A wildlife organisation has announced it is aiming to create a major wildlife reserve in Suffolk.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust wants to turn 381 acres of land into a nature reserve called Worlingham Marshes, near Beccles.
The charity has received a grant of £1,999,832 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help create a nature corridor on the Suffolk-Norfolk border.
The trust is also launching a £775,000 fundraising campaign to complete the land purchase.
It will be the fourth nature reserve that the trust manages in the area, joining Oulton Marshes, Carlton Marshes and Castle Marshes.
Matt Gooch, Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s north-east Suffolk sites manager, is managing the conservation works on the new reserve and expressed delight at the opportunity.
He said: “Worlingham Marshes is a unique opportunity to develop a landscape-scale example of reversing wildlife decline and supporting nature to adapt to climate change.
"Less than 3pc of land in Suffolk is reserved for nature, therefore we are very excited about the opportunity to protect more of the beautiful Waveney Valley, allowing more space for nature to thrive.
"At the moment it [Worlingham Marshes] looks like dry grassland and is devoid of wetland features, which we are really excited to restore in the hope of maximising the landscape's full potential."
Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Worlingham Marshes will be restored into a haven for wildlife - where the many rare and declining species that were once abundant there can thrive once again.
“The Waveney Valley is a really important wildlife resource but there are many areas not reaching their full wildlife potential for species like bitterns, redshank and lapwing," Mr Gooch said.
“Worlingham is another piece of the jigsaw to the Waveney Marshes, we are filling in the gaps along the marshes and it is amazing, a fabulous swathe of habitat."
Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s vision for Worlingham Marshes is to restore a classic Broadland landscape, with a wildlife-rich mosaic of grazing marsh, wet woodland, fen, and scrub.
Water levels will be managed to restore wet fen on the peat soils, which will lock up carbon and reduce the impact of flooding - harnessing the power of nature to combat climate change.
The trust hopes species such as lapwing, redshank, and woodcock will find a haven in the wet woodland, while otters and water voles will use the restored network of waterways as corridors and breeding habitats.
Trust chief executive officer, Christine Luxton, said: "This fabulous opportunity has been made possible by how quickly the National Lottery Heritage Fund acted to purchase the land when it appeared on the market.
"We are grateful for how fast they moved to make this happen, and the wetland will benefit the towns and urban areas in many ways.
"For example amid the flooding of late, the Worlingham Marshes is a natural way to store the water, the landscape really works hard for us.
"The Waveney Valley is Suffolk’s bit of the Broads, which can often be overlooked and we are incredibly excited to create an amazing sweep of wildlife along the corridor of land beside the beautiful river.
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"Adding water to the landscape brings the wildlife and creates a spectacle, which we cannot wait to see thrive at Worlingham."
By creating Worlingham Marshes nature reserve, Suffolk Wildlife Trust takes another step towards its strategic goal of protecting and restoring 30pc of Suffolk’s land for nature recovery.
With a bold new strategy - ‘Bringing Nature Back’ – the Suffolk Wildlife Trust is focusing efforts to mobilise local communities, residents, schools and businesses to scale up the pace of change in nature’s favour.
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