Sponsored by
£65,000 appeal to aid wildlife
Nature trail at Totternhoe Quarry
A wildlife charity is urgently appealing for YOUR help to raise 65,000 for a vital project - to transform the Totternhoe Quarry nature reserve.
The reserve is already a haven for rare wildflowers and butterflies.
Now the Wildlife Trust needs the support of LBO readers to buy 18 acres of land, for an ambitious project to link together its two 30-acre sites in the village.
Then the whole area can blossom into one of the most wildlife-rich nature reserves in the county.
Restoring the site is seen as being of national importance, as some of the most stunning wildflower displays in Britain were once found in Bedfordshire's chalk grasslands.
Sadly, most of that precious habitat has been lost.
But Graham Bellamy, the trust's Bedfordshire reserves manager, said: "Donations will help us to recreate the chalk downland once found across the area - teeming with wildlife and home to some of our rarest and most beautiful butterflies and flowers."
And he emphasised: "This is a wonderful opportunity to make a huge difference to the diversity of wildlife and natural heritage of Bedfordshire. Please give what you can to help us make this possible."
Big-hearted nature lovers generously backed the trust's public appeal to buy up 30 acres of the quarry land and turn it into a reserve, back in 2003.
In 2008, grant aid made it possible for the trust to acquire a second 30 acres nearby, at the limeworks site.
The trust has already raised some of the 174,000 required to buy the extra 18 acres and carry out restoration, thanks to help from the Chalk Arc, the Chilterns Conservation Board and Butterfly Conservation.
But the team are 65,000 short of the fundraising target, and they hope that the public will come to the rescue.
The 'joined-up' reserve would be carefully managed to allow its amazing variety of wild
orchids and other beautiful wildflowers to flourish.
The rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly still survives in Totternhoe, despite declining across most of the UK.
Ideal conditions will be nurtured for kidney vetch, on which the rare Small Blue butterfly feeds.
And every summer, the trust team will study scarce butterflies in the reserve to guide their practical work for the following winter.
Mr Bellamy said: "Your support will help to bring about conditions where all these
attractive and rare species can not just survive, but flourish and colonise new areas.
"Of course, it is not just the wildlife that concerns us. Your help will also allow us to make the nature reserve an easier and safer place to enjoy the special wildlife, tranquillity and surrounding views - knowing that it is safeguarded forever."
The trust has also spelt out exactly how your donations can help with the project.
>>15 could pay for work gloves for volunteers clearing scrub.
>>30 could buy and care for a sheep to graze the reserve, creating ideal conditions for scarce wildlife.
>>50 could cover the cost of hand tools for a volunteer to coppice trees and shrubs.
>>100 could buy a 100 square metre plot of chalk grassland.
>>250 could pay for a butterfly survey to be carried out to check that the work is making a difference.
>>500 could pay for a brushcutter and safety equipment to keep open areas free of scrub.
>>1,000 could train, support and equip one volunteer to carry out regular essential practical work.
Every contribution will help, no matter how small.
You can donate online by visiting www.wildlifebcnp.org.
To donate by card, call 01954 713543, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Or just send a donation to The Wildlife Trust, Freepost, ANG10646, Cambridge, CB23 6BR.
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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