Nature has just been handed a pretty sizeable helping hand in Derbyshire.
An ambitious appeal to raise £100,000 to restore and reconnect wildlife habitats across the Wild Peak has smashed its target, with more than 1,200 people chipping in.
Run by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust throughout September and October, the Wild Peak appeal called on residents, businesses and nature lovers to dig deep and help put some of the missing pieces back into one of Britain’s best-known landscapes.
And dig deep they did.
Donations ranged from a very respectable £1 right up to £10,000, while others got involved by bidding in the Wild Peak silent auction.
The resulting £100,000 pot will now be used for nature recovery work across the area, reconnecting fragmented habitats and creating a landscape that’s healthier and more resilient for wildlife.
Because while the Peak District might look pretty spectacular from a walking boot’s point of view, all isn’t necessarily well beneath the postcard scenery.
Habitats have become increasingly degraded and disconnected, leaving wildlife with fewer places to feed, shelter and move between.
Extreme weather isn’t exactly helping matters either. Recent storms and flood alerts, following summer heat and drought, have highlighted just how vulnerable the landscape can be.
The Trust’s answer is to work with nature, restoring habitats and creating the right conditions for species to return and thrive.
And there are some rather special names on the wildlife wish list.
Black grouse, red-backed shrike and maiden pink flowers are among the species the Trust hopes could benefit as the Wild Peak becomes, well, rather wilder again.
The work isn’t only about wildlife, either. Restoring natural processes can help landscapes store carbon, hold back water and improve water quality.
So that £100,000 isn’t buying one shiny new attraction you can visit next weekend. It’s going towards something considerably bigger: putting nature back together across one of the East Midlands’ most spectacular landscapes.
