Official Opening of Spurrell's Wood - 'helping protect the ordinary'

Cllr Clive Stockton officially opens Spurrell's Wood. Photo courtesy of Jayne Evans

Yesterday, Spurrell's Wood was officially opened by Cllr Clive Stockton, Chair of North Norfolk District Council, in front of a sizeable audience, including representatives of the Spurrell family - a number of whom had flown 'across the pond' to be there.

Before the ribbon-cutting, Chair of Felbeck Trust Trevor Williams, made a few remarks and thanked all those people who had contributed to the success of the project. He said,

"We began managing this site, for the benefit of wildlife, just less than two years ago and almost immediately were offered the chance to buy it. In just 18 months we raised nearly £50k to pay for the land, all the legal / professional costs and commence the work of habitat restoration. This would not have been possible without the generosity of Corporate donors including: Postcode Local Trust, supported by the Peoples Postcode Lottery - our major donor, Geoffrey Watling, British Birds Charitable Trust, North East Norfolk Bird Club and the EofE Coop, and the many private individuals who gave from just a few pounds to several thousands. A huge thank you from all of us.

Next I’d like to say a big thank you to our Trustees, Friends, and Volunteers who, between them, have dedicated over 2000 hours to this project - without them none of this would have happened. Nor can an organisation work effectively in isolation - we rely heavily on the support of our partners: Norfolk Rivers Trust, NENBC & Aylmerton Field Study Centre. We also benefit from the technical advice and support of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, particularly through their Wildlife in Common project, and the National Trust, through their Riverlands Project - working to improve the water quality of the Upper Bure, of which the Gur Beck is an important tributary.

My finally thanks go to NNDC from whom we lease the Surveyor’s Allotment, who provided us with our initial start-up grant through The Big Society and with whom we are now working in collaboration on another big project at Sadler’s Wood, North Walsham.

Spurrell’s Wood is by no means unique, in fact you could say it’s nothing particularly special BUT it provides a valuable home for wildlife in an otherwise intensive agricultural landscape and, as we are all beginning to realise, is crucial in helping protect the ordinary - before it becomes scarce, rare or even extinct!"

After the ceremony, enjoying a guided walk around the wood. Photo by Barbara Gardner