Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is celebrating the completion of a project funded by CEMEX Community Fund at Willington Gravel Pits Nature Reserve in the south of the county.

The former gravel quarry is teeming with bird life all year round. In winter large flocks of wildfowl gather including Wigeon, Teal, Pochard and Shoveler and Bittern occasionally skulk around the edges of the pools and in summer Sand Martins flock to Willington to breed as do Lapwing and Common Tern.

The £14,999 grant allowed the Trust to pay for a contractor to install a bird hide on top of the sand martin bank, carry out works to improve the views across the reserve and create better conditions for the existing reed bed. A new information panel has also been installed highlighting the wildlife that can be seen at the reserve including Otter and Dragonflies.

Richard Spowage, Head of Reserves for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said: “Willington is one of the best bird watching sites in the Trent Valley. The generous grant from the CEMEX Community Fund has allowed us to improve the visitor experience and encourage more people to explore and fall in love with Derbyshire’s wildlife”.

Ian Southcott from the CEMEX Community Fund added: “This project is another fantastic example of how the Fund and the company itself have supported the incredible work that the Wildlife Trusts do. It also illustrates how important restored and working quarries can be in promoting biodiversity”.