The Friends of Holt Island Nature Reserve will be welcoming visitors again from Saturday, April 19, writes Keith Grimwade.
It has been touch and go, but thanks to the hard work of our volunteers we can re-open this month.
It has been a difficult winter for the Island, with major damage to the boardwalk caused by a falling tree.
Many hours of cold, muddy work by the Island’s dedicated volunteers, guided by the district council ranger, has repaired the damage.
This has been on top of winter maintenance - pollarding osiers, clearing areas of reed to allow re-growth and installing a new picnic table.
We are open from 10am – 4pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays between April and the end of October, but do check our website https://www.holtisland.org because we may have to close at short notice if there is bad weather and/or flooding.
On weekdays a key is available from either the Norris Museum on The Waits, or One Leisure, Westwood Road.
Want to see more about the island reserve now?
You won’t be able to resist a visit!
Watch out also for our monthly Nature Notes column in this newspaper.
Holt Island Nature Reserve is an oasis of tranquillity in the centre of St Ives. The Island provides a variety of habitats which attract a wide range of birds, mammals, plants and insects.
The Island was primarily used to grow willow for basket weaving until 1970, and then became overgrown.
This changed its appearance and it now supports a wide range of flora and fauna. Today the wet woodland habitat is home to mammals such as voles, shrews, deer, badgers, bats, and foxes.
Otters visit frequently. Plants such as yellow flag iris, purple loosestrife and comfrey thrive. Tortoiseshell, red admiral and peacock butterflies can be seen along with dragonflies and damselflies. And a huge variety of birds, including kingfishers, woodpeckers and warblers, inhabits the reserve.
The Island is owned and managed by Huntingdonshire District Council and is supported by the Friends of Holt Island Nature Reserve, a registered charity. This is a voluntary group dedicated to the promotion, preservation and enhancement of the award-winning reserve.
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