Hundreds of species recorded at unique Bedfordshire rewilding site

Five scientific studies, six new ponds, hundreds of species recorded and thousands of visitors – a new report details the busy first 18 months of Wildlife Trust ownership at Strawberry Hill.

The site between Kettering and Bedford was bought by the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants in 2024 following the biggest public appeal in the charity’s history. £1.5million was raised for the former farm which has been quietly returning to nature for 30 years and is now home to half the nightingales in Bedfordshire.

Now the team overseeing the 150 hectare (377 acre) site have produced a report covering the first year and a half of the Trust’s ownership of the site. The Trust has teamed up with species experts, scientists and volunteers to dig ponds, build dams, fly drones, manage habitat, create accessible paths and survey birds, insects, wildflowers and mammals.

Some of the statistics from the report include,

Six new ponds dug to provide habitat for newts and other species
50 bird species recorded
More than 30 pairs of nightingales
11 bat species recorded – all but one of the bat species ever recorded in the county
27 species of butterfly recorded and 148 species of moth
978 invertebrate species found
30 species of moss and 50 species of lichen

The report also looks ahead to plans in the offing to create limited visitor facilities allowing people to access and enjoy the site without disturbing its precious wildlife. A small car park will be created in non wildlife-rich area on the edge of the site and a building where education and engagement events can be held to introduce school children and adult groups to the biodiversity on the site. Grazing cattle, including Highland cows will also be used to help keep the scrub on the site at an optimum level for bird species like warblers and turtle doves.

Chantelle Warriner, Reserves Officer said: “Finding out we had secured the funds to buy Strawberry Hill a year and a half ago was an incredible moment in my career – it demonstrated the collective power of ordinary people coming together to achieve something monumental. Local people genuinely care about protecting this special site and preserving it for wildlife. So, we wanted to gather some of the key projects and partnerships that have kept us very busy in recent months and share some exciting updates.

“We have had so many nature enthusiasts and experts from a range of groups wanting to collaborate with us on the site and they have been invaluable when it comes to learning what is already here and how we can protect it for the future.

“Every visit seems to throw up a new species or feature in the landscape and the more we learn the better we can plan the future management to ensure it stays rich in biodiversity.

“But the real reward has been the conversations with the many visitors who have told us about the nightingales they have heard, the butterflies they have seen and the wildflowers they have added to their lists. We hope Strawberry Hill continues to inspire people for many years to come.”

Read the full report at https://www.wildlifebcn.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/Strawberry%20Hill%20update%20report%202026%20%281%29-compressed.pdf