The site hosts a wide range of plants and animals.

The common blue butterfly (above) is a very frequent visitor to our site.

One boundary of the site is made up of an ancient hedge that can be traced back hundreds of years. The hedge once bordered an ancient track linking communities. The rare White-letter Hairstreak butterfly is often spotted here.

The rare flower Sulphur Cinqfoil is now established on site as well as Great Mullian and Scarlet Pimpernel.

There are few old trees on the site, most were removed when the pit was operating, but any thousands of new trees have been planted around the site creating new areas for nature.

The site contains several bodies of water, from a large lake to several smaller ponds, and a number of small streams.

Over 19 species of dragonfly have been recorded at Pleasley so far. These photos shows a Red Viened Darter (left) and Four Spot Chaser.

Each area has a different habitat and contains many different species of birds, insects and plants.

 The Shorelark, above, was a rare species at Pleasley (taken by Paul Davidson).

Two meadows are full of wild flowers, and there is a large plot where in the sumer thousands of orchids flower.

The photos above show the Bee Orchid (almost 1,000 were recorded on site in 2006), the hybrid and very rare white variety of Bee Orchid, and the Common Twayblade (also a rare species).