Welcome to issue three of Tir Teg (Beautiful Land), the electronic newsletter from the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).  The AONB consists of 12 separate geographical areas - ten stretches of coastline, the Camel Estuary and Bodmin Moor.  Here you will find the latest news on and from 'the best bits' of Cornwall

The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership will be holding their Annual Conference on Saturday 17th May 2008 at the Pensilva Millennium Hall.  The Conference will offer a chance to learn about the work of the AONB Partnership. Presentations in the morning will be followed by a ‘field trip’ opportunity to experience aspects of the Bodmin Moor section of the Cornwall AONB.  For further information and contact details please see the Cornwall AONB website:

www.cornwall-aonb.gov.uk/latestnews.html

What connects the following (apart from the fact they are all in the AONB)?

1. Ralph’s Cupboard in the Portreath to Godrevy AONB section; The Bolster Earthwork on St Agnes Beacon; Bedruthan Steps.

2. Predannack; Trevellas; Bodmin (just outside).

3. Dingerein; Chun; Maen.

4. Loveny: Percuil; Valency.

5. Grizzled Skipper; Brimstone; Grayling. 

Climate change is having a significant impact on our marine environment according to a new report.

The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) report highlights just how much climate change has affected the United Kingdom's marine environment and what the future impacts may be.  Key findings include:

• 2006 was the second warmest year for UK coastal waters since records began in 1870; seven of the 10 warmest years have been in the last decade.

• Warmer winters have been strongly linked to reduced breeding success and survival in some seabird populations.

• Models predict fewer storms in future but an increased number of severe storms.

• Coastal erosion and flooding is expected to increase.

• Sea-level rise, coastal flooding, storms and bigger waves will affect ports, shipping and built structures.

• Fishing and fish farming will be affected by temperature change and plankton availability. 

The National Trust has received an award in recognition of its sustainable renovation at Carleon House, Poltesco. The Trust was awarded 'Highly Commended' in the construction and renovation category. The award was presented to the Trust at the National Energy Efficiency Awards, which recognise excellence in energy conservation and efficiency. The work undertaken at Carleon House, Poltesco, involved the sustainable renovation of a historic building which provides accommodation for volunteers working to conserve heritage, wildlife and the landscape of The Lizard Peninsula. The house was built in 1861 and came into the possession of the National Trust in 1991. It has been used to provide accommodation for long term volunteers since 1992.

The project was funded by two legacies and the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnerships' Sustainable Development Fund.

Specialist equipment, to help rural farmers tend their livestock, is now available thanks to the HEATH Project and the AONB Sustainable Development Fund.

The HEATH project, with the help of Penwith District Council, the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership and the Penwith Farm Business Centre, has purchased a cattle crusher to help farmers access their animals while they are grazing away from the farm, on local heathland.

Pete Maxted from the AONB said, “Anything the AONB Partnership can do to help farmers in our region during these difficult times is really worthwhile. Cattle grazing is an essential land management method and helps keep the landscape in good condition. Without the hard work of the Penwith farming community our beautiful landscape would quickly return to featureless bracken-covered wasteland.”

The machinery can be hired by farmers as part of the farm share scheme, which is a non-profit making scheme to help farmers share machinery which they wouldn’t be able to afford themselves.

Gorran Primary School near St Austell has been awarded £53,000 for a wind turbine to generate most of its electricity.

Funding has been provided by £30,000 from EDF Energy’s Green Fund, £14,000 from the Low Carbon Building Programme, £6,530 from the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Sustainable Development Fund and £2,200 from the Eco School’s Grant Programme.

To coincide with the start of the project the children sealed their aspirations for the future of the Earth in a time capsule buried by the foundations of the wind turbine.

The 15 metre tall turbine will generate 48,000kWh electricity to meet 90 per cent of the school’s electricity requirements and will reduce the school’s carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 21 tonnes each year.

The school has already installed an air source heat pump to heat the outdoor swimming pool, which is used by every child in the school daily from May to July. The school has also formed a partnership with an Inuit School at Coppermine in the Canadian Arctic through a programme called Arctic Voice.

The landscape of Cornwall is the most visible sign of what is special about the county and it influences almost everyone’s daily life.

But it is different wherever we go. Sometimes the landscape contrast is dramatic – from wild moorland to tranquil wooded valleys. Sometimes it is subtle as in the type and nature of a field boundary in one area rather than another.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Landscape Character Study 2005-2007 has been developed over the past two years to map and describe the different landscape areas of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in considerable detail.

The landscape descriptions, which include a vision for the future as well as planning and land management guidelines, will provide a guide to what is unique and distinct about the different areas of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. They will be used by planners and developers to guide development and ensure that Cornwall’s local distinctiveness is maintained, enhanced and restored. The Landscape Character Study also provides information for land managers to help them manage Cornwall’s landscapes into the future whilst having respect for the way land has been worked in the past.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Landscape Character Study is now available to everybody who might be interested on an interactive website at
http://www.cornwalllandscapes.org.uk

Information can be downloaded for the 40 Landscape Character Areas for Cornwall and over 300 smaller constituent Landscape Description Units (LDUs). LDU are the landscape building blocks of the study and similar LDUs have been grouped to form the Landscape Character Areas.

For more information on the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Landscape Character Study 2005-2007, please email: landscape@cornwall.gov.uk.

Farmers and farm managers across England are invited to enter Natural England’s 2008 Future of Farming Awards.

The award scheme, which opened on Monday 7 April, recognises and celebrates farmers in England who have integrated wildlife, landscape and access management with more sustainable farming production on their farms. The awards are being actively supported by the farming industry with input from the CLA, NFU and TFA.

The inventor of a revolutionary new way of collecting and sowing wild seeds to help restore medieval hay meadows in Sussex was the 2007 Future of Farming Award winner. Keith Datchler of the Beech Estate, near Battle, East Sussex won the award for his work for both running a successful farm business and for protecting a precious yet threatened habitat that supports a rich mix of native wildlife, including wildflowers, butterflies and other rare insects.

The achievements of the 2007 finalists will be featured at Natural England’s stand at this year’s Royal Show.

The selection process for the award is designed so that no particular type or acreage of farm is favoured. The assessment looks at how well farming practices are tailored to benefit the wildlife, landscape and access opportunities of the farm. The contribution the farm makes to economic and social sustainability of the local area is also taken into account. This year farmers can apply for the award by completing a short on-line application form. Alternatively the form can be completed by a Natural England adviser on behalf of a farmer.

To find out more about the award visit: www.naturalengland.org.uk/campaigns/landmanagement/farmingaward.htm

This is a free training seminar aimed at professional advisers from south-west protected landscapes and statutory agencies. It aims to explore the opportunities and challenges that climate change presents to farming and agree practical messages on climate change adaptation and mitigation to be taken to farmers. For programme and booking form see http://www.southwestlandscapes.org.uk/WorkshopsAndMeetings.asp

As Cornwall moves inexorably towards becoming a unitary authority, the implications for the AONB Partnership are under serious consideration. Discussions are taking place between CCC officers, the AONB Unit and various partners particularly over the future structure of the Partnership.

From this April the water vole, Roman snail, spiny and short-snouted seahorses and the angel shark receive an increased level of protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Variation of Schedule 5) (England) Order 2008. The water vole is now fully covered by the provisions of section 9 of the Act and this increased protection adds prohibitions against intentional killing, taking or injury, possession and sale.

The water vole has suffered one of the most catastrophic declines of any British mammal this century and its widespread survival is now seriously threatened. The reasons for this include loss and fragmentation of habitat and the introduction and spread of the American mink. The water vole could be on the brink of extinction in Cornwall according to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust so this protection is not a moment too soon. The water vole is best known and loved as ‘Ratty’ from The Wind in the Willows.