Sandlings is a 5.7 hectare Local Nature Reserve in

Rushmere St Andrew Rushmere St Andrew is a village, civil parish and electoral ward adjacent to part of the eastern edge of the borough of Ipswich in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The parish includes most of Rushmere Heath and parts of the Ipsw ...

, on the eastern outskirts of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. It is owned by East Suffolk council, and managed by the council together with Rushmere St Andrew Parish Council and the

Greenways Countryside Project Greenways Countryside Project is an environmental project in the Ipswich area, Suffolk. It was founded in 1994 and by 2018 it was involved in the protection and management of around 100 square kilometres green spaces in and around Ipswich. Foundati ...

. This site has

acid grassland Acid grassland is a nutrient-poor habitat characterised by grassy tussocks and bare ground. Habitat The vegetation is dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, growing on soils deficient in lime (calcium). These may be found on acid sedimentary ...

, a wildflower meadow and areas of scrub. Nearly 70 species of bird have been observed and 22 of butterfly, including the

white-letter hairstreak The white-letter hairstreak (''Satyrium w-album'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Appearance and behaviour A dark little butterfly that spends the majority of its life in the tree tops, feeding on honeydew, making it best observed thr ...

. There is access from Ditchingham Grove.

References

{{Local Nature Reserves in Suffolk Local Nature Reserves in Suffolk