BBOWT Conservation Report

Keeping track of our conservation work

Every three years, we report on the state of our nature reserves and on our conservation progress. This report gives a balanced overview of the status of wildlife and wild places that we aim to protect, and looks at our successes as well as the challenges we face.

This is a summary of some of the highlights and key findings from the report.

Read the full report

Wildlife and wild places are essential for the health and wellbeing of people, as well as being an integral part of a functioning planet. At the same time, wildlife in the UK faces ever-increasing pressure from development, intensive agriculture, and climate change. We work hard to tip the balance in favour of nature and face the twenty first century challenges identified in Professor John Lawton's 2010 report, Making Space for Nature [this link will open on the gov.uk site]. Our conservation work is focused on achieving the principles outlined in this report:

• More – land managed for nature conservation
• Bigger – individual areas managed for nature conservation
• Better – quality or condition of wildlife on land managed for nature conservation
• Joined – more links and connectivity between nature conservation areas

We achieve this primarily through managing our nature reserves to be wonderful havens for wildlife and engaging with landowners and decision-makers in the wider countryside so that wildlife can be protected beyond our nature reserves.

Over the past three years, we have seen first hand the amazing difference our work has made for the fortunes of wildlife across Berks, Bucks and Oxon. For more details on specific case studies, read the full report. 

Positive outcomes for wildlife 

• Silver-washed fritillary numbers have increased, following the increases in hairy violet abundance resulting from our coppicing work at Warburg.
• The precious wild flower meadows at Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve have recovered from the severe floods of 2007 thanks to our careful management. The part of the site that is a National Nature Reserve is once again in a favourable condition.
• Butterfly diversity has increased from 15 to 20 species at Dancersend, thanks to the restoration of chalk grassland which has increased the abundance of the food plants on which these butterflies feed.

• We have planted 1.2km of new hedgerow, helping link up the countryside and make homes for threatened farmland birds as part of our Hedgerow Havens project.
• Our long-term engagement with the Gavray planning application and East West Rail project has paid off, with positive outcomes for wildlife secured.

Challenges we face

Successive State of Nature reports have highlighted the grave threats faced by wildlife in the UK. Intensive agriculture, climate change, development pressures, pollution and invasive species are all challenges that we face on our nature reserves and in our work in the wider countryside. 

There are also some more locally specific problems, including deer browsing reducing plant diversity and damaging woodlands, a lack of control over water levels on some of our sites, and dominating scrub. For more detail on how these affect specific reserves, read the full report.

Some examples include:

• In spite of our best efforts, nightingale numbers at Hosehill Lake continue to decline in line with the national population (which has undergone a 90% decrease in the past 50 years). Much is known about the breeding requirements of nightingales, meaning our habitat management can be precisely tailored to their needs - but these are migratory birds, and it is thought that conditions in their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa are also contributing to the decline of this species.
• Despite ongoing targeted habitat management work (mostly coppicing) on three key BBOWT nature reserves, dormice populations on all three sites continue to decline. This species is in serious trouble nationally - their population has declined by a third since the end of the 20th Century. They are extremely sensitive to unpredictable and adverse weather, meaning climate change is likely to contribute to their decline.

Our nature reserves are at the heart of the work we do. We actively manage them to ensure they are safe places where precious wildlife can thrive, away from the pressures it faces elsewhere. They are also places for people to enjoy the beauty and tranquillity of nature.

Our work on our nature reserves help towards the Lawton objectives of:

• More - by increasing the area of land under conservation management
• Bigger - by increasing the size of individual nature reserves
• Better - by focusing site management to achieve good condition status for wildlife

The full Conservation Report goes into detail about the work we have done on specific habitats, and the outcomes of this work. You can read some key case studies below.

Download the full report

Our nature reserves are jewels in the crown of the countryside, havens for biodiversity that is struggling elsewhere. But for nature to truly recover, we need to link our nature reserves together with the wider countryside.

Government policies have a role to play in this, which is why we are campaigning for a powerful Environment Bill. Here at BBOWT, we provide advice to landowners and influence decision-makers to encourage them to manage land in a way that is favourable to wildlife.

The full Conservation Report contains detailed case studies showcasing our work in the wider countryside. You can see some highlights below.

Download the full report

Find out more