The Formby Blog

Keep Your Eyes Open For Deer

Just posted by the Merseyside Police.

Police have been made aware of loose deer on the formby bypass. Police are en route to rein them in.. Please be cautious in the area. pic.twitter.com/ea0DY9Oq7U

— MerPolCC (@MerPolCC) April 28, 2018

Find Sefton’s World War One Heroines

Sefton’s Library Service are appealing for help to find information on nine local heroines of World War One.

As part of the Beyond The War Memorials Project, Sefton Libraries are creating a special tribute to the men and women who are honoured on war memorials across the borough.

Now the team behind the project are appealing to local historians, families and the wider community to find out more about the heroines who gave their lives for their country.

via seftoncvs.org.uk

Does Formby Need More Trees?

I guess most of us living in Formby assume we live surrounded by a large number of trees. The recent village tree felling drama shows that the community seems to value trees. I was surprised, therefore when I came across the following.

Long before Homo sapiens first appeared, nature had cloaked the earth in a green mantle that nurtured all existing forms of life as well as those yet to be. The tattered remnants of that verdant covering are our inheritance.

No longer continuous, it now exists only where we humans allow it to remain.

Other pieces are usurped, deemed too valuable to be left "undeveloped," as civilization consumes them to feed its insatiable
growth.

(Source: Green Nature Human Nature by Charles A Lewis)

#TreeCanopyCover levels vary wildly between English towns, from 3% up to 45%! How does your town compare? https://t.co/9gMTggZxuq @ForestryCommEng pic.twitter.com/kMTzS2dHfX

— The Woodland Trust (@WoodlandTrust) March 30, 2018

So how much tree cover does Formby have? Could. should we have more?

Despite the pinewoods, it appears that we may be wrong in our assumptions. According to this survey, Formby only has a relatively low 17% tree cover. But we know that trees are a vital component in combatting increasingly powerful climate change effects.

I don't know about you, but so far in the current local elections, all I've heard from candidates is the sharp exchange of insults or contrary standstill proposals. I want to vote for a candidate that has a series of definite ideas to take Formby forward.

I suggest a concerted attempt to increase the tree cover would be one small local step forward in facing the global threat from Climate Change.

Urban Forest Cover or Canopy Cover is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above.

The principal aim of a canopy cover assessment is to help decision makers understand the urban forest resource, particularly the amount of tree canopy that currently exists and the potential amount that could exist.

Measuring canopy cover has helped city planners, urban foresters, mayors, councils, local authorities, and communities see trees and forests in a new way, focusing attention on green infrastructure as a key component of community planning, sustainability and resilience.

(Source: http://www.urbantreecover.org)

When you look at other communities tree cover statistics using the tool it's clear that some towns are taking this issue seriously. Here's an opportunity for us all.

With support and leadership from our local Councillors, every one us living in Formby could be encouraged to 'Plant a Tree' for our town and the future of the earth.

Formby could, with a bit of imagination, inspiration and public involvement become an Arboretum Town. A tree friendly town, a Greener town.

When and if you next see one of the candidates ask them what are they going to do for the future and tell them you want positive, not negative suggestions to take Formby Forward together as a community.

 What do you think?

Formby Parish Council Election

At the forthcoming local elections, residents of Harington Ward get the opportunity to exercise an extra vote. Following the recent resignation of Cllr Mike Coles, the Parish Council is seeking a replacement

Some candidates have been proposed, and their details are shown below. 

Candidate	Home Address	Description (if any)	Name of Proposer	Reason why no longer nominated*
MCCANN Susan	49 Hawksworth Drive, Formby, Liverpool, L37 7EY	Formby Residents Action Group	Bennett Maria
MULROONEY Siobhan Marie	19 Derby Road, Formby, L37 7BN	Conservative Party Candidate	Dutton Denise
RICHARDS Carol Ann	Asparagus Cottage, St. Lukes Church Rd, Formby, L37 2DF	Labour Party	Whiteside Anita

*Decision of the Returning Officer that the nomination is invalid or other reason why a person nominated no longer stands nominated.

I don't know about you; I'm looking for someone who proposes new definite ideas to take Formby forward, rather than a candidate who bases their campaign on the failures of the others or their parties. 

We live in hope.

 

Natterjack Toads Raise the Roof

Our native Natterjack neighbours were in full throat last Thursday evening and night, according to recent reports from Sefton Coast. But unlike the nuisance caused by human neighbours, we're being asked to tolerate them and even take steps to protect them.

By Christian Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=166869

I don't know about you I've always felt a degree of unease when thinking about picking up toads. Their size and cold clammy body and the heavily reptile appearance, are off-putting, to say the least.

Smaller than the Common Toad, Natterjacks are very rare. They breed in warm, shallow pools in sand dunes and on sandy heaths in just a handful of special places. They are mainly nocturnal. In the spring, the males all sing together at night to attract females.

Natterjack toads are claimed to be Europe's noisiest amphibian, with the male call audible over several kilometres.

Its ratcheting call has brought it two local nicknames: the Birkdale Nightingale and the Bootle organ.

Having spent the winter hibernating in its deep burrow, often with other natterjacks and even common toads for company, it reappears as the weather warms up in March and April.

Over the last four years, the water table along the Sefton Coast has been so low that vital breeding pools have failed to materialise. However, Natterjacks only need to successfully breed once every four or five years to sustain their population and with all the recent rain. it could be a bumper year.

The Natterjack Toad Choir was in full voice on the #Sefton dunes last night.
PLEASE keep dogs out of all pools and flooded areas at this crucial time for these very rare creatures.https://t.co/h5sQg9UDb7@NTFormby @NatureBftB @AinsdaleNNR @seftoncouncil pic.twitter.com/IjANnHS7zE

— The Sefton Coast (@TheSeftonCoast) April 6, 2018