RSPB
Croydon Local Group - Fund
raising efforts
Introduction
One of the many activities that Local Member Groups are involved in is fund raising for their favourite charity - the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Each year the headquarters of the RSPB publish a document outlining the projects, by region, that they would like to undertake in the forth coming year. Local Member Groups are then able to choose projects that they would like to contribute either some or all of the necessary funding. Because of the Croydon Group's South London location, our chosen projects usually have a South/South East regional bias.
The Group raises funds in a number of ways but primarily through the sale of RSPB goods. In addition to the sale of goods the Group holds an annual Autumn Fair, sells peanuts and seeds and collects: Aluminium cans, Postage Stamps, Telephone cards, Coins & notes, and Inkjet cartridges.
2002/03
Our fund raising target for this year is £6,728 to support the following three projects:
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Cliffe
RSPB Reserve - for the purchase of machinery at the new
reserve being setup at Cliffe. Donation - £3,838 |
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Tudeley
Wood - for coppicing work at Tudeley Wood. Target
- £2,040
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Tudeley
Wood - for butterfly transects at Tudeley Wood.
Target
- £850 |
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2001/02
Our fund raising target for this year is £4,066 to support the following three projects:
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Elmley
RSPB Reserve (on Isle of Sheppey, Kent) - path and sign
maintenance to improve access, especially in the winter, by upgrading
paths on the visitor trail and to the hides and providing information
for better enjoyment of the reserve. Donation
- £2,000 |
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Arun Valley
Breeding Wader Survey - which includes Pulborough Brooks
RSPB Reserve. Three visits will be made to all wetland sections
of the Arun Valley to collect habitat data as well as information
on breeding waders, wildfowl and songbirds. The survey of the
whole valley is undertaken every five years. Data from the survey
can show trends in populations and highlight when species of
conservation concern are declining, or doing well. Information
gained from this survey will help in maintaining the importance
of the Arun Valley. Donation
- £1,056 |
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Shorne
Marshes RSPB Reserve (near Gravesend) - erection of
fences around reed-fringed lake. Fencing needs to be erected
around the lake to prevent cattle from eating the reed fringe.
Excluding the cattle should allow the reeds to spread which
will increase the diversity of the site and benefit wetland
birds such as the Little grebe and Reed warbler. This work will
be carried out during the winter period prior to cattle arriving
in the spring. Donation
- £1,010 |
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The
RSPB South-East Region have acknowledged these amounts and wish
to thank everyone for their efforts in helping to protect our
wild birds.
We have since sent £1,000 to which we hope to add a further £1,270 by 31 March (to be raised by the Quiz Night and sale of nuts and seeds) to total £2,270 which will pay for the reprinting of two visitor leaflets for Blean Woods Nature Reserve in Kent (near Canterbury). One leaflet is a general reserve guide while the other describes the long-distance trail. These need to be rewritten to indicate that the RSPB has now taken over management of the adjoining Woodland Trust and English Nature reserves thus expanding the area from 310ha to 495ha. This is a very special area of woodland being near Canterbury, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve. As well as protecting scarce woodland birds it is very important for rare butterflies and plants. |
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2000/01
Due to changes in the sales team, the Croydon Group's target for 2000/01 was £2,500. However this target was exceeded and the Group was able to donate a total of £4,750 to support the following projects:
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Birds
of Prey - to publise persecution of Birds of Prey including
monitoring to raise awareness of the plight of the population and
discourage/prevent further persecution. Donation
- £1,000 |
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Tree Sparrow
and Corn Bunting - to donate as much as possible of the
£3,000 needed for intervention projects for Tree Sparrow and
Corn Bunting. This is part of a South East Region agriculture project
to try and help some of the declining farmland species. Donation
- £2,500 |
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Elmley Marshes - towards grassland and water level maintenance to benefit breeding waterfowl and wintering wildfowl on the reserve. Donation - £1,250 |
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1999/00
Our fund raising target for 1999/00 was again £6,000 to support the following project:
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Fore
Wood RSPB Reserve (near Hastings) - towards the construction
of a bridge to allow heavy vehicles, safe access to enable vital coppicing
work. Donation
- £6,000 |
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Review
of breeding wader data in Kent - towards the funding of this
important survey. Donation
- £240 |
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Our fund raising target for 1998/99 was c. £6,000 and this has been exceeded. The Group was able to donate £9,442 to support the following projects:
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Fore
Wood RSPB Reserve (near Hastings) - coppicing
work to benefit Nightingales and Warblers, flowers and insects.
Donation
- £1,806 |
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North
Kent Marshes - Programme to monitor birds of prey on
the marshes such as Marsh and Hen Harriers as well as Short Eared
Owls. Donation
- £2,080 |
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London
Bio-diversity Plan - to protect London's natural environment
(including Croydon). Donation
- £2,000 |
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Rainham
Marshes (North of the Thames) - towards the purchase
of MOD land to create a reserve in the Rainham Marshes.
Donation - £3,556 |
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1997/98
The Croydon Members Group was able to donate £8,100 to the RSPB to fund the following projects:
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Forsinard
RSPB Reserve in Scotland's Flow Country - management
of moorland and in-bye land, providing protection for breeding Greenshank
and Golden Plover etc. Donation
- £1,500 |
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Dungeness
RSPB Reserve in Kent - gorse planting project to provide
cover for migrants. Donation
- £500 |
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South
Downs Project - to encourage environmentally friendly
farming i.e. leaving winter stubble for seed eating birds. This project
is already proving successful with increased numbers of Finches and
Buntings. Donation
- £1,600 |
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Updated
Speakers List - donation was made to enable an updated
list to be produced to help Groups organise their meetings. The previous
edition of this list was also funded by the Croydon Group.
Donation - £1,500 |
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Surrey Heathlands
- donation towards the conservation of these heathlands that are so
vital to a wide range of birds, plants and insects. Donation
- £2,000 |
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RSPB South-East Region Wildlife Enquiry Unit - donation to support the work of this unit who are very busy answering enquires from the public and creating support for the RSPB. Donation - £1,000 |
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