AN IMPORTANT breeding spot for water voles in the Meon Valley has become one of the county’s new nature reserves.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) has bought St Clair’s Meadow from the Earl of Clarendon’s estate for a six-figure sum.
The 16-hectare site in Soberton is rich in wildlife as the reserve contains a stretch of the Meon, one of the UK’s most important chalk rivers. The site is also home to kingfishers, water voles and a large number of butterflies and dragonflies.
The HIWWT was able to buy the land thanks to generous support from the Pig Shed Trust, local community and a £300,000 Biffa grant.
Chief executive of the HIWTT Deborah Tann is absolutely delighted that the trust has been able to secure the “wonderful site” as a nature reserve.
She said: “This is an exceptional habitat for wildlife that has been said to be as internationally important as the rainforests or Great Barrier Reef.”