Essex Wildlife Trust recently joined a number of other local wildlife groups at the official opening of Foxearth Nature Reserve, a newly designated Local Wildlife Site in Braintree district. 

The reserve is owned and managed by A Rocha, a Christian charity, and is designated for the notable diversity of dragonfiles and damselflies on site. A ceremonial ribbon cutting (all 100 metres of it!) was followed by the planting of a native black poplar tree along the bank of the neighbouring River Stour. The reserve lies on the Essex side of the Stour near Sudbury, and Essex Wildlife Trust have been working with A Rocha to collect information on the site and put the reserve forward for designation as a Local Wildlife Site by the Essex local sites partnership.

The event was well attended, with conservation groups, politicians, church leaders and families from both Essex and Suffolk visiting the reserve, many of them for the first time. More information about Foxearth can be found on A Rocha's website.