April saw climate change protests, volunteers cleaning-up and work starting on a major habitat creation project at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Carlton Marshes nature reserve.

East Anglian Daily Times: Ipswich climate protester, 17-year old Thea Pettitt Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNIpswich climate protester, 17-year old Thea Pettitt Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

It’s been quite a month for environmental news both in East Anglia and on a national level.

We’ve seen the Extinction Rebellion protests in London, the David Attenborough documentary on climate and Greta Thunberg’s visit to the UK - events that have pushed environmental issues into the mainstream like never before.

East Anglian Daily Times: Activists from Extinction Rebellion Bury St Edmunds begin their march to London earlier thsi month. Picture: EXTINCTION REBELLIONActivists from Extinction Rebellion Bury St Edmunds begin their march to London earlier thsi month. Picture: EXTINCTION REBELLION (Image: Archant)

Protesters

Earlier in the month East Anglian reporters spoke to members of the Bury St Edmunds branch of Extinction Rebellion about their experiences in the capital while we also caught up with Thea Pettitt, a 17-year-old student from Northgate High School, who led Ipswich’s youth climate change protests.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jason Alexander recently found 6,000 discarded cigarette butts on a path close to Ipswich Hospital Picture: RUBBISH WALKS FACEBOOK PAGEJason Alexander recently found 6,000 discarded cigarette butts on a path close to Ipswich Hospital Picture: RUBBISH WALKS FACEBOOK PAGE (Image: Rubbish Walks)

Clean-ups

There’s been a number of clean-ups in Suffolk this month with volunteers removing more than 100kg of rubbish from the River Orwell estuary while an incredible 6,000 cigarette butts were picked up outside Ipswich Hospital in just two hours.

East Anglian Daily Times: Rewilding champion Hugh Somerleyton Picture: Ross BentleyRewilding champion Hugh Somerleyton Picture: Ross Bentley (Image: Archant)

Rewilding

Earlier in April we spoke to Lord Somerleyton who is not only in the process rewilding 1,000 acres of his estate on the Suffolk/Norfolk border but has also launched an initiative called Wild East, a project that aims to encourage farmers and landowners to manage more of their land with nature in mind.

Work also got underway at Suffolk’s Wildlife Trust’s Carlton Marshes nature reserve on the outskirts of Lowestoft to create an additional 400 acres of wetland and reed beds - invaluable habitat for the region’s wildlife.

East Anglian Daily Times: Diggers break ground at the site of the new multi-million pound nature reserve at Carlton Marshes. PICTURE: Jamie HoneywoodDiggers break ground at the site of the new multi-million pound nature reserve at Carlton Marshes. PICTURE: Jamie Honeywood (Image: Jamie Honeywood Archant Norwich Norfolk)

Wild words

The Trust also put a call out for people to come forward with any local wild words they might know. As part of a heritage project, the charity is aiming to build up a collection of colloquial, forgotten or local terms that describe our experiences amongst nature. So, if you know your ‘feetings’ from your ‘fizmer’ - get in touch with them.