On the first official day of spring, local children from Lightmoor Village, joined TV presenter Chris Packham and members from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Bournville Village Trust (BVT) to plant trees at the newly created nature reserve on the outskirts of the village.
Backed by The Wildlife Trust and supported by BVT, the tree planting event was brought about through the work of the Charity in raising awareness of the rich sources of wildlife that can be found in and around Lightmoor and the importance of sustaining green spaces for future generations. Children planted a range of tree varieties including oak, silver birch, wild cherry and hazel.
Commenting on the event, Bryony Carter, People and Wildlife Officer at Shropshire Wildlife Trust said;
“Today’s event is all about linking the local community here at Lightmoor to the richness of wildlife that they have on their doorsteps. We work closely with BVT on a number of projects that will help create and sustain local wildlife for the whole community to enjoy.”
Of particular interest to wildlife presenter Chris Packham, were the local grass snakes that reside in the nature reserve;
“They are one of my favourite creatures,” said Chris, who is currently on a UK tour presenting some of his wildlife photography.
Chris, who is President of the Wildlife Trust, went on to say;
“It’s really important that local communities get involved with their own green spaces. Telford has been skilful in preserving local wildlife by securing areas where snakes, bugs, birds and other animals can flourish.”
Amongst the local children that joined in the tree planting event was Orla McCreddin, aged 4. Mum Ruth said;
“As a community, it’s really important that we help enhance the local area.”
Orla has already had a tree planted as part of BVT’s Lightmoor Babies project that plants a tree for each new baby that is born in the Village.
Committed to creating sustainable communities for the future, BVT has paid particular attention to preserving areas of wildlife as part of their development at Lightmoor. Today’s tree planting and the creation of the nature reserve will go some way in encouraging the next generation of conservationists. Summing up, Chris said;
“Places like this offer a great place for young children to explore and find out about nature, we should encourage this more as the long-term benefits are huge.”
The nature reserve, that is located to the south of the Lightmoor Village, is open to all and provides a perfect place for budding wildlife explorers to experience first-hand the diversity and richness of wildlife that nature has to offer.