Notts Wildlife Trust
A Lot Going On ‘Up North’ The profile of our Attenborough Nature Reserve on the southern edge of the county sometimes gives a false sense that Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is Nottingham centric when in practice nothing could be further from the truth. Erin McDaid, Head of Communications & Marketing, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, tells us more... This image: Emperor Dragonfly cpourtesy of Jacqui Grafton. Top: Dormouse, courtesy of Michael Walker. Page opposite from left: Treswell Coppice compartment courtesy of Erin McDaid. Turtle Dove courtesy of John Smith Postcards: Sowing rewards (c) Alicia Barrat. Harry the hare (c) Fiona Evans.
P
rior to the pandemic the success of our café, shop and events programme run from Attenborough actually made a healthy contribution towards our overall charitable income, and therefore supported our work right across the county. In terms of our sites, Idle Valley Nature Reserve is by far our largest and is the base for managing the rest of our sites across the north of the county but our work in north Notts stretches back far beyond the opening of the Idle Valley Nature Reserve. The Trust first opened an office in Retford some 20 years ago this year, at a time when final negotiations to purchase Misson Carr Nature Reserve, formerly part of the Ministry of Defence’s Misson Bombing Range, were still to be completed and the acquisition of the whole Idle Valley Nature Reserve was almost a decade away, but our commitments in the north and the range of exciting nature conservation opportunities made it clear that a new base was absolutely necessary to protecting local wildlife and unlocking the areas natural potential. Whilst the Trust had a county-wide focus from our humble beginnings in the 1960s, our tangible impact in the north became evident with the leasing of Clarborough Tunnel Nature Reserve in 1971. This was swiftly followed by our first ever reserve purchase at Treswell Wood in 1973 and subsequent campaigns to save and acquire other ancient woodlands such as Eaton, Gamston and Kirton Woods and fragments of wild flower habitat that would become our Ashton’s and West Burton Meadow Nature Reserves. However, our work in the Idle Valley over the past five decades - including the creation of our largest reserve – has been central to our efforts to secure a wilder Nottinghamshire for all. From small beginnings with a lease for part of the Idle Washlands in 1982 to the acquisitions of Chainbridge Wood in 1989, we progressed to larger projects including working with Hanson Aggregate’s to restore Newington Quarry. In time we would of course acquire the areas covered by Sutton & Lound Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to establish the huge Idle Valley Nature Reserve. Prior to this purchase in 2009 we took the ambitious step of buying land adjacent to Belmoor Lake to facilitate the development of the Rural Learning Centre by North Notts College. This bold decision would eventually lead us to relocate our northern office from the centre of Retford to the reserve itself.
22
