Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers left angry and frustrated after break in at Attenborough Nature Reserve leaves the charity facing a bill of up to £10,000.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers were left feeling angry and frustrated after the theft of vital tools and equipment, as well as damage to storage units and a catering pod at Attenborough Nature Reserve near Beeston, Nottingham, on Monday night left the charity facing a bill of up to £10,000.
Attenborough Nature Reserve is one of the most important wetland sites in the region and provides opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people to see and connect with nature each year.
Staff discovered the break in whilst opening up the Nature Centre on Tuesday February 20 – first noticing a smashed window on the ice cream and coffee unit located in front of the centre, before finding that thieves had broken into storage sheds, taking chainsaws, drills and other tools, valued at around £7000, used in the maintenance of habitats at Attenborough Nature Reserve and other important wildlife areas across the south of the county.
Speaking about the break in Business & Operations Coordinator Beth Maples said:
“It was certainly a shock to discover that we’d been targeted and saddening to see the extent of the damage caused. Ultimately, we know tools can be replaced, and damage can be fixed, but it’s a setback we can ill-afford, particularly just as we’re getting back to normal following the recent floods.”
The Trust, which is still counting the cost of damage and loss of trading income caused by recent floods, now faces a further bill of up to £10,000 to replace the stolen tools and repair facilities, as well as disruption to its habitat management programme at a vital time of year.
Beth added: “The staff and volunteers that care for this special wetland and other nature reserves across the county are busy year-round, but they are particularly busy right now trying to ensure that vital habitat work is completed ahead of the main bird nesting season.
“The loss of so many tools will have a significant impact and may mean that we are forced to postpone some work until after the summer. Replacing the tools will be costly and time consuming, and we would be grateful of any support in terms of donations, and we’d be delighted to hear from tool suppliers that might be able to donate replacements.”
Donations towards the cost of replacement tools and vital repairs can be made at nottinghamshirewildlife.org
Companies interested in donating tools should email info@nottswt.co.uk
The Trust is also calling on anyone that saw any suspicious activity close to the Nature Centre or in the car park between 21:00hrs and 22:00hrs on Monday 19th February, and would urge anyone with information to contact Nottinghamshire Police on the 101-quoting crime reference number 24000103852.
