News for May 2003

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Ratty added to HHP Biodiversity

For the fist time water voles have been observed on the site at HHP. This has included both direct observations of adults swimming and feeding, but also field signs around most of the water features. This is very much good news as it is a good indicator of the quality of the water habitat on the site, supporting a wide range of plants and animals as well as the water voles. It is also particularly important as the water vole has undergone over the last two decades one of the most catastrophic declines of a species ever known in the UK. The main causes of the 94% loss of water voles from their former sites by 2000 are habitat loss and over predation by mink – that having escaped from mink farms and established themselves unnaturally in the British countryside. So serious is the concern for this species locally that it has been targeted for special attention through the Nottinghamshire’s ‘Local Biodiversity Action Plan’.

More generally, since the acquisition of the 25 acre site in 1988, HHP has conducted a programme of work to support biodiversity in accordance with the following aims: to enhance the natural environment, to create a haven for all existing flora and fauna, to create a peaceful and beneficial environment for human use. Specific actions to promote wildlife and conservation have included: no pesticides or chemicals used on land, in excess of 4,000 trees planted (including oak, hazel, cherry, willow & alder), and the creation of lakes and ponds. The development of new habitats and support for wildlife has resulted in a site that is now growing in its biodiversity richness with both common and threatened species. To date over 70 species of birds have been recorded on the site and 11 species of mammal.

The members of HHP are hoping over the coming years to understand more accurately the strength of the site’s biodiversity and how it can be further developed and enhanced. At the same time it would like to raise awareness of biodiversity issues in the context of sustainable development and share its experience.

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