Slimbridge is a village and civil parish near Dursley in Gloucestershire , England.
26-576: It is best known as the home of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust 's Slimbridge Reserve which was started by Sir Peter Scott . The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal runs through the village, and under Patch Bridge which must be crossed to reach the Wildfowl Trust. Damage to the decking of Patch Bridge in October 2007 resulted in a temporary repair being made using steel plates. This had the effect of unbalancing
52-635: A way that works with nature, not against it. Lead shot ammunition used for wildfowl shooting was banned in European wetlands in 2020 following WWT’s scientific research and a campaign by WWT and partners. The new law came into full effect on 15 February 2023. At one time, the trust operated a consultancy business that provides external clients with a comprehensive range of wetland services. These included ecological survey and assessment, habitat design and management, visitor centre planning and design, and wetland treatment systems. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
78-465: Is twinned with the 14 communes of the former canton of Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre (Normandy, France), the most populated of which is Lieurey . Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust ( WWT ) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as
104-675: Is a registered charity in England and Scotland. Sarah Fowler became the chief executive of the trust in March 2022. Her predecessor was Martin Spray, who was appointed in March 2004. In December 2012, Spray was appointed CBE . Nene (bird) The nene ( Branta sandvicensis ), also known as the nēnē or the Hawaiian goose , is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands . The nene
130-580: Is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Oahu , Maui , Kauaʻi , Molokai , and Hawaiʻi . In 1957, it was designated as the official state bird of the state of Hawaiʻi . The Hawaiian name nēnē comes from its soft call. The specific name sandvicensis refers to the Sandwich Islands, a former name for the Hawaiian Islands. The holotype specimen of Anser sandvicensis Vigors ( List Anim. Garden Zool. Soc., ed.3, June 1833, p.4. )
156-575: Is held in the vertebrate zoology collection at World Museum , National Museums Liverpool , with accession number NML-VZ T12706. The specimen was collected from the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands) and came to the Liverpool national collection via the Museum of the Zoological Society of London collection, Thomas Campbell Eyton ’s collection, and Henry Baker Tristram ’s collection. It is thought that
182-459: Is longer than that of any other goose; most eggs are laid between November and January. Unlike most other waterfowl , the nene mates on land. Nests are built by females on a site of her choosing, in which one to five eggs are laid (average is three on Maui and Hawaiʻi, four on Kauaʻi). Females incubate the eggs for 29 to 32 days, while the male acts as a sentry. Goslings are precocial , able to feed on their own; they remain with their parents until
208-561: The Severn Wildfowl Trust . The first site at Slimbridge was a centre for research and conservation. In a move unusual at the time, he opened the site to the public so that everyone could enjoy access to nature. This organisation later developed into the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, the only United Kingdom charity dedicated solely to promoting the protection of wetland birds and their habitats. Although starting out at Slimbridge,
234-661: The A38 from Slimbridge village. In the Summer of 2016, the club's Wisloe Road Ground was renamed 'Thornhill Park' in memory of former Chairman Evi Thornhill, who donated the field that the club has built on in his will when he died in 1960. The village also has a cricket club which operates in the Stroud District Cricket League. Slimbridge Local History Society holds regular meetings featuring presentations of local history and maintains online archives for members' use. Slimbridge
260-582: The Evangelist dates from the early 13th century and is a grade I listed building . Slimbridge is home to one primary school that takes pupils from Slimbridge and the surrounding village of Cambridge, Gloucestershire . The school is fairly small consisting of only 4 classes and around 100 pupils. There is also a recreational field in Slimbridge that the Playing Field Committee raised money for, through
286-519: The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust now owns or manages nine other reserves in Britain, and advocates for wetlands and conservation issues world-wide. WWT Consulting was an offshoot of the Wildlife & Wetland Trust and was based at Slimbridge. It provided ecological surveys and assessments, and offered consultancy services in wetland habitat design, wetland management, biological waste-water treatment systems and
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#1732875859155312-549: The aid of National Lottery funding, to build a brand new pavilion. The 2,480-acre (10.0 km) Slimbridge Estate is owned by the Ernest Cook Trust based on an original purchase in 1945 by Ernest Cook of 1,109 acres (4.49 km) in the parishes of Slimbridge and Gossington out of the sale of outlying portions of the Berkeley Castle Estate. The Berkeley Estate had for years been a famous sporting estate although
338-533: The bridge, which warped and jammed on 23 October 2007. The swing bridge was replaced in early 2009. Nearby there is a caravan park and pub. The name of the bridge is echoed by the locals abandoning the "Tudor Arms" name and merely referring to the pub as "The Patch." https://www.thetudorarms.co.uk . On the canal towpath, next the bridge, is the Slimbridge Boat Station, which is a cafe, general store and boating resource centre. The village church of St John
364-657: The female Nene is similar to the male in colouration. The adult's bill, legs and feet are black. It has soft feathers under its chin. Goslings resemble adults, but are a duller brown and with less demarcation between the colors of the head and neck, and striping and barring effects are much reduced. The nene is an inhabitant of shrubland , grassland , coastal dunes , and lava plains , and related anthropogenic habitats such as pasture and golf courses from sea level to as much as 2,400 m (7,900 ft). Some populations migrated between lowland breeding grounds and montane foraging areas. The nene could at one time be found on
390-624: The first Nene geese , a species that at that time was threatened with extinction, were returned to Hawaii after a 25-year effort by the Trust, with the species later being downgraded from endangered to threatened on the IUCN Red List . In 2009 the trust was instrumental in saving the Madagascan Pochard from the brink of extinction in Madagascar. In 2006 a total 20 birds were discovered with
416-664: The following breeding season. The nene is a herbivore that will either graze or browse , depending on the availability of vegetation. Food items include the leaves , seeds , fruit , and flowers of grasses and shrubs . The nene population stands at 3,862 birds, making it the world's rarest goose. It is believed that it was once common, with approximately 25,000 Hawaiian geese living in Hawaiʻi when Captain James Cook arrived in 1778. Hunting and introduced predators, such as small Indian mongooses , pigs , and feral cats , reduced
442-416: The ground, they are capable of flight, with some individuals flying daily between nesting and feeding areas. Females have a mass of 1.525–2.56 kg (3.36–5.64 lb), while males average 1.695–3.05 kg (3.74–6.72 lb), 11% larger than females. Adult males have a black head and hindneck, buff cheeks and heavily furrowed neck. The neck has black and white diagonal stripes. Aside from being smaller,
468-403: The individual, and inhabited the island of Maui . Similar fossil geese found on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi may be of the same species. The giant Hawaiʻi goose was restricted to the island of Hawaiʻi and measured 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in length with a mass of 8.6 kg (19 lb), making it more than four times larger than the nene. It is believed that the herbivorous giant Hawaiʻi goose occupied
494-546: The islands of Hawaiʻi , Maui , Kahoʻolawe , Lānaʻi , Molokaʻi , Oʻahu and Kauaʻi . Today, its range is restricted to Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi. A pair arrived at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oʻahu in January 2014; two of their offspring survived and are seen regularly on the nearby golf courses at Turtle Bay Resort. The breeding season of the nene, from August to April,
520-713: The last Earl of Berkeley, who died young, was more interested in the sciences. Ernest Cook extended the estate further by purchasing Breadstone Farm and Wanswell Court from the Berkeley family. The village's football club, Slimbridge Football Club play in the Southern Football League South & West Division as well as competing in the FA Cup and FA Trophy . "The Swans" or "The Bridge" play their home matches at their ground located in Wisloe Road, Cambridge, just across
546-626: The management of reserves and their visitor centres. The Queen in later years became patron to the trust, and Prince Charles became the president. The trust was instrumental in saving the nēnē (Hawaiian goose) from the brink of extinction in the 1950s. The trust has over 200,000 members and ten reserves with visitor centres. Together these cover over 20 km (7.7 sq mi), and support over 150,000 birds. They receive over one million visitors per year. The reserves include seven SSSIs ( site of Special Scientific Interest ), five SPAs ( Special Protection Areas ) and five Ramsar sites . In 1962
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#1732875859155572-522: The nene evolved from the Canada goose ( Branta canadensis ), which most likely arrived on the Hawaiian islands about 500,000 years ago, shortly after the island of Hawaiʻi was formed. The Canada goose is also the ancestor of the prehistoric giant Hawaiʻi goose ( Branta rhuax ) and the nēnē-nui ( Branta hylobadistes ). The nēnē-nui was larger than the nene, varied from flightless to flighted depending on
598-443: The population to 30 birds by 1952. The species breeds well in captivity, and has been successfully re-introduced. In 2004, it was estimated that there were 800 birds in the wild, as well as 1,000 in wildfowl collections and zoos. There is concern about inbreeding due to the small initial population of birds. The nature reserve WWT Slimbridge , in England, was instrumental in the successful breeding of Hawaiian geese in captivity. Under
624-483: The same ecological niche as the goose -like ducks known as moa-nalo , which were not present on the Big Island. Based on mitochondrial DNA found in fossils, all Hawaiian geese, living and extinct, are closely related to the giant Canada goose ( B. c. maxima ) and dusky Canada goose ( B. c. occidentalis ). The nene is a large-sized goose at 41 cm (16 in) tall. Although they spend most of their time on
650-565: The species previously thought to have been extinct. WWT and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology hatched several clutches of eggs in captivity, and released the 21 birds onto Lake Sofia in 2018. Together with partners and funders, RSPB , Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, and Viridor Credits , the trust reintroduced Common Cranes to the UK in 2010. The Great Crane Project successfully hand-reared and released 21 Eurasian cranes into
676-484: The wild in England. The species had been absent in the UK for 400 years. As of 2022 there are over 200 cranes and hatchlings. WWT's aviculturists’ started hand-rearing critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper chicks, and reared 16 in northern Russia in 2013, which boosted the global number of fledglings by 25%. In 2014 the trust completed its Steart Marshes Project, creating 488 hectares of healthy wetlands which works to defend homes and businesses from flooding in
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