Cows return to Local Nature Reserve in East Barnwell

The moo-ve is part of plans to boost biodiversity and wildlife in Cambridge.

The Barnwell East Local Nature Reserve is a mix of woodland, scrub and grassland in the east of Cambridge, run by Cambridge City Council and dedicated volunteers.

They say the cows grazing helps to form more complex and a great number of habitats than can be achieved through cutting grass by hand or with machinery.

This is because cattle are selective about where they feed, grazing around features like ant hills which encourages wildlife to build ecosystems and provide food for larger animals like birds and bats.

Grazing late in the autumn means the cows will target shrubs and tough vegetation that encroaches onto grassland, and volunteers are hoping they will be able to tackle non-native plants, like michaelmas daisies that have become established on the reserve and can outcompete native flora.

Sam Carling from Cambridge City Council:

"I’m delighted that we’re able to have cattle return to the reserve after a long absence and look forward to seeing how low-level conservation grazing improves the habitats of the reserve.

"This supports important work that is being carried out through the Cambridge Nature Network – a partnership of landowners and organisations working together to help deliver large scale recovery of nature in and around the city.

"Our local nature reserves are home to wildlife habitats and make an important contribution to local biodiversity."

The four red poll cows – a traditional, hardy East Anglian breed – will graze the reserve for the next few weeks.

The site is still open to the public and signs have been installed at the entrance asking dog walkers to keep their dogs underr control.