“Tyred” of Fly-Tippers
4 March 2010
Youth volunteers working with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust have discovered and removed an astounding 140 fly-tipped tyres from a local nature reserve near Fleet in Hampshire.
The Youth Volunteering Project, run by the Wildlife Trust and funded by Hampshire County Council, is working with young people from 12 - 25 from the Basingstoke and Deane area who are not currently in employment, education or training, and also those who are at risk of exclusion or from hard to reach backgrounds.
One particular group has been volunteering regularly every Monday on their latest task, to clear a 200 metre long overgrown vehicle track leading to the Foxlease Meadows site to regain proper access. The track was totally overgrown with scrub such as bramble, gorse and small trees which made it impassable for vehicle or even pedestrian access.
The volunteers have worked enthusiastically to remove an immense amount of scrub to make the track useable again. This now means that the Wildlife Trust's reserve officer, contractors and volunteers do not have to travel across the site over difficult boggy terrain, often with heavy tools and equipment, to work. Regaining access means the important conservation work that goes on here is made easier and the grazing cattle can now be better managed.
The real surprise was that, on clearing the natural materials, the volunteers came across an amazing number of tyres dumped on the track and in the ditch. Undeterred, the volunteers spent a very wet and muddy time removing them and in total they gathered an astounding 140 fly-tipped tyres!
They were shocked and appalled that people would fly-tip without any regard for the conservation area. The tyres had clearly been dumped there over many years and one tyre had a large tree growing right through the middle of it!
Sophie Curtis, Youth Volunteering Officer explained, "Having the tyres removed would have been at great cost to the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. We are a charity and have very limited resources so we simply could not afford to do it!"
On hearing about the situation ‘Tyre Recycling Services' of Fareham in Hampshire offered to lend their services for free and took away all 140 tyres.
David Bedford, Managing Director, has seen it all before, "Tyre Recycling Services are always happy to work alongside local charities to help the environment when such instances of fly-tipping occur. Unfortunately, fly-tipping happens all too often and not only is it unsightly but it damages the local habitat for wildlife. The tyres will be baled and put to good use in local land drainage and sea defence projects."
Rowan, a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust youth volunteer from Basingstoke commented, "We found out that tyres are no longer welcome in landfill sites and that there are only a few ways to recycle them, so we thought ourselves extremely lucky to find a company to take the large number of tyres from the site for free. It's great to now see the land cleared of these fly-tipped tyres that were polluting this beautiful patch of land. We hope that people can realise the serious damage that fly tipping is doing to our towns and countryside."
After seven days of hard work the volunteers celebrated the completion of their project with a well deserved winter barbeque. The track, now completely cleared, is fully accessible again.
If you are from the Basingstoke & Deane area and would like to become a Youth Volunteer with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust contact Sophie Curtis the Youth Volunteering Officer for North Hampshire on 01256 381103 or email sophiec@hwt.org.uk
Note to editors
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has recently signed a ten-year lease for the wildlife reserve with the Ministry of Defence. The reserve is approximately 33 hectares, which is roughly the same as 70 football pitches. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest which recognises that the site has a very special mix of rare plants which grow all across it including devil's bit scabious, heath spotted orchid and petty whin. These plants all love the really wet and boggy ground which is low in nutrients and very acidic.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust strives to create a better future for wildlife and wild places in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It is the leading wildlife charity in the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and is part of a nationwide network of 47 local charities. We work together to create a better future for wildlife and wild places in the UK. With the support of our 27, 000 members, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trust is taking effective action to protect our natural heritage, helping it to flourish again. Find out more at http://www.hwt.org.uk/
