Volunteers help out at Melksham nature area (From Wiltshire Times)

Volunteers help out at Melksham nature area

10:00pm Saturday 28th January 2012 in Melksham

A team of nature-loving volunteers have pitched in to spruce up a Melksham nature reserve.

The three-acre Conigre Mead Nature Reserve, on the banks of the River Avon, will have a mini-transformation this year, as a £47,710 Lottery grant is invested.

Money will be spent to improve the pathways, install new noticeboards and seats and replace an old bridge and gates.

The volunteers, who started their task at 10am on Saturday, managed to get a lot done during the day.

Reserve warden Ian Cardy said: “It was very good. We had 11 volunteers that turned up and we managed to replace the bridge completely with new wood, which was quite a task.

“We managed to demolish most of the old gateposts, which are going to be replaced, and we erected two new notice boards.

“There was also a litter pick of the whole reserve, so it went very well.”

The next major part of the project is to have paths throughout the site repaired and relaid, so they can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and are easier to navigate for those using wheelchairs or prams.

Dr Cardy said: “We are in the process of accepting one of the tenders, to do the work on the paths and install the new gates.

“We hope the whole project will be finished by the end of May. Some of the paths actually flood in the reserve and we don’t really want the work to be held up, so we’re holding off until about April; they should take about a week and then we should be up and running.

“When it’s all done we can have our celebration, which is paid for as part of the funding. We haven’t quite decided what it will be, but it will involve the reserve, probably as a day to show what we’ve done.”

Conigre Mead was bought by local people and given as a nature reserve to Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in 1989.

The site has been turned into a flourishing natural space by volunteers who have dug ponds, cleared scrub and planted trees and wildflowers to attract more wildlife.

The team at the reserve now has a blog to keep everyone updated. For the latest information, visit the website www.conigremead.co.uk.