Shropshire AONB conservation friends want 1,000 members

The Friends of Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty currently has just 30 members but the fledgling group, which supports conservation work from the Welsh border across south Shropshire up to the Wrekin, is hoping to recruit on a major scale.

The drive comes as the Shropshire Hills AONB partnership, a body that looks after the area, is in the process of becoming fully independent of Shropshire Council, which has hosted it previously, paying wages and taking care of administration.

A new conservation board is currently being set up so the body can go it alone, following in the footsteps of similar areas such as the Chilterns and Cotswolds, and a charitable trust was established last year to work alongside the new board.

The Friends of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a group supporting the above, held an annual meeting last week.

Shropshire Hills AONB Trust treasurer, George Chancellor, said: "The 30 or so friends attending the event visited some of the local conservation projects their membership is supporting.

"They explored an exciting arts in the countryside programme and saw initiatives conserving threatened butterflies, managing roadside verges for wildlife and improving access to local wetlands.

"They also heard about projects ranging from a mobile farm visiting schools to invasive plant removal along vulnerable riverbanks.

“Our conservation fund supports these and many other projects each year from friends subscriptions, together with much appreciated donations from the Millichope Foundation and Jean Jackson Trust.

“Our initial target is to build our friends membership to 1,000.

"At just £25 per year for an individual, £36 per year for a family and £50 per year for an organisation this would make all the difference to the number of highly worthwhile community projects we can help.

“Charitable status makes all subscriptions and donations as tax efficient as possible and allows us to boost them with Gift Aid.

"Please help us to conserve the wonderful landscape, wildlife and heritage of the Shropshire Hills."

For more information visit www.shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk/a-special-place/friends/ or call 01743 254740.

The Shropshire Hills was designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty in 1958 and covers a quarter of Shropshire. It is one of 46 AONBs in the UK.