Wildlife Trust for Sheffield and Rotherham

3rd April 2013

The Trust was set up 26 years ago with the aims of protecting and enhancing wild places for the benefit of people and wildlife.

Starting with a single site off Ecclesall Road, we now care for and manage twelve local nature reserves, ranging from large areas of stunning moorland of national scientific importance and stretches of ancient woodland to tiny patches of green in the heart of the city. All our reserves are open and freely accessible to visitors and we provide a range of events to help local people to connect with the natural world. We are proud of our record for involving the people of Sheffield and Rotherham in caring for their natural surroundings; last year we engaged over 11,000 local people in environmental training, educational projects and conservation volunteering, including over 3,300 young people. We have an excellent reputation for the quality of our environmental youth work, particularly with challenging or hard to reach groups. Our sites team carries out wildlife friendly conservation and land management, both on our nature reserves and on other green spaces across the region. Our environmental consultancy, Wildscapes, is available to undertake surveys and advise on ecological issues, design and deliver practical landscape creation, and carry out land management works which improve the environment for wildlife and for people. The Wildlife Trust for Sheffield and Rotherham works for species under threat, to protect special habitats and to stand up for wildlife by advising decision makers and providing a voice for wildlife. We are lucky to live in the greenest city in the UK, and it is important to everyone's quality of life that our green fringes are cared for and allowed to flourish and thrive. As an example of what we do, take Carr House Meadows, near Wharncliffe: In the last 100 years, we have lost over 97% of traditional English-style meadows in the UK to development and new farming methods. At Carr House we care for 18 such meadows. They are a riot of colour in spring, abundant with wild flowers, and the traditional hedgerows and dry stone walls are home to countless insects which support a rich population of songbirds. The meadows are used to graze cattle, which churn up the ground creating niches for wet loving plants to seed. It is a working landscape, and a magical and beautiful one. To find out more about the Wildlife Trust for Sheffield and Rotherham, please see our website at www.wildsheffield.com or contact Chris on C.grice@wildsheffield.com