Getmapping has supplied high resolution aerial photography to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for all of its 48 nature reserves. The imagery will provide the backdrop for the Trust’s soon to be published nature reserve guide as well as site signage and practical habitat management.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has over 28,000 members and manages over 6,000 hectares of land including 48 nature reserves where rare and threatened wildlife can be protected and thrive. The Trust is the leading nature conservation charity in the two counties, committed to improving conditions for wildlife, protecting wildlife, restoring biodiversity and connecting people with the natural world.

The project to produce a reserve guide for its members seeks to provide up to date information about each reserve in an easily accessible A5 format. Each entry in the guide features beautiful photographs of the reserve, a location map, instructions for getting there, together with key facts and details of the types of species visitors are likely to come across. The detailed plan of each reserve uses Getmapping’s aerial photography as a backdrop overlaid with colourful graphics and symbols that highlight features such as access points, toilets, designated footpaths, information points, bird hides and any other features of interest to visitors.

“Getting the aerial photography for each site was a simple process,” said Deborah Whitfield, Ecology and Evidence Manager for the Trust. “We simply provided Getmapping with the geographical extents (shapefiles) of each of our reserves generated by our Geographical Information System. This enabled Getmapping to supply precisely the areas we required. We were then able to access the imagery through a simple download process. The photography has multiple uses beyond the guide such as our on site signage and information points and more practically for habitat management, enabling us to assess change over time.”