Now that autumn has made itself known with our recent rainy weather, we wanted to reflect on some of our summer success. Thank you to everyone who visited the GWCT stand at The Game Fair in July, it was fantastic to see so many of our members and supporters there and we truly appreciate the time you took to say hello and engage with us. The weekend was a busy one, and in case you missed it, here’s some of what we got up to.
Showcasing GWCT
As usual we used our stand to put a spotlight on some of our current research projects and present new pieces of work, highlighting many of the species that benefit from game and wildlife management. Visitors were able to view a model curlew nest and eggs and learn how we are working to recover their populations; discover barn owl and swift boxes and how they can help these amazing birds in rural landscapes; see their first black grouse and hear about our new research project in the North Pennines; and see up close many of the insects and hedgerow plants we find in the countryside.
Presenting our expertise
We were pleased to be able to launch two new documents full of our latest guidance based on GWCT science. Interim Director of Membership, Marketing and Communications, Amber Hopgood, introduced A guide to insect-rich farmland habitats, a new guidance document providing straightforward advice for farmers looking to boost insect numbers on their land and promote Integrated Pest Management.
Director of Advisory, Roger Draycott, then introduced Managing for More, a think piece based on scientific and practitioner evidence on predation management and its role in nature recovery. In addition to this, we had a number of staff speak in the Carter Jonas Game Fair Theatre, including our Director of Research Andrew Hoodless discussing woodcock and our CEO Teresa Dent talking about the important role land managers play in hitting environmental targets.
Guests on our stand
Throughout the weekend we were kindly joined by several special guests. Artists Ashley Boon and Owen Williams exhibited a selection of their original artwork, some of which you can browse and purchase in our Art Gallery. Nico Venables, a young artist we featured during our Curlew Appeal earlier this year, also brought his curlew marionette ‘Debbie’ and spent a day making curlew chick puppets with young visitors.
We were kindly visited by Roger Morgan-Grenville, who signed copies of his book The Return of the Grey Partridge, and by the team at Taylor’s Port, who provided a collector’s edition 5-litre bottle of Taylor’s 50-Year-Old Golden Age Tawny Port as a raffle prize for members at the event to launch their partnership with the GWCT Events team. In addition, we were pleased to welcome Minister of State (Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs), Daniel Zeichner, onto our stand to hear about our work.
We had a fantastic time, and your enthusiasm for our work made it all the more special. Thank you for your continued support.
The GWCT Team