New nature reserve becomes wildlife haven

A stretch of land sandwiched between a motorway and an industrial estate has been transformed into a wildlife haven.

The new Parson's Carr nature reserve, near the M18 in Doncaster, is a 104-hectare (256-acre) site of former arable land which has been turned into a mixture of wetland, grassland and a woodland mosaic.

The project has been delivered by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and was funded by rail company LNER's customer and community investment fund. The East Coast Main Line passes nearby.

The trust's reserve manager Sophie Pinder said urban sites made "a massive difference" to wildlife.

"Parson's Carr is very much in an urban area, so the more space for nature that we can make in these areas, the more resilient they become," she said.

"We've created a lot of different habitats and areas that people can enjoy in local urban green spaces as well."

The new habitat features 650 metres of hedgerow, a new wildlife corridor and three new ponds alongside grassland and crops, which will support birds such as turtle doves, yellowhammers and grey partridges.

The reserve is also being looked after by the trust's conservation cattle, which will create variation in vegetation height and open up areas of bare ground, giving a greater variety of wildflowers the opportunity to seed and germinate.

Through the LNER funding, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has been able to offer seasonal nature walks for visitors, as well as install benches and interpretation panels at the site, allowing more people to access the area.

Rachael Wilson, community investment manager at LNER, said: "Parson's Carr is a remarkable site where, thanks to the hard work of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and their amazing volunteers, nature is thriving despite being hidden between two very urban landscapes.

"The project's ambition to benefit both the environment and the local community echoes our own ambition to deliver positive and sustainable change across our business, benefiting the people and places we serve."

The area was created as part of the nearby iPort logistics development, and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust began managing the land in 2023, gradually opening it up to the public.

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