THE Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is looking to secure funding for a series of projects to be developed at a Ryedale beauty spot, writes Katie Thompson.

The trust wants to hear ideas from members of the public on how to improve The Carrs, a nature area in The Eastern Vale of Pickering, in order to put a bid together to the Heritage Lottery Fund to finance the improvements which would benefit local people and wildlife.

The trust is asking all nature lovers to speed the bid along by taking part in a consultation survey which, if successful, will help species such as lapwings, redshank, dragonflies and brown trout re-colonise the area.

The trust says the project could also benefit the local community, by encouraging people to get involved and learn more about the area.

The Carrs history dates back to the Mesolithic era 8,500 years ago. It is thought that one of man’s earliest settlements was located in the heart of the Carrs’ wetlands, at Star Carr on the edge of the ancient Lake Flixton.

At that time, man would have been dependent on the wetlands for food and water. Slowly, the wetlands were tamed by increasingly sophisticated drainage systems, to create the high-quality farmland in the area today.

Running through the area, the River Hertford, unusually, flows backwards away from the sea and plays a valuable role in flood protection for communities downstream.

The peat soils in the area laid down by the original Lake Flixton are also hugely valuable at locking carbon into the land preventing it being released into the environment.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is hoping local people will help them in their bid by filling in the survey which can be found at ywt.org.uk/CarrsConsultation