Woodland expansion

Early this year, Wyre Forest became the largest woodland National Nature Reserve in England. Now 1,455 hectares – the size of 1,700 football pitches – it straddles Worcestershire and Shropshire, and is home to a vast array of wildlife, including protected mammals, reptiles and birds. Managed by Natural England and Forestry England, it includes Worcestershire Wildlife Trust land, and provides habitats for butterflies and moths. A huge 58% of the UK’s butterfly species are recorded here – this April, look out for pearl-bordered fritillaries, one of the earliest to emerge. You might glimpse a dormouse waking up from hibernation too.