Foxglove Covert facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Foxglove Covert Local Nature Reserve
Wetlands area at Foxglove Covert
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Location	Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, England
Nearest town	Richmond
Area	100 acres (40 ha)
Created	1992
Visitors	25,000 (in 2017)
Open	9:00 am–5:00 pm every day (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day)
Designation	Local Nature Reserve (LNR) Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SNCLI)

Foxglove Covert is a special place in North Yorkshire, England, where nature is protected. It's found on the edge of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Soldiers from The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards created it in 1992 after they returned from the First Gulf War. Even royalty has visited this amazing place, and it has won many awards!

What makes it extra special is that it's on land owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This means you enter through a security checkpoint at Catterick Garrison. It was the first nature reserve in the Richmondshire area and the first on MoD land that the public could visit.

How Foxglove Covert Started

In the 1970s, security was increased around Catterick Garrison. A small area of land, full of hills and trenches, was left untouched. This area was used to train tank crews. It was overgrown with plants and had many small streams. These streams joined together to form Leadmill and Risedale Becks.

In 1992, Major Tony Crease from The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards saw how special this wild area was. He was given about 28 acres by the British Army to turn into a nature reserve. Major Crease used soldiers who volunteered their time and even their earthmoving machines to help build the reserve.

In April 2001, Natural England officially named the site a Local Nature Reserve. This gave it special legal protection. In the same year, it was also named a Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SLNCI).

Plans for a New Entrance

In 2014, there was a plan to build a new road for visitors. This road would still cross Army land, but it would mean people wouldn't need to go through the security gate. The new road would have been about 4 miles longer and would have gone through an active training area where soldiers used blank ammunition.

However, in 2015, the MoD decided not to build the new road. Instead, they gave a grant (money) to the reserve.

Awards and Special Visitors

Foxglove Covert was given The Flagship Pond Scheme award. This award only goes to the very best ponds in England and Wales.

In 2016, TV presenter Tony Robinson visited the reserve for his Coast to Coast show. He helped build a wooden island for ducks and other waterfowl. He also watched experts from the British Trust for Ornithology as they ringed birds. Bird ringing helps scientists study birds. Foxglove Covert is a great place for this because so many different birds live there or visit. Only one other place in the British Isles has more detailed and consistent bird data than Foxglove Covert. In its first 20 years, the reserve recorded and ringed over 90,000 birds!

In 2017, after being open for 25 years, the reserve won the Environmental Project Award from the Ministry of Defence.

Important people have always supported the reserve. William Hague, who was the local Member of Parliament (MP) when the reserve started, was a big fan. The current MP, Rishi Sunak, also supports the site and often writes about it in local newspapers.

What You Can See at Foxglove Covert

You can get into the reserve through the Cambrai Lines gate at Catterick Garrison. This gate is guarded by The Royal Lancers. Each year, between 20,000 and 25,000 people visit the reserve. By the end of 2017, over 770,000 visitors had explored the reserve in its 25-year history.

Foxglove Covert now covers over 100 acres. It has many different types of natural areas. These include heathland, wetlands, moorland, grasslands full of flowers, and old forests with trees that lose their leaves in autumn.

An outdoor classroom in the wetlands area

The Field Centre

The reserve also has a special field centre, built in 2002, which cost £350,000. This building has classrooms where groups can learn. It also has bird-ringing rooms with one-way glass. This means people inside can watch the birds without disturbing them.

The centre even has an observation bee hive with clear plexiglass. You can watch the bees working inside! The local beekeeping group sells honey from these bees. They also teach people how to be beekeepers by running courses all year. Foxglove Covert is known as a special place for protecting birds.

The Stone Circle

In May 2016, a "stone circle" was built on part of the moorland trail. It looks a bit like ancient stone circles. The 13 stones were given by a local quarry. The design is like a clock face. The circle is 21 metres wide. It has four big stones at the main compass points (north, south, east, west). Smaller stones fill in the other points, and there's a larger stone in the middle. It's important to remember this is a modern artwork, not a historical monument.

Spigot Mere Pond

In the summer of 2019, a new pond was created. It was made to attract wading birds and other wildlife. This man-made pond was named Spigot Mere. This name came from a Second World War mortar shell, called a Spigot, that was found while they were digging the pond.

Amazing Animals and Plants

Foxglove Covert is home to over 2,600 different kinds of animals, plants, and tiny creatures. While it doesn't have any species found only here, it does protect some rare and endangered ones. Here are a few examples:

• Great crested newts
• Water vole - 100 water voles were brought back to the reserve in 2007.
• European Otter - These otters have been seen on Risedale Beck as it flows through the reserve.
• Pillwort - A rare type of fern.
• Marsh stitchwort - A type of marsh flower.
• Pond mud snail - This snail is listed as endangered by the IUCN.

Images for kids

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  Bridge at Foxglove Covert

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  Education space in the wetlands area

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  Path at Foxglove Covert

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  Stone Circle on Moorland walk at Foxglove Covert - not a historical monument; a 21st-century addition

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  The main pond and bird hide at Foxglove Covert