The Parks Appeal

Liz Speake is raising money for Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
“Beverley Bishop's fundraising”

on 9 July 2009

Donations cannot currently be made to this page
With the support of our 7,500 members and over 200 volunteers, we care for 60 Nature Reserves, work with others to restore nature to our rural and urban landscapes and inspire people of all ages to discover and take action to defend Herefordshire's wildlife.

Story

Saving The Parks at Dulas

The Parks at Dulas is an important site for both unimproved grassland and the Dulas Brook which runs through it. It was recently put up for sale and through a combination of loans and legacies the Herefordshire Nature Trust has been given the option to acquire it as a nature reserve. We need your help to secure the funds to complete the purchase of this site and provide proper access and interpretation. Through generous legacies left to the Trust we have been able to secure £89,000 but we still need to raise £145,000 to repay loans and to improve access and interpretation.

The Parks is unimproved semi-natural grassland, a habitat that has suffered a remarkable decline throughout the UK. It is estimated that by 1984 in lowland England and Wales it had declined by 97% over the previous 50 years to approximately 0.2 million ha. Losses have continued during the 1980s and 1990s, and have been recorded at 2 -10% per annum in some parts of England. These losses are due to agricultural improvement, conversion to arable, the shift to silage production, application of herbicides or other pesticides and over and under grazing leading to a reduction in floristic diversity.

The overall outcome of habitat change in the lowland agricultural zone is that this sort of grassland, the mainstream community of unimproved hay meadows and pastures over much of Britain, is now highly localised, fragmented and in small stands. Recent estimates for cover in England and Wales indicate that there is between 5000-10,000 ha of this community in total.

Meadow grassland is a UK and local Biodiversity Action Priority (BAP) habitat and securing the 17 hectares at The Parks helps meet the target of protecting 150 hectares by 2010 in Herefordshire.

The grasslands here support colonies of both heath spotted orchid and common spotted orchid as well as yellow rattle, quaking grass, pignut and birdsfoot trefoil. Birds such as the green and greater spotted woodpeckers, chiffchaff and willow warblers have all been recorded on site.

The Parks is also designated a Special Wildlife Site designated by Herefordshire Council.

Dulas Brook which runs through the site is also a UK BAP priority habitat supporting populations of brown trout, the native white clawed crayfish, otter and kingfisher. The stream is also likely to be important as a breeding site for the locally distinctive club-tailed damselfly as they have been spotted flying on the adjacent grassland.

Your donation, no matter what its size, is really important to us in conserving this site for future generations to enjoy. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to give: Herefordshire Nature Trust will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 27% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Thanks for taking the time to visit Herefordshire Nature Trust's JustGiving page.

Many thanks for your support

Donation summary

Total
£25,950.79
+ £83.21 Gift Aid
Online
£295.00
Offline
£25,655.79

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