Company donates £40,000 to save and restore Herefordshire nature reserve

A large donation has boosted Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s fundraising campaign to purchase Ail Meadow and create a wildflower meadow nature reserve.

Severn Waste Services have contributed £40,000 towards the Trust’s appeal to purchase a 14-acre pasture within the wildlife-rich landscape of the Woolhope Dome in Herefordshire. The site is important as it is close to other nature reserves so forms part a network of nature-friendly places through which wildlife can move – essential for many species. The Trust is concerned that allowing the meadow to be sold on the open market risks it being lost to unsympathetic management or agricultural intensification. Purchasing the site will ensure it remains protected for wildlife for the future.

Severn Waste Services are long-term supporters of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and they have funded many projects over the last ten years, either directly or via the Landfill Communities Fund, from nature reserve restoration to an electric vehicle for staff to use.  

Jim Haywood Financial Director of Severn Waste Services said: “It gives us great pleasure to be able to support Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, once again, in their endeavours to ensure that the County continues to be the truly special place that it is.

“Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is a small Trust that works hard to have a big impact and Severn Waste are pleased to be able to stand with it in some small way to help it achieve its goals.”

The Trust launched a public appeal to raise funds to buy and restore the meadow earlier this year and have already raised over £42,000 from donations from the public.

The Trust’s Chief Executive Helen Stace said: “The Wildlife Trusts are campaigning for '30 by 30': restoring and protecting at least 30% of land and sea for wildlife by 2030. Saving this beautiful meadow for future generations is another important step towards this goal. Wild places where nature can flourish are so important and we are so grateful to everyone who has donated so far to save another small piece of Herefordshire for wildlife. The nature reserve will also be a haven for people, too. The landscape of the Woolhope Dome, home to many traditional orchards, woodlands and pastures, as well as the Wye Valley Walk, is loved by many people and a wonderful place to come and connect with nature.”

Though already rich in many species of wildflower, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust intend to restore Ail Meadow as a traditional hay meadow which will allow wildflowers to flourish along with bees and butterflies.