Sorry for the lack of blogs - the Christmas period and people having the dreaded lurgy has put us out of sorts!
At Coombes we have a dream. And it’s all about .
So, what does that mean? Well, is the term we use to energise us – it helps us to be FOCUSSED and PASSIONATE – and know what the light is at the end of the tunnel.
All the time, is ringing in the ears of the team. I don’t stop talking about it!!!!
Watch this blog space to understand all the headlines – but for now, let’s deal with the first B.
So, we want you to dream with us. We want you to imagine a world where there’s more nature – and that we can make it happen. It’s your support and dreaming with us – that will help that. Valuing nature – because it’s special – and because it’s better for our mental and physical health is important – so we need to grow wildlife.
That’s why our first B is for BIGGER.
Bigger is always better! Coombes and Churnet is held within steep sided valleys and is like a metaphorical ‘island’ for wildlife.
We won’t bore you with all the science but the world famous ecologist EO Wilson with his colleague, Robert MacArthur, developed the theory of island biogeography. Their study in the 1960’s showed that larger islands contain larger habitat areas which have more variety in them. The larger nature reserves are, the less chance there is that wildlife will become extinct. Habitat variety increases the number of species that will be successful. Want to read more – start with this link in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Insular_biogeography&redirect=no
This has influenced many thinkers, but more recently a document was produced for the government by lots of wise people – Making Space for Nature. It discusses why nature is at risk in England and what we need to do to sort it out. It’s a long document but if you’re interested – head to http://www.rspb.org.uk/forprofessionals/science/research/details.aspx?id=363867 for information and to download it.
The relevant bit of this document is the emphasis on making important wildlife sites BIGGER.
So, what does dreaming about BIGGER mean? Well in 2014, we had lots of support to make the reserve BIGGER – and the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Northwick Trust and The Lady Tangye Trust made it happen with grants of £190,100, £30,000 and £2000 respectively. That's how we've bought and will be able to look after a new piece of land, against the edge of the reserve.
That land, Bell pit meadows, will create a nice, ‘soft edge’ to the woodland – small bushes running out from our woodland and into lovely meadows.
We will turn this........
Into this.....
It’s going to be magic – so, let’s keep dreaming................
And a BIG THANK YOU to The Northwick Trust, The Lady Tangye Trust and