I love Dorset and its rich variety of wildlife. I was therefore delighted to hear that a £2.7m grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund has helped to add a new Living Landscape to the 150 already in existence across the UK.
Dorset Wildlife Trust's hugely ambitious Great Heath encompasses the urban centres of Bournemouth and Poole and the internationally important Poole Harbour and Dorset Heaths. It also links The New Forest National Park to the east and the Wild Purbeck Nature Improvement Area to the west.
Partners include local authorities and conservation bodies. The grant enables them to buy 607ha (1500 acres) of land. Access, interpretation and management will improve for almost 100 wildlife sites and two long-distance trails.
"Buying the land from the Canford estate was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said DWT's Director of Operations, Brian Bleese. "We aim to develop an Urban Living Landscape with a strong geographical identity, rich in wildlife and valued by local people."
I am sure it will be valued by visitors to the area as well, including me.
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