Happy New Year! #2015

Happy New Year to all of our readers!

A new year is stretching ahead, and we can’t wait to grab it with both hands and get started. We hope that we get to hear from you over the year, whether it’s on social media, on a visit to one of our reserves or at an event. So to whet your appetite, here’s a quick heads up on just a few of the great things that we’ve got planned for 2015…

Our Reserves Team will be introducing a new Skills for the Future trainee to all the skills that are required for the careful management of our nature reserves. From adrenaline fuelled chainsaw training to the removal of invasive non-native species, the traineeship is a fantastic start to a career in conservation (you can apply here).

The Education Team are continuing their BBC Children in Need funded sessions in Solihull, and preparing to meet and inspire hundreds of new children on school trips and birthday parties. Our Youth Officer Matt is about to begin a new project with Coventry Foyer, engaging socially excluded young people with the natural world and asking them what nature means to them (read more about it here).

2015 will also see us welcome our brand new Hedgehog Officer, who will be leading our groundbreaking Hedgehog Improvement Area project. The first dedicated hedgehog conservation area in the country; Solihull is going to be the setting for some truly fascinating work that you’ll be able to follow closely on our Help For Hedgehogs campaign Twitter feed and Facebook page.

Finally (for now at least) we have a brilliant new programme of events for 2015. Our members are invited to spend a day touring four of our fantastic reserves with expert guides, and we’ll soon be announcing the details of our Princethorpe Woodlands woodland crafts day. Keep an eye on our What’s On pages for much more.

Of course we’ll be blogging all the highlights, and responding to your requests of what you’d like to read about on the blog. So keep in touch, and let’s all dive into 2015!

Emma