Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust have taken ownership of the lease for Astonbury Wood – an ancient woodland with sweeping Bluebell carpets and choirs of songbirds, home to rare, threatened and treasured wildlife.
A major fundraising campaign to purchase the long-term lease from Hertfordshire County Council and to manage the woodland for wildlife and the community, has culminated in the charity taking control of the next chapter in the history of this Local Wildlife Site, where woodland has existed since at least the 1600s.
At 54-acres, Astonbury Wood, near Stevenage, provides a rich wildlife habitat and one which is unique to ancient woodland, having developed very special flora and fauna over hundreds of years. Predominantly Oak and Hornbeam, it is home to beautiful woodland flowers such as Wood Anemone, and is carpeted with Bluebells each spring, whilst in autumn, it is nationally recognised for the many hundreds of species of fungi that can be found here.