AN East Lancashire project is helping people get closer to nature. The Foxhill Bank Nature Reserve, in Oswaldtwistle, provides an area of green space for local people and a haven for wildlife. The site, cared for by volunteer rangers with help from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, boasts some 60 species of bird. The reserve won top prize in the long-term project section of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's Grimewatch Awards last year. Since then, volunteers have been working hard on more improvements.

Over the last year, volunteers have cleared the brook running through the reserve and built a new dipping platform. Workers from the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers have also helped out. Plans include inviting local schoolchildren to make bird tables.

Grimewatch rewards all kinds of green projects, with categories for groups, schools, local authorities, businesses and individuals, as well as schemes which celebrate East Lancashire's heritage. For details ring the Grimewatch on 01254 678678 ext 244.

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