Veolia Environmental Trust grant enables London Wildlife Trust volunteers to improve Yeading Brook Meadows

Wildlife at a west London nature reserve is getting a boost thanks to a grant of almost £30,000 from the Veolia Environmental Trust, enabling London Wildlife Trust volunteers to improve and expand areas of species-rich grassland and hedgerow.

At Yeading Brook Meadows in Hillingdon, flower-rich grassland supports a rich variety of wildlife. During the warmer months, grass snakes and slow-worms sun themselves to a background chorus of chirping crickets and grasshoppers. House sparrows hop through the hedgerows and skylarks sing, poised high in the sky. Come dusk, barn owls silently sweep the meadows in search of mice and voles.

Volunteers have been working alongside London Wildlife Trust at this location for 30 years. This year, thanks to funding from the Veolia Environmental Trust, contractors will help the local volunteers to clear 2.5ha of low-quality scrubland from the meadows, giving native herbs and grasses the space to grow, and restoring the meadow’s wildlife value. The works will also see the restoration of 1.5km of hedgerow and the creation of new wetland habitats for wading birds.

The ongoing work will also remove dense vegetation, which is currently obscuring the river, allowing visitors to view and enjoy the brook as it flows through the meadows. London’s precious wildlife will benefit locally and across the wider landscape. Yeading Brook Meadows is open and free to visit at all times.

Amy Warner, London Wildlife Trust Senior Grants Officer, said: "This is fantastic news for one of our most treasured nature reserves. We’d like to thank the Veolia Environmental Trust for supporting these habitat restoration works, ensuring wildlife continues to thrive at Yeading Brook Meadows for years to come."

Paul Taylor, Executive Director at The Veolia Environmental Trust, said: "It is through The Landfill Communities Fund that we’ve been able to support this project. We’ve always been impressed with the hard work that London Wildlife Trust and its volunteers put into the capital’s nature reserves, to ensure they continue to develop for the benefit of all."

Yeading Brook Meadows is one of five London Wildlife Trust reserves recognised with a Green Flag Award. For more information see wildlondon.org.uk/reserves.