Bluebells, wild garlic and dragonflies will be among the species set to receive a helping hand in an initiative which will involve replanting ancient woodland and restoring ponds in Northumberland.
The new £6m Network for Nature programme sees The Wildlife Trusts and National Highways team up to deliver a boost for nature throughout the country and the focus in the north will be upon Northumberland as well as Yorkshire. In projects intended to benefit people too, various habitats are to receive help to recover from the effects of road construction and pollution.
Work will involve making and restoring environments for wildflowers, trees and wildlife by, for instance, creating wetlands and reedbeds to filter polluted run-off from roads. In Northumberland, space will be made for the likes of bluebells and white wild garlic at Whittle Woodland, which is close to the A69 north of Horsley.
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Here, conifers - an introduced species - will be removed from Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s ancient woodland so that broadleaf trees, such as oak, can be replanted. Three ponds also will be restored to encourage dragonflies and amphibians.
Yorkshire's project will support the now endangered water vole. There will be a similar wildlife focus nationwide with 26 biodiversity projects, in all, set to enhance, restore and create more than 1,700 acres of woodlands, grasslands, peatlands and wetlands across every region of England.
National Highways is the company responsible for the country's motorways and major A-roads and it has awarded almost £6m from its Environment and Wellbeing fund to Network for Nature. Its regional director Simon Boyle said: “We are committed to supporting a flourishing network of wildlife and habitats."
He said past environmental improvements have included bat roosts, mammal tunnels, natural flood management measures, tree planting and management of grasslands on roadside verges. "We enhance habitats wherever possible and working with partners like The Wildlife Trusts helps us to recognise what is special so we can ensure our work is really effective," he said.
“We are pleased to be partnering with them so we can best support the environment in Yorkshire and the North East and I’m looking forward to seeing how these particular projects flourish.” And Nikki Robinson, Network for Nature programme manager for The Wildlife Trusts, welcomed the company's commitment to Network for Nature and efforts to counter the impact of previous road building.
Nikki added: "Historic road building programmes have contributed to nature’s decline, fragmenting wild spaces and causing environmental pollution and this programme will help Wildlife Trusts throughout England carry out important nature conservation work and contribute to a national Nature Recovery Network, connecting town and countryside and joining up vital places for wildlife, and promoting landscape scale connectivity.”
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