A wildlife charity has spoken of its concern about the number of wildflowers which are being dug up and removed from its reserves on the Northumberland Coast.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust says that orchids in particular are being targeted by members of the public at its Hauxley and East Chevington reserves, who are digging the flowers up and taking them home. The charity suspects that this is due to the high price of orchids in garden centres.
Despite the thefts, the wildlife trust is bringing a rare orchid back to Druridge Bay following an absence of 50 years. The green-winged orchid (Anacamptis morio) is being planted at reserves on the Northumberland Coast, however, due to said thefts, its exact whereabouts is not being revealed.
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The grassland plant that gets its name from the green veins in the 'hood' of its flowers would have been a familiar sight in hay meadows and dune slacks around Druridge Bay in years gone by, but the increase in demand for food production after World War II and the destruction of dune habitats through recreational use, resulted in gradual decline until it completely disappeared from Northumberland in the 1970s.
Support in the plant's reintroduction to the county came from the People's Postcode Lottery, which saw Northumberland Wildlife Trust work with the National Trust in Morecambe Bay, who provided the seed, and the Hardy Orchid Society, whose conservation office Bill Temple provided the orchid expertise and organised volunteers to initially grow the plans in their own homes for three years.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust says that it has worked hard to create and improve the habitat on the selected reserve in recent years and believes the time is right for the orchid's reintroduction, especially as the region's spotted and marsh orchids are not only threatened by thefts, but also a new disease which has begun to wipe out entire orchid populations around the country.
Geoff Dobbins, Northumberland Wildlife Trust's Estates Manager, said: "This is one of the more unusual, but worthwhile, projects, which, if it weren’t for People’s Postcode Lottery players, may have been put on the ‘back burner’ until alternative funding became available.
"However, its return is tinged with caution as it comes at a time when volunteers patrolling our reserves are finding more and more holes in the ground where plants used to be - removed by members of the public. Such theft is very disheartening to our teams of volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure all the reserves across the Bay are in pristine condition for everybody’s enjoyment."
What plant or animal would you like to see reintroduced to Northumberland? Let us know!
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