Coombe Hill at dawn (c) David Elder
Harry's Mission for the Severn Hams
Make a donation todayThis vast floodplain, stretching between Gloucester and Tewkesbury, was once alive with nature. The River Severn flowed more naturally, creating a rich patchwork of wet meadows, pools and muddy margins where wildlife could thrive.
You would have heard curlew and snipe calling across the wetlands. Insects would have danced above the water. Great flocks of wading birds fed in the shallows. Eels moved freely between the river and floodplain. As evening fell, vast murmurations of starlings darkened the skies.
"This place is close to my heart"
My name is Harry Smith, and I'm Lead Land Manager for west Gloucestershire.
My job takes me across the county, working with farmers, landowners, local communities and on our nature reserves to create more space for wildlife. But to me the Severn Hams is particularly special. Sadly, over decades, vital wetland habitats have been drained, rivers constrained and species-rich grasslands lost.
Today, species-rich grassland covers only a tiny fraction of the UK, leaving wildlife isolated in fragmented habitats.
About the Severn Hams Nature Recovery Zone
Between Gloucester and Tewkesbury lies one of Gloucestershire's most important landscapes for wildlife.
The Severn Hams is a vast floodplain shaped by water, wildlife and people over centuries. Today it forms a designated Nature Recovery Zone, offering one of the county's greatest opportunities to help wildlife recover at scale.
This special landscape is home to iconic nature reserves including Ashleworth Ham, Coombe Hill and Chaceley Meadow. Together, they protect precious fragments of wet grassland, wetlands and floodplain habitat that provide sanctuary for some of our most threatened species.
But these reserves cannot thrive in isolation.
Surrounding habitats have been lost or fragmented, leaving wildlife struggling to move, feed and breed across the wider landscape. As climate change brings more extreme flooding, drought and unpredictable weather, the need to restore and reconnect nature has never been greater.
Donate today
Donate £35
Help restore an acre of species-rich grasslands, creating habitat for pollinators
Donate £50
Help create an eel corridor, connecting wetland areas so endangered eels can bypass man-made obstructions and return to their breeding grounds.