Local charity, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has launched a fundraising campaign to protect the future of some of our best loved and familiar wildlife, at crisis point.

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and last year, the State of Nature report found that nearly one in six species in Great Britain is threatened with extinction. Some of our once common species are at risk, for example, numbers of Brown Hares are thought to have declined by more than 80% in the past 100 years. Turtle Doves – those icons of Christmas song – have seen their numbers plummet by 99% since the 1960s, Common Toads have declined by 68% over the past 30 years, and since 1970, flowering plant species have decreased by 54%, along with 18% of pollinators.

The Trust is the leading voice for conservation in the area, with over 23,500 members and over 1,100 active volunteers supporting its work. This year marks the charity’s 60^th anniversary and, at this time, along with the scale of the nature and climate crisis, a further challenge is impacting on its ability to deliver the recovery plans needed – rising costs.

Chloë Edwards, Director of Nature Recovery at Herts and Middlesex Trust says,

“We have the solutions and skills to reverse the devastating declines we are seeing and to restore nature. Our conservation projects join-up fragmented habitats and bring species back to restore nature-rich, resilient habitats and our back catalogue of partnership projects have resulted in significant wins for our natural world. However, in addition to being mid-way through the most pivotal decade of our lives in the nature and climate crises, we are facing a financial crisis too, with escalating essential costs limiting our ability to act. Investment is needed now, and more than ever.

“To drive nature’s recovery forward, our campaign is looking to raise £280,000 from our supporters and local people who care about the wildlife and wild spaces on their doorsteps. We know we are not alone in feeling the pinch of rising costs but we all need a world where we can breathe, and thrive amidst the sights, sounds and colours of nature. We appreciate any donation which will enable us to continue restoring vital ecosystems and supporting our most vulnerable wildlife.”

The work of the Trust is multi-faceted and includes:

• Connecting, protecting and creating habitats for wildlife and people; on its 42 nature reserves, from ancient woodlands to wetlands, from heathlands to meadows; through to the wider countryside, from farms and estates, to school grounds, from hospitals to community spaces.
• The protection and improvement of the area’s precious chalk rivers – there are only 260 of these worldwide and Hertfordshire and Middlesex are custodians of 10% of this global resource. By removing weirs, putting the wiggles back into rivers and improving flow, the Trust is working in partnership to support the survival of the wildlife that relies on these unique ecosystems.
• Encouraging a connection with nature to benefit peoples’ wellbeing – by reaching out to communities and organisations, the Trust is developing a greater appreciation of the mental and physical benefits nature delivers.
• Urging more people to stand up for nature, through its work with individuals, councils and other organisations to put nature’s recovery at the heart of decision-making and to make habitats more resilient to climate change.

During its 60-year history, these examples demonstrate the impact the Trust has had:

• Lobbied to make Badger digging and baiting illegal (1965)
• Received funding from British Telecom for a ‘Living Rivers’ survey of Hertfordshire’s rivers, streams and canals (1988)
• Completed a county-wide habitat survey (1997)
• Became ‘Catchment Host’ for the Lea Catchment – one point of contact for the chalk streams of Hertfordshire (2012)
• Reintroduced Water Voles to Thorley Wash Nature Reserve, the River Ver and River Beane (2016, 2021, 2022)
• Recently added two new nature reserves to its portfolio - Astonbury Wood Nature Reserve, an ancient woodland site, near Stevenage, and Archers Green Nature Reserve with wildflower meadows flanking the River Mimram, near Welwyn (2023)

To support the continuation of the Trust’s work and wildlife in crisis, please go to hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/crisis