Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, (part of the Wildlife Trusts partnership), covers the whole ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1948 as a voluntary charitable organisation dedicated to conserving the wildlife and wild places of Lincolnshire and to promoting the understanding and enjoyment of the natural world.

Description

Its headquarters are at Banovallum House, Manor House Street, Horncastle. It has over 25,000 members and manages 95 nature reserves with a total area of 8,520 acres (34.49 km²). These include five main visitor-focused reserves used for educational purposes:

• Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve opened in 1949 and is the Trust's first nature reserve. A reserve of sand dunes, salt marsh and brackish pools situated on the coast 3 miles (5 km) south of Skegness. Facilities include two car parks and a visitors' centre with a cafe, shop and toilets.
• Far Ings National Nature Reserve opened in 1973. A reserve of lakes, reedbeds and meadows situated in the north of the county on the south bank of the Humber Estuary 2 miles (3 km) west of Barton upon Humber. Facilities provided include car parking, toilets, shop and classroom.
• Whisby Nature Park opened in 1989. A reserve of lakes, meadows and immature woodland situated in the west of the county alongside the A46 Lincoln by-pass. Facilities include car parking, an education centre with a laboratory and a classroom, an adventure playground for children and the 'Natural World Centre' with toilets, café, shop and temporary and permanent exhibitions. (The car parks, adventure playground and 'Natural World Centre' are managed by North Kesteven District Council).
• Snipe Dales Country Park & Nature Reserve opened in 1974. A reserve that is part wet grassland and scrub and part conifer woodland situated in the centre of the county on the B1195 Horncastle to Spilsby road. The coniferous woodland is currently being replaced by native broadleaved trees. Facilities include car parking and toilets.
• Deeping Lakes opened in 2004. A reserve of lakes and immature woodland situated in the south of the county on the north bank of the River Welland, it is 3 miles (5 km) east of Deeping St James on the B1166 road. Only car parking is provided while the site is being developed.

The Trust employs 78 full and part-time staff who are aided by more than 1,300 volunteers drawn mainly from Trust's 16 area groups (members' groups), each of which is based on one of the county's main towns. The area groups also organise meetings, visits and social events and are involved in fund raising and membership recruitment.

5,000 of the Trust's members are under 16 years of age; these are catered for by the organisation's junior wing Wildlife Watch which runs seven groups around the county organising events for children.

The Trust's income is derived mainly from members' subscriptions, money raised by area groups and members, donations, grants from local authorities and government agencies (usually for special projects), profits from the Trust's sales business and from legacies.

Sites

Key

Public access

• BPA = access only by prior arrangement with the Trust
• No = no public access
• Yes = public access to all or most of the site

Site	Photograph	Area	Location	Public Access	Classifications	Description
Ancaster Valley		10 hectares (25 acres)		Yes		A steep-sided valley best known for its flower-rich limestone grassland. Plants include pasqueflower, bee orchid, dyer's greenweed and dropwort, whilst birds recorded at the site include Eurasian green woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker.
Anderby Marsh		24 hectares (59 acres)
Arnold's Meadow		3 hectares (7.4 acres)
Banovallum House		1 hectare (2.5 acres)
Barrow Blow Wells		3 hectares (7.4 acres)
Barrow Haven Reedbed		13 hectares (32 acres)
Baston Fen		33 hectares (82 acres)
Bloxholm Wood		30 hectares (74 acres)
Boston Road Bricks		2 hectares (4.9 acres)
Boultham Mere		19 hectares (47 acres)
Candlesby Hill Quarry		2 hectares (4.9 acres)
Chapel Pit		3 hectares (7.4 acres)
Clapgate Pits		1 hectare (2.5 acres)				Former quarry
Crowle Moor		188 hectares (460 acres)
Dawson City Clay Pits		16 hectares (40 acres)
Deeping Lakes		71 hectares (180 acres)
Digby Corner		1 hectare (2.5 acres)
Dole Wood		8 hectares (20 acres)
Donna Nook National Nature Reserve		1,150 hectares (2,800 acres)			NNR
Duke's Covert and Copper Hill		2 hectares (4.9 acres)
Epworth Turbary		33 hectares (82 acres)
Fairfield Pit		9 hectares (22 acres)
Far Ings National Nature Reserve		59 hectares (150 acres)			NNR
Fir Hill Quarry
Fiskerton Fen
Frampton Marsh
Friskney Decoy Wood
Furze Hill
Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve					NNR
Goslings Corner Wood
Great Casterton Road Banks
Greetwell Hollow
Hatton Meadows
Hazey Turbary
Heath's Meadows
Hopland's Wood
Horbling Line
Huttoft Bank Pit
Keal Carr
Killingholme Haven Pits
Kingerby Beck Meadows
Kirkby Gravel Pits
Kirkby Moor
Landholme Wood
Lawn Wood, and Bottleneck and Jackson's Meadows
Legbourne Wood
Linwood Warren
Messingham Sand Quarry
Mill Hill Quarry
Moor Closes
Moor Farm
Moulton Marsh
Muckton Wood
Pasture Wharf
Pickering's Meadow
Pinchbeck Slipe
Rauceby Warren
Red Hill
Rigsby Wood
Robert's Field
Roughton Moor Wood
Rush Furling
Saltfleetby – Threddlethorpe Dunes					NNR
Sandilands Pit
Scotton Common
Sedge Hole Close
Silverines Meadows
Snipe Dales
Sotby Meadows
South Witham Verges
Sow Dale
Spendluffe Meadows
Stanton's Pit					LNR
Surfleet Lows
Tetney Blow Wells
The Shrubberies
Thurlby Fen Slipe
Toby's Hill
Toft Tunnel
Tortoiseshell Wood and Porter's Lodge Meadows
Tunman Wood
Watts Wood
Welton-le-Wold
Whisby Nature Park
Willoughby Branch Line
Willoughby Meadow
Willoughby Tree Fen
Wolla Bank Pit
Wolla Bank Reedbed
Woodhall Spa Airfield Nature Reserve					NNR

External links

• Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust website