Our State of Nature

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has published a local state of nature report drawing on 50 years of data. Its author Dr Tom Day here discusses the good, the bad and the future

- Steve Kenny

Wildlife is in trouble – globally, nationally and locally. The national State of Nature report, first published in 2013 and updated in 2016 and 2019, clearly shows that wildlife in the UK is under threat. While most agree wildlife should be cherished and protected, it continues to struggle and we continue to be disconnected from it.

A local view

From the urban centres of Watford and Stevenage to the rolling arable farmland around Royston and Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire is a county of contrasts. With the chalky grasslands of the Chilterns in the west to the woods of Broxbourne in the east, and the wonderful wetlands of the Lea Valley to our precious chalk streams scattered throughout the county, we have some truly stunning wild places which are home to wonderful wildlife.

Over the past year, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has been busy combing species records collated through the Hertfordshire Environmental Records Centre which is hosted by the trust. Almost three million individual species records covering the last 50 years were identified, summarised and analysed to paint a picture of how wildlife is faring in our county.