Last year, The Riverside at Aymestrey took on a new role as a Nature Reserve Guardian for The Goggin nature reserve, owned and managed by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust. The pub has a reputation for environmental sustainability and creating habitats for wildlife across their site. They’ve taken their dedication one step further by signing up as a Nature Reserve Guardian.
The Goggin is a five and a half-acre site made up of a patchwork of woodland, scrub and grassland wildlife habitats. It is home to a wealth of wildlife flowers such as knapweed, birds foot trefoil, bluebells and early purple orchid; butterflies and moths such as the marbled white and six-spot burnet; birds including yellowhammers, chiffchaff and skylark; and mammals like the badger.
The Wildlife Trust was keen to improve the site to welcome more wildlife. Thanks to the support from The Riverside, over the next few years, staff and volunteers will be sowing wildflower seed within the meadow, implementing a rainwater harvesting system so cattle can be brought onto the site seasonally to help manage the meadow, and installing bat boxes and dormouse tubes.
They anticipate an increase in the abundance of small mammals such as mice and voles (which, in turn, should see more predators such as kestrel and barn owl). The wildflowers will attract more pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and beetles.
More information on how businesses can support nature can be found on Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s website: herefordshirewt.org/takeaction/business