Funding our newest nature reserve

The Parks at Dulas Court, on the southern edge of the Golden Valley, includes two of the finest unimproved hay meadows in Herefordshire, divided by a stretch of the wonderfully clear Dulas Brook, home to the rare white clawed crayfish and otters. Recently this hidden gem was put up for sale by auction.

The potential loss of this meadow was bought to our attention by committed and enthusiastic members of the local community who were keen to see the site saved for future generations. After lengthy negotiations the landowner agreed to take the land off the market and sell it to the Trust; and so The Parks has become our newest nature reserve.

However, in order to secure the site at such short notice the Trust has had to take on significant loans. Also, money is needed to improve access, provide interpretation and help with initial management such as fencing and hedging.

Meadows like The Parks are some of the most threatened habitats in Britain; 97% of these species rich meadows have been lost over the past 70 years, and those that have avoided agricultural “improvement” tend to be small and inaccessible. So at 18 hectares (44 acres) The Parks is quite a find, and has only survived because it has been managed in the traditional way that hasn’t changed over the years: cut for hay in the summer and then grazed over the autumn.

The Parks meadows lie on the gentle, lower slopes of the Dulas valley, and are visually stunning. They are also home to over 100 species of plants including:

• common and heath spotted orchid;
• yellow rattle, semi-parastic on grasses and named after its seed pods;
• pignut, an indicator of old pastures,
• common quaking grass.

The grassland also supports a good diversity of insects such as:

• butterflies including the large skipper, marbled white and painted lady;
• moths such as the distinctive Mother Shipton;
• a wide range of grasshoppers yet to be catalogued.

The Dulas Brook is a beautiful feature of The Parks, and home to brown trout, otters, kingfishers and the rare white clawed crayfish, seriously under threat from the American signal crayfish, which both carries disease fatal to the white clawed, and also is an aggressive competitor. Dragonflies and damselflies abound, notably the beautiful demoiselle and the club-tailed dragonfly, which uses the clear waters to breed and the streamside to patrol for prey.

Future management of the reserve will continue traditional methods but will explore the use of rare breeds for grazing, increasing the diversity of wildlife, and undertake monitoring to measure management success which would be of national interest.

To date £89,000 has been raised from two legacies from the late Roland Wilkes and Cyril Jarrold, and a generous donation of £25,000 from Herefordshire Conservation Development Trust. However the Nature Trust has had to take on a large loan to cover the purchase price and initial works. £145,000 is still needed to secure this important site.

> Click here to download The Parks Appeal letter (1.6MB)

Thank you for supporting this appeal

Any funds raised over the amount of the appeal will be set aside by the Trust for future reserve purchases.