Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6-hectare (6,211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area for birds, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering 3,945 hectares. It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire live within five miles of a reserve. In the year to 31 March 2016 it employed 105 people and had an income of £5.1 million. It aims to conserve wildlife, inspire people to take action for wildlife, offer advice and share knowledge. The WTBCN is one of 36 wildlife trusts covering England, and 46 covering the whole of the United Kingdom.
Pavenham is a small village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Bedford. Village amenities consist of St Peter's Church, a pub, Village hall, tennis Club, Cricket Club and golf club. The village is home to many clubs and societies including an active WI.
Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows is a 4.3 hectare nature reserve west of Arlesey in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is a long narrow strip between the River Hiz and the East Coast Main Line, with the entrance to Glebe Meadows immediately west of Arlesey railway station, and Arlesey Old Moat south of the Meadows. The Hicca Way footpath goes through the site.
Begwary Brook in Bedfordshire is a four mile long tributary of the River Great Ouse. Its source is half a mile north of Duck's Cross, and it then flows east to join the Great Ouse in Wyboston. The Environment Agency classes its water quality as good.
Cople Pits is a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) nature reserve in Cople in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
The Riddy is an 8.4 hectare flood meadow and Local Nature Reserve located in Sandy, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, bordering the River Ivel. Owned by Sandy Town Council but managed by both the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity, the 7.7 hectares site gains its name from a small stream which flows through the eastern end of the reserve. The different habitats in the Riddy support a diverse range of species, including a multiplicity of grasses and flowering plants in the meadows, aquatic plants and water voles which inhabit the ditches, ponds and stream, and birds which feed and hunt across the reserve.
Chettisham Meadow is a 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Chettisham, 3 km (2 mi) north of Ely in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Houghton Meadows is a 4.7-hectare (12-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Houghton and St Ives in Cambridgeshire. The SSSI covers three meadows south of Thicket Road; they are part of the 8-hectare (20-acre) Houghton Meadows nature reserve, which is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and which also includes Browns Meadow to the south.
Upwood Meadows is a 6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Upwood in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Grade I Nature Conservation Review site. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Mare Fen is a 16.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, England. It is owned by Cambridgeshire County Council, and was formerly managed by the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Naturalists Trust, but as of December 2016 it is not listed on the Trust's web site. In 2015 Swavesey Parish Council expressed concern at the failure of the Environment Agency to carry out flood prevention works at Mare Fen.
Acaster South Ings is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, near York, England. It consists of two alluvial flood-meadows, and was designated in 1988 because it supports diverse fauna and flora, some of which is rare in the Vale of York area. One of the rarities is the tansy beetle, which feeds on the leaves of the tansy plant.
Draper's Osier Bed Stream is a small stream in southern England, in the county of Berkshire. It is formed at a weir on a section of the River Kennet running alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal, and travels east for a while, before merging with the Kennet upstream of the head of the Holy Brook stream.
Godmanchester Nature Reserve is a 59-hectare nature reserve in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire, England. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Ely Pits and Meadows is an 85.8-hectare (212-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the eastern outskirts of Ely in Cambridgeshire. It is the only SSSI in the county which is designated both for its biological and geological interest. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site, and an area of 8 hectares is the Roswell Pits nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Barford Wood and Meadows or Barford Meadow Nature Reserve is a 36 hectare nature reserve east of Rushton in Northamptonshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The north-eastern end is part of the River Ise and Meadows Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Bugbrooke Meadows is a 10.1-hectare (25-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Nether Heyford in Northamptonshire. One of the fields with an area of 1.7 hectares is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Wicksteed Park is a 14.2-hectare (35-acre) nature reserve in Barton Seagrave, on the eastern outskirts of Kettering in Northamptonshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Barnes Meadow is a 29.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Northampton. An area of 20 hectares is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
An osier bed is where historically willows were planted and coppiced to produce withies, which were used for basket making, fish-traps, and other purposes. The willow species salix viminalis, known as the "common osier" was typically, although not exclusively, grown for this purpose. The marshy fringes of rivers, especially those which were often flooded and those with small islands, aits, eyots, or holts, were the most common locations for osier beds. Willow rods (cuttings) would be planted, which root easily in moist ground, and the growth of the willow withies would be cut every one or two years.
