Members of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Mansfield and Ashfield Local Group have helped make major habitat restoration work possible at Bogs Farm Quarry Nature Reserve thanks to a donation of £500. The donation, raised through local activities and events, was used as match funding to help access £5000 from the Landfill Communities Fund. In total, local donations have helped the Wildlife Trust access £7000 from the Fund via Biffaward.

The funds paid for specialist contractors to remove a large number of non-native sycamore trees and other scrub which was shading out important areas of grassland – threatening the future of scarce wildflowers. Bogs Farm Quarry is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the quality of its grassland habitat, and the work is vital to ensure the site’s long term future.

Bogs Farm Quarry’s main habitat is unimproved grassland which has suffered a 97% decline in Nottinghamshire since WWII. It is vital that the remaining areas are protected and managed sensitively to maximise its wildlife value to promote good biodiversity. 

 Flowers such as harebell will

 flourish as a result of the

 restoration work at Boggs Farm.

 ©Martin Down

The season of spring is a great time for new beginnings and it is also at this time of year when many gardeners become more active and work on their gardens. One local company whose sole mission is to ‘revitalise the earth’ has also begun on a new journey this spring by teaming up with us.

The Worm that Turned is a successful retail business founded by husband and wife team Stuart and Heather Isbister who met when they worked at Boots as buyers. It was their passion for gardening and their skill for spotting high quality, creative gifts that led them to set up the company and their first shop in Nottingham.  Nearly 5 years on, the company now also has an e-commerce website; worm.co.uk and a concession at Jimmy’s Farm in Suffolk.

Their latest adventure is a new partnership with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust through our Wildlife Guardians Corporate Involvement Scheme in order to encourage and engage members of the public to join with them and revitalise the earth. The partnership will begin by advertising in the Wildlife Trusts ‘What’s On Guide’ that is sent to all its members. The latest issue of the ‘What’s on Guide’ (May-August 2008) is now out and copies will now be available to pick up from The Worm that Turned shop located on Derby Road in the City Centre.

In addition to advertising in the ‘What’s on Guide’, The Worm that Turned will also be getting involved with a range of other initiatives too, including organising special wildlife gardening events in its Derby Road Shop and promoting the Wildlife Trust and our events to its customers and staff.

The final stage of a long term plan to restore wetland habitats at

Holme Pit SSSI in Clifton is now underway thanks to a new

partnership between Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and

Nottingham City Council.

The City Council has enlisted the support of The Wildlife

Trust, the county’s leading conservation charity, to complete

Phase 3 of the Clifton Clearwater Project which has been funded

by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Work to remove up to 6000 cubic metres of silt from the pond is now underway with the construction of a temporary access track to enable special machinery to reach the pond. Once on site, barge mounted diggers will remove the silt which will then be used as a soil improver on nearby farmland.

Speaking about the project Charles Langtree, Head of Estate Management and Development with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust commented: “We have a long history of working to protect valuable wildlife sites in the Clifton area and we are delighted to be working with Nottingham City Council to deliver this exciting project. Holme Pit, which is just across the River Trent from our Attenborough Nature Reserve, is one of the most valuable wetland habitats in the City and the removal of the silt will improve the habitat for fish and other creatures that live below the surface. The site is renowned for its water quality and as a great place to go pond dipping and this work will help to ensure it remains a valuable site for wildlife and people in the future.”

Holme Pit SSSI, thought by some to have originated as marl pit in the 18^th century. Today, this deep pond is surrounded by reed-swamp, wet grassland and willow carr - all vitally important wildlife habitats - and the site was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 2003. However, the pond is now so silted up that there is very little open water for fish and if the silting is not halted the pond is in danger of becoming overgrown with little or no open water at all.

Mr Langtree continued: “As well as ensuring there is adequate open water for fish and other pond life we will also be carrying out habitat improvements at the edges of the pond. We are particularly keen to enhance the reed bed and areas of wet woodland and we look forward to working with the Holme Pit Action Group and local residents to achieve this.”

Councillor David Trimble, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community and Culture, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to carry out these essential improvements to Holme Pit, which is one of the city’s important local nature reserves.   The site already has strong local support through the Holme Pit Action Group, and the completion of this work will ensure that local people will continue to enjoy the site for many years to come.”