Yorkshire Wildlife Trust launches an appeal to support woodland reserves
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which looks after the Little Beck Wood nature reserve near Whitby, has launched an appeal to support the ongoing cost of maintaining its woodland reserves in the face of disease, invasive species and management work.
Yorkshire’s woodlands are feeling the heat after the driest spring and summer for hundreds of years – adding pressure to already threatened woodland habitats and the wildlife that relies on them.
On its woodland reserves, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has noticed direct impacts from the drought; from entirely dried-out wet woodlands, to limb drop as trees lose perfectly healthy branches to reduce their drain on resources, and leaves turning autumnal early due to stress.
The hot weather has become an additional burden for our woodlands, which are already under tremendous pressure.
Dave Powell, YWT Living Landscapes Officer for the Vale of York, said: “The unpredictability of our weather over the past few years has given wildlife far less opportunity to bounce back from periods of more extreme weather.
"Yorkshire’s woodlands are already struggling from lack of mixed and older habitat, disease, and minimal management – and they are just too scattered and small to successfully support our wildlife.
“The trust’s woodlands cover an area nearly twice the size of Sherwood Forest and are home to rare species like lesser-spotted woodpeckers, Nathusius’ pipistrelle bats and pied flycatchers, bluebells and stunning autumn colours.
"Oak trees alone support 2,300 species. But they are at risk from a changing climate, land use change and disease like ash dieback, and require constant care to keep them as healthy habitat and beautiful places to visit.”
“Our woodlands are steeped in the history of our land. They are home to ancient trees and ancient techniques that go back centuries, they fill our countryside and cities with colour and birdsong, and there is something enduringly constant about them and their quiet stateliness we cannot afford to lose.”
Go to www.ywt.org.uk/woodlands to find out more about the YWT appeal and to donate.