News
Its beaver catch time again
Beavers were the first mammal we kept at Martin Mere and they arrived in 2007. Every year we have to catch them up to check on their health and this allows us to tell you all about their weight and habits. Over the last two nights we have started doing
5 November 2014
Virginia – International swan of mystery...
Virginia (VJA) has perhaps one of the most interesting life stories of all our swans. She was first caught on 15th December 1993 as an adult, right here at Martin Mere. She was seen around the reserve up until 9th of January 1994, but then did something a
3 November 2014
Duke of Edinburgh honours WWT’s spoon-billed sandpiper team
WWT's Nigel Jarret receiving the Marsh Award for Innovative Conservation from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Conservation Breeding Team has been honoured with the BTO's Marsh Award for
3 November 2014
Rarest swan suffers alarming crash in numbers, new figures reveal
The UK’s smallest and rarest swan has suffered an alarming crash in numbers, according to new figures released today by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT). More than a third of Bewick’s swans that winter in Europe have disappeared since 1995, whe
28 October 2014
UK Government has ‘the perfect opportunity to solve some of the biggest conservation problems facing the world’
Today [Monday 27 October], the UK Government has the perfect opportunity to solve some of the biggest conservation problems facing the world in one stroke, according to experts from WWT and the RSPB. At a meeting being held today, representatives from the
27 October 2014
How to construct a log cabin
The first thing most people notice on arriving at Martin Mere is the slightly unusual nature of our Visitor Centre. With its turf roof and low profile, the centre was designed specifically to blend into the landscape – unlike many buildings of the 60s a
27 October 2014
Memories of 40 years
We are asking our visitors to tell us their favourite memories of the last 40 years at Martin Mere. Below are some of the memories we have recieved - please complete a potcard next time you are at the centre.
24 October 2014
Dredging up Trouble: Government urged to resist playing politics over winter flood measures
The Government has been warned that potentially environmentally damaging dredging must not be prioritised over other proven flood-prevention measures in this year’s Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014. In a new report Dredging up Trouble, Blueprint for
21 October 2014
Student placements up for grabs
We have a number of full-time, one-year placement positions on the reserves management team directly targeted at student’s currently on undergraduate degree courses. A sandwich year sits between years two and three of a standard degree course and aims t
20 October 2014
The life and times of Cynthia the goose
Cynthia was a much loved doyenne of Martin Mere who welcomed visitors to the centre and enjoyed conducting the occasional tour around the grounds. She celebrated her birthday with a Duke, and after her death she was much mourned by staff and visitors alik
20 October 2014
Our volunteer: Bett Leech
Meet Bett, our volunteer who has been here over 20 years. How long have you worked at Martin Mere? Just over 23 years, now. What was the first job you did? I started in the education department, and on my first day I had to type up a report, and th
17 October 2014
New report reveals scale of declines of UK migratory birds wintering in Africa
The migration of millions of birds across the face of the planet is one of nature’s greatest annual events. Every spring some species move north, while every autumn those same species move south, very often linking continents. Although these migration p
16 October 2014
Incredible journeys of our geese
Looking out across a field full of 45000 geese, it can be difficult to imagine how our researchers are able to pick out individual birds and track their movements during their migration, but with the help of light but highly visible plastic neck rings, we
14 October 2014
Meet Pete: Our longest serving member of staff
Each week we are going to tell you about the incredible journey of our staff and volunteers. This week we would like you to meet Pete Bullen, who is currently our longest serving member of staff and he is pictured here with a fashionable moustache, with C
10 October 2014
British wetlands invaded by dangerous mussel
Britain’s wetlands have been invaded by a mussel that in the US is threatening to bring the Hoover dam to a standstill and cut off water to Las Vegas. It was recently identified by UK scientists as the number one most dangerous alien species.
8 October 2014