MEMBERS of a Wildlife Watch Group for young people near Droitwich have been highly commended in annual awards from the Wildlife Trust.

The Watch out Wednesdays (WoW) Wildlife Watch group, meets once a month at Lower Smite Farm, to get involved in wildlife surveys, join in with games and activities, and discover more about wildlife and the environment.

Hannah Thomas, engagement officer and county watch co-ordinator for the trust, said: “We have a really friendly group of around ten to fifteen children who regularly come to our monthly meetings.

“We explore the wildlife at our farm as well as making the occasional visit to other places to see how things differ. As well as discovering everything from grasshoppers and great tits to slow-worms and snails, we play games and have lots of fun.

“Just a few of the things the group got up to last year were surveying slow-worms at Cherry Orchard nature reserve in Worcester, bashing Himalayan balsam at The Knapp and Papermill nature reserve, moth trapping and discovering more about the fabulous world of owls, hedgehogs and amphibians.”

Judges were impressed with the jam-packed scrapbook that the WoW group submitted to the competition and said it was great to see so many different fun educational outdoor activities on offer.

The group, which runs on the third Wednesday of every month, is open to anyone who wants to join, and the next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 18, focusing on skulls and tracks.

The Trust also runs a series of events during school holidays for children. For more information, visit worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/whats-on or call 01905 754919.