Strawberry Hill is the kind of place you cannot reproduce in a short space of time. It has taken 35 years to become what it is today.

This is why Strawberry Hill must be protected. Wildlife depends on it.

Nightingales have declined by 90% in the last 50 years and in the last 30 years, turtle dove numbers in the UK have plummeted by 97%. They can’t wait another 35 years for a new site to develop.

Strawberry Hill is an oasis in an otherwise nature depleted area. Bedfordshire is one of the most intensively farmed counties in the UK. Only a tiny part of the county, a staggeringly small 1.2%, is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

And this is why Strawberry Hill needs protecting – it doesn’t have SSSI status. There is no legal protection on this land preventing it from being destroyed.

When Strawberry Hill came on to the open market, we knew we had to save it, but time was not on our side. Thanks to rapid intervention, saving the land temporarily from any unsympathetic commercial buyer, we have been leasing Strawberry Hill since 2022, giving us vital time to raise the funds to buy the site.

Having raised £1million, we were able to bring the southern half of Strawberry Hill into our ownership in April this year. We now need to raise a further £1.5million without delay to buy the freehold of the remaining part of Strawberry Hill.

With the two halves of Strawberry Hill under our ownership, we can start to plan for the long-term future of this stunning place.

Any donation is gratefully received – be part of the story to save Strawberry Hill.