Roadside Verge Nature Reserves

In the early 1970s, a number of Roadside Verge Nature Reserves (RVNR) were established by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

Roadside verges have been recognised in the Buckinghamshire Biodiversity Action Plan as having the potential to provide food, shelter and corridors between habitats for wildlife if managed sensitively.

Many of our invertebrate, bird, and mammal species have been recorded as breeding on roadside reserves. Some of the roadside verges have been designated due to:

• their importance to a species (such as the caterpillars of the striped lychnis moth Cucullia lychnitis)
• the importance of the habitats they contain (such as chalk grassland)

The existing RVNR network totals 27ha in area and covers approximately 25km of road verges.

These roadside verges will be surveyed again in due course to inform management plans. Some RVNRs are also Local Wildlife Sites.

We are also reviewing how our verges can be better managed for wildlife through the Wilder Road Verges Project.