Shropshire Wildlife Trust buys Catherton Common

Wildlife trust buys common

Shropshire Wildlife Trust has completed the purchase of Catherton Common near Cleobury Mortimer.

The group paid £125,000 for the 527-acre site, which joins their land on Clee Hill to form the largest nature reserve in the West Midlands.

The common is an area of heath that, according to the trust's Professor Ian Trueman, has "hardly changed in thousands of years".

The trust said the move will protect the site's flora and fauna.

Over 400 people contributed to the fund to buy Catherton Common

The Catherton Common site was already designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Combined with land on Clee Hill it forms the region's largest wildlife nature reserve, at over a 1,000 acres.

Skylarks, linnets, meadow pipits and yellowhammers can be found on the new reserve. The site is a vast, pesticide-free area, which is also a haven for bees, dragonflies and many other insects.

The trust hopes that the size of the reserve and its biodiversity will help them to track climate change, and its effects.

Trust expert Professor Ian Trueman said: "It's a sort of barometer... as the climate changes, this is the place that's going to feel it most quickly, which is why we need to study it."

The purchase was made possible thanks to a £50,000 grant from the landfill communities fund, Biffaward. Over 400 people also donated money towards the fund.