News archive
December 2006
Thursday, 14 December 2006
Woodbridge RSPB Information Boards
Rob Macklin complimented the Woodbridge Group and Colin Coates in particular for all their efforts on behalf of the RSPB. He said that 'over the past 17 years the Group has collected and donated over £100,000 to RSPB reserves and to international conservation projects'; also that 'the Suffolk river estuaries, such as the Deben, are of crucial international importance for wintering wildfowl, such as ducks, geese and waders'.
He concluded that 'identification panels such as these will be of great interest to those who walk up and down the river wall adding to their knowledge of, pleasure in and understanding of the birds of the river'.
As James Bidwell performed the ceremony, flocks of curlew and lapwing circled over the river and alighted to feed on the low-tide mud among the turnstones and black tailed godwits. He too thanked the RSPB Group for their contribution to the education and enjoyment of the people of Woodbridge.
Situated close to the band-stand, these full colour boards illustrate the 26 species of birds which can be seen on the river, salt-marsh, mudflats and water meadows on either side of the wall between the town and Kyson Point. This is a popular walk at all times of the year and these boards will help to increase public understanding of the value of our estuaries and the need for their protection and conservation.
Woodbridge is at the heart of the Suffolk Coasts and Heaths AONB and the boards show maps of the area as well as the pictures of birds in their habitats reproduced from original artwork commissioned by the RSPB Creative Services Department at the request of the Woodbridge RSPB Group. Thanks go to Suffolk Coasts and Heaths AONB Partnership for its generous grant towards the cost of the boards and also for donations collected by local businesses through the Suffolk Coasts and Heaths 'Connect' scheme.
Woodbridge Community Council has funded the cost of the planning application.
The Group is indebted to The Environment Agency for permission to place the boards on the river wall and to English Nature for permission for their erection in the SSSI
Jenny James