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SOUTH AND SOUTH WEST ENGLAND - CONSERVATION

Somerset

In the central south-west part of England lies Somerset, a county of contrasting vistas and steeped in mystical legend (and home of the Glastonbury Festival). The Somerset Levels and Moors have traditionally played a vital role for British wildlife which is increasingly under serious threat. Plants such as the Marsh Orchid and Yellowflag plus various damselflies and dragonflies can be spotted. Also birds such as Kingfishers, Warblers, Hobbys and of course Otters. These and many other species native to the area need urgent assistance to help bring their numbers back up. The Somerset Wildlife Trust are raising funds to re-nature some of the county's former peat extraction areas, which over the years have displaced much of the Levels' natural ecosystem. The Trust's mission is to create "lush wetland where wildlife can flourish". Atelier Laibach is helping to support this project through sales donations. The sale of pieces made by Kerstin Laibach based on stones gathered in this region, plus wedding and partnership rings made for Somerset couples, directly benefits this important re-naturing work of Somerset Wildlife Trust. Re-naturing plays a vital role in combating the damage caused to the Earth by the extraction industry (most notably the unnecessary mining of gold).

Kerstin Laibach encourages customers to donate directly to your local wildlife trust.
(See also the Laibach atelier links page for more details on projects directly supported)

Dorset

The English county of Thomas Hardy's Dorset is a picture-postcard of natural rolling vistas; from the craggy and revealing Jurassic coastline (a World Heritage site) to the sheltered waters of Poole Harbour, Brownsea Island and Studland, and inland to the misty vales of Blackmore and Cranbourne Chase.

DORSET: STUDLAND BAY
Along towards Studland Bay, rare spiny seahorses are at risk from the anchors of pleasure craft destroying the seahorse habit amongst the eelgrass beds. The Seahorse Trust researches the environment and welfare of globally threatened Seahorses and is responsible for overseeing and working with a number of research projects around the world. The Trust is run solely on charitable donations and the sale of pieces made by Kerstin Laibach based on stones gathered in the Dorset and Devon region, plus wedding and partnership rings made for Dorset and Devon couples directly benefit the seahorse protection projects in the Studland Bay area.

A Spiny Seahorse in Studland Bay clinging to a blade of eelgrass.

The anchors and chains of simple pleasure craft is one example of the serious damage caused by our activities and exploitation of the world's oceans. On an industrial scale, many marine habitats are destroyed by fishing trawlers (bottom trawling) which indiscriminately scour the seabead leaving behind hundreds of thousands of square nautical miles of devastation. Now, the jewellery industry has dramatically increased the scale of sea floor damage with the introduction of giant diamond mining ships. Every twenty-four hours, such ships suck up enough material from the sea floor to fill fifteen thousand container lorries, whereby 400 tons of gravel are processed per hour to extract the diamonds. The ship must accumulate twenty thousand carats of diamonds every 4 weeks, and subsequently a baked bean size can of diamonds represents over twenty thousand tons of ocean floor, scooped up and processed. This new assault on earth's resources by the jewellery extraction industry means the destruction of thousands of square kilometers of complex sea floor habitats. Ocean sediment is entirely displaced and homogenised, an action which is known to alter and cause serious detrimental effects to diverse marine ecosystems. Like the result of all dredging and trawling processes, the sea bed is left baron and void of life. And when or if life does return, the fragile ecology is changed forever.
Although Atelier Laibach does not use newly mined diamonds or precious metals, our comparably small contribution in helping to protect marine habitats though our donations to the Seahorse Trust is quite literally a drop in the ocean ... but for the sake of the future of the shy and fragile seahorse, just as important. Kerstin Laibach encourages customers to also donate directly to the Seahorse Trust.
(See also our links page for more details on projects we directly support)

Sea floor ecosystems are being destroyed the world over by fishing and extraction industries.

DORSET: THE ARNE PENINSULAR AND BROWNSEA ISLAND
The Arne Peninsular is a beautiful landscape that overlooks Poole Harbour. This threatened habitat is a mixture of heath, woodland and marshland and home to a variety of wildlife, notably birds in constant residence such as the Dartford Warbler and the Stonechat. There are also many transitory birds such as the Nightjar and the Avocet. The RSPB manage the area, to encourage breeding and to conserve the area for future generations.
The biggest island in Poole Harbour is Brownsea, home to one of the few UK habitats of the red squirrel. Brownsea is part owned by the National Trust with a nature reserve leased to The Dorset Wildlife Trust, where a host of migratory birds breed in the summer.

Across Poole Harbour towards Arne from Brownsea Island

DORSET: CHESIL BEACH
Chesil Beach is an 18 mile long tombolo (a bar of land with water each side) and the largest in the UK. The most prominent features of Chesil are the "hills" of shingle and the relentless sound of the surf crashing against its steep shore. Areas of Chesil beach are closed to the public during breeding seasons when the lichen, moss and salt marsh plants near and amongst the shingle play host to nesting birds such as Ringed Plovers, Reed Buntings, Oystercatchers and others.
On the mainland side of Chesil bank are the quite lagoons. The Fleet Lagoon is one of North West Europe's most important marine reserves and home to a variety of indigenous species of flora and fauna (some becoming endangered) as well as transient species such as migratory birds, including Pochard, Gadwell, Pintails, common and little Terns.
The Fleet lagoon is also home to the famous Mute Swans of Abbotsbury.

DORSET: LYME BAY
The Jurassic and Triassic curve of Lyme Bay stretches between South West Dorset and East Devon. Explore the hills or walk the beaches near seaside towns and small hamlets such as Seatown, Charmouth, Lyme Regis and Beer to experience some of the most breathtaking vistas of seaside England.

Durdle Door

Overlooking Man-o-war Bay

DORSET: DURDLE DOOR
A familiar landmark for anyone who embraces the rugged beauty of the Dorset Coast. A huge natural rock promontory of Purbeck limestone and Portland Stone, of which one end arches out to sea. The wildlife here is protected and Durdle Door is just along from Kimmeridge Bay, home to the Dorset Wildlife Trust's Marine Centre.

Devon and Cornwall

Further west and towards the most southerly tip of England lay the counties of Devon and Cornwall, where balmy coastlines and tranquil estuaries, warmed by the Gulf Stream, harbour important sea life.

CORNWALL: THE ROSELAND PENINSULAR
... is one of the most pastoral corners of mainland Britain and a wildlife enthusiasts' hotspot for sighting dolphins, porpoises and basking sharks along its coastline. Undersea can be found a few remaining habitats of rare corals, while Inland and along the estuarine eco-system of hidden creeks and mudflats you may see Greenshanks, Peregrine Falcons, Black-tailed Godwits and Otters.
As well as working towards marine wildlife protection around the Cornish coast, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust cares for 55 nature reserves across the county.

Low tide in an estuary of Roseland

*How Laibach Helps
When you buy a Laibach piece, fifteen percent of the profit is awarded to selected conservation / wildlife protection organisations in areas of South or West England, often near where the main stone(s) in your piece were gathered. If a piece does not include stones, fifteen percent of profits is placed into a general fund and distributed evenly to qualifying conservation and wildlife projects relative to Laibach creations. Please see more about Laibach's wildlife and environmental commitments here.

A NOTE ABOUT THE BRITISH STONES IN LAIBACH PIECES:
The names given to Laibach pieces with British stones are sometimes place names. Such names do not reflect the actual source from where the stone in the piece was gathered. Where applicable, all stones used are permissibly gathered or occasionally chosen from an inherited 50 year old small collection of pebbles once gathered from around southern areas of the UK.

Back to South and West England Collection Menu
Laibach's commitment to wildlife and the environment
Information on the Laibach gathering area of the Southern Black Forest, Lake Constance and the Three-Country Corner
Information on Laibach donations to Gorongosa National Park, Africa