More than 200 schoolchildren help complete ambitious project at nature reserve: 'We've turned back the clock'

A nature reserve in England is thriving after a massive community effort to restore the area to its former glory.

Worcester News reported that over 5,000 trees were planted at Green Farm near Hallow, just north of Worcester. Over 200 local schoolchildren were part of the effort, which also included planting hedgerows, orchards, and wood pastures. The results were felt right away; birds have quite literally flocked to the area as surveys have found the abundance of feathered friends in the reserve increased by 120% in the last two years.

The project was funded by the National Lottery and other partners and overseen by the Worcester Wildlife Trust.

A spokesperson who oversees the nature reserve, Dominique Cragg, said, "In essence we've turned back the clock – restoring wildflower meadows, replanting lost orchards, recreating woodland and reinstating hedgerows… this beautiful patchwork of different habitats has brought together more than 700 people across the local community."

The restoration effort has brought some new arrivals. The Eurasian kestrel, Britain's second-most common bird of prey, was spotted in the reserve for the first time. This small raptor is found throughout the British Isles but has suffered a steep decline in recent years. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds theorizes the losses may be from contaminated prey. Another newcomer is the tiny and extremely rare Bechstein's bat, which weighs less than half an ounce.

The presence of these creatures demonstrates the significant progress made in the restoration effort and highlights the crucial importance of acting locally. Similar impressive results have been observed in other projects worldwide, such as an aforestation project in Cape Town, South Africa. Sometimes the results are immediate, but others take years, even decades, to come to fruition. The work is seldom easy, but the results make the effort worthwhile.

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As Cragg noted per Worcester News, the participants rightly took great pride in their work: "It's been a fantastic project to work on with everyone being delighted at what we've been doing and so enthusiastic to get involved."

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