Herald - Issue 412

16th September 2021 • The HERALD • Page 21 v SEND ALL YOUR LOCAL NEWS TO THE HERALD v Call for a FREE Quotation 023 8084 0257 www.gasworks.co.uk Visit our showroom at 299 Shirley Road, Southampton SO15 3HU 0238001 4269 AUSTIN WINDOW CLEANING Professional Window Cleaning Service established 25 years £15 per house Tel: 07733 205341 www.austinwindowcleaning.co.uk Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve Needs Your Help In urgent need of repair, the boardwalks at Blashford Lakes have taken a battering from the weather in recent years Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has launched an appeal to help replace the boardwalk and restore the wildlife pond at Blashford Lakes. remains accessible to all. Pond dipping is a very popular activity at Blashford Lakes, allowing participants to get up close and personal with the many invertebrates and other creatures that inhabit these watery worlds. e dipping platform also requires work to x it, and the pond itself needs relining and repairs. e Trust knows it is vital that everyone should be able to connect with nature. e new boardwalks will mean those in wheelchairs and mobility scooters are once again able to enjoy the lakes and interlinking habitats. To complete these urgent works, the Trust is looking to raise £5,000 in a new appeal. is will contribute to the £20,000 needed to reopen the boardwalk and repair the dipping pond and platform. e Trust has secured £15,000 towards the project, including a £10,000 pledge from a generous supporter of the reserve. Now the Trust needs your help to ensure this wonderful array of wildlife and the beautiful habitats of Blashford Lakes remain open to all. If the Trust is unable to nd all the funds for this work, it may be forced to close the boardwalk and/or allow the pond to remain empty – something that would be devastating to both visitors and wildlife. Blashford Lakes was once a gravel extraction site, but now, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Trust sta and volunteers, it has become the haven for wildlife, accessible to a wide range of people. Please help save the boardwalk and dipping pond and donate today: www. h iwwt . org . uk/ appea l s /bl ashford- l ake s - boardwalk-pond-appeal Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve is a wildlife paradise, with species including bitterns and king shers making their home around the lakes and clouds of dragon ies and damsel ies darting over the surface of the water in summer. e education centre on the site helps keep visitors engaged with nature and is a great hub for school groups on their visits. Visitors have had the perfect viewpoint for this thriving wildlife from the boardwalks that connect the wildlife hides and lakes. However, some of the boardwalks are now over 15 years old, and in urgent need of repair. e increase in heavy rainfall in recent years has sped up the disintegration of the boards and the Trust needs to take action to ensure the nature reserve and its wildlife LYNDHURST MEN’S SHED OPEN MEETING – THEY NEED YOU! An open meeting for Lyndhurst Men’s Shed is being held on Tuesday 21st September at 7pm in the Chestnut Room at Lyndhurst Community Centre . If you are interested or know someone who might be please go along or contact them: enquires@ lyndhurstshed.org.uk, ‘Lyndhurst Shed’ on Facebook or by calling Pete on: 023 80812067.