By Philippa Lyons

Over the last 23 years I have come to love BBOWT’s nature reserves. I cannot claim to know many of them as well as the local wardens and other volunteers who are out there taking care of them in all weathers. But knowing that they are there, for ever and for wildlife, is immensely important to me — and I am sure many people who care for our environment feel the same.

The ones I know best are the ones I have been involved in acquiring — and there is almost nothing as thrilling as helping to save a precious wildlife site and turning it into a BBOWT nature reserve.

When I joined the trust in 1990 there was huge excitement about buying Finemere Wood on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire boundary. This wonderful remnant of the historic Royal Forest is famous for its white admirals and purple emperor butterflies; and its 77 hectares meant this was a site big enough to allow part of the ancient woodland to remain as wildwood — unmanaged, un-coppiced and inaccessible to all but the beasts and the birds! 2003 was a major milestone for BBOWT when we had an offer accepted for a whole farm estate at Chimney, a west Oxfordshire hamlet. Lying next to a National Nature Reserve that we had been managing on behalf of Natural England, this magnificent landscape of old ridge and furrow wildflower rich meadows was, at 250 hectares, the largest land acquisition BBOWT had ever contemplated.

We launched a public appeal, and succeeded in reaching our target thanks to an unexpected legacy that was immediately invested for wildlife in the Chimney Meadows nature reserve. Since 1990 when I joined the Trust, BBOWT has increased the amount of land we own and manage by over 35 per cent. In total, we now own and manage 79 nature reserves and I am hugely proud of this legacy, knowing that these inspiring places, like Chimney Meadows, will be buzzing with wildlife for years and years long after I’ve gone. The majority of legacies are bequeathed without any specification for how they’re used, and BBOWT assigns these bequests primarily to nature reserve management and acquisition to ensure there is permanent and lasting testimony to the generous benefactors. The Remember a Charity week (September 9-15) is a timely reminder that we should all make a will, and ensure our families, friends and favourite causes do receive what we wish them to.

When I revisited my will a few years ago I realised that this would be the best opportunity I would ever have to make a truly significant gift to BBOWT; one that costs me nothing now, but could help to create a new nature reserve that my grandchildren and their children will come to know and love.

Of course I wanted to take care of my family first, but then it is simple to make an additional “residuary bequest” that simply adds up what is left of my estate, and that goes to wildlife. As it is expressed as a proportion of my total estate it is inflation proof too! Anyone who has already made a will can just add a codicil. Legacies have also helped us to create exceptional sites such as College Lake in Bucks and Woolley Firs in Berks, where thousands of schoolchildren can discover wildlife and have fun learning about nature.

So no matter how much or how little you feel able to pledge, a bequest to BBOWT will not only help to save precious wildlife habitats and some of the most threatened species in the country, but will also help to create new generations of nature lovers. The need is greater now than ever before. With more and more pressure on land in the south-east of England, the work of BBOWT and other Wildlife Trusts will inevitably become ever more important. To find out more about leaving a legacy to BBOWT, visit bbowt.org.uk/legacy

 

To find out more about legacies log on to the wildlife trust website www.bbowt.co.uk