Brotheridge Green

Grassland now covers what was once railway tracks and the former embankments have been colonised by grassland, scrub and young trees that provide a mosaic of habitat types and wildlife for all seasons.

A deep cutting with damp soil and overhanging trees lies at one end of the reserve, near the road bridge.  At the other end, the reserve is above a well-drained steep embankment. 

The wide variety of soil types support a large range of plants.  In turn, the reserve is particularly good for butterflies; more than 30 species have been recorded including breeding colonies of marbled white, white-letter hairstreak, dingy skipper, small copper and holly blue.

Flagship Nature Reserves

This is one of a number of grasslands and one orchard that make up one of 13 flagship reserves.We believe that a landscape-scale approach to wildlife conservation is essential. Wildlife needs space to adapt and move to cope with the consequences of climate change. Practically, this means that to deliver our biodiversity vision, we need to develop a coherent network of large areas linked by corridors that can provide benefits for people as well as for biodiversity.

Why are the South West Meadows a Flagship Reserve?

In a pastoral landscape these scattered sites demonstrate how important each sensitively managed piece of land has become as part of a network of sites that must be increased for people and wildlife to benefit.  We will use them to demonstrate the importance of protecting the existing wildlife value and encourage other land owners to manage their land and hedgerows less intensively.

These 7 small reserves lie within Natural England’s Severn and Avon Vales Landscape Area, and within the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s Malvern Chase Living Landscape.