We welcome Tricia Hoskings, who steps into the demanding role of helping me with school and youth work, community projects, Fox Club and Watch, publicity, responding to the constant stream of requests for advice and assistance from individuals and organisations, and giving education and publicity support to other staff and members of the Trust - not forgetting, of course, to set aside three weeks a year in our diaries to produce the Trust magazine. You won't be bored, Tricia!

On track

Imagination is a hallmark of our educational work and we met our match when the Friends of Bude Infants' School came to us with plans for a "Rail Trail" on their school grounds. FOBIS members Richard Smith and Neil Tibbitts had designed railway-themed play structures which would take children on an imaginary journey through a range of habitats.

We duly planned the habitats to maximise the project's wildlife value and helped FOBIS to add a Local Projects Fund grant to the money raised by itself and through the Trust's School Grounds Appeal. With a lot of back-breaking work from the parents, a team from the Prince's Trust, Lorna Crewes and myself, the Rail Trail has now become a reality.

Our big project for 1998 is at Bishop Cornish Primary School in Saltash, where the County Environmental Trust, which administers Landfill Tax grants, has given us over £10,000 to redevelop the school grounds. We hope that money from the Local Projects Fund, Whitbread, Volvo and our School Grounds Appeal will fund two other large projects this year, and we continue to help many other schools on a smaller scale.

Pulling power

Our regular press releases have maintained a high media profile for the Trust, although limits on staff time mean that we can never publicise as many issues as we would like. We are always on the lookout for unusual stories, or opportunities to photograph animals easily, which we can readily use to our advantage.

Much of our educational work brings the Trust to public attention in other ways. Our Fox Club and Watch events, for example, draw in many non-members - both adult and junior. In the vast majority of cases they are very well attended, which is our reward for presenting such a varied and imaginative programme. A number of Trust branches have co-operated with us recently in organising family events, with particular successes in Launceston and Tamar. This is a great way of increasing your attendances and sharing the effort.

Watch out for our watery events in Wildlife Week and expect a packed programme over the rest of the year.

Mark Nicholson