Hundreds of species recorded at unique Bedfordshire rewilding site - Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants
Five scientific studies, six new ponds, hundreds of species recorded and thousands of visitors – a new report details the busy first 18 months of Wildlife Trust ownership at Strawberry Hill.
The site between Kettering and Bedford was bought by the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants in 2024 following the biggest public appeal in the charity’s history. £1.5million was raised for the former farm which has been quietly returning to nature for 30 years and is now home to half the nightingales in Bedfordshire.
Now the team overseeing the 150 hectare (377 acre) site have produced a report covering the first year and a half of the Trust’s ownership of the site. The Trust has teamed up with species experts, scientists and volunteers to dig ponds, build dams, fly drones, manage habitat, create accessible paths and survey birds, insects, wildflowers and mammals.
Some of the statistics from the report include,
- Six new ponds dug to provide habitat for newts and other species
- 50 bird species recorded
- More than 30 pairs of nightingales
- 11 bat species recorded – all but one of the bat species ever recorded in the county
- 27 species of butterfly recorded and 148 species of moth
- 978 invertebrate species found
- 30 species of moss and 50 species of lichen
The report also looks ahead to plans in the offing to create limited visitor facilities allowing people to access and enjoy the site without disturbing its precious wildlife. A small car park will be created in non wildlife-rich area on the edge of the site and a building where education and engagement events can be held to introduce school children and adult groups to the biodiversity on the site. Grazing cattle, including Highland cows will also be used to help keep the scrub on the site at an optimum level for bird species like warblers and turtle doves.