Latest news with #RoseLewis
BBC News
27-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Loneliest owl' keeps calling for a mate at Rickmansworth farm
An owl whose calls for a new mate have gone unanswered has been dubbed the "UK's loneliest owl" by an agricultural male little owl, which lives on Woodoaks Farm near Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, close to the M25, has been calling out several times a day."It is devastating to see him all alone calling out from his perch day after day, but getting no response," said Rose Lewis, who leads the team at the farm on behalf of the Soil little owl species has been in decline by nearly 25% since 1995 and the charity said this case highlights "the fragility of his species". The Woodoaks owl has been calling out following the loss of two mates and their owlets since first mate died after being caught on a barbed wire fence, whilst the death of the second was unexplained. "We're surrounded by quite urban centres so we're a little isolated island - so the little owl calling and calling and calling earlier this year – there's no other owl that could hear because of the noise and disconnection," Ms Lewis added. Liam Edwards, co-founder of L&L Wildlife Monitoring, said: "We're already seeing numbers decline in the Royal Parks because of the numbers of jackdaws and parakeets. "Anything we can do in order to help working with landowners, working with farmers, creating those homes and habitats, hopefully those numbers will be up on the rise."Woodoaks Farm was donated to the Soil Association by Sally Findlay in 2020, and the charity has been working to create habitats and convert it to fully organic wants to raise £2.5m to help protect the wildlife at the farm and build an education hub. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
West Australian
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- West Australian
Driving Change: Wunan helps overcome barriers to licences in the Kimberley
The biggest obstacle to getting her driver's licence for Kununurra woman Rose Lewis was simply getting behind the wheel. With no family car, the road to 50 hours of supervised driving — and her licence — seemed like a long and winding one. But East Kimberley Aboriginal organisation Wunan changed that by offering her driving lessons from her workplace at its head office where she was employed as a receptionist. 'I never had a car for a long time like my family didn't, and so the drivers would actually pick me up from my work and take me out, which is really great,' she said. Ms Lewis is one of 1,637 people across WA who have obtained their driver's licence through the Department of Transport's driving access and equity program. DAEP supports people who face barriers in the licensing process to obtain their driver's licence, develop safe driving habits and improve their employment opportunities. Many learner drivers struggle to obtain a licence because they do not have regular access to a vehicle to complete the required 50 hours of supervised driving, or they can't afford a driving instructor to teach them. The DAEP provides grants to community-based organisations to deliver projects on the ground, improving access to appropriately licensed vehicles, driving supervisors and instructors and providing road rules education and assistance with identity documents. Assistant transport minister Jessica Stojkovski said the program did not just offer participants the keys to a car. 'The keys are actually to opportunity,' she said 'Getting your driver's licence, it's not just your photo and details on an ID. It's the capacity to be able to go out and get a job. 'Also the work Wunan are doing along with the driving instructing is important. That is, getting some of those health checks done, making sure that their vision and their hearing is good, working through any illiteracy issues as well.' Ms Stojkovski said some family and domestic violence refuges were referring women to Wunan to obtain their driver's licences so they can have greater access to services and job opportunities. 'I think the impact of this program is widely felt,' she said. Almost $26 million in grant funding has been delivered through the program to 29 organisations across WA since it was established in 2022. That includes five organisations in the Kimberley with 1,258 people participating in the program and, so far, 488 licences being issued.
