Going wild for RSPB Sandwell Valley nature reserve

It has been five years in the making but staff and the site's 100-strong team of volunteers have finally been able to replace their old base which was destroyed in an arson attack.

They wanted to share the occasion with the community and threw open the doors on Sunday for a wildlife festival showcasing the many activities on offer at the reserve.

Nature's Reach, which sits at the heart of the 25-acre site, has panoramic views of Forge Mill lake.

The new centre also boasts facilities offering information about activities, birdwatching and walks.

It also has a cafe and toilets.

Residents packed out the festival with people given the chance to try out activities such as pond dipping and hunting for mini-beasts under logs.

Visitors also looked around arts and crafts displays which had been inspired by nature alongside getting to sit around a camp fire listening to stories and toasting marshmallows.

Volunteers said they were delighted with the new centre and were pleased at the reaction it had received from visitors.

Liz Wootton, a 54-year-old office worker, has volunteered at the reserve once a week for around five years.

"I started volunteering when we had the old visitor centre," she said.

"I work on reception so my job is to meet and greet people and help them find they way around the site."

Fellow volunteer and keen birdwatcher Colin Sedgwick, 70, travels from Lichfield to regularly attend the nature reserve and enjoys taking photographs around the beauty spot.

"I normally man the hide and we show people the different types of birds and explain what's happening during the breeding season," he said.

"The new centre is incredible - I never thought we would see it.

"I was at the reserve the day after the fire and it was absolutely devastating. But the new building is so much bigger and better than what we had before."

Staff and volunteers were left picking up the pieces after vandals targeted the previous centre on the site, off Tanhouse Avenue, in Great Barr, in March 2010.

The building was severely damaged in the arson attack.

A temporary building, costing £100,000, was set up to serve as a base following the blaze so work at the site could continue.

Work on the new Nature's Reach building started in late 2014 - with the building constructed on the same site as the old one.

It is a two-storey modern-looking facility which has a porch and a terrace.

Building work has only recently been completed on the centre, with the final phases focusing on fitting out the inside of the new facility along with work to the outside areas and car park.

Cash for the project has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Ibstock Cory Environmental Trust, Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust along with other charitable organisations.

RSPB groups, volunteers and supporters have also helped with donations to make the new centre a reality.

Katar Consulting, IMB Architects, Building Services Design and the Baynham Meikle Partnership have also worked on the project.

Officials from the nature reserve said the new centre would be used by volunteers and community groups alongside and staff and visitors.

And bosses say they also want Nature's Reach to be a part of community life providing a relaxing spot for people to have a drink, meet friends and unwind alongside offering views over the lake.

Around 1,500 residents were invited to take a first look at the new centre when a preview event was held last month.

People invited to the preview were those living closest to the reserve.

Visitors wanting to watch flocks of ducks, geese, swans and lapwings will now be able to use the new centre to learn more about the wildlife on the reserve.

They will also be able to take in the views of the valley and Forge Mill Lake.

Alex Sharrod, visitor officer at RSPB Sandwell Valley, said the new centre would be a 'great asset to the community'.

"Nature's Reach, nestled in the heart of the nature reserve with stunning views across the valley, will be a place where everyone, from residents, families, wildlife watchers and dog walkers can find out about the nature in the valley or just grab a cup of tea and a snack."

The original sanctuary opened in 1983 and was undergoing a £120,000 refurbishment at the time of the blaze.

The reserve boasts hedgerows full of wildlife and the valley has large areas of woodland, meadows, pools and streams, as well as two working farms, with visitor centres, alongside a network of trails.

Nature's Reach is part of the Breathing New Life into Sandwell Valley Project.

Sandwell Valley protects a variety of habitats on reclaimed colliery land including open water, wet and dry grassland, reedbed and scrub.

The reserve is managed as a refuge for wintering wildfowl, breeding wetland birds and passage migrants.

There are also reptiles, amphibians and water voles at the site.

Work is also taking place to improve the reedbed for birds such as Water Rails and Reed Buntings. Scrub is also cut back by staff and volunteers to maintain water levels at the site.

Mature willows in the surrounding wet woodland is also managed to provide a nesting habitat for Willow Tits.

The visitor centre and car park will be open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm between April and September and from 10am to 4pm from October to March.

The reserve is accessible to pedestrians at all times with the Lakeside viewpoint open from 10.30am until lunchtime, Wednesdays to Fridays, and from 10.30am until 3.30pm at weekends.