Shropshire Wildlife Trust
Encyclopedia
The Shropshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife
trust covering the geographic county
of Shropshire
, England
.
s (plus its headquarters in Shrewsbury - see next section) in the county:
Many of these sites are owned by the Trust - the most recent acquisition by the Trust is Catherton Common, in the Clee Hills
, which at 527 acre
s is the largest Wildlife Trust nature reserve in the West Midlands
region. The Trust is currently fund-raising to purchase the leasehold of Pontesford
Hill - it already owns the freehold, along with neighbouring Earl's Hill.
church. The site encompasses a restored medieval building known as the Old Infirmary and a 1730s building called Queen Anne House, as well as gardens, including a herb garden established when the site was the Shrewsbury Quest, and a fruit tree garden. The centre and its gardens is open to the public (usually Monday — Saturday) and has a shop as well as conference
rooms available for hire. Many Trust-run events take place here, including children's events during the summer holidays. Every year the centre receives approximately 25,000 visitors.
Additionally, in the Telford area the Trust has helped establish the "Telford and Wrekin Forest" initiative, and has "Wrekin
Forest Volunteers".
, E.ON UK
and Harper Adams University College
.
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
trust covering the geographic county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Nature reserves
The trust cares for, or is associated with, 42 nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s (plus its headquarters in Shrewsbury - see next section) in the county:
| North Shropshire | Central Shropshire |
|
Stiperstones The Stiperstones is a very distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. It is a quartzite ridge formed some 480 Million years ago. During the last Ice Age the summit stood out above the glaciers and was subject to constant freezing and thawing which shattered the quartzite into a mass of... ) The Ercall The Ercall, sometimes known as Ercall Hill, is a small hill in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is located between The Wrekin and Wellington, in the Telford & Wrekin borough. It is regarded as an internationally important geological site, which is part of The Wrekin and The Ercall... South Shropshire
|
Clee Hills
The Clee Hills are a range of hills in Shropshire, England near Ludlow, consisting of Brown Clee Hill , the highest peak in Shropshire, and Titterstone Clee Hill...
, which at 527 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s is the largest Wildlife Trust nature reserve in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
region. The Trust is currently fund-raising to purchase the leasehold of Pontesford
Pontesford
Pontesford is a small village in Shropshire, England.It is located on the A488 outside the large village of Pontesbury.It approximates to the northern extremity of the Pontesford-Linley geological fault, which trends approximately 11 miles to Linley near Bishops Castle...
Hill - it already owns the freehold, along with neighbouring Earl's Hill.
Headquarters
The Trust has its main offices and visitor centre at 193 Abbey Foregate near the centre of Shrewsbury - they occupy the former "Shrewsbury Quest" museum, on the corner of Abbey Foregate and Old Potts Way, opposite The AbbeyShrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
church. The site encompasses a restored medieval building known as the Old Infirmary and a 1730s building called Queen Anne House, as well as gardens, including a herb garden established when the site was the Shrewsbury Quest, and a fruit tree garden. The centre and its gardens is open to the public (usually Monday — Saturday) and has a shop as well as conference
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
rooms available for hire. Many Trust-run events take place here, including children's events during the summer holidays. Every year the centre receives approximately 25,000 visitors.
Local branches
The Trust currently has 10 local branches active in the county:- BridgnorthBridgnorthBridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
- ClunClunClun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
and Bishop's CastleBishop's CastleBishop's Castle is a small market town in Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,630. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of Shrewsbury. To the south is Clun... - EllesmereEllesmere, ShropshireEllesmere is a small market town near Oswestry in north Shropshire, England, notable for its proximity to a number of prominent lakes, the Meres.-History:...
- LudlowLudlowLudlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
- Market DraytonMarket DraytonMarket Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
- NewportNewport, ShropshireNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
- OswestryOswestryOswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
- Oswestry Hills Wildlife Watch
- Shrewsbury Wildlife Survey Group
- StrettonsChurch StrettonChurch Stretton is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the town was recorded as 2,789 in 2001, whilst the population of the wider parish was recorded as 4,186...
, The - WhitchurchWhitchurch, ShropshireWhitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England on the border between England and Wales. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...
Additionally, in the Telford area the Trust has helped establish the "Telford and Wrekin Forest" initiative, and has "Wrekin
The Wrekin
The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising to a height of above the Shropshire Plain, it is a prominent and well-known landmark, marking the entrance to Shropshire...
Forest Volunteers".
Specialist groups
The county has a wide range of specialist groups, which are associated with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, including:- BorderWelsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
BryologistsBryologyBryology is the branch of botany concerned with the scientific study of bryophytes . Bryophytes were first studied in detail in the 18th century... - ButterflyButterflyA butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
Conservation West Midlands - Shropshire AmphibianAmphibianAmphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
and ReptileReptileReptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
Group - Shropshire BadgerBadgerBadgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
Group - Shropshire Barn OwlBarn OwlThe Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
Group - Shropshire BatBatBats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
Group - Shropshire BotanicalBotanyBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
Society - Shropshire FungusFungusA fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
Group - Shropshire InvertebrateInvertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
Group - Shropshire MammalMammalMammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
Group - Shropshire MothMothA moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
Group - Shropshire OrnithologicalOrnithologyOrnithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
Society - Shropshire RavenRavenRaven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
Study Group
Membership
As of 2011 the Shropshire Wildlife Trust's membership is around 10,000 individuals - the figure was just under 6,000 in the year 2000. This equates to roughly 2.2%, or 1 in 50 Shropshire residents. Annual income from subscriptions has risen from £140,000 in 2000 to £250,000 in 2010. In addition to the membership of individuals, there are also corporate memberships, mainly of organisations (almost all private businesses) based in Shropshire, including Müller Dairy (UK)Müller (company)
Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller is a multinational producer of dairy products, with a headquarters in Fischach in the German state of Bavaria. The group includes a number of companies operating under the Müller name, including the original Molkerei Alois Müller GmbH & Co. KG and Müller Dairy ...
, E.ON UK
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
and Harper Adams University College
Harper Adams University College
Harper Adams University College is a higher education institution located close to the village of Edgmond , in Shropshire, England. It is the UK's leading specialist provider of higher education for the agri-food chain and rural sector....
.
See also
- Royal Society of Wildlife TrustsRoyal Society of Wildlife TrustsThe Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts or RSWT is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter to promote conservation and manage environmental funds...
- List of Conservation topics
- Conservation in the United KingdomConservation in the United KingdomThis page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom.With the advent of devolved government for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and of evolving regional government for England, the responsibilities for environment and...