Latest news with #LeicestershireandRutlandWildlifeTrust
BBC News
23-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Major rewilding planned with land purchase near Market Harborough
More than 130 acres (54 hectares) of land in Leicestershire has been set aside for a major rewilding District Council said it had purchased a site, equivalent to about 80 football pitches, close to Great Bowden near Market Harborough, for £ Market Harborough Rewilding Project will be supported by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) to improve an area of countryside described as some of the most heavily-modified and nature-depleted in lowland leader Phil Knowles said the initiative was "an amazing opportunity to restore nature on a nationally important scale in an area where this has never been achieved before." "This will be a catalyst for a strategic partnership that will rewild large swathes of nature-depleted countryside, protecting it as public open space for generations to come and bringing nature back to the area," he said. 'Amazing legacy' Mat Carter, LRWT chief executive, said: "Only through ambitious and innovative projects like this can we reverse the decline in nature and realise the benefits that it can bring."He said the project would showcase how land could be restored "to support thriving wildlife and bring benefits to the communities that live around them". He added: "This is an opportunity to create an amazing legacy." Parts of the planned rewilding area are plots of former farmland. The trust said it was planning a range of approaches to managing the land, including using herbivores like ponies or rare breed cattle to graze it more Local Democracy Reporting Service said the land purchase could also lead to the creation of a new council waste depot. Knowles added : "Not having our own waste depot to house our own fleet and equipment has been costly for taxpayers, but due to this land being adjacent to the existing depot site, we now have options for the future."
BBC News
13-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
First Osprey of 2025 lands in Rutland
Ospreys returned to Rutland Water on Thursday after a winter in warmer Osprey Project was celebrating after the first spring sighting of the birds of prey was made at its Manton Bay ospreys typically spend the colder months in West African countries such as Senegal and The Gambia before returning to the UK in webcam watchers were quick to notice that the visitor was not the nest's regular resident - osprey Maya - but another female. A spokesperson for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, which runs the Rutland Osprey Project, said: "This is not the first time she has landed on this nest before any others."In 2023 she arrived before Maya, only to be kicked off the nest when Maya returned - we will have to wait and see what happens this year."Maya has nested at the Manton Bay location since 2015 with a male pair had raised 20 chicks in that time, said the will now begin monitoring the birds, which can be seen in person by visitors to Rutland Water, for the 2025 breeding season.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
Nature reserve churned up by would-be thieves
Would-be thieves targeting a quarry have churned up a nature reserve in Leicestershire for the second time in four months. Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust said its Cloud Wood site in Worthington, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, was again used to attempt to access Breedon Group's Cloud Hill Quarry at the weekend. Access was not gained to the quarry, but the trust said about 550m of its trails had been "damaged by churning at rutting" at what it called "a crucial time of year". Leicestershire Police said the criminal damage was reported to have happened between 8 and 10 March and that no arrests had been made. The force added that a chain and padlock from a gated entrance were taken and damage was caused to the ground with "several small trees removed". The reserve was previously damaged in December when thieves broke in at the neighbouring quarry to steal tools and cabling, leading to fears it would be a "disaster" for rare orchids and wildflowers at the site. Cloud Wood is a designated site of special scientific interest and "supports some of the most botanically diverse rides in Leicestershire", according to the trust. Rare plants at Cloud Hill include the bee orchid, greater butterfly orchid, common-spotted orchid, early purple orchid, solomon's seal and herb-robert. Butterflies observed include the rare purple emperor, white-letter hairstreak and the silver-washed fritillary. The trust added it planned to work with neighbours on a "long-term solution" to the security issues at Cloud Wood. Breedon Group did not wish to comment when approached by the BBC. Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Wildlife 'disaster' as reserve damaged in break-in Stuck lorry torched after botched theft Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust Breedon Group Leicestershire Police
