Creating a
WILDER
WIGHT With its unique location at the southern extremity of the UK, the Isle of Wight is an important haven for wildlife – but it could be a paradise. We just need to unlock its wild potential.
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Putting nature in recovery
AUSTIN MORLEY
he world’s islands are special, almost sacred, places for nature. Think Madagascar, Australia, and the Galapagos. These chunks of rock, cut adrift of the mainland, often host unique wildlife given the natural barrier formed by the sea. And despite being just 23 miles wide, the Isle of Wight is no exception. This, England’s largest island, is a wildlife haven. In 2019, the Isle of Wight became a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, joining a global network of outstanding cultural and ecological locations. The Island boasts a diverse mosaic of habitats, from ancient woodland and chalk downs to maritime cliffs and saltmarshes, and supports over 10,000 species, including some found nowhere else in the UK. Already this humble isle punches above its weight in terms of its biodiversity but it can also achieve so much more. Here, we outline our plan for a Wilder Wight to encourage even more nature to thrive on the Island – because our future must be wilder.
We need to deliver landscape-scale nature recovery with at least 30% of land and sea actively managed for nature across the whole Island by 2030. More space for nature The Trust now manages 15 nature reserves on the Island, covering 650 acres. Our reserves provide vital refuge for vulnerable species, such as water voles, dormice, snipe, woodcock and rare dragonflies, and are central to our plans to create a Wilder Wight. We aim to continue expanding and connecting our network of reserves by acquiring and improving marginal habitats and poor-quality farmland, such as floodplains. We’ll work alongside those who share our vision for a Wilder Wight, including the Isle of Wight AONB, local authorities, conservation organisations like the National Trust and RSPB, and private landowners. These partnerships will create an Island-wide Nature Recovery Network to provide bigger, better and more joined up spaces for nature – doubling the space for wildlife to reach the 30% goal. Together, we’ll get nature working again, making sure our wetlands are wet and reversing declines in wildlife on land and at sea. Bringing back missing species We want to bring back missing keystone species to restore the wider ecosystem and create a more climate resilient landscape where wildlife can adapt and thrive. The recent reintroduction of white-tailed sea eagles has blazed a trail of success across the Island’s skies. We hope to return other lost native species, including beaver (read more on page 18), cirl bunting and chough. The Trust is also supporting the conservation of rare species already existing on the Island, including the Glanville fritillary butterfly, the reddish buff moth and endangered field cow-wheat, all of which have a foothold on the Island yet exist almost nowhere else in Britain.
Left: The Island could support a cirl bunting recovery.
Wild Life | Spring 2022
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