Attenborough Nature Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

at Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England, located south west of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

city centre. It is owned and managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, supported by Broxtowe Borough Council, following the completion of purchase from Cemex UK in December 2020.Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust secures ownership of 'cherished' Attenborough Nature Reserve
'' Nottinghamshire Live'', 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020 At its centre is a building called Attenborough Nature Centre, comprising visitor services and educational facilities.

History

The site was used as gravel pits between 1929 and 1967, and was latterly still owned by CEMEX, the gravel extraction company, who continue to extract sand and gravel from neighbouring areas. As sections of the site are worked out they are restored as wetland. In 2010 an area known as Thrumpton's Land was restored in this way. The reserve was established at the completion of an earlier phase of workings in 1966 and was opened by the naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. In late 2019, the owners announced their desire to sell the site, and an appeal backed by Sir David Attenborough, whose family traditionally hail from the area, was launched to raise £1,000,000 needed to enable transfer of ownership to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, which had helped to maintain the site with the owners for 60 years.Sir David Attenborough backs £1m nature reserve appeal
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Nottingham'', 25 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020Notts Wildlife Trust launches 'urgent' £1m appeal to buy Attenborough Nature Reserve
'' Nottingham Post, 26 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020 The purchase of the site from Cemex UK was concluded in December 2020, following a £750,000 grant allocated as part of the Landfill Communities Fund from Biffa Award.

Geography

The reserve now covers 145 hectares of lakes, wetland, grassland and scrub. It sits at the confluence of the

River Erewash The River Erewash is a river in England, a tributary of the River Trent that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, forming the boundary between the two counties for much of its length. It rises near Kirkby-in-Ashf ...

and the Trent, and is part of an area designated as the Attenborough Gravel Pits

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI). The SSSI covers and extends westwards beyond the reserve, to the County Boundary. There are large lakes formed by the flooded pits, known as Church Pond, Clifton Pond, Main Pond, Tween Pond and Beeston Pond, plus drier areas of scrub and grassland such as Corbetts Meadow and Erewash field. There are also areas of native willow and woodland. The gravel pits are significant for the numbers of wintering shoveler and bitterns, as well as the numbers of breeding birds. The species count since 1966 is now over 250 bird species. Among the nationally rare birds seen at the reserve are penduline tit (1994), squacco heron (1998 and 2011), purple heron (2003 and 2016) and sora (2004).

Facilities

The Attenborough Nature Centre at the site provides an educational facility, shop and refreshment point and car park for the reserve, accessed from Barton Lane, Attenborough. The centre was completed in 2005, since which it has won a Gold award for eco-tourism. Almost 40 years after he opened the reserve itself, Sir David Attenborough returned to open the centre. An article in '' BBC Wildlife'' listed it as number 9 in a top ten 'eco places in the world'.Green Traveller blog
accessed 18 Mar 2012 The facilities are open seven days a week, and the centre is surrounded by the ponds. There are also two public bird hides.

Gallery

File:Attenborough Nature Reserve Visitor Centre - geograph.org.uk - 763738.jpg, The Nature Centre with raised walkway File:Attenborough Nature reserve - geograph.org.uk - 1062596.jpg, A winter nature trail File:Animals of Attenborough Nature Reserve 06.jpg,

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North ...

swimming in line File:Animals of Attenborough Nature Reserve 01.jpg, Egyptian and Canada geese together File:Attenborough Nature Reserve 03.jpg, Nature Centre viewed from the main footbridge File:Visitor Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1357290.jpg, Lakeside picnic area

References

External links