Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust manages over 40 nature reserves covering nearly north of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, in
Hertfordshire and the historic county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, part of which is divided between the London boroughs of
Barnet,
Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
,
Harrow and
Hillingdon
Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civ ...
. It has over 21,000 members, and is one of
46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK. It is a
Registered Charity, with its Registered Office in
St Albans, and had an income in the year to 31 March 2014 of over £1.5 million.
The trust's activities include managing nature reserves, advising landowners on how to manage their land for wildlife, commenting on planning applications, advising planning authorities and campaigning to protect wildlife. The trust also encourages people to be active volunteers helping to maintain nature reserves.
The first preparatory meeting of what was to become the trust was held on 16 November 1963, and the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Trust for Nature Conservation was incorporated on 9 October 1964. By 1970 it had twenty reserves and in the same year it took over management of its first
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),
Blagrove Common. In 1987 it changed its name to the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. In 2007 it purchased
Amwell Quarry, and started restoration which has now made the site internationally important for its wetland birds.
Two of the trust's nature reserves are
Ramsar sites, internationally important wetland reserves; fifteen are SSSIs, and five are
Local Nature Reserves. The first site was
Fox Covert
Fox Covert is a nature reserve near Royston in North Hertfordshire. It is owned and managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
The site is a mature beech woodland that was planted in the nineteenth century. White helleborine orchids ar ...
, donated by Mr Fordham of
Letchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249.
Letchworth ...
on the trust's foundation in 1964.
[ The largest is King's Meads, at ; this is water meadows where 265 wildflower species have been recorded, and it is an important site for over-wintering ]European stonechat
The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relat ...
s.[ The smallest is Alpine Meadow at 0.8 hectares, which has been designated an SSSI as an example of unimproved chalk grassland.][
]
Nature reserves
Key
;Designations
* LNR = Local Nature Reserve
*Ramsar Ramsar may refer to:
* Places so named:
** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran
** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India
* Eponyms of the Iranian city:
** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran
** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...
= Internationally important wetland site
* RIGS = Regionally Important Geological Site
* SPA = Special Protection Area
* SSSI = Site of Special Scientific Interest
;Access
* YES = Free public access to all or most of the site
* NO = No public access
* PO = Access with permit only
* NF = No footpaths
* VO = Viewing only
* WTO = Wildlife Trust members only
Sites formerly managed by the trust
* Barkway Chalk PitRowley Green Common
Rowley Green Common is a six hectare Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Importance Metropolitan for Nature Conservation in Arkley, north London. It is owned by the London Borough of Barnet. It is also registered common land.
It is mainly woodl ...
* Sawbridgeworth Marsh
* Telegraph Hill
See also
* List of Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire
*
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Featured list
Wildlife Trusts of England
Charities based in Hertfordshire
Middlesex
*
Hertfordshire-related lists