Rugby Area
We're lucky in that many of Rugby Borough's
finest nature reserves lie on the outskirts of the town and within
easy reach of the town centre. In addition, if you know where to
look, the area around Rugby is full of great little sites for
wildlife. If you have the patience and inclination, you are
virtually guaranteed to come across some real gems.
This is never more so than in the
Spring, when a veritable plethora of species are flowering,
fledging and metamorphosing in the dramatically unfolding story
that is the natural world.
There are ten nature reserves
managed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in the Rugby Borough, some
of which are owned and managed in partnership with Rugby Borough
Council.
View Rugby Nature Reserves in a ©Google map
Rugby Area Group
As the name suggests this is the original
group that has undertaken much of the work on Warwickshire Wildlife
Trust's sites in the Rugby area. They are a core group of
enthusiastic volunteers that mostly work at Ashlawn
Cutting and Newbold Quarry, but whose interests
traditionally span across the Rugby area.
The Rugby Area Group meets on Sundays once
or twice a month, and occasionally on Thursdays too throughout most
of the year. However, work tends to slow down during the summer
months to reduce habitat disturbance. For a list of dates take
a look at the latest schedule spreadsheet, and give Phil Parr a
call (07874 009 616) to confirm that work days are going ahead.
Friends of Swift Valley
Swift Valley Local Nature Reserve is a
wonderful site tucked away in the northern outskirts of Rugby town.
Bounded by the Brownsover arm of the Oxford Canal to the east and
the river Swift to the west, this site is largely managed as
pasture and wet meadow. The resulting habitat maintenance involves
hedge work, fence repairs, and thinning in the smaller pockets of
woodland that are dotted around the site.
Late last year a group of residents local
to Swift Valley Nature Reserve got together to form the Friends of
Swift Valley. This group has been hard at work during the winter
months maintaining sections of the woodland on the site. With the
spring and summer upon us we are taking a step back from active
site management and looking to hold some exploratory sessions
involving basic botanical surveys, moth traps and bat
detectors.
If you are interested in taking part please
get in touch with Chris Godding (chris_godding@sky.com) or
Neville Weston (neville.weston@ntlworld.com).
Other group activities
Just off the main road leading out of Rugby
towards Dunchurch lies a small, tranquil wood called Cock Robin
Wood. Having only been planted in the early nineties (with
additional landscaped ponds), the wood is still in the process of
developing its own distinct character. To help it on its way
towards a species rich wildlife haven is a group of local
enthusiasts. If you would like to help out, they meet on Monday
mornings and are led by Derek Lill (01788 521 069)
Over towards Cawston is
another relatively new group: the Cawston Greenway Project. Although
independent of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, we nevertheless like to
maintain close ties with them and regularly give them our
specialist habitat management and project management advice. If you
would like more information about the project either have a look at
their website or get in touch with Paul Hart on 07834 177 662.
Rugby Wildlife is
a website dedicated to conservation in Rugby.
They are a group of like-minded mostly
volunteer individuals from different Trusts, Groups, Societies and
Councils who enjoy the local wildlife and wish to promote, record
and enhance it. They hope to
encourage people to use, appreciate and be involved in surveying
and conservation activities around the area.
