Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN, formerly the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough) is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire in England.

The Trust manages 126 nature reserves covering 3,945 hectares of land, and it has over 35,000 members. All of the reserves are free to visit, and 95% of the population of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire live within five miles of one of its reserves.

The Trust is working to protect and increase the numbers and diversity of native wild plants and animals in our countryside.

The charity's name was changed in October 2011 from the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough to Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. However the trust still covers Peterborough.

Reserves include: Summer Leys, Pitsford Water and Old Sulehay in Northamptonshire; Grafham Water, Gamlingay Wood and Brampton Wood in Cambridgeshire and Pegsdon Hills, Begwary Brook and Flitwick Moor in Bedfordshire. Some reserves, such as The Riddy in Sandy, Bedfordshire are managed by the Trust despite being owned by other bodies, such as local town or parish councils.

Education centres and services

The Wildlife Trust has three environmental education centres, and works with local communities across the three counties, offering a range of opportunities to learn more about wildlife. This includes tailored learning for early years to sixth formers, under the ‘Really Wild Days Out’ programme linked to the national curriculum; project work for higher and further education students; teacher training sessions on environmental education for today’s teachers; learning opportunities and practical work for a variety of community groups; and family learning events enabling families with children to learn about wildlife together.

Bedfordshire reserves

Designations

• CAONB = Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• LNR = Local Nature Reserve
• NNR = National Nature Reserve
• NT = National Trust
• SSSI = Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site	Photograph	Area	Location	Classifications	Description
Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows	100px	4.3 hectares (11 acres)	Arlesey TL189373		Frogs, toads and newts spawn in the moat, and dragonflies lay their eggs in it. The meadows have a range of wild flowers, and woodland, which is managed by coppicing, provides a habitat for nesting warblers.
Barton Gravel Pit	100px	1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)	Barton-le-Clay TL098299		This former gravel pit has been partially filled in to become flower-rich chalk grassland. Plants include knotted hedge-parsley, common poppy and great pignut. Mature beech trees provide a habitat for the white helleborine orchid.
Begwary Brook	100px	0.8 hectares (2.0 acres)	Begwary TL169564		Gravel extraction has created a small lake and several smaller pools and marshland. The pools are surrounded by willow trees, and plants include common fleabane and marsh woundwort. Dragonflies and damselflies are common over the marsh in the summer.
Blow's Downs		62.3 hectares (154 acres)	Dunstable TL040220	SSSI	The site has varied habitats with a large area of unimproved grassland, which cattle help to maintain. Features include a disused quarry and medieval cultivation terraces. It has nationally rare plant, Bunium bulbocastanum, and a nationally rare beetle, odontaeus armiger.
Cooper's Hill		12.5 hectares (31 acres)	Ampthill TL028376	SSSI	The site is described by Natural England as the best surviving example in Bedfordshire of heathland on the thin acidic soils of the Lower Greensand Ridge. It also has areas of marsh and woodland.
Cople Pits	100px	2.0 hectares (4.9 acres)	Cople TL103492		The site has eleven long water-filled pits from gravel extraction in the 1930s, which are now surrounded by willow and hawthorn scrub. The pits have been colonised by aquatic plants. Fauna include dragonflies, kingfishers and woodpeckers, and there is also a wildflower meadow.
Cut-throat Meadow	100px	1.5 hectares (3.7 acres)	Ampthill TL039380		The reserve is in three separate areas. There is a steeply sloping meadow where Meadow saxifrage and field woodrush flower in the spring, a beech and scots pine wood, and a pond which has reedmace and celery-leaved buttercup, and water boatmen and pond skaters on the surface.
Dropshort Marsh	100px	2.0 hectares (4.9 acres)	Toddington TL007276	SSSI	This marsh has a variety of habitats, including a scarce quaking bog. Many species are now uncommon due to changes in agricultural practices. it has several springs, with floating sweet-grass and brooklime and areas dominated by rushes.
Fancott Woods and Meadows	100px	12.9 hectares (32 acres)	Fancott TL025275	SSSI	The meadows are mainly ancient ridge and furrow, and are unimproved neutral grassland traditionally managed for hay and grazing. The woodland is mainly ash, with other species including pedunculate oak and alder. There is also a small pond.
Felmersham Gravel Pits	100px	21.0 hectares (52 acres)	Felmersham SP991584	SSSI	The site has flooded gravel pits, neutral grassland, scrub and broadleaved woodland. It is described by the Wildlife Trust as one of the best sites in Bedfordshire for dragonflies and damselflies.
Flitwick Moor (& Folly Wood)	100px	66.6 hectares (165 acres)	Flitwick TL046354	SSSI	This is a rich valley mire, and the largest area of wetland in Bedfordshire. Eight species of sphagnum bog moss have been recorded, including one which is nationally rare. The site has areas of woodland as well as wet grassland.
King's Wood and Rammamere Heath	100px	104.0 hectares (257 acres)	Heath and Reach SP920294	SSSI NNR	The site has the largest remaining area of woodland in Bedfordshire, together with lowland heath, acidic grassland and some small ponds. There are a number of rare plant species, including great woodrush, wood vetch and saw-wort.
Lancot Meadow	100px	2.0 hectares (4.9 acres)	Dunstable TL003217		The site is a grassland remnant on chalk soil, and a remnant of flower-rich meadows in the area. Flora include common spotted-orchids, ox-eye daisys and bird's foot trefoils. There are fauna such as song thrushes and marbled white butterflies.
Landpark Wood	100px	3.6 hectares (8.9 acres)	Whipsnade TL016184		This wood has mature beech trees, hornbeam, oak and ash. The understorey is hazel and hawthorn, with bluebells, yellow archangel and woodruff. Birds include woodpeckers and nuthatches.
Old Warden Tunnel	100px	3.8 hectares (9.4 acres)	Old Warden TL113446		The site has oak and ash woodland with mature blackthorn and hawthorn bushes, and a steep cutting with grassland and scrub. Flowers include dwarf thistle and pyramidal orchid, and the scrub provides nesting sites for birds.
Pavenham Osier Beds	100px	1.3 hectares (3.2 acres)	Pavenham SP990551		This is a wet meadow next to the River Great Ouse, which has the uncommon flower meadow-rue. Osier is a type of willow which is continually cut, stimulating its growth and supplying material for basket weavers. The Trust is continuing the tradition by planting more osiers.
Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit	100px	79.0 hectares (195 acres)	Pegsdon TL120295	SSSI, CAONB	The site has wildflower meadows in chalk hills, including orchids and moschatels. There are butterflies such as dingy and grizzled skippers, Birds include wheatears and skylarks, and herbs such as marjoram and wild thyme. Hoo Bit is a flower meadow surrounded by woodland.
The Riddy	100px	7.7 hectares (19 acres)	Sandy TL165487	LNR	This water meadow is one of the few surviving areas of flood plain of the River Ivel. Aquatic plants include celery leaved buttercup and water plantain, and there are birds such as lapwings, fieldfares and redwings. Water voles are found along the river.
Sallowsprings	100px	1.3 hectares (3.2 acres)	Whipsnade TL008183		This site was formerly a caravan park, and it is now a traditional hay meadow. A rich variety of flowers includes common knapweed, bluebells and cowslips. An ancient hedgerow has diverse shrubs such as holly.
Sewell Cutting	100px	3.6 hectares (8.9 acres)	Dunstable TL005226		The banks of this former railway cutting provide a rich habitat for chalk grassland flowers, such as common spotted orchids and cowslips. The south-facing slope has deep rooted plants such as hawkweed and scabious, while the sheltered north-facing slope has lush grasses. There are many species of butterflies.
Sharnbrook Summit	100px	9.0 hectares (22 acres)	Sharnbrook SP972622		The site is a mile long narrow strip above a rail tunnel. The reserve is grassland, grazed by rabbits, on limestone deposited during the construction of the railway. The dominant plant is tor-grass, and flowers include dyer's greenweed and wild liquorice. Scattered scrub provides food and shelter from kestrels and buzzards for small mammals and nesting birds.
Totternhoe	100px	31.0 hectares (77 acres)	Totternhoe SP986217	SSSI, LNR, CAONB, NT	Part of the site was formerly quarry workings for Totternhoe stone, a strong chalk that was used in Westminster Abbey. It is now grassland with a rich variety of plant species, including some that are now rare. There are a number of orchids and a wide variety of invertebrates, including butterflies such as the common blue, chalkhill blue, and the scarce small blue and Duke of Burgundy.
Wymington Meadow	100px	1.0 hectare (2.5 acres)	Wymington SP958632		The site is a triangular meadow in the corner where two railway lines merge. It was cut off when the railways were constructed in the 1850s, and at the northern end there are traces of the ancient ridge and furrow method of ploughing. The site has a wide range of flowers, such as cowslip, salad burnet and quaking grass. A small stream and hedgerows provide additional habitats for wildlife.

External links

• Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire website