A lot going on ‘up north’ says Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

The profile of Attenborough Nature Reserve, undoubtedly boosted by association with the national treasure with which it shares a name, combined with the fact our head office is in the city, sometimes presents a false sense that Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is Nottingham centric. — Writes Erin McDaid, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Idle Valley Nature Reserve, less than three miles from the centre of the lovely North Notts market town of East Retford, is by far the largest site in our care.

It is the base from which we manage all our wonderful sites across the north of the county and since their reintroduction this time last year, it is also home to Nottinghamshire’s first beavers in at least four centuries.

Idle Valley Nature Reserve is a vast expanse of diverse wetland habitat that sits alongside the sinuous River Idle. It offers spectacular bird-watching opportunities,especially in autumn and winter, when large flocks of ducks, geese and waders gather to take advantage of the lakes, lagoons and surrounding fields.

There is always a chance of more unusual birds dropping in while on migration.

The scale of the reserve, which is 70% larger than Attenborough, stretches over five kilometres top to bottom and covers 375 hectares, offers real scope to enjoy a day out in nature.

In addition to the welcoming café and shop and accessible trails at the southern end of the site the more rugged and untamed northern half of the reserve offers room to escape the crowds and take in the open skies.

Our vision is to make the Idle Valley Nature Reserve even wilder. The beavers are playing their part alongside our conservation-grazing programme that includes traditional breeds of cattle and sheep — but our work in north Notts stretches back far beyond the establishment of Idle Valley Nature Reserve and far beyond its boundaries.

From our humble beginnings the 1960s, the trust has had a countywide focus.

Our first local group formed in Retford in 1969 and we leased Clarborough Tunnel Nature Reserve, just north of the town, in 1971.

This was swiftly followed by a high-profile fundraising campaign to purchase our first site, the nearby Treswell Wood, in 1973.

This precipitated campaigns to save and acquire other ancient woodlands in the area such as Eaton, Gamston and Kirton Woods; as well as isolated remnants of wildflower habitat that would become our Ashton’s and West Burton Meadow Nature Reserves.

2001 was a busy year for the trust locally as we opened an office on the edge of Retford town centre and purchased Misson Carr Nature Reserve, formerly part of the Ministry of Defence’s Misson Bombing Range.

This site, a rare fragment of wet woodland habitat, has hit the headlines in recent years as we have fought alongside local campaigners to prevent damaging impact from experimental drilling linked to fracking.

Treswell Wood, along with Eaton and Gamston Woods are now part of an exciting Nature Recovery Network which, with the support of the Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group and supportive neighbouring landowners, is helping secure the long-term future of dormice in our county.

Efforts to connect dormouse habitat adjacent and between our nature reserves is just one example of the work we do with other landowners to help nature.

Elsewhere we are working with local farmers to create habitat such as wetland scrapes where waders can feed and implementing measures to reduce pollution caused by run off into our precious watercourses.

Despite the scope of our activity across north Notts, our work in the Idle Valley remains central to our efforts to secure a wilder Nottinghamshire for all.

From small beginnings, leasing part of the Idle Washlands forty years ago, to the purchase of Chainbridge Wood, now part of the Idle Valley Nature Reserve, in 1989 we progressed to larger projects including working with Hanson Aggregate’s to restore Newington Quarry near Bawtry.

In time, we acquired the 300 plus hectare Sutton and Lound Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) — now the heart of our largest reserve.

Prior to the purchase in 2009, we took the ambitious step of buying land south of the SSSI to facilitate the development of the Idle Valley Rural Learning Centre by North Notts College. This bold decision would eventually lead us to relocate our northern base to the reserve in a building that now houses our café and shop and serves as a great gateway to this vast and varied site.

Read more about our vision for Idle Valley at nottinghamshirewildlife.org/our-vision-idle-valley-nature-reserve