Ambitious plan for £1m gift land

Wetland habitat on the stretch of River Colne will be created

A donation from a secret benefactor has sparked an ambitious plan is to create East Anglia's largest area of native woodland.

The generous gift to conservationists of hundreds of acres of land, worth £1m, means the village of Fordham, near Colchester in Essex, will soon be surrounded by trees and grassland, helping to attract a range of wildlife.

The land on the Fordham Hall Estate virtually encloses the village, so the creation of new habitat by the Woodland Trust in Essex will transform the landscape for the people living there too.

Fields that have been farmed for centuries will be planted with hazel, oak, ash and maple.

At the moment there are few trees left on the 500 acres of farmland but the plan is to plant almost 250,000 over the next four years.

The trust will also be creating a variety of different habitats to help East Anglia's threatened wildlife.

Otter footprints

Some estate land will be left in arable production, farmed on a low-intensity basis to give a helping hand to farmland birds like grey partridge.

Wetland habitat on the stretch of River Colne that runs along one boundary will be created to benefit a whole host of species - including otters whose footprints have already been spotted on the estate.

The land surrounding the village will be transformed

There will also be grassland, to benefit creatures which need woodland for shelter and open areas for food.

The first move in the transformation is creating hibernation boxes for bats.

Once they decide to move into new habitat other wildlife will follow, it is hoped.

The trust, having raised more than £900,000 to fund the project, still needs £75,000 to transform the land over the next 10 years.

Christine Punter, regional development officer, commented: "We really are nearly there in making this brilliant project happen.

"We are losing woodland at a fast rate throughout the UK and this project will really help to reverse this trend in East Anglia.

"Please help us to make this a success."