RESIDENTS of Ross-on-Wye may be familiar with the layout of the town, where the roads lead, what shops there are, how to get in and out, where to park and how to navigate the streets.

However, this is a very human view of the town and it has been mapped it out for our own convenience.

But what about wildlife? How do they see the town? They don’t need streets or visit shops and cafes so what would a map of Ross look like from the point of view of nature?

This is the latest project that Ross branch of the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust is undertaking.

Herefordshire Council is required to produce a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for the whole county and it has already been busy mapping the local habitats and priority areas for nature recovery across Herefordshire as a whole. These include wetlands, woodlands, orchards and open habitats.

Andrew De La Haye, chairman of the Ross branch of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We want to go a step further and identify the wildlife corridors like the brooks, the wildlife barriers, such as the river, the key habitats and the night light levels to see where it might be possible to create or enhance habitats, how to help wildlife get around and where it might thrive.

“We have some data from the Wye Valley National Landscapes team and plan to put this on a map along with the local authority data.

“We would then identify and discuss the issues and opportunities with local landowners, the town council, local retailers like Labels and anybody who can help us make the town more wildlife friendly for the iconic species like the humble hedgehog as well as the less considered creatures like bats.”

The most common type of landowners are the householders who have gardens, and the trust is already actively promoting and teaching wildlife gardening to make local gardens more wildlife friendly.

“Just imagine if we could get whole streets of gardeners creating a hedgehog highway to enable them to migrate around the town, added Mr De La Haye.

“There are so many types of wildlife that need help including birds, insects, amphibians, daytime creatures and nighttime ones, that we have developed a workshop to teach keen wildlife gardeners how to help with the needs of nature.

“These needs are basically shelter, food and water and we go through all aspects of establishing a wildlife garden that can be just a small corner or the whole garden and we explain how to make it look beautiful too, not just a scruffy patch of overgrowth.”

The next workshop is on March 22 at 2pm and is going to be its first free workshop as a result of sponsorship by the Wye Valley National Landscapes team.

Mr De La Haye concluded: “So let’s get active making Ross accessible and friendly towards wildlife. After all the hedgehog is the ancient symbol of Ross so this is something that can we do to help it. More information can be obtained by emailing [email protected].