A PERSHORE community group which maintains the town’s wetland and nature reserve have been handed a donation worth hundreds of pounds from a local house builder.
Persimmon Homes South Midlands, who are currently building homes off Station Road, have donated £800 to The Friends of Avon Meadows to support them in their work to maintain the Avon Meadows Community Wetland.
The community group, which formed five years ago, regularly organise volunteer work parties, record wildlife and monitor the habitat at the wetlands alongside the River Avon.
As well as being a great place for visitors to get close to the wildlife, the wetland also takes surface water from nearby housing estates and then provides a natural way of improving the water quality before it reaches the river.
Honorary Treasurer for The Friends of Avon Meadows, Bill Gillmor, said: “The money will be used to buy materials which our volunteers will use to build an artificial nesting bank for sand martins.
“This species of bird has been seen passing over Avon Meadows Community Wetland and Local Nature Reserve and the site should be attractive to them – but there is nowhere suitable for them to nest.
“This generous grant from Persimmon will enable the Friends to build homes for the sand martins, helping a species, whose numbers have declined in the past 50 years, enhancing the value of the site for local people and visitors.”
Andy Peters, managing director for Persimmon Homes South Midlands, said: “We are currently building in Pershore at our Wyre Meadows development and were keen to support a project that the local community would benefit from.
“The friends of Avon Meadows do a fantastic job maintaining and developing the wetlands and encouraging wildlife to nest and flourish.”
