The Wildlife Trusts are celebrating their 100th birthday today.
As the Wildlife Trusts says
“In 1912 Charles Rothschild founded the ‘Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves’ (SPNR). Its initial aim was to create a list of Britain’s finest wildlife sites for potential purchase as nature reserves. Three years of information gathering followed – the first ever national survey of wildlife sites – in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Rothschild and his colleagues were looking for the ‘breeding-places of scarce creatures’, the ‘localities of scarce plants’ and areas of ‘geological interest’. By 1915 they had compiled a list of 284 sites ‘worthy of preservation’ – the Rothschild Reserves.”
One of these sites is Coombe Hill, near Wendover.
However, in spite of being recognised for a century as one of the best sites in Britain, Coombe Hill is threatened by HS2.
Last year, Wendover against HS2 organised a walk from the town centre to the top of Coombe Hill, crossing the proposed route of HS2, before arriving at the monument at the top of the hill – which overlooks both the HS2 route and Chequers, the country home give to the nation so that Prime Ministers can enjoy the peace and tranquility of the countryside.
For more from the Wildlife Trust on their campaigning against HS2 see their website here.
(Another site which has been recognised as important for nearly as long, but is also at risk from HS2, is Perivale Wood in London.)