It’s a beautiful time of year to be in Wiltshire, where we have the lion’s share of the UK’s surviving ‘unimproved’ species-rich grasslands. Nowhere beats Wiltshire for flowers and butterflies, but last year was sadly the worst for butterflies on record. On page 10 you can read how we are partnering with the Pewsey Downs farmer cluster, Natural England and the National Trust to create new habitat for threatened marsh fritillary butterflies. Turn to page 6 to learn about our striking new ‘butterfly banks’ at Coombe Bissett Down.
While Spring’s return restores hope each year, it has been hard not to feel anxiety at the implications for nature in the Government’s planning reforms. The Wildlife Trusts have joined forces with other green NGOs to propose amendments to the Planning Bill to safeguard irreplaceable habitats like Wiltshire’s chalkstreams.
Too often, nature is portrayed as a cost to the economy, rather than its essential foundation. Here at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, we’ve been demonstrating that a win-win is possible for nature and the economy through ‘nature-based solutions’, like our Langford Lakes reedbed, in partnership with Wessex Water. The reedbed returns ‘stormwater overflow’ to the Wylye chalkstream cleaner than the water upstream, and stores carbon too, at a fraction of the cost to the public purse (and the climate) of a concrete treatment tank solution. ‘Seeing is believing’,
so we hope that recent visits from the Prime Minister’s advisors and the Chairs of Ofwat and the Environment Agency will help unlock new investment in naturebased solutions for the climate and water emergencies, which could benefit farmers at a challenging time too.
At times when we’re feeling anxious, nature is also the solution. Recently, I walked - or limped- with a small group of WWT staff 50 miles over two days across Wiltshire to raise funds for our Men’s Wellbeing Groups, which offer nature-based activities and practical conservation to build confidence and connections, and help manage anxiety and depression. Thanks to all who helped us smash our fundraising target! You can read more about our wellbeing work on p4 and 18.
Finally, a huge thank you to all who supported our 2024 Turtle Dove Appeal! I’m delighted to share that we have been able to secure Poor Patch, next to our Middleton Down reserve near Salisbury. Close to known Turtle Dove sightings, we’ll be creating ideal breeding conditions with a mix of scrub and grassland, in a bid to protect these beautiful birds right on the edge of their range read more on pg20.
Jo Lewis, Chief Executive
5 ways to support nature this summer
Discover hidden habitats, observe diverse species, and immerse yourself in Wiltshire’s natural beauty. Stop, take a moment for yourself and enjoy a range of refreshments at Lower Moor and Langford Lakes. wiltshirewildlife.org/ visit 4 1 5 2 3
Join us at Country Comes to Town
Discover local wildlife, join fun activities, and learn how we protect Wiltshire’s natural beauty. Family-friendly, inspiring, and informative. 17 May, Monkton Park, Chippenham. wiltshirewildlife.org/events
Join in with 30 Days Wild Do something daily for nature this June. Wild challenges, outdoor adventures, and a chance to connect with nature. A month of pure nature-based joy. wiltshirewildlife.org/30DaysWild
Volunteer for us
Help wildlife thrive and make a difference for nature. There are range of ways you can help the Trust through volunteering. wiltshirewildlife.org/volunteering
Sow seeds and let wildflowers bloom free Transform your garden into a haven for pollinators. Plant native wildflowers, create vibrant habitats, and support biodiversity right on your doorstep. wildlifetrusts.org/actions
Visit a reserve, explore Wiltshire’s natural landscapes
Melanie Vincent
Creative by Nature: Connecting Art, Wellbeing, and the Wild
For millennia, the awe and beauty of nature have inspired creativity in humankind. From the first recorded cave drawings of the Stone Age period, featuring stylised animals and plants, through to the artists and designers of today, there are examples everywhere. These showcase art, design, and creations that have been inspired by wildlife and natural landscapes.
This inspiration creates a deeper connection with the natural world and a desire to help protect it, both key priorities of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. It’s why creative activities in nature are a core element of the Trust’s Wellbeing Programme.
The Wellbeing Programme provides nature-based activities for people struggling with their mental health. It combines conservation work, wildlife activities, nature-based crafts, walks and mindfulness, within
a small group setting, where people can connect with others in a safe and supportive space.
Set up in 2008 to support those struggling with their mental health, the programme has helped hundreds of people across Wiltshire and Swindon to improve their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing through engagement with nature.
The transformative power of the Wellbeing Programme is illustrated by the story of Brian, a volunteer whose journey highlights the impact of connecting with nature.
Quite often big changes start with small steps. For Brian, it was a suggestion seven years ago to attend an outdoor therapeutic programme that set him on a path to rediscovering his childhood love of the great outdoors, with an improved sense of confidence and wellbeing, and a positive and hopeful outlook on life.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” Brian says, though he remembers how difficult it was to come along to those first sessions. He persevered, and it was during one of those initial sessions, clearing hawthorn to help wild orchids grow, that he realised how much he enjoyed it. Despite feeling anxious, he decided, “I want to do this from now on.”
A highlight for Brian was visiting the bee enclosure at Sandpool, part of Lower Moor Farm nature reserve, and donning a full beekeeper’s suit to take a close look at the honeybees. “I will never forget that day,” he says, remembering the session fondly.
A few years ago, Brian was offered the position of Volunteer Support Assistant (VSA) on the Wellbeing Programme. VSAs help staff deliver sessions and support participants, especially those who may be feeling anxious, as Brian was.“When I was offered the VSA role, I was bowled over with the prospect; it was completely unexpected,” he says.
Taking on the role has massively boosted Brian’s confidence. As he’s become more familiar with the nature reserves, he feels better able to talk about them to participants. This is a huge difference from where he was when he first started, when just talking to others was a challenge.
Brian likes to take things slowly, to get to know the group and the individual participants, and cherishes being in a position to help others. He recalls encouraging a young participant, initially reluctant to draw, to create something he felt really happy with.
Butterfly banks are raised slopes of rock or soil, rising above ground level to catch the sun.
reserve has been reverted from arable farmland back into chalk grassland through hay cutting and grazing, removing nutrients from the system to allow these plants to flourish once more.
While this process has created lots of success, there is still one vital section needed in this ecosystem – bare chalk. Chalk downlands often have thin soil, and when this is stripped away by weather or animals it creates a blank slate for a few plucky species – pioneer plants – to colonise. As they seed into the chalk and begin to grow, they slowly change this into a substrate that other, less specialised plants can take advantage of. Historically, there would have been bare chalk dotted across the downlands, constantly being created and returned to grassland so these pioneer species always had a niche. Though stripped of nutrients, the soil in this formerly-arable field was still far too thick to allow these pioneer species a chance, and this was cutting out a chunk of the potential biodiversity from this site. The butterfly banks have brought chalk back up to
the surface, and the process of establishing these pioneer plants, through either natural regeneration or plug planting, can build on the successes of the first bank in creating a continuous replenishment of this niche.
These plants create a vital food source for butterflies and bees, flowering at different times of the year when different insect species are on the wing, but there is more value to these plants than just nectar. Apart from the intrinsic value of conserving these rare plants there is the more subtle necessity of food for the caterpillars of these rare butterflies. While adult butterflies can feed from many different flowers, their caterpillars are often far more specialised, sometimes only able to feed on one or two plants. Many of these plants are the pioneers – kidney vetch, horseshoe vetch, and bird’s-foot trefoil – which between them support many of the iconic chalkland species like the small blue, chalkhill blue, and adonis blue butterflies and the striking six-spot burnet moth.
Though the provision of these plants, the sheltering effect of the banks, and the connectivity provided between different chalk sites as they overlook the valleys below, these new banks are making strides both towards improving the habitat on our reserve and our understanding of how best to help these precious insects and plants in a changing world.
Share your sightings with us at irecord.org or look out for volunteering opportunities to help us survey visitor engagement with the banks wiltshirewildlife. org/volunteering
Photo: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
Photo: Birdsfoot Trefoil, Ashley White
Photo: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
Reviving Wiltshire’s Chalk Landscapes: A Beacon of Hope for Threatened Insects
By Nick Self, Conservation Lead for North Wiltshire
Wiltshire’s iconic chalk grasslands, a tapestry of wildflowers and vital habitats, are facing unprecedented challenges. Since the Second World War, over 80% of these precious ecosystems have vanished across the UK, and the escalating impacts of climate change are further jeopardising the wildlife that calls them home. However, through the Chalk Species Revival Project, we have been working with partners to restore habitats and bring hope for endangered species.
Thanks to funding from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, this ambitious initiative, spearheaded by the Wiltshire Chalk Partnership which includes Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, is supporting the recovery of five main insect species.
The project focuses on the vulnerable marsh fritillary, large blue, adonis blue, and duke of burgundy butterflies, alongside the enigmatic wart-biter bush cricket. These species, reliant on the wildflower-rich chalk grasslands, are facing serious decline.
We are working alongside partners including Natural England, National Trust, RSPB and the Pewsey Downs Farmer Group to deliver vital habitat restoration and creation, with our Morgan’s Hill nature reserve one of the key sites.
A Mosaic of Habitats
The project’s strategy centres on creating and enhancing a mosaic of habitats, providing more space and opportunities for these insects to thrive. The wart-biter bush cricket is one of England’s most endangered insects, with a mere six colonies recorded across the UK, meaning without intervention, we face losing them from our landscapes. Targeted efforts to increase its numbers at the few remaining sites are therefore crucial. In Wiltshire, we have one recorded colony at the National Trust’s Cherhill Down, next door to our Morgan’s Hill reserve.
Wart-biters need a mixture of vegetation, including bare ground/short turf, grass tussocks, and a sward rich in flowering forbs. They prefer areas that are not heavily grazed and are a thermophilous (warmth loving) species, so tend to populate sites with a southerly aspect.
Photo: Morgans Hill Wildflower meadow , Stephen Davis
For butterflies, the focus is on ensuring an abundance of plants for their larvae, such as cowslips, devil’s-bit scabious, horseshoe vetch and wild thyme.
The Charismatic Duke of Burgundy
One of the project’s key species is the Duke of Burgundy butterfly. This small, striking butterfly, with its orange and brown wings and distinctive white spots, has faced severe decline, but due to conservation work over the last 20 years, populations across Southern England are increasing.
However, the Duke of Burgundy colony at Morgan’s Hill is isolated and vulnerable, so has not seen the same levels of growth. Loss of their food sources and encroaching scrub saw the delicate population decreasing. To mitigate this and ensure the butterflies survive, and will ultimately thrive, in 2024 the Trust undertook a programme of habitat enhancements. Through targeted interventions, we have helped provide optimal conditions for egg-laying and caterpillar development, such as introducing specific food plants to bolster caterpillar nutrition like cowslips and primroses.
Habitat management is also crucial; in January 2024, scrub clearance was undertaken to create more suitable breeding areas.
To measure the impact of these actions, we are carrying out rigorous surveying. Timed counts of adult butterflies have been carried out in May and June for the past 13 years, providing invaluable long-term data on population trends. In May 2023, a baseline survey assessed potential egg-laying habitats, and subsequent larval damage surveys on cowslips in July 2023 and 2024, have provided insights into population health. These surveys allow us to monitor the effectiveness of our habitat management and ensure the long-term success of the Duke of Burgundy at Morgan’s Hill.
The Broader Big Chalk Agenda
The Chalk Species Revival project contributes to the broader Big Chalk agenda, which aims to restore a mosaic of habitats across the chalk landscapes of Southern England. This collaborative effort, bringing together farmers, landholders, and environmental organisations, is a testament to the power of
partnership in conservation, and we are proud to be playing our part.
Want to support projects like this? Donate to our Nature’s Recovery Appeal at wiltshirewildlife.org/ appeals and together we can ensure a brighter future for Wiltshire’s threatened insects and the rare precious chalk grasslands they call home.
Photo: Duke of Burgundy, Steve Smailes
Reviving the Wylye: A Bold Plan to Restore Wiltshire’s Precious Chalk Stream
By Carrie Starbuck, Director of Nature Recovery
How a landmark Landscape Recovery project is bringing nature, farming, and investment together to secure the future of the Wylye Valley
Flowing through the heart of Wiltshire, the River Wylye is one of England’s finest chalk streams, a rare and delicate ecosystem shaped over millennia. These crystal-clear waters, filtered through the soft white chalk stone of Wiltshire’s hills, are home to an astonishing variety of wildlife, from trout and grayling to kingfishers and otters. However, like many of our rivers, the Wylye faces pressures from pollution, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. That’s where the Wylye Landscape Recovery Scheme comes in. This project is a bold and collaborative effort to restore this remarkable landscape, supporting nature’s recovery at scale.
A Bold New Approach: What is a Landscape Recovery Scheme?
The Landscape Recovery Scheme is one of the government’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, designed to fund large-scale projects that deliver significant environmental benefits. Unlike typical agri-environment schemes that focus on individual fields or farms, Landscape Recovery takes a whole-systems approach, working across multiple landholdings to restore ecosystems and reconnect fragmented habitats.
The Wylye Landscape Recovery Project was selected to demonstrate how largescale nature recovery can be
phase, during which detailed plans are drawn up, partnerships are strengthened, and longterm financial mechanisms are explored. However, to realise the full 20+ year vision for landscape restoration, additional investment will be essential.
For the Wylye Valley, this means partnering with farmers, landowners, conservation groups, and local communities to enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, and support nature-friendly farming. It’s about giving nature space to recover, allowing natural processes to shape the land while ensuring sustainable livelihoods for those who steward it.
Why Chalk Streams Matter
Chalk streams are often called the ‘rainforests of Britain’, not because of their size, but because of their rarity and importance to biodiversity. There are fewer than 300 chalk streams in the world and 85% of the world’s chalk streams are found in England, with many concentrated in Wiltshire’s iconic downland landscapes.
These rivers are unique because they are fed by groundwater rather than surface runoff. Water percolates through chalk aquifers, emerging at a steady temperature and flow rate, creating exceptionally clear, mineral-rich waters that support an extraordinary array of species. From water crowfoot swaying in the current to mayflies dancing above the surface, chalk streams are home to a host of specialist plants and animals that cannot thrive elsewhere.
The River Wylye is one such stream, but its health is under threat. Nutrient pollution, sedimentation, and water abstraction have degraded its delicate balance. Without intervention, we risk losing one of Britain’s most precious natural assets.
The Wylye Landscape Recovery Project
The Wylye Landscape Recovery Project is a collaborative vision for nature recovery at scale. By working with farmers, landowners, and conservationists, we aim to:
• Restore river and wetland habitats: Re-naturalising sections of the Wylye and its tributaries by reconnecting floodplains, reintroducing natural river features, and restoring riparian vegetation.
• Support nature-friendly farming: Helping landowners transition to regenerative
practices that improve soil health, reduce chemical inputs, and enhance biodiversity.
• Create wildlife corridors: Linking up fragmented habitats to allow species like water voles, otters, and wetland birds to move freely through the landscape.
• Improve water quality: Tackling sources of pollution, reducing runoff, and restoring healthy aquatic ecosystems.
Farmers and Landowners:
The Guardians of the Wylye Landscape Recovery thrives on partnership with farmers and landowners. These stewards of the land are essential to the project’s success, balancing food production with environmental regeneration.
Many farms along the Wylye are already embracing low-input and regenerative farmingreducing reliance on artificial fertilisers, increasing soil
Photo: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
Creative Connections: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and Well-City Salisbury
By Damian Haasjes, Director of Education and Wellbeing
Partnership is key to so much of the great work we undertake as a Trust. Partnership work enables us to build on the skills of others, learn new ways of working and support more people.
Photos: James Aldridge
In 2024, the Adult Wellbeing Team worked with Well-City Salisbury to run a 10-week programme supporting adults with a range of mental health needs. We collaborated with a local artist, James Aldridge, and used a combination of art and nature engagement to help people connect with nature and improve their wellbeing. For some, this connection was profound: “This course has provided me with a life-line,” one participant shared, highlighting the vital support these initiatives offer.
Following the success of this course and further conversations with Well-City Salisbury (WCS), we found that both organisations shared a common set of values and a shared way of working. We were then invited to become a partner in the Well-City Salisbury programme and supported their funding application to the National Lottery Community Fund. This was successful, and WCS now has a further three years’ funding. Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is one of the four partners in the programme, along with ArtCare at Salisbury District Hospital, Wessex Archaeology and Wiltshire Creative.
Connecting Through Creativity
Well-City Salisbury is about connection – to the arts, to heritage, to our local area, to the landscape and to each other. This cross-sector partnership project supports people with low to medium mental health needs in the Salisbury area on their wellbeing journey through 2 free creative courses, workshops and volunteering opportunities. As one participant noted, it’s about “an opportunity to get out and about” and engage with the world again.
Transformative Nature Engagement
In the first course we ran last year, working with an artist really opened people up to connecting with nature in new ways, using drawing, photography and markmaking to embed themselves in nature and look more closely at their surroundings. The impact for the participants was hugely positive, and their wellbeing greatly improved. Participants said they “starting to look at ways of being more physically active and enjoy the outdoors” and that the course “keeps me from brooding,” demonstrating the tangible benefits of these activities. The course also builds people’s nature confidence and provides them with tools to use to engage with nature in the future. Through their experience, they know that this engagement will help their mental health and wellbeing. As another participant explained, “it has made me more aware of trying to improve my artwork”.
Strengthening Community Support Networks
Working with Well-City Salisbury has established a trusted relationship with another organisation that participants we work with on other programmes will be comfortable engaging with. Participants we have worked with on our Men’s Wellbeing Programme who live in the south of Wiltshire can be referred into Well-City, and as they know we are a partner, they are more willing to ‘give it a go’. The same is true in reverse: Well-City Salisbury can refer participants they work with onto the Trust’s Wellbeing Programmes.
Looking to the Future
We are starting our next course in April and look forward to three years of positive partnership with Well-City Salisbury, supporting more people in South Wiltshire to improve their mental health and develop a love for the natural world.
To find out more about Well-City Salisbury, go to wellcitysalisbury.co.uk
Turtle Doves: A Species in Crisis
By Dave Higgins, Water Team Project Manager
Aphrodite, born of sea foam, used them as depicters of love. They were sacred to Demeter, the Olympian Goddess of the harvest. An emblem of Fides, the Roman goddess of trust and good faith. Noah released them and they found him land. Shakespeare wrote of them in his poem ‘The Phoenix and the Turtle.’ Turtle doves symbolise love, peace, sacrifice, fidelity and loss.
Loss is the present state, 98% declined in the UK and 75% gone from mainland Europe. The doves get their name from their song – a deviation of the Latin turtur, an onomatopoeic name from the birds soft ‘cooing’ calls. The turtle dove is unaware of how important it was supposed to be. The few remaining are busy with a search for a mate. They fly five and a half thousand kilometres of migration alone, they search for food in ever diminishing spaces. The few remaining turtled are busy being doves. They adapt as well as they can, but those that mate are lucky to rear one brood, when sixty years ago they could manage up to three.
Wiltshire: A Sanctuary for Survival
Wiltshire, with Middleton Down as a key location, might provide a crucial sanctuary for these doves. While challenges exist, the dedication of conservationists and local communities offers a beacon of hope. By working together, we can ensure these birds continue to thrive in this vital habitat.
Positive steps are being taken.
The South Wiltshire Farmland Bird Project, from 20092014, showcased the power of collaboration, creating valuable habitat with the help of dedicated farmers. These efforts, including supplementary feeding and habitat creation, are laying the groundwork for the doves’ recovery.
Ecologists and volunteers are diligently monitoring the doves, contributing vital data to support conservation strategies.
Through dedicated habitat restoration, we can create a sustainable environment for these birds. By focusing on
positive action and collaborative solutions, we can ensure that future generations will continue to be inspired by their beauty and grace.
Conservation in Action
The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is taking proactive steps to support turtle dove recovery. Thanks to the generous support of donors to our 2024 Turtle Dove Appeal, the Trust has secured the acquisition of Poor Patch, near Middleton Down, Salisbury. This vital habitat, close to known Turtle Dove sightings, offers ideal breeding conditions with its mix of scrub and grassland, directly aiding the protection of these beautiful birds.
Your ongoing support of our Nature Recovery Appeal will directly contribute to these positive conservation efforts, helping to ensure the turtle dove’s enduring legacy.
To support projects like this, donate to our Nature Recovery Appeal online at wiltshirewildlife.org/ appeals
Photo: Turtle Dove Luke Massey
Dates for your Diary
17 May 10am - 4pm Monkton
Park, Chippenham
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Country Comes to Town event brings the wonders of nature to urban settings, offering families a free, fun, and educational day filled with wildlife experiences and activities.
May Half Term Activities
Join a Wildlife Watch Group Wildlife Watch Groups are a fantastic way for primaryaged children and their families to connect with nature. With nine groups located throughout Wiltshire, there’s sure to be one near you.
Our groups meet monthly at these locations:
Calne (River Warriors)adhoc
Chippenham (Early Earth Protectors) - every third
Sunday
Green Lane Wood, Trowbridge - every third
Saturday
Langford Lakes - every fourth Sunday
Lower Moor Farm - every first
Saturday
Pewsey - every second
Saturday
Salisbury - every second
Saturday
Swindon - every third
Saturday
Trowbridge - every first
Sunday
Mini Worlds Family Event
Join us for a fun-filled session exploring the wonders of nature with exciting activities and discoveries for all ages.
10am-12pm
Langford Lakes 28 May
Lower Moor Farm 28 May
Green Lane Woods 29 May
Walk at Clattinger Farm and Sandpool
1 June 10am - 1pm
Jane Deacon, warden of Clattinger Farm, will lead the group on a walk around the reserve.
Early Summer Botanical
Painting Workshop
Langford Lakes 11 June 10am - 3pm
Learn how to draw and paint seasonal flowers.
Wild Beings - Tote Bag Printing and Mindfulness
Clouts Wood
19 June 10am - 12pm
Connect with nature in this mindful session and create a printed tote bag.
For more information and to book please visit wiltshirewildlife.org/events
