Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has today announced a joint ‘Attenborough’ celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of Attenborough Nature Reserve and the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough, who opened the reserve in 1966.
Three days of nature-themed activities and events will be held from Friday 8th May to Sunday 10th May, including the reserve’s first ever Otter Walks, plus a Bat Walk, Stay & Play, Pond Dipping, Optics Demonstrations, Moth Trapping, and talks on Orchids and Clearwings. On Saturday 9th May, the reserve will also host ‘Skydancer Day’, an annual event organised by Hen Harrier Action, the group having chosen Attenborough Nature Reserve as this year’s venue to mark Sir David’s birthday.
On 30 April representatives of organisations that have played a key role in the work of the Trust over the past sixty years gathered, along with the Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Prof. Veronica Pickering, at the reserve, 60 years to the day since Sir David opened it. The event marked the landmark anniversary, celebrated decades of collaboration and the contribution of volunteers, and served to launch a year of celebrations of this nationally important and much-loved site.
Speaking at the 60th anniversary event, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Chief Executive Paul Wilkinson said: “To have the reserve’s 60th anniversary so close to Sir David’s 100th birthday is really special, especially given the long connection he has with the reserve. We therefore thought it fitting to mark the two occasions together with a celebration of the reserve and its wildlife.”
Yesterday’s birthday celebration gave the Trust a chance to thank the many groups that were involved in the early days of the reserve, to pay tribute to the countless volunteers who have helped shape the reserve over the decades, and to retell the story of how the reserve came to be.
Paul added: “Sir David has described Attenborough Nature Reserve as ‘a lifeline to the natural world’ and ‘a symbol of hope in a challenging world’. Generations have had their first connection with nature here or made cherished memories with family and friends. Whilst many know that the reserve was once a sand and gravel quarry, has some connection with Sir David Attenborough and is central to the Trust’s success, few know quite why. The reserve exists because people recognised that nature isn’t a nice-to-have; it is necessary for our wellbeing. As well as valuing the site and its wildlife, the community stood up for what it believed in, helping to save and ultimately shape the unique nature reserve that so many value and benefit from today.”
In the 1960s, a plan was put forward to fill the flooded gravel pits (known locally as ‘The Gravs’), created through sand and gravel extraction, with ash from a new power station to be built at Ratcliffe-on-Soar. This plan landed at a time when communities across the UK were waking up to the scale of habitat loss, and many fledgling Wildlife Trusts were emerging. As a result, the community rose up to fight and defeat the plans. This battle sparked the formation of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in 1963. Far from resting on their laurels, campaigners kept pushing and the former pits were declared a nature reserve. It was opened by David Attenborough (not yet Sir David) during ‘National Nature Week’ on 30th April 1966.
This event marked the start of a long and fruitful relationship between the reserve and its namesake, an honorary life member of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, whose father and grandfather lived nearby. His family and the reserve both take their name from Attenborough village. Sir David returned in 1988 to launch plans for a centre and again 17 years later, in 2005, to open it. In 2020, he launched the charity’s ‘Lifeline Appeal’ to purchase the reserve.
This much-loved reserve is nationally important for nature and best known for its birds, with over 250 species recorded, but a staggering 2,500 species of birds, mammals, insects, plants and other wildlife have been recorded so far. Its location close to both Nottingham and Derby makes it a hugely popular site for people to see, hear and connect with nature.
Further details about events and activities taking place between the 8th and 10th May can be found at nottinghamshirewildlife.
