Attleborough railway station volunteers awarded for making ‘wildlife haven’

Attleborough rail station has been recognising for the work from community volunteers to improve biodiversity and support nature there

Greater Anglia, partnered with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, has presented a Wildlife Friendly Stations Accreditation Scheme certificate to the station’s volunteer ‘station adopters’ following an assessment by the trust’s conservation officer to determine how well the station supports local flora and fauna.

The ecologist’s report noted that the large planted border on platform 1, which is filled with perennials and shrubs, is a valuable habitat for pollinators and also dunnock and house sparrows whose numbers are in decline.

Now the group plans to plant a deciduous hedge around an area of the new car park to provide more habitat for these birds and other small creatures.

James Hogg, the trust’s development officer, said: “The alarming decline in the abundance of wildlife and the plight of species under threat means that just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery, and to do so at scale and with urgency.

“This project with Greater Anglia is a fantastic example of how people can transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places – and change the way we think about land, seizing opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves.”

Rail stations in East Anglia are increasingly becoming havens for local wildlife thanks to the efforts of around 300 volunteers who last year transformed more than 7,400 square metres of land into thriving wildlife gardens.

In a recent survey, Greater Anglia station adopters reported a wide range of creatures visiting their stations including many different types of butterflies as well as bees, slow worms, bats, foxes, toads, lizards, deer and many varieties of birds, recording more than 200 different species.

Alan Neville, Greater Anglia’s customer and community engagement manager, said: “I would like to congratulate the volunteers at Attleborough station on receiving this recognition and thank them for the incredible work that are doing that is helping to support biodiversity locally.”