Looking after reserves
We manage our nature reserves to keep them in the best condition for wildlife to survive and thrive
Many of our nature reserves are the last stronghold for uncommon plants and animals in our area – or even the UK. We have 129 nature reserves across the three counties, which together cover over 2,300 hectares - over nine square miles.
If you live in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire it is very likely that you live within five miles of one of these nature reserves. To find your nearest reserve go to our Visit a reserve section.
These precious places are managed and monitored by 17 staff and 350 volunteers. They work to ensure that conditions are right for wildlife, and that visitors can enjoy our sites.
There are lots of opportunities to help with this work – see our Volunteering opportunites section. Everyone is welcome you do not to be an expert to help us.
How we make our reserves better for wildlife
First we need to understand what makes our nature reserves special, and what kinds of wildlife on them are uncommon and need special protection.
Then we write a plan to guide our work in managing each of our nature reserves to best help wildlife. We are revising all these over the coming years to make them even more useful. They will include:
- the key features of conservation value on each site
- the factors affecting these
- how we will monitor these
- what the ideal condition of the site should be
- what we need to do to make conditions just right for the wildlife
Our future management plans will also take account of changing climate. If you are interested in more detail of our work on our nature reserves please contact your county reserves manager.
Grazing on our reserves
Scrub encroachment is one of the biggest conservation headaches to threaten the fragile wildlife of many open habitats - such as meadows, grasslands, heathlands and most wetlands. If open grasslands are left to themselves, woody-stemmed plants will begin to dominate and within a few years scrub will cover the area. Keeping the scrub at bay by cutting it back and mowing is time-consuming and not the best method of control.
The answer is to graze these nature reserves with sheep and cattle, especially using traditional breeds which graze more selectively. We already use rare breeds of sheep to graze some of our nature reserves and we have found that it works really well – the wildflowers and insects are flourishing.
We want to increase our own flock of sheep and introduce cattle and sheep grazing to 25 more key wildlife sites to protect the future of some of our most fragile species. Find out more about our Amazing Grazing Appeal to fund this vital work.