A GROUP of young wildlife enthusiasts have received a prestigious accolade.

Members of the Watch Out Wednesdays Wildlife Watch group in Worcestershire have been highly commended at Wildlife Watch Group of the Year awards ceremony.

The event run by The Wildlife Trusts recognised the group, which meets monthly at Lower Smite Farm between Worcester and Droitwich, for its passionate approach to enjoying and protecting wildlife.

Hannah Thomas, engagement officer and county watch co-ordinator for Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, said: “We have a really friendly group of around 10 to 15 children who regularly come to our monthly meetings.

“We explore the wildlife at our farm as well as making the occasional visit to other places to see how things differ.

“As well as discovering everything from grasshoppers and great tits to slow-worms and snails, we play games and have lots of fun.

“Just a few of the things the group got up to last year were surveying slow-worms at Cherry Orchard nature reserve in Worcester, bashing Himalayan balsam at The Knapp and Papermill nature reserve, moth trapping and discovering more about the fabulous world of owls, hedgehogs and amphibians.”

Judges were impressed with the jam-packed scrapbook that the Watch Out Wednesdays group submitted to the competition and commented that it was great to see so many fun educational outdoor activities with a great variety of ideas

Watch Out Wednesdays runs on the third Wednesday of the month. The next meeting on Wednesday, March 18, will focus on skulls and tracks – encouraging children to brush up their sleuthing skills to discover who’s been visiting Lower Smite Farm.

For more details visit worcswildlifetrust.co.uk