Wilder Idle Valley

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is bringing back wildness to the Idle Valley from Retford to West Stockwith – so that everyone who lives and works there can once again experience calling curlew, flocks of Whooper swans, and a more natural river full of water voles, otters and beavers. Within this complex mosaic of farmland, peatlands and settlements, they are working with landowners to bring back key species such as water voles throughout the landscape, and are restoring habitats for a wide range of species including breeding waders and turtle doves.

The largest reserves in the area are the 375ha Idle Valley Nature Reserve, a complex wetland landscape of lakes, reedbed, wet woodland, grassland and marsh, now with two breeding families of beavers, and our 90ha Misson Carr Nature Reserve, which is the last remaining peat fen in Nottinghamshire and one of the few sites left in the County for breeding lesser spotted woodpecker and turtle dove.

KICK-STARTING REWILDING

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is introducing animals to influence the land, rather than people. Beavers have been introduced to a 58ha enclosure in the Idle Valley Nature Reserve to tackle scrub and restructure scrub and wet plantation woodland to benefit a wide range of other species. They have expanded their herd of Longhorn cattle to manage the wet grassland and marsh, and also a newly restored wood pasture.

At Misson Carr, wilder grazing with longhorns has been expanded to create a mosaic of habitats, using No Fence collars. A total of 3500m of ditches have been restored to bring water back into the fen.

Nature-Based Enterprises

The Wildlife Trust run popular beaver tours and have a successful cafe and shop at the Idle Valley Reserve. They hope to expand this programme for other nature-tourism activities. Other private operators run bird tours.