A unique farm that was “accidentally” rewilded 35 years ago and is now a haven for endangered nightingales and other rare wildlife has been saved, thanks in part to the generosity of Guardian readers.
Strawberry Hill in Bedfordshire has been successfully bought by the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants (BCN) after a crowdfunding appeal raised £1.5m.
The 377-acre farm has become the largest scrub and young woodland area in central England and is home to many threatened species including turtle doves, warblers, 11 bat species, orchids and butterflies. Its glades and hawthorn and blackthorn thickets are now home to half of all nightingales in Bedfordshire.
The farm was an intensive wheat-producing operation until the late 1980s, when the farm’s owner, Hugh White, rebelled against the government’s agricultural policies and put the whole farm into set-aside – land left uncultivated. White became proud that his wheat fields became rough grassland and a haven for barn owls.
After White died, and later his wife, his children hoped to find new owners that would respect the farmer’s legacy.
BCN first leased the site, thanks to loans from We Have the Power, a group of conservation-minded lenders, and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Then, thanks to funds from Biffa, it bought half the former farm. This summer, the Wildlife Trust launched one of its most ambitious crowdfunders to secure remaining half, which is unprotected by any conservation designations.
After the Guardian told the story of White’s rewilded farm and word spread, donations surged from £100,000 to rapidly hit the £1.5m target.
Nearly half £1m of the appeal total was raised by more than 3,800 individual donations from members of the public, including two young brothers who sold homemade lemonade to raise funds. The rest was raised by a substantial private donation as well as large contributions from trusts and funds.
Brian Eversham, the chief executive of BCN, said: “The public’s response to this appeal has been simply unprecedented. I have never seen such an outpouring of support, passion and generosity from people in our region and across the UK who love wildlife and want to see it protected.”
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“We knew Strawberry Hill was a special place when we first began our fight to save it more than two years ago, but we had no idea it would capture people’s imagination in the way it has.”
“We would like to say a special thank you to the Guardian and its readers. When the story originally ran, we watched the donations jump up overnight, and several people commented to me after reading it. It really goes to show that if the media tells positive stories of hope about the environment, then it can inspire people and make a real difference.”
