Bucks nature reserve celebrates 80th birthday
Dancersend Reserve has been given a grant to mark the occasion
A Buckinghamshire nature reserve, which was one of the first in the UK, is getting a special 80th birthday present.
Dancersend Reserve, near Aylesbury, is getting a grant of more than £90,000.
The money will be used to improve the 211-acre site.
Charles Rothschild discovered his love of nature at Dancersend Reserve, going on to help found the conservation society that eventually became The Wildlife Trusts.
Now, the Rothschild Foundation has given £92,000 to the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) to develop the site.
The trust was gifted the site as a nature reserve 80 years ago.
The donation will be used to help create new habitats, a wildlife pond and display boards telling the story of Dancersend.
BBOWT, which part-owns and manages the reserve, is also planning a series of events to celebrate the anniversary and will work with neighbouring landowners to help protect and enhance the natural environment.
The two-year program of works are set to start on 1 July.
Estelle Bailey, CEO of BBOWT, said:
"Dancersend is like the mother of all nature reserves - one of the foundation stones on which The Wildlife Trusts was built.
"This beautiful place inspired the man who became a pioneer in the UK's nature reserve movement, so it has an important place in history as well as in our hearts.
"Over the past year, the reserve has had extra pressure put on it by the increase in visitors enjoying the outdoors during the pandemic, which has caused some damage to its fragile habitats and pathways.
"This generous grant will enable us to repair that damage, but also future-proof the site, so it can be a wildlife haven for people to enjoy for many years to come - a fitting legacy to Charles Rothschild."
Charles Rothschild
Charles Rothschild (1877 - 1923) was a member of Rothschild banking, and spent much of his childhood at the family's Tring Park estate in Buckinghamshire.
He discovered the wonders of the nearby Dancersend valley with his older brother Walter, where they would go hunting for butterflies and moths.
As well as becoming a banker in the family business, Charles also became a respected entomologist and, in 1912, he founded the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, which later became The Wildlife Trusts of which BBOWT is a member.
He acquired 78 acres of habitat in the Dancersend valley to protect it for wildlife and, in 1941, his son Victor and daughter Miriam gifted that land to the society to be one of its first nature reserves.
A spokesperson for The Rothschild Foundation said it was delighted to fund the work at Dancersend:
"We are proud to continue the work that Charles Rothschild started on the site, which represents a historic turning point in the way that our society interacts with the natural environment.
"As our entire planet rallies to tackle the problems of global climate change and ecological damage, there has never been a better time to recognise the importance of this modest patch of woods and grassland in the English countryside."
Dancersend has 390 species of flowering plants and ferns, more than 800 species of fungi and more than 770 species of butterflies and moths.
Mick Jones, who has been BBOWT's volunteer warden at Dancersend for 40 years, said:
"To me the site is the cradle of British nature conservation, on the basis of Miriam Rothschild's story - told to me in the mid-80s - of her father and uncle's childhood expeditions there to collect butterflies and her own memories of accompanying them in her childhood.
"However, there appears to be no general recognition of the role of Dancersend in the history of The Wildlife Trusts.
"There is no memorial to Charles at the reserve and this is something I would like to correct before I have to give up as warden - I am 71 now.
"As it will be the 80th birthday of the reserve this year I want to publicise the story and promote the idea of some sort of memorial."
The new display boards will tell Charles Rothschild's story.
But, most of the grant will reportedly go towards protecting, enhancing and creating habitat for wildlife.
This will include a new 'flail mower' to cut the grass in an environmentally-friendly way, some 1,200 metres of new fencing, scrub clearance and the creation of a major new wildlife pond.
BBOWT will also repair footpaths around the site and put up new signage to help stop damage to the most sensitive areas of habitat.
The trust then plans to give a series of guided walks and talks to show off the 'new' Dancersend, as well as telling its story.
Part of the grant will also fund ongoing species surveys.