30 by 30 in action

Over the past year BBOWT has led a scoping study for the Bernwood Forest, Otmoor and Upper Ray region. This 300km2 area lies between Oxford, Bicester and Aylesbury, and contains some important but increasingly fragmented habitats, such as ancient woodland and nationally scarce floodplain meadows.

Clusters of ancient woodland are relics of a medieval royal hunting forest now sitting within a farmed landscape. The remaining ancient hedgerows across the area support pockets of black and brown hairstreak butterflies but are hampered by inappropriate management. The River Ray, which runs through, is one of the most heavily modified tributaries of the Thames. In the Upper Ray, medieval ridgeand-furrow drainage systems still exist, making the area both archaeologically significant and ecologically important for locally-scarce wading birds.

Threats posed to the area’s wildlife range from the historic intensification of agriculture, ongoing development, and climate change. If we act now, we can reconnect fragmented wildlife hotspots such as the Bernwood Forest, the River Ray and the Otmoor Basin to set nature on the road to recovery, while also tackling climate change.

We have been working to see more land better managed for wildlife in this region long before we set our 30 by 30 target. This new ambition has renewed our focus to do as much as we can at this scale.

The project area includes BBOWT’s Bernwood Forest and Ray Valley Living Landscape, as well as a number of nature reserves, such as Whitecross Green Wood, the Upper Ray Meadows, and Finemere Wood. Since 1981 we have been buying and restoring floodplain meadows to add to our landholding of the Upper Ray be more nature that benefits everyone. Initiatives range from a farmer cluster group to ensure that a mosaic of really high-quality habitats stretch across the agricultural landscape so wildlife can move through connected areas; a hedges and edges project to create coherent ecological corridors and empower local

Meadows, and we have been working with neighbouring farmers to create a stronghold for wading birds like curlew and lapwing.

In 2021 we acquired Ludgershall Meadows (see page 10), which will be one of our first sites for habitat restoration to support Buckinghamshire Council and local developers achieve a net gain in biodiversity for their developments.

The council’s most recent scoping study, led by BBOWT, has input from government, NGOs, businesses, landowners, farmers, and community groups. With connectivity and resilience of ecosystems front of mind, this emerging partnership has been developing project concepts to help us build a giant jigsaw puzzle of sites to protect, restore and create. The result will communities to support nature’s recovery on their doorstep; and a woodland project to protect and restore ancient woodland sites in the northern Bernwood Forest. There is a longer-term aspiration to undertake an ambitious project to develop the Ray river valley into a nationally important wetland complex.

In early summer we will publish a call to action highlighting the enormous value of this region for wildlife and setting out our plans to work with others to safeguard and enhance the heritage of this special landscape. In the meantime, we are working with others to launch these projects over the next few years, so we can ensure a significant improvement in the connectivity and health of ecosystems across the region and achieve real progress towards our 30 by 30 ambition.