Latest news with #DerbyshireWildlifeTrust
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Peak District ravine woodlands restored with 84,000 trees
Tens of thousands of trees have been planted to help restore the Peak District's "critically damaged" woodland five-year, £5m LIFE in the Ravines project has placed more than 84,000 native trees at the sites of ancient woodlands in Derbyshire "devastated" by ash dieback, specifically the Peak District Dales Special Area of Evans, woodland restoration manager for Natural England, said the scheme "shows what can be achieved when we work with nature rather than against it".The government organisation said it had restored up to a quarter of the region's damaged woodlands. A mix of native trees, including large and small-leaved lime and wych elm, have been planted to make the woodlands more resilient. Without the work, Natural England said "entire woodlands" would have been lost to ash dieback, the fungal disease that kills ash Evans said: "These restored ravine woodlands are truly unique habitats."By planting 84,000 trees, we're not just replacing what was lost to ash dieback - we're creating more diverse and resilient woodlands that will thrive for generations to come."Natural England added there had been "success" with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust-managed sites, with 16,000 trees planted in the Wye Valley including Cramside, Cheedale, and Millers Dale. Kyle Winney, living landscape officer for the trust, said: "Although it's devastating to see the effects of ash dieback, it has provided us an opportunity."Seeds collected from existing trees within the ravines are being grown by specialist nurseries and community groups. This approach "ensures planted trees can thrive in the challenging conditions of steep, rocky limestone terrain", Natural England added.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bid to bring wild black grouse back to Derbyshire's Peak District
A partnership is being formed for a conservation project to reintroduce an endangered bird back to the hills of the Peak grouse are on the RPSB's endangered species red list as populations have been declining in the UK for decades due to threats such as habitat loss and intensive land is hoped that the work led by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derbyshire County Council could see the black, white and red birds brought back to the uplands by Savage, landscape recovery manager with the trust, visited Wales this month to visit a project where birds are bred to be released into the wild. Mr Savage said the birds can play an "important role" in the ecosystem of the Peak District's said they "act as natural graziers pruning moorland plants like heather and bilberry" and eat "herbs like sorrel, buttercup and marigold found in unimproved pastures" and will "gorge" on also eat berries which helps to spread seeds in the autumn. 'Grounded in hope' But to make a black grouse population viable, work to create the conditions needed has to be carried out in unison by councils, businesses, landowners, land managers and other trust said it was early days in the Mr Savage said a partnership is being established "that's evidence-led, ecologically sound, and grounded in hope" to support the birds. The plan forms part of the first Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Derby and Derbyshire, which highlights the opportunities to establish the likes of black grouse, pine martens, red-backed shrike and beavers, and help struggling species such as adder, common toads, Leisler's bats, water voles and white-clawed the wider strategy earlier this year, Derbyshire's environment lead councillor Carolyn Renwick said nature"needs our help" and that "we need to take action now to protect our environment for tomorrow".Mr Savage said in terms of black grouse, populations of more than 100 must be established, to make the colonies resilient and to encourage birds to migrate to other areas to said: "With the right conditions and community support, we believe this iconic bird can once again be part of our thriving upland landscapes."
BBC News
07-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Ilkeston golf course rewilding project nears completion
A new nature reserve created on the former greens and fairways of a municipal golf course will be opened to the public later this ribbon is set to be cut on the 25-acre Pewit Coronation Meadows rewilding project on 24 June followed by a guided to Ilkeston's disused Pewit municipal golf course began in August 2023 to create a patchwork of "open mosaic habitats" to encourage a variety of Erewash Borough Council-owned course had shut in 2022 due to "substantial financial operating losses". More than 1,500 trees and shrubs have been planted including oaks and sweet chestnuts, said the council. A network of new paths and picnic benches have been installed, and wildflower butterfly and bug banks will link to the wider Nutbrook Trail plus the green spaces of Straws Bridge, Manor Floods and Pewit £500,000 project has been funded by central government and businesses involved in the redevelopment of the old Stanton council said Natural England and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust had both backed the February 2024, the council had planned to sell a nine-acre slice of the site for housing but after a campaign said the development proposal "ignored the wishes of local people" a decision was made to rewild the entire site.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
How native breeds 'restore and protect' landscapes
Reintroducing native grazing breeds to landscapes can have multiple benefits, including reducing the risk of wildfires, according to Derbyshire Wildlife Highland cattle and eight Exmoor ponies are being introduced to the Trent Valley in Derbyshire as part of a rewilding project intended to restore habitats and increase hope is their behaviour will mimic that of their ancestors, such as aurochs, elk and wild horses, creating so-called "mosaic landscapes" where wildlife can the area has not been affected by recent wildfires, the trust says the animals' grazing habits can help create natural fire breaks in places more at risk. The project has been kickstarted with almost £330,000 in funding from the National Highways "Network for Nature" programme. Wilder grazing assistant Alex Fisher works alongside 11 trained volunteers to acclimatise the new additions to their handlers before they are allowed to roam free. It has taken almost a year for the Exmoor ponies to become comfortable with approaching Fisher says he has to tread a fine line between getting the animals accustomed to being handled, while making sure they remain self-sufficient."These are the perfect lawnmowers," he says. "They know exactly which type of vegetation to eat and graze from."As an example, he points out that their current field is still covered in buttercups, which the ponies domesticated cattle, they nibble the grass short while leaving the roots and soil intact. And they benefit nature from both ends."We don't give them any medication or supplementary feed," Mr Fisher says. "That would come through in their faeces and kill small insects like the dung beetle, which can help heal nature."The ponies had no problem coping with snow on the ground last winter."They used the hooves to pull back the snow and graze the vegetation. We were really happy with how they were over winter." Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Living Landscape Officer Katie Last watched this year's record-breaking wildfires with agrees with Met Office scientists who say the changing climate is increasing the risk of fires, and says restoring landscapes with the aid of native breeds can help."Large grazing herbivores can help create a resilient landscape to wildfires," she says."The trampling and the grazing of vegetation will remove the existing fuel for the fires, and also [it] creates those open gaps and areas of bare ground that will stop the spread of wildfires."But she says that is just one of the many benefits we gain from introducing large herbivores as part of rewilding projects."The way that they manage our grasslands, they're much better at capturing carbon in the ground. They don't overgraze, which gives the soil time to regenerate."Ms Last says because the cattle and ponies graze at different levels, they also remove vegetation and encourage regrowth, which in turn keeps more carbon in the soil. Ecosystem engineers In the past the cattle and ponies would have moved naturally through landscapes as they were hunted by predators such as lynx and the Trust uses GPS collars and geo-fencing to train the Highland cattle and keep them moving."We'd like to see our grazing expanded across the whole of Derbyshire," says Ms Last. "[These breeds] are ecosystem engineers. They create fantastic, diverse mosaic habitat which boosts wildlife and creates a resilient eco-system overall."The project is part of wider moves by Wildlife Trusts to reintroduce missing species to benefit nature.
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
The ‘lost species' hunted to extinction set to return to the UK
Elk could be reintroduced to the UK after a 3,000-year absence, following a rewilding plan in the East Midlands. Rewilding Britain granted £15,000 to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Wildlife Trusts for feasibility studies. Elk, hunted to extinction in the Neolithic era, were once widespread in the UK. Janice Bradley, from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (NWT), told the BBC: "They are one of our lost species. The project aims to reintroduce Elk to their natural habitat, using the successful reintroduction of beavers as a model. Public acceptance and habitat suitability are key challenges, with initial plans involving cohabitation with beavers in enclosures before eventual release into the Trent valley.
