to increase the effort on surveying and to ensure that as many records of validated data as possible are logged, and we encourage you to assist us in this endeavour.  Naturally we welcome people who already have expertise in their chosen specialities, be it dragonflies or rove beetles to name but two, but we recognise that we have to help others develop the necessary skills.  To assist in this we run a number of full day workshops, mixing theory with practical sessions in the field.  We also offer an extensive range of publications and free downloads, which contain much relevant information.  We’re also keen to see the production of more regular reports, there are annual bird, mammal and reptile reports for Thorne, but nothing yet for Hatfield, apart from the Nightjar report commissioned by Natural England (NE).

After 20 years as a small but highly effective forum we are planning changes to enable us, amongst other things, to take a more active role in the conservation of important areas adjacent to the Humberhead Peatlands, the National Nature Reserve (NNR) which includes both Thorne and Hatfield Moors.  We appreciate that this will require new people with experience and skills that we do not currently possess.  If the future of the Moors matters to you and you possess skills that can aid us, then we would very much like to hear from you.  People with knowledge of the planning system, who have experience in applying for grants, lawyers, accountants and teachers are just some categories that spring to mind – as well as the obvious ones like botanists birders etc., but the greater the range we can muster the better we can progress.

While we anticipate that we will in the future need practical volunteers for physical activities like conservation management then NE organise and co-ordinate these activities on the NNR and you would need to contact them if you wish to participate in this manner at the present time, please mention Thorne & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum should you decide to do so.  NE also organise regular themed walks on both Moors, which are particularly valuable for beginners, and also for familiarising yourself with the terrain - it is a big area and it is easy to lose your bearings, particularly in bad weather.

Contributions to our publications and website are also invited, including photographs - preferably identified - of flora and fauna of the Moors.  Alternatively you can post relevant photographs to our Flickr group. Please see our Guide to Authors and contact us with your ideas beforehand so that the best use can be made of what you have to offer.

If you feel that you can contribute in any way to the Forum, have other questions please e-mail us at giving a brief outline of what skills you have that you think are applicable. Details supplied, together with contact details, will be retained securely in line with Data Protection legislation and will not be divulged to any third party. If you decide not to get actively involved at the moment it would still be useful to know what you thought of the leaflet and website and where you picked up the leaflet from!

To return to this page and give us your feedback after viewing our website select "Get Involved" from the menu.

Finally we hope that you find our website useful and informative and look forward to hearing from you shortly.

 

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