Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust

Altar Stones
Drystone wall and rocky outcrop in Altar Stones

The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Conservation. As of January 2018, it has over 16,000 members,[a] a staff of about 25 and more than 500 volunteers. It is based in Leicester, and is managed by a Council of Trustees which is elected by the members.[2] It is a charity which covers all aspects of nature conservation, and works to protect wild places and wildlife.[3]

Leicestershire has an area of 833 square miles (2,160 km2),[4] and a population according to the 2011 census of 980,000.[5] Leicester City Council is a unitary authority,[6] and the rest of the county is administered by Leicestershire County Council at the top level, with seven district councils in the second tier, Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Melton, North West Leicestershire and Oadby and Wigston.[7] Rutland is mainly rural, but has two market towns, Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham.[8][9][10] The county has an area of 151.5 square miles (392 square kilometres), and the 2011 census showed a population of 37,400.[11]

LRWT manages thirty-three reserves covering almost 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres).[12] Nineteen are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest, two are national nature reserves, one is a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, one is a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, two are Nature Conservation Review sites, three contain Geological Conservation Review sites, one contains a scheduled monument, one is a local nature reserve and two are owned by the National Trust. The largest is Rutland Water at 393 hectares (970 acres), a major wetland area which is one of the richest reservoirs for wintering wildfowl in the country.[13] The smallest is Bloody Oaks Quarry at 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres), which has species-rich grassland on Jurassic limestone.[14]

  1. ^ "Become a member". Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Organisation". Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Vision". Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Leicestershire". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Our Population". Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  6. ^ "About us". Leicester City Council. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Find your local council". Leicestershire County Council. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Rutland". East Midlands Oral History Archive. University of Leicester. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Oakham". Discover Rutland. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  10. ^ "About us". Rutland County Council. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Rutland Key Statistical Data". Rutland County Council. November 2016. pp. 6, 39.
  12. ^ "Nature Reserves". Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Rutland Water citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference bloody was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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