John Baron MP visits Mill Meadows Local Nature Reserve, Billericay

John, Neil and Chris at the Reserve

MP thanks Neil Sumner [Society Chairman] and Chris Huggins [Countryside Ranger]

John Baron MP recently joined Neil Sumner, [Chairman of the Mill Meadows Society] and Chris Huggins [Countryside Ranger for Basildon Borough Council] for a stroll around the Mill Meadows Local Nature Reserve in Billericay. Mill Meadows is part of the Essex Wildlife Trust Living Landscape. The membership of the Society advice and support Basildon Council in the Management of the Reserve.

John said:

“We are very lucky to have this treasure so close to the Town Centre. Areas of unimproved grassland, with its scrub and woodland, and some ancient trees, is not as common as people think. But its informal management requires help, so volunteers would be welcomed by the Mill Meadows Society and Basildon Council.”

Neil said:

“Mill Meadows is conserved for wildlife, quiet recreation and education. We have to balance all these interests and sites such as this will never stay the same unless they are managed. So the community has to support Basildon Council on the habitat management and access. On Saturday 26th July a local naturalist led a public walk on which we enjoyed 15 species of butterfly – just one example of the benefits the management of this reserve brings to wildlife and the community.”

Chris said:

“Mill Meadows is especially important for its unimproved grasslands, and the recent help we have had from volunteers involved with our new conservation grazing has been a real bonus, enabling this type of declining habitat to be managed successfully.”