WILD RESERVES Around the reserves People making a difference down the decades

Our Head of Communications the contributions of a much wider and almost countless list of people who’ve helped the Trust grow our wonderful estate of nature reserves over the past six decades.

Erin McDaid gives a personal perspective on some of the people who have contributed to the amazing legacy resulting from the creation and care of our nature reserves across the county.

Since our formation in May 1963 as the Nottinghamshire Trust for Nature Conservation, the protection of wild green spaces has been central to our work. Whilst our earliest work focused on diligently recording what remained of the county’s wildlife, led by people including the indomitable Miss Ena Palmer, and campaigns to safeguard threatened places – caring for wildlife rich habitats has been central to our approach, fuelled every step of the way by our passionate members and supporters.

One figure I feel I have to mention is A.K. Kent – known in the Trust as Tony. Tony was a pivotal link with the University of Nottingham in the very early days of the Trust and helped set in motion a relationship between Attenborough Nature Reserve and the University that is still very active today. Thanks to Tony’s early work, literally thousands of students have used Attenborough as a base for their research and in those formative days, many also donned wellies and wielded spades to help shape the reserve as well as contributing to recording its wildlife.

Our vocal campaign to prevent what is now the much loved Attenborough Nature Reserve from being infilled with ash from Radcliffe-on-Soar Power Station soon morphed into a partnership with the site’s then owners, Attenborough Gravels, to transform previously worked areas of the extensive sand and gravel quarry into a nature reserve for wildlife and people.

There have been many champions of our work to secure and care for precious wild places through the decades. Any account of this nature is bound to be subjective and as the years progress, it is inevitable that the names of some key figures will slip from the collective memory. In drafting this piece my aim is to highlight some of the people who I’ve been lucky enough to work with over the past 30 years and others whose contributions have been recounted to me down the years. In highlighting these individuals my aim is to underline the importance of people who’ve set out to make a difference and hope that their efforts represent

The list of key people connected with Attenborough Nature Reserve is almost endless but it would be remiss of me not to highlight the contributions of our first ever member of staff Norman Lewis – who I’m delighted was able to join us at a recent event to mark the 60th Anniversary of our inaugural meeting. The inspirational Keith Corbett helped drive the development of the nature centre alongside Brian Wetton and also introduced so many other passionate volunteers to the reserve. Mentions are also needed for both Tony Wood and Sandy Aitken who remain involved today.

Tony Kent went on to chair a number of the Trust’s key committees and later became a passionate advocate for our 2 Besthorpe Nature Reserve – a role that has been ably picked up by Andrew Hindmarsh who passionately guides a merry band of dedicated volunteers and continues to help secure funds for new facilities such as hides and wildlife viewing screens.

When I first joined the Trust back in 1993, the then chairman, John McMeeking MBE, already had decades of service to his name. This inspirational figure is closely associated with 3 Treswell Wood due to his long and dedicated contribution to the bird ringing programme at the reserve, but John had a hand in securing pretty much all of our nature reserves, often working alongside Norman Lewis to secure sites’ purchase or lease.

During the 1970s when the Trust was fighting to save 3 Treswell Wood, the first reserve ever purchased by the Trust, John McMeeking and Norman would have been working cheek by jowl with two other legendary figures passionate about the reserve – former Chair, John Walker and former Hon. Vice President Margaret Price. John McMeeking also took inspiration from figures including Eirlys Gilbert – a stalwart of our activities in the north of the county and responsible for helping secure the future of our 4 Ashton’s Meadow Reserve In my own time with the Trust, I have been lucky enough to have worked with and get to know many of the individuals who shaped our reserves and shaped the Trust. Gordon Dyne at 5 Wilwell Farm Cutting , Chris Terrell-Nield at 6 Bunny Old Wood, Derick Scott at 7 Misson Carr

Many of these names are well known across the Trust. Others, such as Tony Kennedy ( 3 Treswell Wood) and Derick Rudge ( 8 Wilford Claypit), who I first worked with when I was Volunteer Coordinator working on our City Nature Reserves in the 1990s, quietly put in decades of service caring for reserves they care passionately about.

As I feared from the outset, I have run out of space to credit all the people I have worked alongside or learned of their immense contributions to developing our nature reserves. Had I simply chosen to list folk alongside the reserves they’ve helped to shape I’d still not have had space.

Although I’ve merely scratched the surface in highlighting key contributions across our estate, I hope that I’ve given a flavour of the caliber and commitment of the people who’ve contributed – named or not.

In 2023, we continue to benefit from the amazing contributions of volunteers across the county- many of whom are on track to match the longevity and impact of those I’ve mentioned - and who knows – perhaps some of the Young Rangers working on reserves including 1 Attenborough 9 Skylarks and 10 Idle Valley will still be helping to care for our sites six decades from now.

Get involved

Share your stories

As we mark our 60th Anniversary we want to hear about the people who’ve inspired you or who encouraged you to get involved with the Trust. Share your stories with us via communications@nottswt.co.uk or write to us at The Old Ragged School.

For our current volunteer roles available check out our webpage nottinghamshirewildlife.org/volunteeringopportunities and consider getting involved, either as a Trustee, office support or out on the reserves.

Poems inspired by Attenborough Nature Reserve

After reading the spring edition of Nottinghamshire Wild Life and our request for members stories, Naomi Alder has kindly given permission for us to share some of her poems inspired by Attenborough Nature Reserve of which one is below.

Naomi’s favourite site is Attenborough Nature Reserve –“It's a place that I love so much that it inspired my MA Creative Writing dissertation, which was a poetry collection and an essay on the importance of close attention to local places for ecopoets.

Prior to writing this, I spent a lot of time at Attenborough, particularly during lockdown. Through going there I got really interested in birds (which was a new interest for me, and one that has continued to grow). It also made me think a lot about the interconnected relationship between humans and nature, i.e. how we are part of nature rather than separate to it.

My poetry collection is nine poems all inspired in one way or another by spending time at Attenborough and the things I observed, learned, reflected on and imagined through this experience.”

Water’s memory

was it always here, this place even before ice crept across the country sculpting wide valleys with its sharp tools was it formed when the ice melted, rivers rose and water rolled down the hills carrying mammoth tusks and rhino bones washing the valleys with alluvium did the birds live elsewhere before wet meadows and oxbows emerged where did they live, before when hydraulic pumps drained the pits to claim sand and gravel did the company men smile when they found bronze age daggers and roman hammers did they smile at how men used to live or did they drag their barges forwards when the pits were exhausted and leave those memories behind did the birds live elsewhere before lakes, islands and woodland emerged where did they live before people planted reeds and children left handfuls of seeds what did they eat, before did it rain so hard each year that lakes swelled and offered up buried treasure undigested from the water’s belly cotton bud sticks & bottle lids cigarette butts & takeaway cups did the people care, did they sweep the paths was the rubbish moved elsewhere or did they leave those colourful treats for the birds to eat