Wildlife boost at beautiful woodland nature reserve

Wildlife boost at beautiful woodland nature reserve

Volunteers have been busy making improvements to Collin Park Wood Nature Reserve in Redmarley to benefit wildlife and visitors. This Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserve is a very important place for a wide range of birds, animals, trees and plants, with around 600 species. It has a history stretching back at least 400 years and is said to have been owned in the past by Dick Whittington’s family.

Thanks to funding of £15,000 from Grundon Waste Management, volunteers along with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust specialists have been carrying out work to protect trees in the woodland and to make sure that plants such as bramble and bracken are kept under control.

“The work we are completing here will benefit a wide range of wildlife, including lesser spotted woodpeckers, which are the smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. We are also focusing on protecting hazel dormice, which are rare and vulnerable to extinction in the UK in part due to a lack of woodland management,” says Adam Taylor, Head of Land Management at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

Paths have been cleared and upgraded to make it easier for visitors to walk around the nature reserve and to enjoy being close to nature. Collin Park Wood Nature Reserve is open to visitors seven days a week, 365 days a year and entry is free. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is proud that Collin Park Wood Nature Reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, meaning that it has an important conservation status. For details and directions visit gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk.

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is a charity which manages 60 nature reserves around the county and inspires people to get closer to nature.