On Wednesday March 17th, the City Branch of Herefordshire Wild Trust and Herefordshire Green Network joined together for a zoom presentation, with Andrew Nixon, Senior Conservation Manager of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, addressing an audience of over 100 people on the topic of Putting the County’s Wildlife into Recovery.
In a wide-ranging presentation, he took us through some of the work that the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is doing to restore our wildlife, putting the emphasis on connected landscapes to form a green network where flora and fauna can thrive without meeting hostile landscapes which limit their range. This was presented in the context of the three threats that we face, as perceived by The Wildlife Trusts: the climate crisis, ecological crisis and disconnect crises (the need to reconnect people with the natural world).
He outlined how mapping plays a crucial role in understanding where there is need to create wildlife friendly habitats to bridge gaps between isolated islands of habitat.
In a lively Q&A session which covered issues such as assessing how difficult it might be to improve certain landscapes and what happens to connectivity at the edges of the county, important issues were pursued – so, more food for thought.
If you missed it, you can watch the recording here.
An inspiring evening, and hopefully the first of many collaborations between HWT and HGN.
And as a concrete way of making an immediate impact towards some of the targets that Andrew discussed…
Have you ever had the chance to witness the drunken aerial dance of the delicate, and rare wood white butterfly? You can help to make that delightful experience less rare by donating to the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust campaign to purchase Ail Meadow. The meadow sits in the wildlife rich area of the Woolhope Dome, and managed for wildlife, it will form part of a wildlife network that gives species like the wood white, yellow hammers and black caps a landscape that allows them to flourish – and it will be a place for you to take a break and enjoy the antics of the wood white butterfly.
Anne Cotteringer, HWT City Branch & Wendy Ogden, HGN Administrator
Image credit Terry Whittaker/ 2020Vision
