Brockholes Wetland - URGENT Wildlife Trust APPEAL!

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire have launched an URGENT APPEAL to try to SAVE BROCKHOLES WETLAND FROM DEVELOPMENT.

They need to raise £50,000 in the next four weeks to secure the future of Higher Brockholes for wildlife and local people for ever!



The Higher Brockholes site, encircled by the River Ribble, has been quarried for gravel for several years, and the older pits have filled with water and become one of the finest sites for birdwatching in the North West.
Numerous bird species which live or over-winter on the Ribble have established a fantastic habitat in the Brockholes quarries over recent years, and this area is already home to a fantastic variety of wildlife including Lapwing, Sand Martin, and Kingfisher, as well as more vulnerable species such as Whimbrel, Skylark, and Reed Bunting. There are also newts, bats, dragonflies and damselflies, and Otters are now returning to the Ribble in this area.

The Wildlife Trust hope to purchase the site and turn this fantastic area into a nature reserve of open water, reedbeds, flower-rich grassland and woodland. Brockholes adjoins the largest ancient woodland in Lancashire, a site already in the care of the Wildlife Trust, and it would be a tragedy to lose Brockholes Wetland forever under new development.

This site also adjoins Lower Brockholes (see July 6th article) farm which local people tried to save from also being quarried as this is ancient farmland - we were unsuccessful as Planning Permission has been given to quarry Lower Brockholes, but by helping the Wildlife Trust to purchase the much bigger Higher Brockholes site, we can help to protect this beautiful area from development.
As a wetland area, Brockholes contributes enormously to the Ribble ecosystem and to the quality of life of local people, able to enjoy the peace and tranquility of these beautiful remaining areas of the Ribble's floodplain and Green Belt.

Help the Wildlife Trust to raise the £50,000 they need to release further funding of £1.5 million already secured. They need to receive all donations by Friday 15th December, so waste no time!!

If successful, the Wildlife Trust will be able to protect Brockholes Wetland from development, and will improve this important habitat further with restoration of the wetlands and further habitat improvements such as planting new hedgerows and trees, and seed the meadows. Brockholes Wetland will become a great place to visit, to walk or cycle, watch the wildlife from the new hides which will be constructed and find out about the wildlife which lives there in the new visitor centre which will also be built.

Everyone who makes a donation to the Brockholes Wetland appeal will be recorded on a Roll of Honour.

If you give £100 you will be invited to join the Wildlife Trust for a celebration event at Brockholes.

A gift of £10,000 will enable you to name a birdwatching hide after yourself or a loved one.

But you can give ANY AMOUNT you wish - no matter how small it WILL ALL COUNT so please send the Wildlife Trust a donation today.

Click here for a copy of the Brockholes Wetland Appeal Donation Form.
Please complete this and send with your cheque to:
BROCKHOLES APPEAL,
FREEPOST PR983,
PRESTON
PR5 6BR

but if you put on your own stamp, this will save the Wildlife Trust money!

Please note that cheques should be made payable to "Birchall Blackburn Escrow Account (Brockholes)" as this is the special account set up to allow the Wildlife Trust to match fund our donations to help them release the £1.5 million they need to SAVE BROCKHOLES WETLAND from development.

If you wish, you could write Save The Ribble on the form to help the Wildlife Trust see where their donations are coming from.

You can find out more about the enormous numbers of bird and dragonfly species already inhabiting the Brockholes Wetland.

or read details of the Wildlife Trust's Brockholes Vision

or you can find out about the Brockholes Biodiversity Targets and other information about Brockholes by visiting the Wildlife Trust website.

You can contact us at savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk