Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
We have many projects for wildlife and communities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Here are two examples of our work and how we are achieving the Big Vision here.
Project: Woodland Linkage
Area: Around Gamlingay, Waresley and Hardwick
Habitats: Woodland
Key species: Barbastelle bat, flowers such as oxlip and bluebell
Cambridgeshire has fewer woodlands than almost any other county in England, due to its history of intensive agriculture. It's vitally important to not only to protect and enhance what we have left, but also to create new woodlands in the county.
Over the years, the Trust has managed to save some of the best remaining woods and these nature reserves are free for the public to visit, all year round. There are some superb plants and animals that rely on Cambridgeshire’s remaining woods to survive, such as dormice, the rare barbastelle bat and the lemon-yellow flowers of oxlip. In addition, some of the UK’s best displays of bluebells still exhilarate all who visit the remaining areas of woodland in the county.
The Wildlife Trust is also working to link together a ring of woodlands in the south of the county, near Gamlingay, Waresley and the Gransdens. A few years ago, the Trust embarked on the ambitious Woodland Linkage Project, to buy areas of farmland adjacent to, and linking, some of these sites in order to restore woodland and enable wildlife to move about. The Trust is also working with neighbouring landowners and the local authority to encourage wildlife-friendly land management, to create corridors, such as hedgerows, to connect up the best wildlife sites.
Project: Peterborough Community Work
County: Cambridgeshire
Area: Peterborough
Habitats; Urban woodlands, wetlands and meadows
Key species: Great crested newt, bluebell, kingfisher
The Wildlife Trust’s commitment to protecting all wildlife may be well known, but the charity is also committed to engaging with all sections of local communities too. For wildlife to have a future, particularly in urban areas, it is important that local people understand, feel part of, and value wildlife and green spaces.
The Trust manages several excellent nature reserves in and around Peterborough, including Thorpe Wood, an ancient woodland full of bluebells right in the urban heart of the city. Working with community groups, local schools and other agencies, the Trust is having great success with events and engagement programmes targeting harder to reach groups as well as the wider population of the city. As a consequence, the conservation volunteer teams are at full capacity, the nature reserves are being enjoyed and appreciated by a diverse range of people and a broad cross section of people are working together to improve the environment of the city.
The Trust’s community work in Peterborough is a great example of how interacting with wildlife and green spaces can really benefit the quality of life of the whole community and improve social cohesion and participation.
Make Smart Savings now:
Find out more about The Wildlife Trusts work across the Eastern Region: Our Big Vision
Visit the website of The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough.
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