Page 26 - The Land Trust Annual Review 2021

The Land Trust Annual Review 2021
Environment and biodiversity
Following The value of the Land Trust’s green spaces to the natural environment continues to
Covid-19, our grow. With an increasing demand for new housing and grey infrastructure our work
in this area is vital in protecting species that are vital to our planet’s ecosystem.
work in this area
is becoming With people having a new found appreciation for parks and green spaces following
ever more Covid-19 our work in this area is becoming ever more important with the need to
important... balance the demands of people and wildlife who call our sites home a priority.
This area of work continues to take on greater importance for the Land Trust and in
2021-22 we will be launching our Biodiversity, Environment and Ecology strategy
which sets out our ambition for the work we will do on our sites over the next five years.
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Nature Space of the Year
There were joint winners of Nature Space of the Year at the Land Trust awards
with Twywell Hills and Dales and Oliver Road Lagoons sharing the prize.
Twywell Hills and Dales contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest for the limestone
grassland while another part is known as the best site in Northamptonshire for
butterflies. Significant work to remove scrub has benefited both of those areas and
Twywell is also home to a wide variety of bird species.
The site is incredibly popular with dog walkers and other visitors which puts pressure
on the environment and biodiversity of Twywell and the Trust is planning on rolling out
an innovative dog ambassador scheme in 2021-22 to ensure that people and wildlife
can continue to thrive alongside each other.
Oliver Road Lagoons is one of only two sites in the UK where the distinguished
jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus) can be found. A site wide survey in 2019
identified approximately 1,300 species of invertebrates, birds and reptiles and included
50 endangered spaces. Over 200 marsh helleborine orchids were found around the
lagoon area which led to adjusted management to include additional thinning of some
birch to encourage orchids to spread over a larger area.
Economic and Social Value Delivered
Environment and Biodiversity Value (per annum) 2020-21 Type of Value
Reduced energy consumption £42,747 Cost saving
Reduced carbon emissions £14,656 Economic value
Carbon storage £173,894 Economic value
Biodiversity £2,211 Economic value
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