Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has spoken of its delight at becoming the legal owners of Attenborough Nature Reserve thanks to a £750,000 grant from Biffa Award and public backing for its Attenborough Lifeline Appeal.
The purchase of the reserve has been made possible thanks to a £750,000 grant from Biffa Award as part of the Landfill Communities Fund, public donations and backing from Wildlife Trust members.
Such is the popularity of the nature reserve, an area of restored former sand and gravel quarries alongside the River Trent south of Nottingham, that the charity reached its ambitious £1million target in a matter of weeks – enabling legal negotiations over the sale of the site by CEMEX UK who had previously operated a sand and gravel quarry on site to begin.
Now, with contracts signed and exchanged, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is planning for the long-term future of the site, which provides a safe haven for over 1,000 species including otters and bitterns and welcomes an estimated half a million visitors each year.
Speaking on behalf of the Trust, Chief Executive Paul Wilkinson said: “The support of Biffa Award and the backing of the public and our supporters has delivered a prize that we have been working towards for decades. Attenborough is a cherished site, where so many come to connect with nature. Our aspiration has always been to take the site into our ownership so that we can plan for its long-term future and that future begins today. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone that has made it possible including Biffa Award, our supporters and CEMEX.”
The campaign to secure the future of the reserve, which has been managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust for over 50 years, was launched in November 2019 – following the end of commercial sand and gravel extraction which helped shape the site for almost a century. Public donations flooded in with over £130,000 being given in the first 12 days of the appeal – with donations sent from as far afield as the Isles of Scilly and Shetland.
Following news that contracts for the purchase of the reserve had been exchanged Biffa Award’s Grants Manager Rachel Maidment said: “It is a privilege to have been able to play a part in securing the future of Attenborough Nature Reserve for generations to come.”
Biffa Award is a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives by awarding grants to communities and environmental projects across the UK.
Since being opened by Sir David in 1966 Attenborough Nature Reserve, situated on the edge of Nottingham, has become one of the best loved nature reserves in the UK. The Trust has worked closely with CEMEX over this period to create a reserve which is an excellent example of how industry can work with conservation bodies to create a site high in biodiversity which is of national importance.
The reserve has remained open through the various lockdown restrictions and has been discovered by an entirely new audience seeking solace in nature and a safe space to exercise and to meet up with family and friends.
Further details about Attenborough Nature reserve and how to support the Trust’s work at the site and across the county can be found at nottinghamshirewildlife.org