OTEP/RSPB Conservation of Wirebird project

The fencing work and clearance of invasive weeds under the Trial Pasture Restoration has been completed and we are encouraging the public to support the project by avoiding any unauthorized access to the two paddocks in the trial. Public access to the Pipe Ridge area for firewood has been secured through a route along the edge of another paddock and we have alerted the public to the need to keep the gates to the paddocks closed at all times. We have also asked that people respect the wirebird and cattle by keeping their dogs under control and taking all litter home with them. We are having notices placed near the gates to remind the public of the project. Eddie has additional work now with monitoring of the ward height and vegetation composition in the trial paddocks. He has also been assisting the Access surveyors to site trial pits away from wirebird nests. The workshops to prepare a management plan have been delayed until April. Meanwhile, ANRD staff have been working with Eddie on this year’s census which should be completed before Christmas.

Millennium Forest

There is a steady flow of local and overseas visitors subscribing to the Forest and the prolonged winter has allowed planting to continue later than usual – as summer begins to creep in, the issue of concern will be the watering of the seedlings as the supply from the Waste Stabilisation Ponds still has not been restored.

We have submitted a proposal for the 2007 funding round of Overseas Territories Environment Programme to provide much needed investment for conservation of the Endangered St Helena Gumwood at two key sites: Peak Dale, where the largest remnant of woodland survives, with approximately 1,000 trees and the Millennium Forest, a community forest restoration project, where approx 6,000 trees have been planted by the public. If successful this project will see the Trust working closely with the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department. Improved infrastructure and organisational management of Peak Dale Gumwoods and the Millennium Forest will enable the forests to realise their potential as places of inspiration & education that engages people in conservation. Thereby promoting the successful long term survival of these two contrasting unique and valuable forests as places of large scale habitat restoration.

Related Information

Project Reports May 2003

Projects Reports October 2003

Projects Reports January 2004

Projects Reports April/May 2004

Projects Reports August 2004

Project Reports November 2004

Project Reports Feburary 2005

Project Reports June 2005

Project Reports July 2006

Project Reports May 2007

Newsletter 17 Dec 2007

St Helena Environmental Information System – SHEIS

Len Coleman has been appointed GIS Manager and Gina Williams as Metadatabase Manager– congratulations to both of them! Meanwhile, we are asking DFID to consider an extension to the project to ensure that further training is given to stakeholders and we have the system well and truly bedded in here and ready to develop further beyond 2007. We hope to be able to bring the consultants here for a further visit next year. And the really good news for the Trust is that we have been awarded a grant by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) for the license and software to purchase ArcView 9x.