Bid to unify precious ‘landscape islands’

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is calling for donations in an attempt to raise a total of £40,000 over the summer. The charity is striving to reach its target by September 30. With funding, the trust would be able to push ahead with plans to purchase a key piece of land at Brockadale Nature Reserve, near Kirk Smeaton, North Yorkshire.

At present, the reserve is split into two sections and the opportunity to acquire the additional plot represents the final piece of the jigsaw.

Ian Jelley, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s regional manager, said: “We are working hard to make our nature reserves bigger, better and more joined up. Sites like Brockadale form islands in the landscape for species to thrive and be protected. They act as stepping stones for species moving through Yorkshire and create reservoirs of wildlife that can be used to re-populate our landscape.

“Here we have a unique opportunity to purchase the missing piece of Brockadale and with it, continue to enhance one of the premier sites for wildlife in Yorkshire, if not the UK.”

Already described by the trust as one of Yorkshire’s best nature reserves, Brockadale is visited by both locals and naturalists who are attracted by the spot’s rich wildlife located in agricultural landscape. It is known for its colourful, sweeping meadows consisting of hundreds of flowering plants which burst into bloom during the spring and summer.

The site is also characterised by its woodland paths which lead visitors among ash, oak, beech and larch trees, and are an attraction to various bird species including nuthatches, great spotted woodpeckers and long-tailed tits. Kingfishers are a common site on the River Went which winds through the nature reserve.

Butterflies and day-flying moths are regularly spotted and so far more than 350 moth species have been recorded. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has owned land in the area for a while but the opportunity has only just arisen for it to purchase the missing link between its two sections.

To do this it needs to raise £30,000 to purchase the land before the end of September, and a further £10,000 to restore the habitats there back to a condition which will support local wildlife.

The trust is encouraging people to visit the nature reserve to see it for themselves in the hope that their experience will inspire them to contribute towards the fundraising campaign over the coming months.

A guided summer walk will take place at the nature reserve on Wednesday, July 3 starting at 7pm.

n For more information about Brockadale Nature Reserve, visit www.ywt.org.uk/reserves/brockadale-nature-reserve. To make a donation to the fundraising appeal, log on to www.justgiving.com/bigger-Brockadale