Cliffe

I have always described the Cliffe Pools Project as being like 3-dimensional chess due to the huge number of complex moves that we have to consider. And, just like chess, we sometimes have to face losing some of our pieces, which was the case recently when a major funding bid was sadly unsuccessful. Luckily we are nothing if not tenacious, and our commitment to deliver a magnificent visitor nature reserve remains undiminished. Thank you for all your support in 2008, and have a good Christmas and New Year.

Project management

Earlier this year we submitted a £2M bid to Communities & Local Government (CLG), the Government department responsible for giving out Thames Gateway ‘Parklands’ money. When the announcement was finally made on 26 Nov, we were hugely disappointment to find that Cliffe Pools was not successful.

We know that CLG remain impressed by what we are trying to achieve, so the decision does not undermine the credibility of the project. Indeed, the vision released by CLG the same day still shows Cliffe Pools as one of the Parklands key green spaces for visitors. However, this is clearly a sizeable blow in the short-term that will also have a knock-on effect on other funding streams. We are urgently reshaping our funding plans and timescales but we remain optimistic that change will happen at Cliffe.

We are going to great lengths, both in its design and then its construction and management , to minimise possible disturbance of waterbirds on the adjacent Pools. During construction, the low banks (bunds) that will screen the car park will be raised first. The design will also allow us to ‘bolt on’ the rest of the visitor infrastructure on a modular basis as and when funding becomes available.

Earlier this autumn, we took delivery of clay spoil from the gas pipeline at Grain. This material has been stockpiled as flat as possible on what we call ‘The Events Field’ and on the site of the proposed car park, both off Salt Lane. All the material is clean spoil, (some contains a permissible amount of ‘Geotec’, a construction underlay) and all will be very useful for building-up ground levels for some of our visitor infrastructure.

Restoration of the pools using dredgings

When we acquired Cliffe Pools, we also entered an agreement that the pools could continue to be used to dispose of suitable material such as river dredgings, as long as the deposits helped us manage the site for wildlife. We have created our ideal plan for where these dredgings should go, which would allow us to make many of the pools shallower and better for wading and nesting birds and to build up new walkways. At present suitable dredgings are not available, but we continue to work hard to seek a suitable source.

Thames Estuary 2100

We are keeping close tabs on the Environment Agency’s TE2100 project, whose modelling suggests that, in the long-term, Cliffe Creek may be a weak point in the seawall. We are talking to the Agency to see if ways can be found to safeguard Cliffe Pools and the marshes behind it from future occasional inundation.

Managing the habitats

We have recently fenced a small area of the area of grassland towards the north end of the Cliffe Pools reserve (we call the area ‘The Savannah’) so that we can graze livestock. This will keep the habitat in the best condition for breeding wading birds, and for our rare bumblebees

Wildlife news

Numbers of wildfowl at Cliffe Pools have increased over the past month as winter birds arrive, including 68 Pochard, 60 Pintails, 200 Teal, 33 Shovelers and 15 Goldeneyes. Wader roosts at high tide have included 750 Dunlins, 300 Avocets, 300 Black-tailed Godwits and 80 Grey Plovers. A Spoonbill visited of three dates in November, there have been flocks of up to 200 Fieldfares, 4 kingfisher on 27 November, and an albino Starling has been sticking out like a sore-thumb in the Starling flock.

People news

Children meet NASA at Northward Hill

On 25 November, six children from Holy Trinity School in Gravesend met leading NASA climate change expert Jim Hansen at our Northward Hill reserve. Jim was on a whistle-stop tour of the region, but stopped by to answer some very thoughtful questions put to him by the children. The children went back to their school having thoroughly enjoyed themselves - and with packed goodie bags! Over 2000 children a year already benefit from our field teaching and outreach work on our North Kent Marshes reserves, and we remain hopeful of boosting our work once the Cliffe Pools car park is in place.

Farewell but not bye-bye to Carol Donaldson

On 6 December, we said farewell to Carol Donaldson as our North Kent Marshes Communities Officer now that the role’s Heritage Lottery funding is at an end. In her five years with the team, Carol has become a familiar face on the Hoo Peninsula, coordinating some amazing work that has ranged from volunteer work parties clearing up the Thames foreshore to restoring Allen’s Pond outside Cliffe village to writing some hugely popular walking guides. Her latest guide, Soldiers, Sailors and Skylarks, is now out - pick up a free copy at RSPB Northward Hill, or call the North Kent Marshes team to receive one by post.

Perhaps Carol will be best remembered for some of her innovative public events, such as elderflower champagne making, watching meteor showers and writing poetry. Our thanks for everything Carol brought to the role. Not that the Hoo Peninsula is losing Carol - we're delighted that she is setting up a business called ‘Little Owl’ bringing people to visit and enjoy the area.

We will recruit for a new post of Communications Officer in the New Year. This person will be the public face of Cliffe Pools, Northward Hill and the other RSPB reserves in North Kent.

Wardens change places

With Barry O’Dowd, our warden at Elmley Marshes on Sheppey, moving with his new bride to manage one of our remote reserves in northern Scotland, we have re-jigged our wardening responsibilities in North Kent. Gordon Allison has moved to Elmley but will continue to look after our Northward Hill woodland, and Paul Hyde takes charge of Shorne Marshes and the Northward Hill marshes as well as the habitat management at Cliffe Pools. We are currently recruiting for a reserves manager to oversee all the North Kent Marshes, leaving Area Manager Alan Johnson freer to support the Cliffe Pools project.

The RSPB is keen to have an RSPB presence at Cliffe Pools, Shorne Marshes & Northward Hill at weekends. With an increasing number of visitors to these sites it clearly would be helpful to have staff around to talk to visitors & check that trail guides and information is available. Now that we have a new assistant warden it is possible to do this. However, in order to cover all sites adequately the staff would appreciate any help volunteers can give.

If you are interested in assisting with weekend patrols & would like more details please contact Alan Johnson, area manager at alan.johnson@rspb.org.uk

Should anyone at Cliffe Pools Reserve have problems with illegal motorcyclists ie. riding where they shouldn't be or riding in a reckless or aggressive manner, then please contact Medway Police on 01634 827055 and they will endeavour to get a patrol car out. Should you happen to see the vehicles that the bikers are using to transport their bikes, then contacting the police with the vehicle
registration number should result in the owners of the vehicle getting a visit or a letter from the police. Obviously, RSPB want to hear of any incidents as well, but the police should be the first point of contact.

Therefore I'd urge folk to get any details at all, especially registrations, of such illegal activities (including 4WD & ATV's) wherever you happen to come across them, and pass them on to your local police. All the Kent branches appear to have teams tackling this problem (I believe that it's called a continuation of last years 'Operation Freedown')

The tactical operation number for the county was via Sgt Lenny Street on 01622 608111.