A CONSERVATION group has produced a DVD to encourage people to help create and maintain important wildlife habitats around Sudbury.

The Woodland BATS (Biodiversity Around Town) group recently started a tree nursery at Chilton, where native species such as oak, ash and yew are grown to a certain size before being moved to suitable locations.

Christmas trees are also being grown at the site as a fundraising initiative. In addition, the group has cleared and rejuvenated a nearby overgrown pond, which is now home to wildlife ranging from great crested newts to ducks. During the clearing process, Woodland BATS filmed volunteers carrying out the work, and a DVD has been produced.

Group chairman Peter Clifford said: “We initially asked the county council for some land to create a tree nursery, but when we came up here, we found the pond was in a terrible state. It was a big task to drag the mud out get it back to how it should be.” He added: “The film of us working in the pond and planting trees around Sudbury will be used as part of our submission for Anglia in Bloom, and we will also use it to demonstrate tree-planting when we go into local schools.”

Woodland BATS already attracts a significant number of volunteers, including staff from Sudbury Town Taxis, which runs a fleet of environmentally-friendly vehicles. County councillor John Sayers is a regular contributor, and he has just donated �350 from his locality budget to help finance production of the DVD.