West Chevington drone photo, image Jason Friend
Wilding Networks for the North Conference
Northumberland Wildlife Trust warmly invites you to the first Wilding Networks for the North Conference.
DATE
Thursday, 23rd March 2023
TIME
10:00 - 16:30
(doors open from 09:00)
LOCATION
The Common Room (Mining Institute)
Westgate Road
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE1 1SE
www.thecommonroom.org.uk
Get the latest on wilding initiatives in the North, including West Chevington, one of the biggest land restorations in the UK in recent years, and be part of creating a sustainable framework for restoring biodiversity and using natural processes to reduce climate change impacts.
We have a host of exciting speakers lined up for the day to talk about their involvement in wilding and nature recovery projects in the region (programme below).
We're delighted to be joined by Conservation Photographer, Peter Cairns, as our keynote speaker. Peter is an experienced and passionate presenter, drawing on a lifetime of interest in the natural world and 20 years as a professional nature photographer.
We will also be offering optional guided visits to our West Chevington wilding site with the Northumberland Wildlife Trust team in the morning of Friday 24th March, transport from central Newcastle will be provided (further details below).
The conference promises to be informative, educational and likely to spark some lively debate.
Please confirm your attendance by Friday, 3rd March 2023.
This conference is funded by the Reece Foundation and therefore places are free and by invitation only.
Please follow the link below to book conference day tickets and also to book places on the escorted visit to West Chevington on the following day. Coach travel on 24th to the site is being provided from central Newcastle and Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre but please note places are limited, so do book early to avoid disappointment.
We kindly ask that if you do book a place either on the conference or the following day site visit and then are subsequently unable to attend, that you please send someone else from your organisation as a replacement as we will still be liable for costs for your booking for catering and any transport. Thank you.
Anne Reece (event sponsor)
Reece Foundation
Anne Reece is the Chair of the Reece Foundation. The Foundation was established in 2007 to increase the long term and sustainable prosperity of the North East of England primarily through the promotion of engineering and manufacturing. In particular, the Foundation focusses on the improvement of education in engineering and related scientific and mathematical subjects, training in engineering skills and the development of employment opportunities. The second focus of the Foundation is the protection of wild areas and recovery of nature in the north east of England and Scotland via the promotion of re-wilding, reintroduction of species and related strategies. Recently the Foundation has become involved in three major rewilding initiatives in the North East.
Anne's personal philanthropy has centred on conservation, wildlife and environmental charities particularly in the Himalayas and development and disability charities. She has been a Non-Exec Director and shareholder of Reece Group for the past 10 years. Previously she was Finance Director of SMD and Bywell Holdings Group for 15 years. She also sat on the Investment Committee of One North East RDA for four years. Having moved to Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2006 she has also been and is involved in several organisations there, most notably CAB.
Adrian Pitches (compère)
BBC Journalist
Adrian Pitches is a BBC journalist and lifelong wildlife enthusiast. After 50 years of single-minded obsession with birds, he has recently broadened his horizons to embrace other winged creatures: butterflies and dragonflies.
As a regular visitor to NWT’s Druridge Bay reserves, he’s enthusiastic about the West Chevington wilding project.
Mike Pratt (host)
Chief Executive, Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Mike Pratt has worked in nature conservation for more than 35 years, and everything he does in life centres around his love of nature. His personal mission is to reconnect people to nature and switch them onto its wonder and benefits. For the past 18 years he has been Chief Executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust.
Peter Cairns (keynote speaker)
Conservation Photographer and Founder of The Wild Media Foundation
Talk - Scotland: A Rewilding Journey
Peter has spent almost three decades as a conservation photographer, nature tourism operator and environmental communicator. He is the founder of SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, a rewilding charity, having previously directed major conservation media initiatives such as Tooth & Claw, Wild Wonders of Europe and 2020VISION.
Walter Riddell
Owner of the Hepple Estate and Founder of Hepple Spirits Co
Talk - Hepple: A Personal Journey into the Wild
Walter grew up half in Northumberland, half in London, with his heart in the North and his vowels in the South. After seventeen years in finance, investing in high tech and eco-tech companies he moved back North with his large family to experience a more real and elemental life at Hepple. He founded Hepple Spirits, a high tech distillery hoping to bring the most perfect taste of wild ingredients into the company’s drinks. Three years ago the Estate embarked on a wilding programme that hopes to build a stronger, wilder ecosystem on the hills at Hepple that can be experienced by all.
Charlie Bennett
Middleton North Estate
Talk - From Soil to Song: look after the soil and everything else follows
Middleton North is a small estate situated near the village of Hartburn in Northumberland which has been in Charlie’s wife Charlotte’s family since 1923. The estate comprises a mixture of arable, pasture, woodland and a stretch of the river Wansbeck. Until 2019, the farm was tenanted, but it is now farmed ‘in-hand’.
Charlie and Charlotte spent their childhoods in the Yorkshire and Northumberland countryside which seeded their love of wildlife, farming and the varied landscapes around them. In conjunction with a desire to have happy and healthy stock the sharp decline of animal, insect and invertebrate populations since the 1970s inspired the couple to restore the local habitats to act as a haven where threatened species can thrive yet again.
Duncan Hutt
Director of Conservation, Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Talk - Wilding West Chevington and other Northumberland Wildlife Trust wilding projects including Whitelee and Benshaw Moor
Duncan has worked for Northumberland Wildlife Trust for over 20 years. He has been involved in nature conservation in Northumberland since the mid-1990s and was instrumental in the purchase of the West Chevington wilding site in December 2021. He is passionate about wildlife and fascinated by the variety that nature has to offer.
Elaine More
National Trust
Talk - An overview of the Wilder Wallington project
Elaine is a Project Manager with the National Trust working across its 5431ha Wallington Estate. Prior to this position she worked for Northumberland Wildlife Trust for 16 years, starting as a conservation officer before moving to Living Landscapes Project Manager then ending her time with the Trust as Wild City Manager.
Steven Lipscombe
Northumberland National Park Authority
Talk - An overview of the Hadrian’s Wall Nature First project
Steven Lipscombe grew up in rural Northumberland and has lived his recent years in the East End of Newcastle. He has spent the past eight years working in nature recovery and community conservation across the north of England.
Optional visit to West Chevington - Friday 24th March
We're delighted to also welcome you to visit West Chevington with members of our conservation team. Transport will provided from central Newcastle (exact location TBC) at 09:15 with a collection at Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre at approximately 10:15. We expect to spend 1.5 hours visiting the site in groups with a project lead. Please wear appropriate footwear and waterproof clothing. Due to limited parking at the site, in order to visit you must take transport on the pre-booked coach from either Newcastle or Hauxley. We expect to leave the site around 12:00 with a drop off and a brief comfort stop at Hauxley before heading back to Newcastle. Please note there are no facilities at the West Chevington site. We expect to arrive back to Newcastle around 14:00.
Conference programme
| 09:00 - 10:00 | Doors open - registration – tea/coffee |
| 10:00 - 10:10 | Adrian Pitches, BBC Environment Correspondent - Introductions |
| 10:10 - 10:20 | Mike Pratt, CEO Northumberland Wildlife Trust – Welcome and thank you |
| 10:20 - 10:30 | Anne Reece, Reece Foundation – Introduction from the conference sponsors |
| 10:30 - 10:55 | Duncan Hutt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Director of Conservation – Wilding West Chevington and other Northumberland Wildlife Trust wilding projects including Whitelee and Benshaw Moor. |
| 10:55 - 11:15 | Q & A |
| 11:15 - 11:45 | Break - refreshments |
| 11:45 - 12:00 | Steven Lipscombe, NNPA – An overview of the Hadrian’s Wall Nature First project |
| 12:00 - 12:15 | Elaine More, National Trust – An overview of the Wilder Wallington project |
| 12:15 - 12:30 | Q & A |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Networking lunch (including organisation display stands) |
| 13:30 - 13:40 | Adrian Pitches - Forward to afternoon sessions |
| 13:40 - 13:55 | Charlie Bennett, Middleton North Estate – From Soil to Song |
| 13:55 - 14:10 | Walter Riddell, Owner of the Hepple Estate and Founder of Hepple Spirits Co - Hepple: A Personal Journey into the Wild |
| 14:10 - 14:30 | Q & A |
| 14:30 - 15:00 | Break - refreshments |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Keynote speaker - Peter Cairns, Conservation Photographer and Founder of The Wild Media Foundation - Scotland – A Rewilding Journey |
| 15:30 - 15:45 | Q & A |
| 15:45 - 16:15 | Panel discussion with questions |
| 16:15 - 16:30 | Mike Pratt/Adrian Pitches - Thank you and close |
Supported by
The Reece Foundation was established in 2007. Their main objective is to increase the long term and sustainable prosperity of the North East of England primarily through the promotion of engineering and manufacturing. They are also interested in biodiversity and the part natural processes have to play in reducing climate breakdown.