WORCESTERSHIRE Wildlife Trust has secured more than £80,000 to improve water quality and wildlife habitats across the county.

The conservation charity, winner of a national England River Prize in 2014, will host three projects in the Teme Valley, Bromsgrove and Redditch that focus on a catchment based approach to improving the region's waterways.

Each initiative will improve the water for both people and wildlife.

Lucy Wood, water and wetlands officer at the trust, said: “We’re over-the-moon to have secured the funding to undertake crucial work that will improve more of Worcestershire’s waterways.

“We’ve already spent four years doing exactly this kind of work with landowners along the Bow Brook so are really keen to make a difference elsewhere in the county.

“We’ll be working with local authorities, government agencies, landowners, homeowners and communities along the Battlefield Brook in Bromsgrove, the River Arrow and Blacksoils Brook in Redditch and the Teme in the northwest of the county.

“The projects will involve slowing down the speed the water flows to help increase the number of species living in these watercourses as well as to reduce the potential of flooding. We’ll be installing sustainable drainage schemes, protecting river banks, creating fish refuges, monitoring wildlife and creating wetlands.

“As well as partnering with schools, we’ll also run events in communities. It’s really important that we work with local residents to ensure that household goods like washing machines aren’t mis-connected and we hope to help create rain gardens to soak up rainwater through soils rather than allow it to run off concrete and into drains.

“We’ll keep local communities abreast of what’s happening near them. As the work progresses, both local residents and local wildlife should start to benefit from the improvements.”

The funding has come from the Environment Agency’s catchment partnership action fund. The trust will be supported in their work by Bromsgrove and Redditch District Council, the Environment Agency, North Worcester Water Management and the Severn Rivers Trust.

For more information visit worcswildlifetrust.co.uk