The Malvern Hills are bursting with wildlife from bats to butterflies, adders to ancient trees.
The conservation of habitats that provide homes for wildlife are supported by public donations and legacies, including the management of ancient and veteran trees.
Thanks to public donations, black poplar trees on the Malvern Hills and Commons are being pollarded, a traditional way of managing trees, to give them the best chance of a long life.
Some of the features of ancient and veteran trees are cracks, hollows and holes that in turn support a huge variety of creatures including bats, birds and a rare invertebrates.
Pollarding is an ancient technique for harvesting timber for fencing and firewood by cutting the tree back and allowing new shoots to grow again. Many of the older trees on the Commons have been managed in this way for hundreds of years.
This traditional way of managing the trees should be carried out on a regular basis to reduce the risk of the trunks splitting or the old trees collapsing under the weight of the new growth.
By leaving a legacy to the Malvern Hills Trust, you could ensure that ancient trees continue to provide a special habitat and stand as an enduring feature in the landscape.
The Malvern Hills Trust are also ensuring that woodlands on the slopes of the Hills have a future by planting new trees. The charity is offering opportunities for the public to sponsor a sapling to be planted within Thirds Wood, Jubilee Drive, to secure the future of this characteristic woodland.
More information can be found on the Malvern Hills Trust on the legacy pages of the website - Support our work
Remember a Charity Week
Donations and gifts left to the Malvern Hills Trust in Wills are a crucial source of income and help us to fund the undertaking of projects including maintaining paths and improving accessibility for local people and visitors. Other projects might include conserving habitats for butterflies and supporting a dormouse monitoring scheme.
Duncan Bridges CEO said ‘Despite the Malvern Hills being a much-loved landscape and visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, donations and legacies currently form a tiny proportion of our income.
We’d like to take this opportunity in Remember a Charity week to remind people how important charitable giving is and demonstrate some of the amazing things we can achieve with this support.’
As part of Remember a Charity Week, the Trust will be bringing to life stories and projects that have been supported by legacies and donations.
How you can support us
If you’d like to help us be supporting our projects, a tree planting scheme and an opportunity to support the provision of visitor information on the Hills are now available for donors to leave a long-lasting legacy.
The Malvern Hills Trust has previously had to close its memorial bench scheme due to over-subscription but has now provided these two alternative ways for people to remember their loved ones.
Gifts towards the general management of the Hills and Commons are also greatly received by the Trust as contributions can be used where they’re most needed.
For those wishing to support the future care of the Malvern Hills and Commons, more information on how to leave a gift in your will, visit www.malvernhills.org.uk/get-involved/supporting-our-work/
