Celebrating Six Decades

Nature reserves at the heart of a nature recovery network. Erin McDaid, Head of Communications & Marketing, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.

2023 sees Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust mark our 60th Anniversary, and over the past six decades we have built up a unique suite of nature reserves covering the length and breadth of the county. Whilst much of our early focus was on saving the habitat that was to become the much-loved Attenborough Nature Reserve near Beeston, south of Nottingham, we also have a long history of activity in North Notts and much of our effort over the past decade has been invested in the Idle Valley Nature Reserve, our largest site, near Retford.

Over the past century, the perception and role of nature reserves has evolved. They are no longer seen as fragments of habitat to be fenced off and protected in the way you might conserve a museum piece. By the 1960s, our founding members recognised the educational and recreational value of wildlife areas - but there was a tendency to exclusivity.

When I joined the Trust in 1993 there was a quiet revolution taking place – with an increasingly vocal group, led by our former Chair and all-round greenspace champion, Tom Huggon, pushing for as much of our estate to be open to the public as possible. They believed that for people to be inspired to fight for nature, they had to have access to it. This approach won out, and our policy was changed, with all but a few fragments of our estate sensitively opened. As a result, as well as being havens for wildlife, our nature reserves are now visited and valued by hundreds of thousands of people each year. By welcoming visitors, more people can learn about and connect with nature, and we can grow the cohort of champions willing to stand up for wildlife.

Cattle at Idle valley, Agnes Kiemel.

Attenborough sit, Rob Pettifer.

Whilst still requiring careful management, larger sites such as Attenborough are better able to cope with visitor pressures and sites that are directly connected to other areas of habitat are more likely to see a positive movement of species. The benefits of scale are wonderfully demonstrated at our Idle Valley Nature Reserve which, at 375 hectares, is almost 70% larger that the better-known Attenborough. Sitting in a less developed area alongside the River Idle, it also presents more scope to work with neighbours to buffer and link the reserve and its wildlife to the wider landscape.

The scale of the reserve means we are more able to use natural management methods such as grazing with traditional breeds of sheep and cattle. We have also had the space to utilise beavers - renowned as nature’s wetland engineers - to help create more diverse and dynamic habitats to benefit everything from fish, frogs and invertebrates to ground nesting birds.

No matter how large, a nature reserve which sits in a barren landscape will succumb to external pressures such as climate change and pollution, making it vital that nature reserves alone are not seen as the solution to protecting our cherished yet threatened wildlife. To function well and to support nature’s recovery, they must sit in a landscape which is welcoming to wildlife. Our farmland, parks and gardens can and must all play a role.

By considering wildlife in how we care for these areas, including green spaces in our towns and cities, we can create an effective nature recovery network. In doing so we can embrace the true potential of our protected sites as engines to drive nature’s return.

Thanks to the passion and energy of our members, volunteers and staff over the past sixty years we now care for more than 40 nature reserves across the county. Summer is a wonderful time to be out and about enjoying them and as most people live within five miles of one of our sites, I would encourage you to check out the reserves on your doorstep, as well as those further afield.

Voulenteers play a big part i helping our staff care for our nature reserves. Erin McDaid.

Here in North Notts we have also got the lovely Daneshill Lakes wetlands – just down the road from Idle Valley – as well as a wonderful range of ancient woodlands, from Eaton and Gamston Woods, south of Retford to Dyscarr Wood, at Langold, North of Worksop. Further south, we have the tranquil Besthorpe Nature Reserve, which, like Idle Valley, is a restored sand and gravel complex teeming with birds and other wildlife. Sitting in the heart of the Trent Vale right next to the River Trent, about 45 minutes from Idle Valley, it is well worth a visit.

Nature Reserve Spotlight - Besthorpe

This restored area of former sand and gravel workings is home to a variety of birds and a fitting example of how former industrial sites can have a new lease of life as havens for wildlife. This site comprises two areas, north and south of Trent Lane. The northern end comprises three distinct habitat types; open water with islands, reedbeds and shingle. South of Trent Lane are two traditional Trent Valley wildflower meadows.

Mons Pool is an area of open water, reedbed and wet grassland. Features of interest include an unusual inland colony of nesting cormorants and an ancient heronry. The county’s first breeding little egrets were recorded at Besthorpe in 2013.

Sitting between the Trent side villages of Besthorpe and Collingham this 68-hectare site has a network of paths, boardwalks and viewing hides to enable visitors to get close to nature. The reserve is also situated on the Trent Vale Trail, an accessible route designed for walkers, cyclists, wheelchair users and pushchairs and is linked to National Cycle Route No 64. Key areas of the reserve are accessible via RADAR kissing gates and there are also wheelchair friendly viewing screens overlooking Mons Pool.

The reserve can be accessed on foot from Collingham, but the car park is on Trent Lane, Besthorpe, accessed off the A1133. Dogs are welcome on a short lead.

Details of our nature reserves including what wildlife you might expect to see can be found on our website at nottinghamshirewildlife.org/ nature-reserves

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Tel: 0115 958 8242 E-mail: info@nottswt.co.uk www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org

Bee Orchid - Gamston Wood, Alan West.