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Wiltshire Wildlife Trust celebrates the tenth anniversary of its Braydon Forest Project with a Birthday Bash on Sunday 9 July 2000. Centred around a spectacular meadow carpeted with wild flowers in full bloom, the event also celebrates the recent acquisition of a parcel of land, with funds provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund and North Wiltshire District Council, linking the meadow with nearby Ravensroost Wood to form a single nature reserve. The new land will be managed for conservation, to encourage wild flowers such as black knapweed, ox-eye daisy and cuckoo-flower, all of which can be seen in full bloom in the existing meadows owned by the Trust in the Braydon Forest. This will provide a haven for ground-nesting birds such as the curlew, and butterflies such as the rare brown hairstreak, found in only two places in Wiltshire. Flower-rich grassland is one of the most threatened habitats in the UK, with over 98 per cent lost in the last 50 years. Open to everyone, the Birthday Bash will be the Trust’s “thank you” to funders and supporters. Running from 1pm-4pm, events will include guided walks around the meadows, story-telling for children of all ages, demonstrations of woodland crafts such as hurdle-making and “bodging”, as well as a barbecue and birthday cake. The Braydon Forest Project has been running for ten years, but the history of the former royal hunting forest near Minety goes back a lot further than that. First mentioned in a Saxon Chronicle of 796AD, when it would have been full of wild boar and deer, the forest was claimed by the Norman conquerors for the king to hunt in. Since then, the forest has been used to produce timber and charcoal, with much of the open land too wet to plough, and useful to farmers mainly for grazing cattle. These factors have allowed it to remain a favourable spot for wildlife. Following the purchase, in 1987, of its first Braydon Forest nature reserve at Ravensroost Wood, the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust began an ambitious and large-scale project to conserve the areas ancient woodlands, flower-rich grasslands, hedgerows and ponds. In 1990, a full-time project officer was appointed with funding from the Hills Group, North Wiltshire District Council, Wiltshire County Council, the Countryside Commission and English Nature. Since then the Trust has steadily acquired land in the Braydon Forest, today owning 500 acres of woodland and meadow. As well as managing the Trust’s own land for wildlife and people, the Braydon Forest Project promotes wildlife-friendly land management to farmers and other landowners, carrying out wildlife surveys and encouraging people to enjoy the countryside. |
