A nature reserve in the United Kingdom is recovering after being damaged repeatedly.
Nea Meadows, a nature reserve in Christchurch, was vandalized, allegedly by dirt bikers.
The reserve features a fishing pond and streams, meadows and fields, and diverse wildlife. It's a beautiful, peaceful place. The damage includes spiral patterns of deep dirt in the grass, upturned by whatever drove through. It may seem like no big deal, but you wouldn't want someone dirt biking through your living room. While the grass will grow back, it's vandalism nonetheless.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time the reserve has been vandalized. On another occasion, a group of teenagers left "hundreds of bits of litter," including "items in the stream and various pieces of furniture in the woods," according to the Daily Echo.
Andy Martin, the vice chairman for Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council, which owns the reserve, called it "an appalling way to treat a nature reserve," per the Daily Echo.
Nea Meadows isn't the only nature reserve to be affected by vandalism. Newly planted tree saplings in East Yorkshire, England, were repeatedly uprooted and destroyed by vandals, requiring authorities to up security and surveillance. Bald Rock Heritage Preserve in South Carolina is dealing with a graffiti problem, as vandals are spray-painting the iconic rocky ledge.
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Not only do these acts of vandalism destroy the natural beauty of a nature reserve, but they also put plants and animals at risk. Waste of any kind — aerosol cans or emissions, dirt bike exhaust, litter, dog poop, etc. — can disrupt and harm an ecosystem.
These acts of vandalism also ruin the hard work that conservationists and locals do to keep these areas as clean, peaceful, and natural as possible.
Christchurch locals were devastated by the destruction of the nature reserve.
Martin told the Daily Echo that the locals are "as horrified as I am, as this is a nature reserve and it's a really lovely place. … It's just heartbreaking."
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