Wildlife Haven Update

Update on our rewilding project creating wildlife corridors in the Yorkshire Wolds. We have an acre to re-wild. Half of it is concrete and the other half is wildflower meadow – fenced in so wildlife can’t get in or out!

Wildlife corridors/wildflower meadow

So far we have:

• Removed several hundred metres of wire mesh fencing (2 metres high!) and removed it from site. This will enable wildlife to travel into and out of our species rich wildflower meadow.
• Pruned trees that had wire growing through them and posed a hazard to birds.
• Checked all the area to ensure that no dangerous wire remains that could pose a hazard to wildlife.
• Removed any material that was choking the drainage ditch (a vital wildlife corridor linking this land with other key locations) including old concrete, wire and old fence posts.

We’ve planted the first trees in the wildflower meadow. We’ve planted more than 25 (mainly) trees in this area to provide a good mix of cover, flowers and berries at different times of year. This includes wild cherry, hazel, spindle, silver birch, field maple and alder buckthorn. We’ve also created a dead hedge and log wall to provide habitats for insects, mammals and amphibians in a corner of the site that was previously fenced in and used for dumping waste.

The old catteries

The other end of our site is covered in old catteries and a huge amount of concrete. Our vision is to re-wild this area, remove the concrete and transform it into a native woodland with a bird hide. So far we have:

• Donated the catteries to Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary who are busy dismantling and removing anything that can be salvaged.
• Removed concrete and other waste that were piled up behind all these buildings.
• Started to create log piles in the small wild area beyond the catteries.
• Added bird boxes around the site.
• Added hedgehog boxes in sheltered locations.

This is really hard physical labour!

We still have lots more work to do across the whole site when we’ve raised enough funds. We want to:

• Plant the banks of the drainage channel with bulbs and more ground cover to provide food and cover year round
• Add bird, bat and an owl box along the perimeter
• Create compost heaps, more log piles and at least one wildlife pond
• Remove all the concrete under the catteries
• Create a bird hide

We have a wealth of species that will benefit including visiting wading birds (attracted by water in the nearby equestrian fields), woodpeckers, tree creepers, red snipe, black cap, deer, hares and hedgehogs.

We really need your support to help transform this into a wildlife haven. You can find out more here.

The biggest ever thank you x