Cornwall Wildlife Trust asks for help to save 'threatened land' in west Penwith

Calling it a 'rare opportunity' to buy the land across "two spectacular and nationally important sites for nature", the trust calling for donations to its Nature Reserves appeal.

The plan is to restore these sites to prime wildlife habitat.

Callum Deveney, from Cornwall Wildlife Trust said: “We must find this extra money to help to buy and create what I know will be fantastic nature reserves. All donations will help us to draw down extra funding to protect Cornwall’s wildlife and wild places.”

The trust says that Bostraze Bog, between Newbridge and St Just, is one of the most important wetland wildlife sites in west Penwith.

The Trust wants to buy 58 acres of this site and restore it to a wildlife-rich habitat teeming with rare species such as the round-leaved sundew, small red damselfly and the iconic barn owl.

Bartinney Downs is next to the Trust’s Caer Brân Nature Reserve, near Sancreed. The Trust aims to buy 26 acres of this land to ensure it continues as a haven for wildlife, providing refuge for skylark, marsh fritillary butterfly, adder and the majestic merlin.

Parts of these sites were improved for agricultural use in the past, but have been reverting to more wildlife-friendly habitats through the support of agri-environmental funding schemes. However the current reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, along with shrinking EU and domestic budgets, mean that marginal sites like these could once again be intensively managed in an attempt to make a financial gain from them, says the trust.

The land at Bostraze Bog and Bartinney Downs has no statutory designation to protect the habitats and species it supports, so action must be taken to save this land.

The new sites both have important archaeological features including a scheduled ancient monument on the slopes of Bartinney Downs.

To donate to Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Nature Reserves appeal, visit www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/appeal.