Much of our work is project based, working with individuals, community groups and partner organisations to protect Herefordshire's wildlife. Below are the main projects the Trust is working on at the moment. Contact the relevant project officer or follow the links for more information.
Community Commons
Community Commons is a five year project run by the Trust that aims to work with local landowners, commoners and stakeholders and increase their awareness of wildlife on commons and their involvement in its conservation.
A generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund underpins the project, with additional funding obtained from the the Trust, English Nature and Herefordshire Council.
» Click here to find out more.
Landscapes for living
This name is an umbrella term used for conservation projects that will work towards helping wildlife adapt to climate change. Projects will be based at the landscape scale and will look to link priority habitats and to increase the size of each block of habitat. The Trust’s Woolhope Dome Project is such a project, where we leave the security of our nature reserves and venture out into the wider countryside working with land owners and managers.
Now, try to imagine taking that holistic approach and applying it to the whole of the West Midlands! This is the vision that the West Midlands Wildlife Trusts and Biodiversity Partnership are developing through a new, innovative project called Landscapes for Living (LfL). The project will produce both a vision document and an opportunities map, which will guide our work in conservation for the next 50 years.
» Click here to find out more.
Learning Environments in Marine Urban Rural areas (LEMUR)
The Nature Trust, alongside project partners Ambios Ltd (Devon) and Sheffield Wildlife Trust, have just become one of ten exclusive national heritage partnership projects in the country to be awarded funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund to run a heritage work based training scheme.
This project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
» Click here to find out more.
Play Rangers
This is a new project, but will continue the work of WildPlay – offering open access and outreach environmental play. Consultation was carried out across the county and it was found that children wanted more outdoor play, facilitated by adults – so that they felt safe. They wanted to play by rivers and woods; the project will aim to address this.
The project is in partnership with Herefordshire Councils Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) and funded by the BIG Lottery.
» Click here to find out more.
Pond Restoration and Celebration Project
This project started in March 2007. The aim is to restore five ponds, and also through a series of five pond celebration days to encourage and enthuse landowners to create or restore their own ponds. We will involve local communities in all stages of the project. We hope to raise the profile and importance of ponds, with a wider interest in them and a better appreciation of their biodiversity.
This project is jointky run by HART and Herefordshire Nature Trust.
» Click here to find out more.
Ross Wild Connections
This project will create wildlife areas in and around Ross-on-Wye and link them with a circular walk. There are five sites that local volunteers will work with the Trust to improve. These include ponds, wooded paths and green space. Native flower and tree planting, woodland coppicing, litter clearance, bird and bat boxes are all planned to help improve the wildlife value of the town. Leaflets and interpretation boards and a schools’ pack to help local children learn about the wildlife along the route, will be produced. Its hoped that the walk will help to attract more visitors to the town and encourage more local people to walk rather than use their cars.
The project is funded by Biffa Awards and the Wye Valley AONB.
» Click here to find out more.
WATCH
Wildlife WATCH is the junior branch of the Wildlife Trusts and is an exciting way to explore your surroundings and get close to the wildlife you share it with. There are several groups based at different locations around the county.
» Click here to find out more.
Wetland Vision
Natural England, the Environment Agency and the RSPB have been working together with the Wildlife Trust to develop a 50-year vision to renew wetland environments. As creation is a given aim the first issue is to outline of the scale of wetland creation we are aiming for in Herefordshire. The question is where are the most suitable places in Herefordshire for different wetland types, and what are the conditions needed to sustain wetland wildlife?
The Trust is in a prime position to co-ordinate partnership work to develop one or more wetland sites in Herefordshire. Key partners have been identified and initial consultation has began. Potential sites need to be investigated to ensure that ecological, geological and hydrological are suitable for creation or extension of wetland habitat.
The initial stages of the project will require mapping of suitable sites and then at a later date working with the UK Wetland Visions Geographical Information System (GIS) toolkit to support our understanding of where and how we can make wetland creation most effective.
WildPlay
The Wild play project is for four to fourteen year olds in Herefordshire. New WildPlay groups are been formed to encourage children to play constructively out of doors. Activities can include drama and music, creative play, wild food and cookery, sensory exploration and more traditional environmental education activities.
WildPlay will work with existing groups e.g. Play schemes, After school clubs, Holiday clubs, Pre-schools, Brownies, Guides, Scouts in fact any group where children between the ages of 4 and 14 already meet. If you are interested in improving the outdoor play and environmental provision of your group you can register as a WildPlay group and have access to training, support, resources and information.
The WildPlay project is funded by 'Better Play', a partnership between Barnado's and the Children's Play Council with lottery 'good causes' funding from the New Opportunities Fund.
» Click here to find out more.
Woolhope Dome
The Woolhope Dome is a special landscape and a great place for wildlife. Its mixture of woods, hedges, meadows and orchards support a wealth of important wildlife. This project has been set up to help it stays that way for the future.
This is a partnership project with local people, English Nature, the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Forestry Commission.
This project was part-financed by the European Union (EAGGF) and DEFRA through the Herefordshire Rivers LEADER+ Programme.
» Click here to find out more.