SalopPhil
Well-known member
Just recived from the wildlife trust press office. Thought it might be of interest.
On Monday May 14th HRH The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, and The Duchess of Cornwall will open the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s new Lower Moor Farm (LMF) nature reserve, near Oaksey, north Wiltshire.
Lower Moor Farm is the Trust’s ground-breaking new initiative that will take nature conservation onto a bolder scale than ever before in Wiltshire in recognition that wildlife needs larger areas of good habitat if it is to survive the pressures of climate change.
“The purchase of this reserve is a really important step towards addressing the needs of wildlife in the face of climate change,” says the Trust’s Director, Dr Gary Mantle MBE.
“We are absolutely delighted that Their Royal Highnesses are coming to open the reserve and its visitor centre, which together provide a wonderful example of a wildlife-rich, low-carbon future.”
The 96-acre site was bought in 2005 and now forms the gateway to four neighbouring Trust reserves – Swillbrook Lakes, Clattinger Farm, Oaksey Moor Farm Meadow, and Sandpool, for which it is currently fundraising.
Together they form an important mosaic of wildlife habitats - lakes, ponds, streams, ancient hedges and meadows – which play a strategic part in the Trust’s vision of creating a whole wildlife-rich landscape in the upper Thames catchment.
LMF is a unique site, both for its wildlife and because it addresses broader environmental issues within a visitor centre that sets a gold standard for sustainable construction and which showcases lots of ideas to inspire visitors to lead a greener lifestyle.
The biggest of its three lakes, Mallard Lake, is one of only two lakes in Wiltshire to be designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and contains rare stoneworts - aquatic plants that will only live in exceptionally clear and clean waters.
The waters are awash with water fowl, and otters, water voles, dragonflies, rare butterflies, and nightingales all make the reserve their home.
The visitor centre, bird hides, paths and even an otter holt were built using sustainably-sourced timber or recycled waste materials. The centre has solar panels and sun pipes for heating and lighting, with additional heating provided by a carbon-neutral biomass stove.
It provides habitat for wildlife within its walls with bat roosts behind the natural larch panelling, and a wildflower meadow on the roof sown with seed from Clattinger Farm.
LMF is located in the heart of north Wiltshire’s major leisure and tourist area, but this reserve will be a magnet for the local community too. The centre will form the hub of a packed programme of activities for schools this term, run jointly with the Cotswold Water Park Society. There will be fossil days, orienteering, minibeast safaris and environmental art days to name just a few.
On Monday May 14th HRH The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, and The Duchess of Cornwall will open the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s new Lower Moor Farm (LMF) nature reserve, near Oaksey, north Wiltshire.
Lower Moor Farm is the Trust’s ground-breaking new initiative that will take nature conservation onto a bolder scale than ever before in Wiltshire in recognition that wildlife needs larger areas of good habitat if it is to survive the pressures of climate change.
“The purchase of this reserve is a really important step towards addressing the needs of wildlife in the face of climate change,” says the Trust’s Director, Dr Gary Mantle MBE.
“We are absolutely delighted that Their Royal Highnesses are coming to open the reserve and its visitor centre, which together provide a wonderful example of a wildlife-rich, low-carbon future.”
The 96-acre site was bought in 2005 and now forms the gateway to four neighbouring Trust reserves – Swillbrook Lakes, Clattinger Farm, Oaksey Moor Farm Meadow, and Sandpool, for which it is currently fundraising.
Together they form an important mosaic of wildlife habitats - lakes, ponds, streams, ancient hedges and meadows – which play a strategic part in the Trust’s vision of creating a whole wildlife-rich landscape in the upper Thames catchment.
LMF is a unique site, both for its wildlife and because it addresses broader environmental issues within a visitor centre that sets a gold standard for sustainable construction and which showcases lots of ideas to inspire visitors to lead a greener lifestyle.
The biggest of its three lakes, Mallard Lake, is one of only two lakes in Wiltshire to be designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and contains rare stoneworts - aquatic plants that will only live in exceptionally clear and clean waters.
The waters are awash with water fowl, and otters, water voles, dragonflies, rare butterflies, and nightingales all make the reserve their home.
The visitor centre, bird hides, paths and even an otter holt were built using sustainably-sourced timber or recycled waste materials. The centre has solar panels and sun pipes for heating and lighting, with additional heating provided by a carbon-neutral biomass stove.
It provides habitat for wildlife within its walls with bat roosts behind the natural larch panelling, and a wildflower meadow on the roof sown with seed from Clattinger Farm.
LMF is located in the heart of north Wiltshire’s major leisure and tourist area, but this reserve will be a magnet for the local community too. The centre will form the hub of a packed programme of activities for schools this term, run jointly with the Cotswold Water Park Society. There will be fossil days, orienteering, minibeast safaris and environmental art days to name just a few.
