Talk delivered by Ros Lilley

Ros outlined the main aims of this large regional wildlife charity as: creating living landscapes; securing living seas; and getting people involved in and engaged with nature.

The Trust began in 1946, when the site of Askham Bog came up for sale. This haven for wildlife was rescued from the threat of development through the intervention of the chocolatiers, Rowntree and Terry, who bought the site, and set up a Trust to conserve it in perpetuity. The YWT is one of 47 local charities forming the Wildlife Trusts partnership. The Trusts all share the badger logo and have a memorandum of cooperation to work together. YWT seeks out places of high wildlife value, raising funds to purchase land, or working with the landowners to improve habitats. Its work is highly dependent on support from active volunteers and funding from its membership. There are currently more than 800 volunteers and 40 000 members and the Trust manages 104 mature reserves, including some of Yorkshire’s most stunning wild places.

Ros took the audience on a richly illustrated tour of some of the most exciting reserves including: the bird migration hotspot of Spurn Point; the large urban reserve at Potteric Carr, now a  breeding site for bitterns; and the fine birdwatching habitat of North Cave Wetlands. She updated us on the progress of The Yorkshire Peat Partnership (See UWFS Bulletin, 2015, p15) and described major community projects such as the work involving beef cattle, gardening and education sessions at Stirley Community Farm near Huddersfield.

She referred to the 2016 State of Nature Report which states that one in ten species is threatened with extinction and that 56% of wildlife has declined since 1970. She urged the audience to support YWT in its efforts to counter this trend.

Ros Lilley, an UWFS member, spoke in her capacity as a volunteer for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.