Green Capital 2015: A people’s nature reserve

This month sees the launch of Avon Wildlife Trust’s new nature reserve in the Avon Gorge – Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock. Over a year in the making, this people’s nature reserve has transformed a derelict site into a home for wildlife and place for people to connect with nature close to the city.

Come along to the community open day, Sunday 26 April, and find out how hundreds of local people, including school children, scouts, corporate volunteers and community groups have planted trees and wildflowers to transform this challenging site into a rich mosaic of habitats. There will be tours of the site and opportunities to help create new habitats with activities like planting.

The Avon Gorge is incredibly important for wildlife. This new reserve is a key part of the landscape, along with neighbouring  Bishops Knoll Woodland and Old Sneed Park Nature Reserve, connecting up a wildlife corridor that links Avonmouth into the centre of Bristol.

Wildlife corridors or ‘green highways’ are important so wildlife can travel more easily. Think of the city seen from the air through the eyes of a peregrine falcon or at ground level by an urban fox or hedgehog. Crossing our cities can be challenging for wildlife as green spaces are often separated by human infrastructure, such as buildings and roads. By linking gardens, parks, allotments and other passageways you can help create wildlife corridors to help wildlife move more easily around the city.

Bevis Watts, Chief Executive at Avon Wildlife Trust said, “We are so excited to open our new reserve, Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock. It has truly been a team effort to transform this people’s nature reserve and we would like to thank everyone who has played their part. This reserve is one of a series of key demonstration sites for our My Wild City campaign, and provides a step change opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of creating homes for wildlife in Bristol and beyond. We can all do something amazing for wildlife. By transforming our gardens and open spaces, together we can create a nature-rich city that attracts wildlife right up to our doorsteps.”

Find out more about Avon Wildlife Trust and the community open day

Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock launch event
April 26, 11am – 4pm, Portway, Sneyd Park, Bristol 

Image credit: Avon Wildlife Trust 

Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock – Past and present

Bennett’s Patch and White’s Paddock is a site with many lives. Just imagine the Gorge without the busy Portway. The river was the main transport route in the days of whaling ships and boats dumping unwanted cargo, including people, overboard.

Underneath the reserve lie several metres of rubble from the Bristol Blitz, and at the reserve boundaries are a pair of unexploded bombs dropped during the Good Friday bombing raid of 1941. The Nazi German aircraft were able to trace a course into the city using reflected moonlight on the water.

By the early 1960’s the site was a sports ground with tug-of-war contests and the county’s longest bowling alley. There are even reports that the well drained surface attracted Bristol Rovers to train here when their pitch was flooded. In 2000 the site became derelict, making it the perfect place for nature to move in. With thanks to many supporters, Avon Wildlife Trust bought the site in 2014, we hope you enjoy its new identity as a nature reserve.