2 new nature reserves created in Hertfordshire

March 2011. Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust will be able to offer even more protection to Hertfordshire's wildlife after acquiring Thorley Wash from the Environment Agency, a 40 acre site just south of Bishop's Stortford. The Trust has also just secured a long lease on Waterford Heath near Hertford, which means wildlife like the scarce grizzled skipper and purple hairstreak butterflies has a safe haven for at least the next 85 years.

Living landscape
Jane Durney, Chief Executive, said: "Thorley Wash forms a key part of our Stort Valley living landscape. We are trying to reconnect fragmented pieces of habitat along and near the River Stort, between Bishop's Stortford in the north and Hoddesdon in the south, so that wildlife has room to flourish. The purchase is good news for local people too, ensuring this vital green space is protected as Bishop's Stortford's population grows.

"The Trust has worked with Lafarge and the local community at Waterford Heath just north of Hertford for a number of years. Securing a lease until 2096 is fantastic because it means we can develop long term plans for the improvement of the natural environment there, for the benefit of both wildlife and people."