New signs are helping people discover the rare wildlife of Dorset’s most easterly heathland reserve this spring, thanks to Bournemouth Airport. Some of the rarest wildlife in Britain features on the new information boards around Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Sopley Common reserve, which have been funded by the Bournemouth Airport Community Fund.
Nigel Brooks, Dorset Wildlife Trust warden, said: “We hope that these new signs will make people more aware of the amazing wildlife found on this extremely important site. Living in Dorset, it is easy to take heathland for granted but this rare habitat is part of what makes the county so outstanding on a national scale. We are very grateful to Bournemouth Airport for recognising this and supporting nature conservation on its doorstep.”
Ray Coggins, Environment Manager at Bournemouth Airport, said: “The new information boards will provide important and interesting information for people visiting this beautiful area. The Bournemouth Airport Community Fund is in place to support projects like this and we were delighted to be able to provide these signs for the Sopley Common reserve.”
The 82 acre Sopley Common nature reserve is made up of lowland heath and woodland and its wildlife includes birds such as Dartford warbler and nightjar, Britain’s rarest snake and lizard, the smooth snake and sand lizard as well as insects such as silver-studded blue butterflies, heath tiger beetles and many dragonflies. Plants include carnivorous sundews. The reserve is protected by national and international law due to the rarity of its habitat and wildlife.
Dorset Wildlife Trust manages Sopley Common by preventing the encroachment of trees, maintaining a mix of heather and patches of bare ground and managing human impact on this
important site, a fragment of a much larger heathland created by Bronze Age man. Open at all times. Access from Avon Causeway road, where parking is available. For more information, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves.
