Vicky Fairs Wildlife Warden Coordinator
Hello, my name is Vicky, and I am the Coordinator for the Wildlife Warden Scheme set up by Action on Climate in Teignbridge (ACT). The Scheme was launched in October 2020 to help local wildlife survive the ecological and climate emergency. We currently have more than 100 Wildlife Wardens around the Teignbridge district. We offer training and support to anyone who would like to volunteer as a Wildlife Warden – we will help you with projects you would like to take on in your Parish and we may be able to put you in touch with other local volunteers. For more information about the scheme, please download this document and don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to become a Wildlife Warden or have any questions. My contact details can be found under ‘Contact’. Whether you would like to become a Wildlife Warden or not, you are welcome to use the resources on this website.
If you live outside Teignbridge, why not set up your own Wildlife Warden Scheme? We created this document which contains advice on how to do this. We would like to share our experiences so that there are Wildlife Warden Schemes across the country, and are happy to give some help!
You can also find advice through the Devon Local Nature Partnership’s initiative Wild About Devon. They have put together a community toolkit to help those who want to set up their own wildlife groups and schemes, and are also offering advice and support to Parish and Town Councils.
We would like to thank Flavio Winkler Ford, our Wildlife Warden Scheme Coordinator from October 2020 to February 2023, for his enormous help and enthusiasm getting our project up and running!
Many thanks to our funders – Devon Environment Foundation, the Nineveh Trust, Cllr Jackie Hook (DCC Locality Fund), Dartmoor National Park Authority, the Teignbridge Energy Community’s Community Fund and all individual donors. We would also like to thank everyone who has supported our scheme in other ways, as we couldn’t do it without you.
Richard Weaving was at the heart of wildlife conservation in Teignbridge for over 25 years, first as the Teignbridge District Council Ranger at Dawlish Warren and later as TDC’s Head of Countryside Management. Richard supported us Rangers when we had ‘great ideas’ – and one of them was starting a small Wildlife Warden Scheme, through which some of our expert Volunteers could share their knowledge out in the countryside. It was a popular and successful scheme, but budgets and the Ranger team shrank, so after a few years, it had to end… Sadly, around 2006 Richard was diagnosed with a particulalry fast-developing form of Parkinsons Disease, and had to retire early. When he died in 2019, his family donated the collection from his Memorial Service to help our new Teignbridge Wildlife Warden Scheme – a wonderful way to remember his many year’s of hard work for wildlife! Written by Audrey Compton, Action on Climate in Teignbridge’s Wildlife Warden and Ecology Lead – and a TDC Ranger from 1993-2008)
