United Kingdom

Years of support 0

HECTARES CO-FUNDED 0 (47 acres)

 

WLT’s focus on places with the greatest biodiversity means the UK has not historically been part of our network. But through the generous legacy gift of WLT supporter Jane Pointer, we have come to be custodians of a small, precious slice of British nature at Kites Hill In Gloucestershire.

For WLT, it is an honour to be playing a small part in the protection of UK habitats, for it is sorely needed. Where countries worldwide have managed, on average, to keep 75% of their biodiversity, the UK only has 50% left. It is one of the most nature-depleted nations on Earth, last among the G7 group of developed countries and in the bottom 10% globally.

 
 

Although much has been lost, a wealth of wildlife continues to call this country home, with an estimated 43,000+ animal species and 9,700+ plant species. Habitats of note include the old chalk grassland of southern England – one of Western Europe’s botanically richest habitats – and Europe’s largest intact tracts of temperate rainforest, a habitat so rare only 1% of the world has the right conditions for it. Travel along the UK’s 30,000-km-long coastline and you’ll find some of the planet’s most life-abundant waters as well as Europe’s most diverse kelp groves.

There is much to be celebrated about British wildlife, and people’s power to protect it. Whether you support us from the UK or elsewhere, many options exist for you to give nature a chance back home – even as you support our partners’ projects around the world. You can lower your environmental footprint or support a local conservation project much like Kites Hill – and if you’re wondering about the sort of impact you can make, read on.

 

Current projects in the UK

Kites Hill

Explore Kites Hill with our Interactive Map

 
KITES HILL

Occupying former farmland on a hilltop just a few miles from the city of Gloucester, Kites Hill is the only reserve that WLT owns directly. In 1999, Jane Pointer donated the reserve’s 19.2 ha to WLT so that it would be protected in her lifetime, an act of generosity that set off decades of conservation work.

Entrusted with Jane’s living legacy, we at WLT have spent decades managing Kites Hill through the maintenance of woodland areas, the boosting of grassland floral diversity, and other conservation work. A local farmer has been helping us manage pastures through conservation-friendly grazing, while The Conservation Volunteers have been handling monitoring, and the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust have been assisting with site management and local guidance.

All this work is helping to preserve the westernmost blocks of Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests in the UK, and some of the last 5% of limestone grasslands not to have been ploughed, reseeded or fertilised in the Cotswolds. This is habitat for 200+ plant species (including four orchids) and 200+ invertebrate species, over 40 bird species, and 12 mammal species including fox, badger and deer.
Kites Hill is part of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods National Nature Reserve, the Cotswold Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation, and the Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods Site of Special Scientific Interest. If you’d like to discover the impact of Jane Pointer’s living legacy for yourself, you can click here to find the reserve on Google Maps.

A view of the woodland at Kites Hill

Key species protected by WLT projects

 

Jane Pointer sitting on a chair at the open day of Kites Hill reserve

A Living Legacy

Kites Hill will always be a living legacy to Jane Pointer. If you would like to include World Land Trust in your will, please take a look at our
Wills and Legacies page where you will find more information and contact details should you wish to speak to us and find out more.