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You are here: Home / Archives for Zak Mather-Gratton

Zak Mather-Gratton

Wild Memories: Elderflower Cordial Recipe

June 27, 2022 by Zak Mather-Gratton

Elderflower season is in full swing, the perfect time to turn these frothy blooms into a delicious summer beverage. Our Wild Memories group for people living with dementia in Somerset have been doing just that, see below for their recipe!

You will need:

A bucket, a wooden spoon

2 liters water

2 kg sugar

Basket full of elderflower heads (about 40 flower heads)

4 teaspoons citric acid (optional)

4 lemons

Method:

1. Take a basket and go on a stroll looking for elderflower, they tend to like hedgerows, woodland edges, scrub, and roadsides. We avoid collecting from busy roads because of pollution on the flowers. A sunny afternoon is ideal because it gets the flowers really full of pollen and brings out their beautiful scent.

2. Heat up your water in a pan, and add all the sugar, stirring until it melts.

3. While this is going on, trim your flowers from their stems into your (well cleaned) bucket. Slice up your lemons and add those. The citric acid if you are using it (highly recommended as it adds a zingy balance to the sweet)

4. Then, pour the hot sugary water onto the bucket of flowers.

5. Leave it to brew for 24 hours, then strain and add to clean bottles.

6. Keep in the fridge and use within a few weeks. It might start fermenting due to the natural yeasts on the elderflower, as long as it still tastes good then it’s fine to drink even if it gets a bit fizzy.

 

I don’t sterilise it because this will also knock out some of the medicinal value of the elderflower.

Delicious added to a dry cider, a gin and tonic, or good old chilled water!

Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: cordial, delicious, drink, elderflower, Green Pathways for lIFE, recipe, wild memories

Just Add Water to Help Wildlife Thrive!

May 3, 2022 by Zak Mather-Gratton

Froglife completed work on a new pond in Frome, Somerset, in collaboration with Frome Town Council in February this year. After just two months the pond is already brimming with life!

Froglife is a UK wildlife conservation charity focusing on the protection of reptiles and amphibians and the habitats they rely on. The charity’s “Green Pathways for Life” project provides opportunities for people living with dementia and their carers to get active and connect with nature conservation, to boost wellbeing and help local wildlife. The new pond was created over several weeks, with Froglife’s dementia groups taking an active role from initial planning to final planting up with native water plants.

Now the pond is established, the groups have been monitoring the wildlife species moving into the pond. The first survey, just two months after the pond was created, found the species count shot up from zero to more than ten – including frog tadpoles, fly larvae, water snails, pond skaters and other invertebrates.

Froglife’s Somerset Project Officer Zak says “although the flora and fauna are still developing in this new pond it’s amazing to see how quickly aquatic life can flourish when we provide the right habitat. We’ve already found this rich community of species, which in turn will benefit all kinds of wildlife in the surrounding area. It’s also a fantastic learning resource for local residents from school kids to our groups for people living with dementia, who regularly use and look after the site. A real win-win for wildlife and people!”

Unfortunately the UK lost 50% of its ponds in the 20th century and 80% of those remaining are in a poor condition. Many of our iconic wildlife species are in decline, including frogs and toads. Froglife research in 2016 found that common toads have declined by almost 70% in the last 30 years.

With Amphibian Week from 1st-7th May, it’s never been a better time to join Froglife’s Just Add Water campaign by creating your own pond! If space is tight a small container pond can be a huge boost for wildlife including amphibians, even in heavily urban environments. Why not give it a go with our free guide? https://www.froglife.org/info-advice/just-add-water/

Somerset Green Pathways for Life is funded by Somerset County Council, Frome Town Council, The Florence Cohen Charitable Trust, The Nineveh Trust, The Hospital Saturday Fund, Somerset Community Foundation, and Anne Jones.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Conservation, dementia, frome, Green Pathways for lIFE, just add water, Nature, Pond, ponds, Somerset, wellbeing

The effect of the climate crisis on UK reptile populations

February 22, 2021 by Zak Mather-Gratton

Back in 2018 we discussed some of the impacts of climate change on amphibians worldwide (Froglife 2018). Since then, climate change has continued to accelerate, with global average temperatures in 2020 more than 1oC warmer relative to pre-industrial levels. The 2015 Paris Agreement has not, so far, caused nations to reduce their emissions anywhere near fast enough (Global Carbon Project 2020). The extent of future warming is projected to reach somewhere between 2 – 4oC or above, dependent upon a range of scenarios (IPCC 2014). The magnitude and speed of this change is unprecedented, and the impacts upon wildlife are already being seen.

We know that wildlife and their habitats – collectively termed the ‘biosphere’ – are in a fine, dynamic and interconnected balance. Unpicking the exact drivers of population changes is not straightforward, because they themselves are interacting in complex ways. What’s clear is that climate change is an additional stress factor for wildlife worldwide, on top of (and often accelerating) habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution and the impact of invasive species. In the UK climate change is predicted to cause hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. There will be greater extremes of weather, as well as sea level rise (Met Office 2019).

So how might the UK’s terrestrial reptiles be affected by climate change?
To begin to answer this, we can consider the direct effects of climate change on reptile physiology and behaviour, and indirect impacts from changing trophic interactions (populations of predators and prey), and from changes to reptile habitats (Le Galliard et al. 2012).

UK reptiles are more or less at the northernmost edge of the range for their species, although the adder, common lizard and slow worm have Scandinavian populations at higher latitudes. These three species are viviparous, meaning embryos develop within the body of the adult and born live. The smooth snake is ovoviviparous, which can be described as a more primitive form of viviparity, where the eggs develop within the mothers body. Sand lizards and grass snake are oviparous, meaning they lay their eggs externally, and embryos are therefore more reliant on environmental factors for their development. 

All UK reptiles however, have cousins residing in the warmer southerly climes of Iberia and Central Europe and the Balkans. So, we could assume that warmer climate here will improve survival in existing reptile populations, while enabling a northward shift of their distributions. Unfortunately, the reality is not that simple. Dunford and Berry (2012) modelled UK reptile population changes under low and high emissions scenarios for 2050 and 2080. Grass snakes appeared to be the only species consistently predicted to shift northward while maintaining the majority of their present distribution (see Cathrine, 2014 for tantalising evidence of Scottish grass snake populations), while slow worms showed a mixed northward shift with a contraction of southern populations. For all other species modelling predicted widespread population decline, greater under a higher emissions scenario (Dunford and Berry 2012).

Being ectothermic, reptiles are highly sensitive to their environment, with a tight bell curve describing their optimal climatic conditions (Le Galliard et al. 2012). Temperature and rainfall strongly influence reptile behaviour, and a changing climate has great potential to create mismatches – for example if temperature and rainfall is suboptimal either for reptiles or their prey species, especially at key points in the year such as hibernation emergence. Climate change is already affecting reptile prey populations and will continue to do so. For example Ewald et al. (2015) identified numerous invertebrate groups demonstrating sensitivity to extreme climate events over the last four decades. These trends must be considered alongside the ongoing impact of other pressures, particularly pesticide use (van Klink et al. 2020), all of which creates a complex picture. Climate impacts will vary between species groups and depend upon other biogeographical factors, meaning that impacts will not be the same everywhere for a given species.

In the UK, warming should increase reptile growth and maturation rates, due to longer periods of activity. Milder winters will likely reduce hibernation lengths for our reptiles. Earlier spring emergence, and activity extending further into the autumn and winter months would likely bring reproduction forward in the year, as gestation and incubation length is generally shorter in warmer climates. Larger body sizes in warmer climates may result in greater reproductive success (Le Galliard et al. 2012). Warm temperatures also enable a greater number of number of broods per year, observed in slow worms (Smith 1990), and common lizards (Bestion et al. 2015). However, life cycle changes may have additional impacts on population demographics and survival. Bestion et al. (2015) created experimental common lizard populations in climate-controlled chambers, with populations either subject to current average temperatures or those matching IPCC predictions for the coming century. Warming increased growth rates, brought reproduction forward, and resulted in a higher number of broods per season. However, this life cycle acceleration was coupled with a reduction in adult survival rates. Of several possible causes, the authors proposed the most likely to be greater metabolic requirements for larger individuals, with warmer temperatures increasing energetic requirements which could not be met fully by increased foraging, particularly when warm weather restricted their activity.

Our fragmented UK landscape creates major barriers for all wildlife. Reptile species are generally philopatric (tending to return to or remain near the same particular area), and so are especially sensitive to habitat loss, with populations often centred around relatively small habitat pockets or managed reserves. So even if a warmer climate could result in populations expanding northward, whether this will occur in reality depends on whether there are routes and habitats for them to do so. Araujo et al. (2006) simulated climate change driven UK reptile population dynamics under assumptions of unlimited and zero dispersal ability. Unlimited dispersal resulted in population expansion, with some local extinctions in southerly locations. Zero dispersal resulted in population contractions for all UK species, indicating climate change driven population collapse. This demonstrates the importance of considering all factors influencing population viability and dispersal in combination with climate change pressures.

Adders are usually reliant on specific habitat patches and are highly sensitive to habitat destruction and hibernation area disturbance due to their low recolonization abilities, even relative to other reptile species. On a local level, given typically small population sizes and low mobility, climate change driven habitat quality declines could result in local extinctions particularly as they may not have suitable adjacent habitat, nor the inclination to move (Gleed-Owen and Langham 2012). Although McInerny (2018) indicates that implementing appropriate mitigation can enable adder populations to persist alongside human modifications to local habitats, the adders ongoing decline nationwide is concerning (Baker et al. 2002, Gardner et al. 2019), which even a low emissions climate change scenario is likely to exacerbate (Dunford and Berry 2012).

adder


The dual pressures of habitat loss and climate change are even more apparent for our two most limited reptiles, the sand lizard and the smooth snake. Sand lizards can be found on lowland heath as well as coastal sand dunes. Smooth snakes are only known to be present on lowland heath in the south of England. Populations are generally isolated with little capacity for dispersal, creating a barrier to adaptation to changing conditions. Climate change could threaten habitat quality, for example increased frequency of heavy rainfall events could destroy sand lizard nests and reduce juvenile survival rates (Edgar and Bird 2006), while increased fire prevalence and sea level rise could destroy important habitat features. Dunford and Berry (2012) paint a particularly dire picture for the sand lizard, as its reliance upon highly specific landscape features such as south facing slopes and complex habitat mosaics makes the species highly sensitive to habitat loss. A small population of sand lizards has persisted on the Scottish Isle of Coll, since their introduction for research in the 1970s. Comparing the climate change resilience of this northern and relatively isolated population with that of other UK populations will be an interesting topic for study over the next few decades.

Heathland habitats are one of our most heavily impacted by urbanisation in the UK. Although direct loss through land-use change is now controlled by planning and environmental legislation, development in surrounding areas continues to increase pressure on remaining isolated heathland patches, through increased fire risk, predation by domestic animals and disturbance (Hayhow et al. 2019). Fagundez (2013) describes further pressures facing heathlands under climate change, including fires, and shifts in vegetation composition. We are used to a static conservation model for our heaths. As climate change progresses, the ideal climatic conditions for heath will likely expand in Britain (Thomas et al. 1999), and Loidi et al. (2010) point out that extensive lowland heaths throughout southern Europe support a greater diversity of reptiles than we see here. However, whether habitats will be able to expand is an entirely human choice (Coll et al. 2016, Hayhow et al. 2019).

All of the pressures we have presented here are anthropogenic in origin, born from human choices, and our expectations of how we can and should manage the land and its resources. The enormity of shifting these practices cannot be underestimated, but at least it is within our abilities to do it!

Written by Zak Mather-Gratton 

References
Araújo, M.B., Thuiller, W. and Pearson, R.G., 2006. Climate warming and the decline of amphibians and reptiles in Europe. Journal of biogeography, 33(10), pp.1712-1728.

Baker, J., Suckling, J. and Carey, R., 2002. Status of the adder Vipera berus and the slow-worm Anguis fragilis in England. English Nature.

Bestion, E., Teyssier, A., Richard, M., Clobert, J. and Cote, J., 2015. Live fast, die young: experimental evidence of population extinction risk due to climate change. PLoS Biol, 13(10), p.e1002281.

Cathrine, C., 2014. Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix) in Scotland. Glasgow Naturalist, 26(Part 1), pp.36-40.

Coll, J., Bourke, D., Hodd, R.L., Skeffington, M.S., Gormally, M. and Sweeney, J., 2016. Projected climate change impacts on upland heaths in Ireland. Climate Research, 69(2), pp.177-191.

Dunford, R.W. and Berry, P.M., 2012. Climate change modelling of English amphibians and reptiles: Report to Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC-Trust).

Edgar, P. and Bird, D.R., 2006. Action plan for the conservation of the Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis) in Northwest Europe. Document T-PVS/Inf (2006), 18.

Ewald, J.A., Wheatley, C.J., Aebischer, N.J., Moreby, S.J., Duffield, S.J., Crick, H.Q. and Morecroft, M.B., 2015. Influences of extreme weather, climate and pesticide use on invertebrates in cereal fields over 42 years. Global Change Biology, 21(11), pp.3931-3950.

Fagúndez, J., 2013. Heathlands confronting global change: drivers of biodiversity loss from past to future scenarios. Annals of Botany, 111(2), pp.151-172.

Froglife 2018. Amphibians and Climate Change. Croaking Science
Gardner, E., Julian, A., Monk, C. and Baker, J., 2019. Make the adder count: population trends from a citizen science survey of UK adders. Herpetological Journal, 29, pp.57-70.

Gleed-Owen, C. and Langham, S., 2012. The Adder Status Project–a conservation condition assessment of the adder (Vipera berus) in England, with recommendations for future monitoring and conservation policy.

Report to Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. ARC, Bournemouth, UK.
Global Carbon Project. 2020. Carbon budget and trends 2020. [www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget] published on 11 December 2020

Hayhow, D.B., Eaton, M.A., Stanbury, A.J., Burns, F., Kirby, W.B., Bailey, N., Beckmann, B., Bedford, J., Boersch-Supan, P.H., Coomber, F. and Dennis, E.B., 2019. State of nature 2019.

IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.

van Klink, R., Bowler, D.E., Gongalsky, K.B., Swengel, A.B., Gentile, A. and Chase, J.M., 2020. Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances. Science, 368(6489), pp.417-420.

Le Galliard, J.F., Massot, M., Baron, J.P. and Clobert, J., 2012. Ecological effects of climate change on European reptiles. Wildlife conservation in a changing climate, pp.179-203.

Loidi, J., Biurrun, I., Campos, J.A., García‐Mijangos, I. and Herrera, M., 2010. A biogeographical analysis of the European Atlantic lowland heathlands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 21(5), pp.832-842.

McInerny, C.J., 2019. The study and conservation of adders in Scotland. The Glasgow Naturalist Volume 27, p.67.

Met Office, 2019. UK climate projections: Headline findings.
Smith, N.D., 1990. The ecology of the slow-worm (Anguis fragilis L.) in southern England. Doctoral dissertation, University of Southampton.

Thomas, J.A., Rose, R.J., Clarke, R.T., Thomas, C.D. and Webb, N.R., 1999. Intraspecific variation in habitat availability among ectothermic animals near their climatic limits and their centres of range. Functional Ecology, 13, pp.55-64.

Filed Under: Croaking Science Tagged With: adder, climate change, COP26, grass snakes, lizards, reptiles, slow-worm

Froglife’s Frogloaf Recipe

September 21, 2020 by Zak Mather-Gratton

Tag us in your pictures of your amphibian or reptile inspired baking on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags #Frogbread #GBBO

In light of the return of Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off, We’ve had a go at our own ‘frogloaf’. Recipe below!

Ingredients:

  • 600g plain strong bread flour
  • 1 heaped tsp dried yeast
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Two handfuls of spinach (optional for green colour)

Method:

  1. Wash and cook the spinach in a pan on a low heat, with the lid on. Once it is fully wilted and soft, use a blender to make a paste. Leave this to cool.
  2. Combine the flour, salt, yeast and 300ml of tepid water. Check the yeast packet as some kinds need activating in water. Next add the spinach paste. Mix the dough with a spoon. It should be soft and springy, not too wet and sticky, and not too dry. Add a little more flour or water as needed to achieve this.
  3. Knead this mixture for around 5-6 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, and leave it to prove in the mixing bowl until roughly doubled in size (2-3 hours).
  4. Turn this out and knead again for a few minutes. Cut the dough into two – around 2/3 to make the body, and 1/3 to make the eyes and legs.
  5. On a baking sheet on a large tray, shape the body into an egg shape. The fatter end will form the frog’s face. Shape the smaller dough ball into two back legs, two front legs, and two eyes. It’s important that these stick well to the body, some water can help here. 
  6. We also used two olives to make eyes.
  7. Leave the frog to prove until doubled again in size (around 30-60 minutes), under an oiled piece of clingfilm.
  8. Bake in a preheated oven on high, for around 20 minutes.
  9. Introduce your new frog friend to your pond (optional)

Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: baking, Croaks, Frog, Inspired by nature

Nature connection for people living with dementia

May 29, 2020 by Zak Mather-Gratton

Despite the lockdown our Green Pathways for Life project has been up and running in Frome, Somerset – supporting people living with dementia with a varied programme of wildlife activities, delivered safely by email and letterbox in place of our usual outdoor group activities.

Connection is at the heart of this project. Working out ways of making and strengthening connections – in terms of both person-to-person and person-to-nature – has been a real challenge.

Achieving the nuanced outcome of ‘nature connection’ has become an established goal for many environmental organisations and projects. How exactly a person connects with nature, whether consciously or subconsciously, depends on an intangible combination of personal and social influences. Nature connection is loosely defined and highly variable, or personal, between individuals. Lived experience, personality, background, and importantly in the case of designing programmes for people living with dementia, cognitive factors, all play a role in shaping a person’s relationship with the natural world.

How then, to encourage nature connection for people living with dementia? We use the term ‘encourage’, rather than ‘deliver’, because it is all about creating the conditions and opportunities for connections to be made, reinforced, remembered, and shared with others – rather than delivering something readymade. 

Wild Memories Quilt Patches

Sending out activities under lockdown has felt at times like a token gesture, a stopgap until we can relaunch our outdoor activity sessions again. Keeping people occupied but probably lacking opportunities for meaningful ‘connections’ to be made.

However some of the early feedback we’ve received indicates otherwise. One participant said “we heard a bird singing in the forest and recognised it as a wren” because of our weekly bird song listening activities.

Another pointed out that “the activities have inspired me to connect with friends, it gave me a reason to get back in touch with people I had not spoken with in some time.” 

These stories have been truly motivating for our work in supporting people through nature based outreach – so the benefits, and the connections, go both ways!

Filed Under: News Tagged With: activities, Croaks, dementia, Green Pathways for lIFE, lockdown, Somerset

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