Buckinghamshire Berkshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trusts 'saddened and angered 'at high levels of anti-social behaviour on nature reserves

The trust have been left furious by amounts of litter left at local wildlife sites.
Litter at Aston Clinton Rag PitsLitter at Aston Clinton Rag Pits
Litter at Aston Clinton Rag Pits

A large number of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust’s (BBOWT) nature reserves have been damaged because of anti-social behaviour.

There have been widespread cases of littering at their reserves across the three counties as warm weather coincided with an easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At Weston Turville Reservoir the trust have reported seeing 'unprecedented numbers' of people using the site for recreational purposes with lots of disturbance being caused to breeding birds such as water rail, great crested grebe and reed warbler by people swimming, carrying out unauthorised boating in the lake and due to groups of people partying, drinking and having fires on the fishing platforms that extend out into the reservoir.

The site has also seen an increase in other inappropriate behaviour, with people walking with dogs off leads and cycling along the narrow permissive paths.

Senior Land Manager for Buckinghamshire, Mark Vallance, says:

“I have just come back from our Calvert Jubilee nature reserve and was shocked by what I saw.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“A large section of the lakeside bank has been dug out to create a flat platform. I can only presume this is for sunbathing, and for a group to sit and drink on whilst others were swimming and boating on the lake.

“There was loads of litter everywhere and there were paths pushing down to the lake edge through sections of reedbed where I could still hear singing reed warbler.”

There has also been a huge amount of litter left on site which has been blowing into the open water and inaccessible areas of the reedbeds where it will pose a serious risk to many species of animal that make their home at the site.

BBOWT has also seen BBQs cause fires on its Wildmoor Heath, Greenham Common, Snelsmore Country Park and Wokefield Common nature reserves in Berkshire where there has also been an increase in dogs scaring sheep.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Fly tipping has been reported at a number of reserves including Bowdown Woods and Shepperlands Farm and Moor Copse.

At Hosehill Lake, boating and swimming has disturbed nesting birds including terns, lapwing, oyster catchers.

People fishing in front of a specially created sand martin wall has thought to have caused a failure of nests there this year.

Dogs have been out of control chasing wildfowl and their young and at Sydlings Copse, a grazing pony was found with a long dog lead wrapped around its neck and leg.

Fences and buildings have also been damaged.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On Wildmoor, people have cut fencing to reach restricted and protected areas of the reserve and at Moor Copse wildflowers and nesting areas for skylark have been damaged.

People have broken into an old building at Greenham causing substantial damage to its structure and roof.

Fences have been cut at Oakley Hill reserve to reach Chinnor cement works lake to swim. The fence prevents livestock from escaping and they now cannot graze this area of the reserve.

Car travel to sites has also increased at many Wildlife Trust reserves, which are often in remote locations with very limited parking.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There has been a big increase driving to the site as well as litter, dog mess and fires at Cholsey Marsh in Oxfordshire. Cars have been dumped on verges and in front of gates, meaning emergency service would struggle to reach people if needed and social distancing has been ignored.

Land Management and People Engagement Director for BBOWT, Christopher Williams says:

“I’ve been shocked, saddened and angered by the frankly disgraceful behaviour and actions by some people which we have witnessed at our nature reserves in the last few weeks. These special places have been lovingly cared for by volunteers and staff for decades and it is very upsetting to see the impact of the actions of a few thoughtless individuals.

“I’ve worked in the sector for nearly 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. We have seen a dramatic increase in vandalism, fly tipping, litter, fires, out of control dogs worrying our livestock, people feeding and abusing our grazing ponies.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“People have been disturbing important nesting sites by playing, swimming and kayaking in lakes and ponds set aside for wildlife. People have been having picnics, playing football, flying kites and drones, camping and having BBQs at these places which are meant to be places where wildlife can thrive.

“None of these activities are permitted at our sites and they are doing untold damage to the prospects of rare and precious wildlife.

“Our Land management teams are already struggling to cope with the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak and this is causing additional and unnecessary stress to those dedicated staff and volunteers who care for these places.”

BBOWT is asking anyone who witnesses any anti-social and criminal activity at any of our nature reserves, to contact the Police on 101. Details of how to report these incidents is explained on our website. We also ask people to spread the word that this is not acceptable through their own social media outlets. If the matter is serious, please contact BBOWT.

Related topics: