DoomsdaysCW<p>Bid to save early <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/rewilding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>rewilding</span></a> site that hosts rare <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nightingales" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>nightingales</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TurtleDoves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TurtleDoves</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Conservationists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Conservationists</span></a> have launched a £1.5 million appeal to buy <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/farmland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>farmland</span></a> that was left to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>nature</span></a> 37 years ago </p><p>by Emily Beament<br>Tuesday 18 June 2024</p><p>"A farm left to nature years before 'rewilding' rose to prominence has become a unique and important site for wildlife, say conservationists launching a bid to save it.</p><p>"The owner of Strawberry Hill, near Bedford, stopped farming his land 37 years ago, with once-arable fields reverting to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/scrubland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>scrubland</span></a> that is now a haven for a host of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/wildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>wildlife</span></a> including threatened nightingales, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/cuckoos" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>cuckoos</span></a> and turtle doves.</p><p>"But the 150-hectare (377-acre) site has no official designations or protections, and following the owner’s death, there were fears the land could be sold and returned to agriculture.</p><p>"After gaining a temporary stay of execution for the site, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WildlifeTrust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WildlifeTrust</span></a> for Beds, Cambs and Northants (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BCN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BCN</span></a>) has raised enough money to buy half the land.</p><p>"Now the conservation charity is launching a £1.5 million appeal to secure the whole site, saving the habitat and its rich wildlife and providing a 'unique' opportunity to have a decades-long head start on rewilding the land for nature."</p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/strawberry-hill-wildlife-trust-bedford-west-sussex-bedfordshire-b2563664.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">independent.co.uk/news/uk/home</span><span class="invisible">-news/strawberry-hill-wildlife-trust-bedford-west-sussex-bedfordshire-b2563664.html</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StrawberryHillsForever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StrawberryHillsForever</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Rewilding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Rewilding</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RewildingUK" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RewildingUK</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BedfordEngland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BedfordEngland</span></a></p>