Volunteers scrub up at nature reserve (From Worcester News)

Spring clean at Cherry Orchard

12:51pm Saturday 12th January 2013 in News By Sarah Davies

VOLUNTEERS braved wintry weather this morning to give Worcester’s wildlife a helping hand.

An intrepid team of helpers, including members of the Friends of Diglis Fields, took part in the annual scrub bash at Cherry Orchard nature reserve.

Unwieldy clumps of brambles which had taken hold in the grassland were given a tidy-up in order to create the perfect environment for the creatures that make the reserve their home.

Worcester City Council wildlife ranger, Trevor Smith, said: “The grassland areas are important for invertebrates and the birds that live off them, as well as the wildflowers.

“We have our annual scrub bash usually around this time of year and it’s important to get local people and local groups involved.

“We have butterflies, beetles, a big slow worm population and the occasional grass snake, stoats, weasels, rabbits and voles all living here, and it’s quite a rich site for birds, including whitethroats, which are quite a scarce species around the city itself.”

The area off Waverley Street, Diglis, was a landfill site until the 1980s and became a nature reserve in 2003 when it was taken over by the city council.