Download Amphibians_in_drains - The COSLA Excellence Awards

PLEASE PROVIDE SOME DETAILS ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION:
CATEGORY APPLIED
FOR
Strong and Sustainable Communities
PROJECT NAME
(as you wish to see it
published)
Amphibians in Drains
LEAD ORGANISATION
Perth & Kinross Council
DEPARTMENT/TEAM
Perth and Kinross Ranger Service
PARTICIPANT NAMES
OR PARTNER
ORGANISATIONS
Willie Mahoney – Senior
Ali Donald – Tayside Contracts
Engineer
Gully Machine Operator
Newhill Primary School –
Catherine Lloyd – Tayside
primary six class
Biodiversity Partnership
Alistair Godfrey –
Countryside Management
Officer
CONTACT NAME
Daniele Muir
CONTACT DETAILS
Tel: 01250 876643
Tayside Amphibian & Reptile Group
(TayARG)
[email protected]
CAN WE PUBLISH THIS APPLICATION FORM ON OUR WEBSITE?
YES
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2014
APPLICATON FORM
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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
In one short paragraph please describe this project is about, what it has
achieved, and why it is delivering excellence.
The Amphibians in Drains project started after it was noted that a significant number of roadside
gullypots contained trapped amphibians and small mammals. Roadside gullypots are essential for
road drainage but act as pitfall traps when animals fall through the grid at road level and it was
identified that a robust study to ascertain the scale of the problem was required. Surveys carried
out in 2010, 2011 and 2012 indicate that gullypots create a substantial problem for amphibians
and small mammals, with between 60% and 70% of gullypots checked each year by the Ranger
Service containing wildlife. These figures suggest approximately 47,000 animals could be trapped
in gullypots across Perth and Kinross every year. The Ranger Service looked into solutions to the
problem and successfully gained £4800 external funding to start a wildlife kerb pilot project in one
of the problem areas - Elm Drive in Blairgowrie. This involved replacing standard kerbs next to the
gullypots with kerbs with a recess which allows animals to follow the recessed edge of the kerb
and bypass the danger zone of the gullypot. Newhill Primary School was involved in the survey as
part of their Scottish Wildlife project and Eco Schools work. A new Tayside Amphibian & Reptile
Group was set up in 2013 to expand the project across the rest of Tayside, involving many local
residents. The Ranger Service is working closely with the Roads Section of the Environment Service
and the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership to identify targeted, appropriate areas for the location of
wildlife kerbs in future if they are shown to work well.
PLANNING
What is your project about, and why is it important? What are you aiming to
achieve, and how does this fit with the bigger picture? Does it tackle the issues
that matter most to your community or your organisation?
The project was initiated in 2010 with the following aims:
• To estimate the number of roadside gullypots that may be affected.
• To estimate the number and species of amphibians & mammals that may be trapped.
• To identify other contributory features (such as proximity of drain to other habitat areas).
The project links into national, local and team priorities as follows:
• The common toad was added to the list of Priority Species during the revision of the UK
Biodiversity Action Plan in 2007. Inclusion in the plan was not due to scarcity of the species but
rather to declines in numbers, and gullypots may be one of the causes of these declines in
certain areas. Amphibians and small mammals are a vital part of the food chain, supporting a
high number of other species, and indicative of a healthy ecological system.
• With the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, local authorities now have a duty to further
the conservation of biodiversity. Perth & Kinross Council is providing a lead in this area, with a
real opportunity for the Council to showcase a practical solution to a nationwide problem.
• The project fits into SOA national outcomes where we value and enjoy our built and natural
environment and protect and enhance it for future generations, and where we reduce the local
and global environmental impact of our consumption and production.
• It links into local outcomes where our area will have a sustainable natural and built environment
and also objectives in the Community Greenspace team plan by ‘facilitating active community
engagement in a variety of biodiversity projects’ through involving the local primary school,
TayARG group and members of the community in the surveys.
• The project is supported by the Mammal Society, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, Froglife
and the British Herpetological Society, all of which have published information about the
project. It is one of the priority projects of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership’s Water and
Wetlands sub-group.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2014
APPLICATON FORM
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The key outcomes from the planning process were:
• The number and species of amphibians and mammals trapped in gullypots were recorded
across the survey period. The total number of animals found was 3 007 for 2010, 2011 and
2012. Species found included common toad, common frog, palmate newt, smooth newt, wood
mouse, common shrew, bank vole and chaffinch.
• Other contributory features such as adjacent habitat and distance from breeding pond were
recorded, showing a link between distance from breeding pond and animal numbers found in
gullypots.
•It was recognised that, rather than try to make every gullypot ‘amphibian safe’, a substantial impact
could be made by targeting only the areas with a high incidence of trapped wildlife. This approach
would aim for a low cost, high benefit solution.
DELIVERING
How have you carried out your project? How did you ensure that this was done
effectively? What are you doing to continue to improve?
TThe data for the project was gathered through gullypot surveys carried out by the Ranger Service
from March to November 2010, 2011 and 2012. This involved a quick visual check to see if there
was any animal activity on the surface of the water, followed by a search in the water with a long
handled net. A Tayside Contracts gullypot operative also recorded wildlife found when gullypot
cleaning in 2010. This information was collated and a report written at the end of each year which
is on the PKC and Tayside Biodiversity Partnership websites. 1565 gullypots were checked over
the course of the survey, with 3007 animals found - this is an average of 1.9 animals found per
drain, and an average of 67% of gullypots checked containing wildlife. 75% of the animals were
alive and rescued as part of the survey; they would have died otherwise. From these results we can
extrapolate that with 37,252 gullypots being found across the county, if 67% (24,958) of these
contain wildlife (with an average of 1.9 animals trapped per drain), the total number of trapped
animals would be 47,421 across Perth & Kinross per year. Working closely with the Roads Section,
the Ranger Service initiated the most cost effective solution found by starting the Amphibians in
Drains Pilot Project at Elm Drive in Blairgowrie. This site was chosen due to its proximity to a
breeding pond, where large numbers of amphibians were falling into the gullypots. External
funding was sourced to purchase and install the wildlife kerbs in Nov 2012. Surveys are continuing
in 2013 to enable comparison with previous years’ data to see how effective the kerbs are. The
project received good coverage in the press and was awarded a Proggy Award from animal
charity PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals):- the award recognises companies,
people, and products for innovative and animal-friendly achievements. A summary of the project
was published by Froglife (Croak online), the Mammal Society, in Biodiversity News (SNH), Summit
to Sand (Tayside Biodiversity Partnership), and Biodiversity News (DEFRA).
INNOVATION &
LEADING PRACTICE
Why is your project innovative? How is it helping to prepare for the future? What
is happening to help other organisations benefit from your approach?
PPerth and Kinross is showcasing a potential practical solution to what appears to be a nationwide
problem, but one where very little real research has been carried out to find a viable solution. This
is an excellent opportunity for Perth & Kinross Council to share good practice with other local
authorities who are encountering the same difficulties. For example:
• Following on from the PKC work, Angus Council Ranger Service is now working with their Roads
Department to implement amphibian-friendly drain covers and kerbs at Monikie. Plans are being
put in place to ground-truth some of the key amphibian migration routes in Angus and to work
with Angus Council in proactively planning installation of wildlife kerbs where necessary.
• Perth and Kinross Council Roads staff are keen to share information about the project with their
Roads colleagues in other local authorities.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2014
APPLICATON FORM
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Advice has been sought by Renfrewshire Council and Clyde Amphibian & Reptile Group as they
are experiencing similar problems.
Advice has been sought by an Islay Bird Group regarding amphibians trapped in cattle grids and
Friends of Inchcoonanas regarding roadside gullypots and toads crossing roads.
The Ranger who has run the project gave a presentation at the National Herpetofauna Workers
Meeting in January 2013.
Working within existing staff capacity and by involving gully operatives and the local school in the
study has kept the costs of the survey and project low.
Securing external funding for the Pilot Project means the Council has not spent any money on an
untested solution.
A new voluntary group - Tayside Amphibian & Reptile Group - was established in 2013 to expand
the project across the rest of Tayside, involving many local residents and obtaining more data to
pass onto Roads departments . Sponsorship to enable purchase of equipment for volunteers was
obtained from Tayside Contracts, CSV Scotland, Beth Hammond and PKC Roads.
RESULTS & IMPACT
What impact are you having, or expect to have? How are you measuring this,
and what does this tell you? Are you delivering what you set out to achieve?
F From the outset it was clear that this problem could only be tackled with a clear picture of its scale,
and knowledge of where gullypots were posing the biggest threat to our wildlife. A greater
understanding and knowledge of the issue has been gained, and the primary objectives have
been achieved within budget. The results of the project have enabled the Ranger Service to
identify where gullypots will have the biggest impact on amphibian populations - within 1000m of
a breeding pond - these areas can be prioritised, enabling a high impact, low cost solution to the
problem. The Ranger Service is working closely with the Roads Section to ensure this is achieved.
Active community engagement has been an important part of the project. A number of interested
householders who live close to gullypots in Murthly, Bridge of Cally and Drimmie took part in the
survey, and Newhill primary school, which is located next to the Pilot Project area, carried out
surveys for two seasons. The project was of great benefit to the school children, with the P6
teacher saying ‘The P6 children have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Amphibians in Drains
project. It was something they were keen to get involved in as part of their Scottish Wildlife
project and has now become a key part in our Eco Schools project. The children show a keen
interest in taking part and are pleased that they are making a change to their local community. It
has been a great learning opportunity for the children. They have a good knowledge on
identifying amphibians and are using aspects of maths when recording results. The children have
loved being a part of the project and it has helped develop them into confident, responsible
individuals.’ Thousands of animals were rescued and it is hoped that the wildlife kerbs, if adopted
by other Scottish local authorities, will ensure amphibians populations continue to thrive in areas
where gullypots previously caused a hazard. The following results are from gullypot surveys in Elm
Drive, Blairgowrie: in 2011, 96 drains were checked, with 85 animals found = an average of 0.88
animals per drain; in 2012, 155 were checked with 247 animals found = an average of 1.59
animals; in 2013, when the amphibian kerbs were installed, 522 drains were checked, 107 animals
were found, which is an average of 0.2 per drain.
FFrom this we can see the new kerbs have worked well, with far fewer animals being channeled into
the gullypots. These kerbs could save thousands of amphibian and small mammal lives at a
relatively low cost, and ensure the health of wildlife populations and ecosystems for the future.
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