Local Television Programmes to Publicise Activities

An idea that has been there since the beginning was to do a series of Local television programmes to inform people of our activities and concerns. It was difficult to implement as no one person was doing this work full time. Now Darrin and Sharon Henry have returned to the island, and Darrin is making a business of taking videos and DVD's to order. We have met, talked and are all excited about the plan for initially 12 programmes ( one a month) to cover the work of the Trust. There will be an initial introduction, and the series will, we think , cover:- Flax Industry, Millenium Forest and Tree Preservation, the Museum, OTEP Peaks Project, Plantation House tour, Longwood House tour, Dolphin trip with wrecks, Endemic plants and animals, Old Forts, and Old Buildings – and we'll see how it develops. There are so many possibilities.

These will be short, catchy programmes, of around 20-30 minutes, and the plan is that these will eventually be available on CD to buy to order, as funds for the Trust. Darrin is well on the way to finishing the first programme.

Planning for specialist visits

Surveying of invertebrates of the Peaks will take place later this year. The primary aim is to demonstrate the presence (or implied absence) of endemic species and make an assessment of their ranges. Indiscriminate collecting will not be involved. It may also be possible to make a serious attempt to find out how many of the endemic beetles and other invertebrates specific to the Peaks are still present on the island. Dr Philip & Myrtle Ashmole, Dr Howard Mendel and Ed Thorpe will undertake the survey and arrangements are now being made for their visit in December.

Martin Wigginton will carry out a lower plants study and this visit is also likely to take place towards the end of the year in September to October. This will include the identification and assessment of the range and status of the mosses (and to a lesser extent lichens) present across the Peaks. As with the invertebrates this would in the first part involve the collation of existing information from historical collections. The historical data and data from field work will be collated into a database. The production of an identification guide to the lower plants of the Peaks and for the staff of the Environmental Conservation Section and volunteers to receive some training in lower plant identification, will establish and help to maintain local knowledge. It might also be necessary to consider what special conservation measures should be taken for any species that are considered to be rare and endangered.
We’re also hoping for a visit from staff from Kew Gardens. Such a visit would be most welcome and timely, not just for the project but for plant conservation as a whole.

Mike Pienkowski of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum has been on the Island from 20th February for three weeks and despite a demanding programme for the Environmental Charter Project the Peaks Project Steering Group will be taking advantage of his expertise and grilling him on issues associated with the Project.

Related Information

Related News October 2003

Related News January 2004

Related News August 2004

Related News November 2004

Invertebrate Database completed

During October 2004 Myrtle Ashmole set up a Microsoft Access database for the invertebrate fauna of St Helena. Under her guidance, Edward Thorpe created entries for all invertebrates recorded from St Helena in the reports of the Belgian entomologists, and incorporating earlier information. The Peaks were treated in more detail, with separate entries for each species at each of the Belgian's sampling stations on the High Central Ridge and also at Peak Dale. The design of the database allows it to be expanded to cover any new faunal survey work on the island. During the coming year it is planned to incorporate the data from the recent FCO funded work on Prosperous Bay Plain.