Species given funding boost across Shire Brook Valley

Funding has been secured to enhance natural habitats in the South-East of Sheffield, around the Shire Brook Valley Nature Reserve, to help important wildlife species to thrive.

The project will improve green and blue spaces – such as woodland, meadows, heathland, ponds, rivers and streams – helping to tackle nature and climate emergencies.

Mammals like harvest mice, bats and hedgehogs; reptiles, amphibians and birds including barn owls, skylarks, swifts and kingfishers, will benefit from enhancement to their habitats, thanks to the funding.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and The National Lottery Heritage Fund have announced grants of up to £3 million pounds will be awarded for habitat creation and restoration projects across England, to run over the next two years.

Shire Brook Valley Species Survival Fund

The Species Survival Fund has been launched to help halt and reverse the decline in species abundance by preserving vital habitats through a select number of projects around the country. 

Sheffield City Council are to lead one of the successful projects, in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Woodhouse and District Community Forum and the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre. The project will begin in April 2024.

The grant of more than £1 million will be used to improve natural ecosystems in Shire Brook Valley Nature Reserve and neighbouring sites, covering over 400 acres. Habitat improvements are proposed for Shire Brook Valley, Beighton Marsh, Woodhouse Washlands, Wickfield Heath and Plantation, Richmond Park, Silkstone Ravine.  

Marta Alfaro Tirado, Nature Recovery Manager (South) at Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, said:

“Woodhouse Washlands is home to a variety of wonderful species, such as the very cute looking harvest mouse, as well as the