IT is thanks to a former member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that the Gwen Finch Nature Reserve exists. It takes its name from Gwen Finch, believed to be at one-time a Birlingham resident, who, when she died in 1996, left a £40,000 donation to the fund for otter conservation.

The money was passed on to the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust which bought the site in 1998. Additional funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Severn Waste Services, Severn Trent Water, Wychavon District Council and a donation from the Environment Agency, meant that work could begin on creating the wildlife haven in 1999.

It was then that David Bellamy was called in to turn the first sod.

The site is dominated by two large wind pumps which pump water from the nearby Berwick brook into the reserve which consists of four reed beds covering just over six hectares of the 20 hectare site. Worcestershire Wildlife Trust reserves assistant John Hodson, helps to maintain this site and 75 others in the county. He said: "The reserve is perfect for otters and once reeds and vegetation have matured it will provide an ideal habitat as the reed beds will give the otters somewhere to lie up."

He explained that the reserve was all about restoring a landscape that had tremendous wildlife value. The landscape also has herons, curlews, egrets, and red-necked phalarope among other wading birds, for which the reserve is the perfect place for them to breed.

The next step in developing the reserve is to have cattle grazing there but while it had been hoped to start something this year, John said that restrictions placed on the movement of cattle with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth made it impossible.

A regular job for those who maintain the reserve is clearing rubbish from the stream, a job which has resulted in some strange finds due to flooding and what gets dumped in the Avon.

"Things found recently included several gas cylinders from flooded caravan sites and even a selection of toys, including a Snoopy head," John revealed.

Work on the reserve has to be constant, and around 80 volunteers have helped out this year with reed planting and tree pollarding, which means cutting trees back to ensure better growth. More volunteers are always welcome and anyone wanting to help should ring 01905 754919.