Hedges planted as Bodenham nature reserve prepares to open

Sarah King, from the wildlife trust, said teams hoped the site would be excellent for birdwatching

Volunteers have planted hundreds of metres of hedgerow at a nature reserve in a bid to encourage more wildlife.

People should be able to visit the 30-acre site at Oak Tree Farm, near Bodenham, by the end of summer, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust said.

The trust bought it in 2020 and has already improved wetland habitats, conservation officer Sarah King said.

"This should be an excellent birdwatching site," she added.

"We already have one well-place bird hide on site and are fundraising for a second one. These will give visitors fantastic views over the wetland areas."

The work has seen a network of pools created while 3,000 hedgerow trees have been planted over the last month.

A series of pools have been created over the site to encourage wetland species

With plants added to create 350m (383yds) of hedgerow around the site, the trust said it hoped they would benefit mammals such as mice and small birds like chaffinches and robins.

Ms King added: "We've already recorded snipe, polecat and lots of small birds on our wildlife cameras, but hope to see other wetland species such as lapwing, curlew and oystercatcher discover the site over the next year."