Natural England

The Government’s wildlife advisor Natural England has approved an unrivalled network of 17 flower-rich meadows in a Herefordshire valley alongside two unspoiled ancient orchards as the latest Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to give rare and vulnerable wildlife legal protection. The Bury Farm SSSI brings the total number of protected sites across England to 4113.

The Bury Farm SSSI is amongst the top sites of its kind in the country for its exceptional swathe of 17 untouched traditional flower-rich meadows which have acted as a reservoir for plants and insects to survive and thrive. The ancient orchards are home to three of the rarest Red Book Data beetles, including Gastrallus immarginatus and Procraerus tibialis, together with 22 other scarce deadwood eating beetles and weevils.

The family-owned farm is an incredibly exciting find for conservationists as it is almost unique in England in an age where virtually all grasslands have been treated with fertilizers and chemicals affecting the natural mix of plants and wildflowers. The ancient orchards have been at The Bury Farm for centuries and many of the apple trees are up to150 years old. These older trees support a rich diversity of beetles and weevils that specialise in living on the deadwood parts of these trees. The larvae stage of beetles feed on the deadwood but the mature insects require open areas and nectar from the flower rich meadows.

The site was notified in August 2006 and it is largely thanks to the stewardship of a single family that it has remained in such a pristine state. On 18th April 2007 the Board of Natural England considered the advice of officers and the views of those objecting to the notification, and concluded the site should be confirmed without modification.

Helen Phillips, Natural England’s Chief Executive, said: “The science of this site is so amazingly exceptional that we owe a debt of gratitude to the remarkable owners for their wonderful stewardship and want to support them and work together for the benefit of our natural heritage and the incredible range of biodiversity at The Bury Farm.”

Notes to editors

1. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings.

2. Bury Farm SSSI is 5km south of Leominster, Herefordshire. Historic mapping shows that orchards have been present on the farm since the mid-19th century and around half of the trees in each of the two orchards are now hollow and contain wood-mould. The scarce wood-mould resource, the continuity of orchard tree cover, and the quality habitats have allowed a significant deadwood invertebrate community to establish.

3. Sites of Scientific Interest are the best sites for wildlife and geology in England. They cover the widest range of wildlife and geological interest, from Windsor Great Park to Rochdale Canal, Egdon Heath to the Valley of Stones in Dorset, and from the River Wye to the North Norfolk Coast. Natural England selects them partly because of their intrinsic wildlife interest, but also because of their scarcity, their vulnerability to damage and loss, and to the difficulty of restoring them if damaged. SSSIs represent an important fragment of the much-depleted resource of wild nature now remaining in this country. They are home to many rare and familiar plants and animals and play a vital role in delivering the targets set for the 400 key species and 40 key habitats identified in the biodiversity process. SSSIs protect the most important and threatened part of our natural heritage. Many are important to local economies and most provide wonderful opportunities for people to enjoy wildlife.

4. Contact the press office for photographs of the site.

5. For further information contact Natural England’s press officer Steve Wilcox.
Telephone: 01905 362950, or 07970 098005 out of hours
Email: Steve.Wilcox@naturalengland.org.uk