£46,000 grant will improve access to nature

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Kings Farm Wood reserve, in Wroughton, will soon be even more accessible, thanks to a grant of almost £50,000 from waste firm Biffa.

Biffa Award – a multi-million pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through awarding grants to community and environmental projects across the UK – has provided more than £46,000 towards improving access and interpretation at Kings Farm Wood and the three neighbouring reserves, including a two-metre-wide, low-level path, which will be installed in June. 

The new path will extend from the main reserve entrance at Badgers Brook to Diocese Meadows, also a Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve, improving access for those with mobility difficulties or visitors with pushchairs, who may currently struggle to get around the site. 

Ellie Jones, WWT’s reserves field officer for North Wiltshire, said: “We are delighted to be able to open up the reserve to people who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to experience this lovely young woodland. 

“Kings Farm Wood is cherished by local residents and WWT members, both for recreation and as a haven for wildlife, and we want as many people as possible to know the joy and wonder that comes from spending time with nature.”

Gillian French, Biffa Award programme manager, said: “Biffa Award is keen to support projects which improve access to the countryside and encourage us to learn more about our natural environment. This improved access will mean more people will be able to enjoy the reserve throughout the year.”

Construction work will start on Monday June 15.