PLANS are gaining speed to establish a trust to enable conservancy work to be carried out on an area of wetland in Pancrasweek.

The land which is on the banks of the River Tamar is a ‘surviving fragment of unimproved wet-meadow habitat’ and Derek Gow Consultancy Ltd — a team of ecological consultants who are dedicated to the conservation of native British wildlife — is keen to see it protected.

Derek Gow founded the consultancy in 2003 and is the principal ecologist. He farms near Launceston but is originally from Scotland. He is passionate about his work and is hoping to create a trust to help with the management of the area.

The ultimate goal is to conserve the wetland and reintroduce species such as glowworms and harvest mice, as well as promoting the growth of wild flora to enhance the area and enable it to thrive.

Speaking to the Post about this project, Mr Gow said: “Basically, two and a half acres of old river land, a very flower rich site, went up for sale and the auctioneers suggested it needed agricultural improvement. It is a real bronze age habitat, there are only tiny fragments of its type left.

“Anyway, we set up a Crowdfunder to raise money to be able to buy the site. We raised enough and purchase it and are now looking to set up some sort of Trust surrounding it to, one, look after the area, and two, to potentially use it as a seed bank and rootlet bank to help expand it to a wider area.

“We will also look at the environment as a potential site to reintroduce and strengthen numbers of harvest mice and glowworms for example.”

So far the Crowdfunder has raised £15,869. An offer on the site was made using a combination of the Crowdfunder donations and personal pledges made offline and it was duly accepted on October 9.

The team will be keeping the Crowdfunder page open, with a target of £25,000, to raise extra funds to support the long term management of the site, for example expenses like fencing, habitat restoration, educational work etcetera.

Mr Gow added: “It was incredible, we had such a good response. Six hundred and eighty people have donated — it just shows how graphically people are about the future of our environment.”

The next step for Mr Gow is to form a team of trustees to ensure his work on the site at Pancrasweek can continue, preserving its natural beauty for years to come.