A CONSERVATION charity has raised more than £60,000 in the first three weeks of a major fundraising appeal.

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust needs to raise £200,000 by the end of August to secure the future of Blackhouse Wood, which is part of the Suckley ridge near Alfrick.

The 38-hectare site is already home to a variety of woodland wildlife and has the potential to create one of the most important ecologically valuable blocks of woodland in Worcestershire, according to the trust.

Colin Raven, director of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, said: “Blackhouse Wood has had a mixed past and the current owner has made a good start on the long process of restoration.

“However, for it to fulfil its true wildlife potential, it now urgently needs a new owner able to secure its future recovery as a wildlife-rich woodland.”

In the 1960s many of the wood’s native trees were cleared to make way for fast-growing conifers and it was managed as a commercial forestry plantation.

Many years earlier small-scale quarrying took place on the site. This created access issues which helped many wildlife species to survive in the area, especially on the western side.

Mr Raven added: “Our appeal has got off to an amazing start but there’s still a long way to go.

“Last year we lodged a deposit payment and negotiated a 12-month period to allow us to raise the remaining £200,000.

“The full cost of the woodland is £400,000 but we’ve already been able to pay half of this by dedicating a collection of gifts left to us in wills by supporters.

“We’re hoping to raise the remaining £200,000 from individual donations and grants.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has already donated to the appeal – raising more than £60,000 in such a short space of time is fantastic.

“It demonstrates just how strongly people feel about helping to protect our wonderful countryside.”

Blackhouse Wood sits next to the trust’s Crews Hill nature reserve, which is home to dormice. The trust will install dormice nest boxes in Blackhouse Wood as well to encourage the animals to settle there.

The conservation charity also intends to remove most of the non-native trees, replacing them with oaks and field maples, while old hornbeam and veteran lime stools will be coppiced and pathways and glades will be widened and created.

This approach will ensure plants grow and support butterflies, bees and other insects and that the woodland becomes an “oasis for wildlife and people alike”.

For more details visit worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/backtolife