Secret spaces by Jamie Bello

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SECRET

SPACES

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Unlocking nature’s hidden havens

Dear <<Salutaion>> Please help us look after some very special secret spaces We all love those special places where we can find nature thriving – a hedgerow alongside a field, a quiet churchyard, or maybe even a flower-rich roadside verge. But who treasures and takes care of these places? The Wildlife Trust BCN cares for 126 nature reserves – these are unique and special havens alive with plants, birds, mammals and insects, and of course we will continue to protect them. But nature reserves alone are not enough. Wildlife needs room to move, especially in the face of climate change. Forecasts predict that climate change over the next 50 years will force wildlife to shift 250 miles north to remain in the same temperature range. The latest Government policy and thinking is that the traditional method of protecting and conserving individual existing sites is no longer sufficient. We need to adopt a landscape-scale approach, restoring and creating habitats around and between our existing nature reserves. Across our three counties are Local Wildlife Sites – valuable areas of land for wildlife that have no legal protection but survive through the goodwill of landowners, hard work of conservationists or just by luck. They come in a range of shapes and sizes – wildflower meadows, ancient woodlands, wetlands, and old quarries. We’ve identified approximately 1,660 Local Wildlife Sites across our region, filling in the gaps between nature reserves and providing crucial corridors and stepping stones – secret spaces for wildlife. By making a donation you’ll help to: n Mend fences and gates and install pens and water supplies to allow beneficial grazing n Restore sites to a condition that can then be easily maintained n Highlight the wildlife value of sites to their owners and encourage them to continue positive management.

We want to make sure that these hidden havens are there to support the butterflies, bees, birds and bats that call them home, but we can only do this with your help.

Image © Wildlife Trust BCN

Our dedicated Wildlife Site Officers, Matt, Jess and Laura, give expert advice to landowners about managing their land for nature, as well as offering wildlife surveys as part of their regular monitoring programme and providing information about sources of grant funding.

Bee orchid

YES, I’D LIKE TO HELP KEEP SECRET SPACES SPECIAL <<Name>> <<Address 1>> <<Address 2>> <<Address 3>> <<Town>> <<County>> <<Postcode>> <<PV Key>> <<Source Code>>

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Help local wildlife even more I am a UK taxpayer and I would like all donations made to the Wildlife Trust BCN in the last four years and in future to be treated as Gift Aid donations. I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year (other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify). I understand the Wildlife Trust BCN will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give and this may be used for any of the Trust’s work.

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Our favourite Secret Spaces “ I’ve worked with the owner of Crowlands Moat in Cottenham, just outside Cambridge. The moat contains a large population of great crested newts. These handsome animals are the UK’s largest species of newt; the male has a jagged crest along his spine during the breeding season, and both sexes have bright orange bellies with unique patterns of black spots. They have suffered major declines due to habitat loss, so breeding populations like this one are rare. We’ve been surveying the site for four years, gathering evidence to justify its selection as a Local Wildlife Site – it was finally selected in January 2014.”

Jess

“ The old quarry area at Sandy Spinney Quarry contains areas of wildflower-rich calcareous grassland including an impressive display of orchids and 13 nationally scarce insects. The grassland was in danger of being lost to scrub. I worked with the landowner and Natural England to enrol the site into a Higher Level Stewardship scheme, securing its long-term future for wildlife through a programme of scrub clearance and grazing.

Matt

“ Bushmead Meadow is an excellent example of a well-managed wildlife site. It’s a hay meadow of the nationally declining lowland calcareous grassland habitat and hosts a range of species: meadowsweet, ragged robin and marsh thistle in wetter areas, and bee, pyramidal and common spotted orchids, cowslips, dropwort, field scabious, pepper saxifrage and quaking grass in the high-lying areas. I run occasional guided walks here to demonstrate what a fantastic site for wildlife it is.”

Laura

Please donate now to help us safeguard the future of secret spaces like these. With best wishes

Oliver Burke Director of Living Landscapes

SECRET

SPACES “Recognition of Sulby Gardens as a Wildlife Site by the Wildlife Trust demonstrates siginificant support for the habitat improvements being carried out…I feel very proud that these 12 acres of Northa mptonshire are making a contribution towards the conservation work of the Wildlife Trust.” – Alison Lowe, landowner. The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, The Manor House, Broad Street, Great Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6DH. Registered in England 2534145. Reg. charity no. 1000412

Visit www.wildlifebcn.org/secretspaces

Great crested newt

Call us on 01954 713543 to make a donation by card Post your donation using the form overleaf in the Freepost envelope provided Your support will help to save Secret Spaces and may also be used to help fund other vital wildlife work across the three counties. Some part / all of your donation to this appeal could be used to make a Contributing Third Party (CTP) payment to a landfill operator to secure a grant through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Text TRUST12 to 70707 to give £5

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Pyramidal orchid, ragged robin and cowslip