A host of volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to help progress the £4.1m Stafford Brooks biodiversity scheme enabling wildlife and nature to flourish in the town. 

The scheme is funded by National Highways, through its Designated Funds programme, and working in partnership with Stafford Borough Council, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency. 

Extensive work has already been completed by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust on the scheme enhancing grasslands and sites alongside the River Sow including creating new pools and creating wildflower meadows. 

The next phase could not be carried out with the usual heavy plant and needed manual labour - which is why volunteers stepped in to help. 

Conservation work is taking place on eight key sites in Stafford Borough with grassland being turned into wildflower meadows, improvements being made to the urban floodplains and river reprofiling. The reprofiling has involved heavy machinery moving the earth and creating shallow banks along the river to encourage a slower flow and better habitat, as well as creating 21 new wetland ponds. 

The sites where work is taking place are Kingsmead Marsh, Kingston Pool Covert (South), Rising Brook, Radford Meadows, Queensville, Riverside, Littleworth former Tennis Courts and Corporation Street former Bowling Green. 

The next phase of conservation involves improving grassland at the smaller sites. Being smaller, and in close proximity to homes, they require a different approach with small equipment, hand tools and teams of people to help spread the seed. 

Around a dozen volunteers joined the regular conservationists recently in spreading sacks of locally sourced lowland wildflower seed onto prepared areas, ready to bloom into the colourful meadows for the future. 

National Highways Regional Sponsor, Paul Unwin, who took part in the volunteering day, said: “We are delighted with the progress that is being made and the conservation work that has already taken place.  

“We know the environment can sometimes be impacted by previous roadbuilding and we are committed to giving back to the communities that live near our roads and making a real difference to the environment.” 

David Cadman, Head of Nature Recovery Networks for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to have National Highways join us to see first-hand what their funding has allowed us to achieve and take part in practical conservation. 

“The lowland wildflowers we plant today are found in floodplains and will boost the biodiversity of this local nature reserve. It is one piece of the puzzle with other sites in the project, creating healthier habitat for wildlife across the wider Nature Recovery Network in Stafford.” 

More information about the Stafford Brooks project is available on Staffordshire Wildlife Trust’s website www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/stafford-brooks.

Press Release No 6151