Archers Green, Hertfordshire: An Unmissable Opportunity to Buy & Protect a Globally Rare Habitat

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is a local conservation charity working to protect wildlife and help people connect with nature. The Trust believes that wildlife should have space to thrive alongside our everyday lives and that everyone benefits from having access to nature. Home Farm Glamping has been supporting HMWT for the past few years, donating £3 from every booking to the Trust and running nature-based events at the site. With your support we’ve donated nearly £10,000 and want to do our best to support them on their urgent appeal to buy Archers Green…

Author: Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust

Sitting in a priority area for conservation action, the Mimram Valley, this 20-acre site supports some of our most iconic, yet threatened wildlife, such as Water Vole, Skylark and Harebell. It is home to lowland meadows, wet woodland, marsh and chalk stream – all of which are priorities for protection and have earnt Archers Green recognition as a designated Local Wildlife Site. 

Archers Green flanks the River Mimram, which is one of just 240 chalk streams in the entire world, and the stretch that runs through the site is one of the very best in the county. These unique river systems are so rare, and support some of our most endangered species – they are the UK’s equivalent to tropical rainforests. In Hertfordshire, local people are the custodians of around 10% of the world’s precious chalk streams.

Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust have an unmissable opportunity to buy and protect Archers Green and the vulnerable habitats it contains. They now need to raise £500,000 to secure this important site. Without purchasing and safeguarding Archers Green, its future and the wonderful wildlife it’s home to could be at risk. 

The Trust’s Chief Executive, Lesley Davies said: “Securing the future of wild places like Archers Green is crucial for our planet and our local community. The complex of habitats at Archers Green is what makes it so special and home to so many different plants and animals and is why the site is a priority for the Trust to give it a secure future and manage it positively to benefit its wildlife. Nature is in crisis and we urgently need to protect more land for wildlife hence The Wildlife Trust’s ambitious strategy to achieve 30% of land connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030 – buying Archers Green takes us one step closer to that.”

The hope is that local people and businesses will also recognise the importance of safeguarding this piece of our natural heritage on our doorstep in Hertfordshire. When the Trust saw Archers Green come up for sale, they had to act fast to stop the site from falling into unsympathetic hands. The Trust secured a philanthropic loan which enabled the site to be taken off the market. Now they must raise the money to pay back the loan and care for the site for the future. 

Water Vole (c) Terry Whittaker 2020VISION

If the Trust doesn’t manage to raise the money needed, the site may have to go back on the open market, which risks the loss of its wildlife, including Water Voles, the UK’s fastest declining mammals. This would be a tragedy, right in the middle of the biggest nature crisis we’ve known in our lifetimes.

Sarah Perry, the Trust’s River Catchment Co-ordinator, commented, “The location of Archers Green is especially important as it provides a vital link with nearby sites, helping to secure and strengthen a wildlife corridor along the Mimram Valley and creating more space for nature in the local area. To the west, upstream on the Mimram chalk river, wildlife thrives on the Trust’s Tewinbury Nature Reserve, and to the east at Panshanger Park, we are able to care for wildlife through our partnership project there. Archers Green is a vital piece in the jigsaw. Without that connection, wildlife could be left isolated, decreasing its resilience to other threats, including climate change.”

The Hertfordshire State of Nature report details that only 16% of semi-natural habitat covers Hertfordshire and that in the 50 years between 1970 and 2020 of the 7,696 species assessed, 1% have become extinct and a further 19% are threatened with extinction. As a county, we have already lost the nightingale, white-clawed crayfish and the beautiful sight of the burnt orchid. The good news however, is that with public support and active conservation management we can reverse this trend and see a better tomorrow for our local habitats, diversification of species and enjoy seeing wildlife populations grow.

To find out more about the fundraising appeal for Archers Green or to donate to secure and protect it, please go to www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/archersgreen