WETLANDS NATURE RESERVE Wellcome Genome Campus Hinxton, Cambridgeshire Management Plan 2016-2020 The Wellcome Genome of that development, the Wetlands Nature from Hinxton and Ickleton villages and Campus Reserve was created beside the staff members from the Campus. River Cam. The Reserve management is co-ordinated The Wellcome Genome Campus is The Wellcome Genome Campus has by the Group which meets three times a a 55 hectare site in South Cambridgeshire established a key position within the local year to plan work and surveys. and is home to the Wellcome Trust Sanger community and is committed to fostering The Wetlands Nature Reserve Institute, the European Bioinformatics good community relations. In order to management plan is the result of ongoing Institute and the Wellcome Trust promote this and to encourage partnership working between the Conference Centre. An academic engagement and dialogue, a Community Wellcome Genome Campus, the extension to the Genome Campus was Conservation Group was set up in 2004. Community Conservation Group and the completed in April 2005 and, as part The Group is comprised of representatives local Wildlife Trust. 2 Foreword flourished. We have established a diverse environment that is now home to hundreds The Wetlands of species of invertebrate (butterflies, Nature Reserve was moths, dragonflies, ants and beetles), birds, created in 2005 for other fauna, and flora, creating a place two principal where people can appreciate and learn reasons: firstly to about our local wildlife as part of their act as a natural flood attenuation daily routine. mechanism; and secondly, to create a new This plan sets out a vision and provides a and diverse natural habitat, open for all to framework of activity to guide the future of enjoy. Our primary purpose is to conserve the Wetlands Nature Reserve until 2020 and enhance our Wetlands Nature Reserve and beyond. It outlines the ecological and and to seek to improve habitats and conservation activities to be undertaken to increase understanding about its wildlife. ensure that the Reserve is managed Cambridgeshire’s countryside is truly responsibly and monitored appropriately. outstanding, and we are lucky to live The strategy challenges all of us to and work in such a special place. contribute to a shared future for this We must never become complacent about special place. the challenges our environment faces, I would like to thank the Cambridgeshire which are likely to be considerable in the Wildlife Trust for their expertise and coming years as we deal with the impacts guidance in the production of the of climate change and try to halt the management strategy; their input has been decline of some of our best-loved wildlife. essential. Thanks are also extended to the This management plan considers how we local residents of Hinxton and Ickleton can best meet these challenges at a together with Campus staff who have local level. worked tremendously hard over the past 10 years to make the Reserve what it We are fortunate to have several keen is today. volunteers who regularly undertake amateur surveys, recording not only the birds that frequent the Wetlands Nature Reserve, but also the insects and species Martin Dougherty of plant found on site. Year on year the Chief Operating Officer species list for the site is growing. Wellcome Genome Campus Over the past 10 years the Reserve has January 2016 3 Achievements over the of wildflowers and have a good balance and moths and the bird life. between shorter, rabbit-grazed Volunteers have undertaken a variety of past 10 years grassland and longer grassland practical work to help manage the providing cover for small mammals and Reserve, including coppicing trees, Since its creation 10 years ago, the insects. A variety of wildflowers thrive in removing Himalayan balsam and habitats within the Wetlands Nature areas once dominated by taller invasive Australian swamp stonecrop to make Reserve have matured. Early on, the ponds species. The planted copses and space for native plants. However, most of and surrounding areas had much bare hedgerows have grown rapidly, to the the volunteer effort has been directed at ground and were home to ground nesting point where a different approach to recording the wildlife present or taking waders such as little ringed plover. The management may now be required. regular photographs of the site, including ponds are now full of marginal vegetation An events programme has introduced some from fixed points to show the such as common reed and reedmace and many Wellcome Genome Campus changes to the Reserve over time. Regular the surrounding land is well vegetated with employees and other people from the recording of the bird life and butterflies plants of damp or marshy grassland. local villages to the Wetlands Nature has taken place together with more ad hoc The marginal vegetation provides nesting Reserve and to the wildlife it supports. recording of other species. Otters and opportunities for reed bunting, reed Events have included sessions on kingfishers have been seen and filmed warbler, moorhen and little grebe. amphibians, reptiles, bats, otters, along the river. Elsewhere the grassland habitats are full the flora, dragonflies, butterflies 4 Wetlands Nature Wetlands Nature land. The Reserve is also used by other less common birds such as yellow wagtail and Reserve Habitat Map Reserve migratory birds such as chiffchaff and blackcap. Introduction Since the Reserve’s creation it has matured considerably; as the vegetation HINXTON The Wetlands Nature Reserve is a 6.1 has established it has altered beyond hectare site (grid reference TL 498 442) recognition. This is evident when CAMBRIDGE bounded by the River Cam to the east and comparing the original photographs with the London Liverpool Street to Cambridge the current views and fixed point River Cam railway line to the west. The Reserve photographs that are taken every year. consists of a mosaic of habitats including Wildlife surveys have revealed the extent Railway ponds, grassland, woodland, hedgerow, to which the variety of habitats and their Line riverbank and specimen trees. changing nature have brought about a These habitats make a valuable rich diversity of species. contribution to enhancing the local The surveys also inform the management environment, as well as an important open needs for the Wetlands Nature Reserve. space for people to visit. It is for these reasons that the management ICKLETON However, they also form part of a wider plan is reviewed and updated every network of habitats along the River Cam. five years. Open Water Skylarks and spotted flycatchers breed on The management plan complements the Marginal Vegetation the Campus but utilise the Reserve as a overarching objectives of the Wellcome Mature Trees Genome Campus as well as the more Woodland Belts feeding area outside of the breeding Hedgerow season. Many of the species which have specific ecological objectives for the Species-poor Grassland bred on the Wetlands will feed on adjacent Wetlands Nature Reserve. Species-rich Grassland LONDON © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Cambridgeshire County Council 100023205 (2016) 5 habitats will be maintained: ponds Wetlands Nature Reserve with open water and dense marginal Aims and Objectives vegetation; wildflower-rich grasslands with a colourful array of plants, and The Wellcome Genome Campus has four areas with both short and long turf; principal aims for the Reserve: river banks with both open and low, 1. To enhance the value of the area for shrubby sections; and trees, shrubs, wildlife and to promote a diverse range hedgerows and copses to provide of habitats. sheltering, breeding and feeding habitats. 2. To involve local communities as 2. To organise a programme of events visitors and volunteers. and survey projects to encourage 3. To provide opportunities for people to volunteers from both the Campus and learn, experience and benefit from the the local villages to undertake surveying natural environment. and monitoring of the habitats 4. To reduce flooding (both on Campus and key species. and downstream) by storing the rainwater 3. To maintain safe access to the Wetlands run-off from the Campus. Nature Reserve for local people and The management plan supports staff from the Campus. the achievement of these aims by 4. To communicate the benefits of the focussing on the following objectives: Wetlands Nature Reserve to employees 1. To maintain the existing range of and local people in a way which complementary habitats to support increases their understanding of the a wide range of plants, insects, birds, Reserve’s wildlife and ecological value mammals and other fauna, in a way within the local landscape as well that minimises on-going management as the other benefits it provides and is resource efficient. The following for flood management. 6 Wildflower Grasslands conditions, the growth of grasses will start to increase at the expense of the wildflowers. Grasslands rich in wildflowers provide Management is likely to be required within cover, shelter and food for a wide range of three years. This will involve cutting a invertebrates and other fauna, including proportion of the meadow in late summer amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and and raking up the cut grass into compost ground-nesting birds. Meadows are a nature piles, which are favoured places for grass conservation priority, because 98% were snakes to lay their eggs. At least 20% of the lost in the past century. Meadow pipits feed grassland should be left uncut to retain in the meadow, particularly in winter, while cover of tall stems and seed heads for a range of butterflies and moths including species to shelter and overwinter in. common blue, small heath and the six-spot The decision on whether or not to cut will be burnet can be seen throughout the summer. reviewed in June each year. Little management was required in the first In the past some areas were dominated by 10 years thanks to grazing by rabbits.