Millfield Prep Pupils Volunteer at Shapwick Moor Nature Reserve

Every Wednesday afternoon a group of pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 are selected to visit Shapwick Moor Nature Reserve, owned by the Hawk and Owl Trust, on the Somerset Levels.

The pupils are involved in voluntary work on the reserve as part of our Multi Activity Programme. The volunteers working on the reserve are always delighted to see a minibus full of enthusiastic Millfield Prep children arrive each week to help out. It is amazing how much of an impact a 1½ hour session of hard work every Wednesday can have on the landscape. Hot chocolate and biscuits are always well deserved after a busy afternoon out on the Levels.

Millfield Prep pupils have helped to clear out ditches, maintain footpaths, build a bird hide, plant hedges and oak trees, create wetland areas, fix benches and moved a lot of soil and dead wood.

Shapwick Moor was acquired by the Hawk and Owl Trust in 2007. It forms part of the larger network of reserves managed specifically for nature conservation known as the Avalon Marshes which lies within the Somerset Levels, the largest lowland wetland remaining in the UK. The 55 hectares, which were once used to grow a variety of arable crops, are now being restored to semi natural grassland. The Reserve is open all year round and is a beautiful, peaceful area to go for a walk, with magnificent views of the tor in the distance. For more information about the area, have a look at the website www.hawkandowl.org.

Find out more about our Multi Activity Programme here.