皇冠体育app

Acorns from some of the country鈥檚 oldest oak trees are being used to create seedlings to populate a newly expanded National Nature Reserve (NNR) in Herefordshire and safeguard the lineage of ancient trees for future generations. 聽聽 聽

皇冠体育app newly named 鈥楳occas Park and Gillian鈥檚 Wood鈥� National Nature Reserve is an extension of the original Moccas Park National Nature Reserve.聽 聽聽聽

皇冠体育app site is being increased in size from 139 to 239 hectares, incorporating woodland and grassland with trees (wood pasture). 皇冠体育app Reserve includes Woodbury Hill Wood, now owned and managed by the Woodland Trust, thanks to the support from a Herefordshire family. 聽聽聽

Gillian鈥檚 Wood is now the name for Moccas Hill Wood and Woodbury Hill Wood. Moccas Hill Wood is being restored to wood pasture by Natural England and Woodbury Hill Wood is being restored to ancient woodland by the Woodland Trust.聽聽聽

Across the site there are ancient trees including the 鈥極ld Man of Moccas鈥� 鈥� an ancient oak believed to be more than 850 years old. Restoring the wood pasture and ancient woodland will benefit wildlife including bats, beetles and dormice.聽聽

皇冠体育app site is part of the King鈥檚 Series of National Nature Reserves, announced last year to leave a lasting public legacy for people and nature by creating a series of reserves to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. Through the King鈥檚 Series, which is the name given to the Government鈥檚 Environmental Improvement Plan target, five new National Nature Reserves will be announced each year for five years, from 2023 to 2027.聽聽

Moccas Park and Gillian鈥檚 Wood NNR is also one of three reserves being declared as part of National Nature Reserves Week, a celebration of England鈥檚 most important places for nature, with events taking place around the country until 31 May. Natural England is responsible for creating and extending National Nature Reserves and approved the extension in April.聽聽

Emma Johnson, West Midlands Deputy Director for Natural England, said:聽聽

鈥溁使谔逵齛pp amazing ancient trees in Moccas Park and Gillian鈥檚 Wood date back hundreds of years to medieval times and beyond and provide rich and varied spaces for many species, including the Moccas beetle found at only one other site in the UK.聽聽聽

鈥溁使谔逵齛pp extension of the Moccas Park and Gillian鈥檚 Wood National Nature Reserve is going to make a real difference to the future of these ancient trees ensuring the next generation of ancient trees which will hopefully be thriving in the 2500s!鈥澛犅�

Within the newly acquired woodland, more ancient and veteran trees have been found stunted and crowded by conifer trees planted in the 1950s as a crop. Restoration of this woodland will see these conifers being slowly removed to give space for native woodland species and for the old ancient trees room to thrive in the last hundred years of their life.聽聽聽

皇冠体育appse include large-leaved lime, wych elm, ash and oak and will provide important deadwood habitat for invertebrates including rare deadwood beetles and a wide range of lichen and fungi. 皇冠体育appse are important mini ecosystems in their own right as well as within the wider wood pastures, woodlands and wider landscape.聽聽聽

Richard Brown, Site Manager of the Woodland Trust said:聽聽聽

鈥淎ncient Woods have been around since at least the 1600s and cannot be replaced. Gradually removing the conifer trees will allow light to reach the woodland floor and the plants, trees and associated wildlife found within an ancient woodland will start to establish themselves once more.聽聽聽聽

鈥溁使谔逵齛pp ancient and veteran trees are an important indication of the wood鈥檚 history. This year we will be surveying to identify and tag all of these surviving ancient trees and will carry out initial management to ensure their survival.鈥澛犅犅犅�

Gillian鈥檚 Wood is named after the sister of John Bulmer, of the Herefordshire family who owned Bulmers cider. 皇冠体育app Woodland Trust now own and manage Woodbury Hill, thanks to the support from John Bulmer and the Trustees of Gillian Bulmer鈥檚 will, creating Gillian鈥檚 Wood in her memory.聽聽聽

John Bulmer said:聽聽聽

鈥淏eing able to support the Woodland Trust to buy and restore this ancient woodland in Gillian鈥檚 memory feels very fitting. She was a strong advocate for woods and trees throughout her life and the designation of the National Nature Reserve in the county where she loved feels very poignant.鈥澛�

皇冠体育app National Nature Reserve now creates a vital extended wooded landscape including ancient trees, scrub, ponds and open space that supports a huge diversity of wildlife.聽聽

皇冠体育app Moccas Park and Gillian鈥檚 Wood National Nature Reserve supports more than 1,000 species of fly and 700 species of beetle, 13 out of the 18 UK bat species, a huge variety of birds including all three woodpeckers and a nationally important population of Pied Flycatchers.聽聽聽

皇冠体育app majority of the site is now open to the public. Gillian鈥檚 Wood and Moccas Hill Wood will be accessible to the public, while Moccas Park will be open to the public for guided walks and open days throughout the year, and for those holding a visitor鈥檚 permit.聽聽

聽It is also a landscape underlain by ancient Silurian and Devonian rocks shaped by more recent melting ice. Much of the Reserve is open to public access and visitors can enjoy spectacular views of the Herefordshire landscape.