Archers Green: Wildlife charity in bid to raise £500k to buy land

The land supports threatened wildlife such as water voles, the UK's fastest declining mammal, the charity said

A wildlife charity is trying to raise £500,000 to buy land that contains "vulnerable habitats".

Archers Green, near Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, supports "iconic, yet threatened" wildlife such as water vole, skylark and harebell, the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said.

The trust said it needed to raise money to pay back a "philanthropic loan" used to take the site off the market.

It said losing the land would be a "tragedy".

The trust said it hoped to raise £500,000 to "secure the important site"

Chief executive Lesley Davies said: "When the trust saw Archers Green come up for sale, they had to act fast to stop the site from falling into unsympathetic hands.

"Securing the future of wild places like Archers Green is crucial for our planet and our local community.

"The complex of habitats at Archers Green is what makes it so special and home to so many different plants and animals and is why the site is a priority for the trust to give it a secure future and manage it positively to benefit its wildlife.

"Nature is in crisis and we urgently need to protect more land for wildlife."

Archers Green also flanks the River Mimram, which is one of just 240 chalk streams in the world, according to the trust.

"These unique river systems are so rare, and support some of our most endangered species - they are the UK's equivalent to tropical rainforests," the trust said.

• Nearly half of chalk stream has run dry

• Chalk rivers restoration to combat climate change

• Under-threat chalk streams need protected status

It said the opportunity to buy Archers Green was an "unmissable".

The trust said if it did not raise the money, the site may have to go back on the open market "which risks the loss of its wildlife".

"This would be a tragedy, right in the middle of the biggest nature crisis we've known in our lifetimes," it said.