Strawberry Hill Heath Fire Damage Recovery Fund

On Saturday 8^th August, a destructive wildfire swept through the woodland at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve Strawberry Hill Heath. The fire is now under control; however, 5.6 hectares of land (more than 8 football pitches) have been destroyed. 

The damage caused to this nationally important wildlife habitat is devastating.

Please donate today, to help us to restore Strawberry Hill Heath.

Donate today

Strawberry Hill Heath habitat and its wildlife

Strawberry Hill Heath is a rare habitat, as one of the last remaining areas of open heathland which once covered the sandstone areas of Nottinghamshire stretching from Mansfield east towards Ollerton. A Site of Special Scientific Interest, the heathland is home to a myriad of wildlife including reptiles, small burrowing mammals and ground nesting birds, in addition to the nightjar, a rare bird species which uses the area as a feeding ground. Furthermore, the nature reserve contains an area of sessile oak plantation, which may date back to the 1850s, and is home to birds such as the woodlark and lesser spotted woodpecker.

The challenge we’re facing

The fire on Saturday is the latest in a series of wildfires which have hit the area over the summer. Other nature reserves, including nearby Rainworth Heath, have also experienced fire damage in recent years and remain at risk now and in the future. 

Heathland is particularly susceptible to fire damage, and although heather does regenerate, the sheer frequency, intensity and spread of recent fires with the changing climate makes the future recovery of this habitat uncertain.

Extensive work will be required to restore Strawberry Hill Heath, including reseeding of heather, development of larger fire breaks and installation of fencing to protect the future regrowth of heather from public access.

Adapting to the changing climate

The recent wildfires across Nottinghamshire are a result of the hot weather and drought which is ongoing across England, with last month recorded as the driest July since records began. We are in a climate and nature emergency, with climate change driving nature’s decline. At Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, we are working on measures across our county to support nature to adapt to our changing climate. These include our natural flood management projects, which also make our wild spaces more drought resilient, our work to ‘green’ our local communities, and our work with farmers and landowners to increase on-farm biodiversity to make farmland more adaptable to climate change.

We need your support to recover from this tragedy and to protect our county’s wildlife and wild places from future environmental crises.

Donate today. Every donation, no matter the size, makes a difference.