Brotheridge Green Nature Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

of the

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 wildlife trusts throughout the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1968 to conserve, protect and restore the county's wildlife. The Trust owns and manages over 70 nature reserves across the county, part ...

at Brotheridge Green, about west of Upton-upon-Severn, in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, England. It is on a section of a former railway line.

Description

The reserve, which has an area of ,"Brotheridge Green"
''Worcestershire Wildlife Trust''. Retrieved 1 November 2021. is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. It is about half a mile of a section of railway line between

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

and Upton-upon-Severn, part of the

Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway The Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway was a branch of the Midland Railway which ran from Ashchurch via Tewkesbury to Great Malvern in the United Kingdom. It was opened on 16 May 1864. At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Sco ...

. The line closed in 1952."Brotheridge Green"
''Malvern Industrial Archaeology Circle''. Retrieved 2 November 2021. The eastern part of the site, near the road bridge, is a cutting where soil can remain damp; further west is an embankment, providing a different habitat with well-drained soil. The line is colonised with grassland, scrub and young trees. The site is noted for butterflies: more than 30 species have been recorded, including white-letter hairstreak, small copper and

holly blue The holly blue (''Celastrina argiolus'') Retrieved April 20, 2018. is a butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family and is native to the Palearctic. The holly blue has pale silver-blue wings spotted with pale ivory dots. Seitz des ...

Links and biodiversity

The Trust believes that links between areas of countryside are beneficial for

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

; it notes that this reserve is one of several grasslands and one orchard in the area.

References

{{Reflist Nature reserves in Worcestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Worcestershire Grasslands of the United Kingdom