Over £8,300 have been raised by the joint fundraising efforts of local community group Save Beane Marshes and Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. 

Local wildlife lovers responded to the call for help to improve the Trust’s newest nature reserve for wildlife by donating over £5000, with additional support being given by East Herts District Council and County Cllr Andrew Stevenson. The funding will help pay for the site to be fenced after the summer, allowing cattle grazing later in the season.

Emma Norrington, the Trust’s Head of Fundraising & Communications, said: “The residents of Hertford have once again shown an incredible amount of generosity for Beane Marsh. We are very grateful to all those who have contributed and the effort put in by Save Beane Marshes.”

Save Beane Marshes sincerely thanks everyone, in Hertford and beyond, who supported this latest campaign and is excited to see the gradual transformation of Beane Marsh once the fencing is installed. 

Save Beane Marshes, local donors and Hertford Town Council had helped to raise vital funds that supported the Trust to buy the site in summer 2020. Beane Marsh hasn’t been managed for wildlife for many years, but with the right care, it could provide shelter and food for a wide variety of insects, birds and mammals.

The fencing work is planned to take place at the very end of the summer – this timing will allow the Trust to minimise the impact on nesting birds and other wildlife along the boundary of the site during the works.

Introducing cattle grazing for a couple of months each year will help to create a diverse grassland structure of benefit to a wide range of wildlife. Wetland wildflowers will flourish, benefiting insects such as bees and butterflies. This in turn will benefit other species such as birds and bats. Cattle grazing will also open up small wetland ponds helping dragonflies and amphibians.

Find out more about the reserve