Fens reunited! Help create a wildlife haven

7 Jun 2007

North Wales Wildlife Trust has been given the opportunity to buy 42 acres of land bordering its internationally-important Cors Goch National Nature Reserve on Anglesey. It has been given until July to raise the £260,000 needed to cover the purchase and initial management costs.

This is a once-only opportunity to acquire a valuable extension to a nature reserve which is already a vital haven for a wide array of species under threat, including barn owls and rare orchids.

If the Trust is successful, the boundary of Cors Goch will be significantly closer to another important reserve, Cors Erddreiniog. The new land will form part of a critical bridge between the two sites, allowing wildlife to move more freely between the two reserves, increasing chances of survival. The Trust will also be able to stop damage from agricultural run-off and quarrying, and it will extend the existing footpath network to increase public access. The acquisition would mean the trust would own virtually all the Llyn Cadarn shoreline at Cors Goch - some 193 acres.

Species which would benefit include the brown hare, linnet, reed bunting, snipe, great-crested grebe, little grebe, bullfinch, song thrush, barn owl, medicinal leech, dwarf stonewort, lesser bearded stonewort, and bluebell.

The Trust is appealing for donations and looking for grant aid. The Countryside Council for Wales has already offered at least £40,000.

Trust director Frances Cattanach said: "This is a monumental task. It is the only major land purchase we have entered into in the past decade, but the Trust sees it as an exceptional opportunity that must be grasped.

"If we fail to reach our target, agricultural practices will continue to erode the quality of the wetland and lake, and the threat of quarrying will continue to hang over the reserve. A wonderful opportunity will have been lost."

NWWT already owns and manages 33 sites in North Wales, but Cors Goch remains close to its heart because the trust was founded following its purchase in 1963.

The appeal is being launched at a difficult time. The Heritage Lottery Fund recently announced that further Lottery funding would be needed for the 2012 Olympics. Lottery funding has been invaluable to the Wildlife Trust in the past and is a natural funder for this type of land acquisition. But not this time, unfortunately – so donations from the public are all the more important.

Donations to the appeal can be made by sending a cheque payable to North Wales Wildlife Trust (Fens Reunited Appeal), to the Trust’s Office at 376, High Street, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 1YE. Please ring 01248 351541 for more information. The Trust is also raising funds by selling a limited edition print of a brown hare by local photographer Graham Eaton for £10.

Key Facts
Area to be purchased	42 acres
Area of Cors Goch with Rhuddlan Fawr	120 acres
Grid Reference	SH486 813
Ordnance Survey Maps	Explorer 263 or Landranger 114
Key habitats which will be protected
Fen, lake, calcareous and neutral grassland, limestone pavement, ancient hazel coppice, hedgerow.
Key species which will be protected
Brown hare, linnet, reed bunting, snipe, great-crested grebe, little grebe, bullfinch, song thrush, barn owl, medicinal leech, dwarf stonewort, lesser bearded stonewort, bluebell

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Note to newsdesks

For more information, pictures, and maps, and to arrange media interviews and visits to the site, please contact Frances Cattanach on 01248 351541

1. The Wildlife Trusts

North Wales Wildlife Trust is one of 47 Wildlife Trusts in the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts partnership is the largest UK charity dedicated exclusively to conserving all our habitats and species, with a membership of more than 670,000 people including 108,000 junior members. We campaign for the protection of wildlife and invest in the future by helping people of all ages to gain a greater appreciation and understanding of wildlife. In North Wales we care for 32 nature reserves and have over 4,600 members. For further information about The Wildlife Trusts please phone 01248 351541 or visit www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/northwales Charity No 230772

2. Cors Goch National Nature Reserve

Cors Goch National Nature Reserve is recognised as one of Wales’ most important nature reserves. Situated near Llanbedrgoch on Anglesey, its a patchwork of wetland, heath, meadow and rocky outcrops with unique features that make it home to many protected species. These include plants like orchids and rock-roses, a variety of reptiles and amphibians, dragonflies, butterflies and rare creatures like the medicinal leech.

3. Wildlife Photography Exhibition by Graham Eaton and North Wales Wildlife Trust at Theatr Gwynedd until June 11, 2007

Graham Eaton is a consultant geologist who spends his spare time as a wildlife photographer. His job has taken him all over the world from Azerbaijan to Aberdeen and from California to Cardiff. Based in the Wirral area, he spends many hours photographing wildlife, particularly around North Wales. His photographs have appeared in many magazines, and he is represented by several of the world’s top picture libraries. The exhibition shows wonderful local wildlife images, many from Wildlife Trust nature reserves, such as The Spinnies, Aberogwen just outside Bangor.

4. Reduction in Heritage Lottery Funding

The share of additional Olympic funding from the Lottery will take £90m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.