Common Farm
Thank you!! The generosity of nature supporters has secured this incredible space for people and wildlife at Common Farm.
Donations and support from across Derbyshire and beyond have secured our purchase of this 80 acres of land. At what is a critical time for nature, the site will be rewilded to create a mosaic of habitats, that both nature and people can enjoy for generations to come.
Over 2,000 people donated to the public appeal, launched in October 2023, contributing almost £300,000 towards the purchase. A range of major donors and philanthropic organisations provided the remaining funding required to secure the site.
The local community have been crucial to the success of this appeal, with people organising walking tours for potential donors, delivering leaflets and encouraging others to get involved. Hundreds of local residents also donated themselves.
The Trust is now excited to start working closely with the community to develop the site as a great place for people and nature.
What's Next?
Located less than a kilometre away from the River Derwent and our existing nature reserves at Wyver Lane and Crich Chase, rewilding Common Farm will create a mosaic of habitats including woodland expansion, scrubby thickets, and species rich open grassland.
Within just a year we expect the reserve will already be filling up with new sights, sounds and scents of nature returning. In time, new scrub and grassland will provide habitats for barn owls and skylarks, and plants such as harebell and ragged robin.
Making more space for nature at Common Farm will give wildlife the chance to recover here, and once regenerated it will store more carbon, help store more water to reduce local flooding and help trap nutrients that leech into our river systems. The site will be managed as a community asset supporting wellbeing programmes and more ways for visitors of all ages to enjoy and understand the landscape around them.
We are so grateful for the support we have already received in allowing us to help nature recover and create a corridor for create an oasis for wildlife, which future generations can come and enjoy.
Watch this space!