The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has presented the The Darwin Gardens Trust with a Conservation Award in recognition of their initiatives to benefit Yorkshire's wildlife at Darwin Gardens Millennium Green. The Trust was awarded third prize in this annual competition organised by YWT and generously sponsored by Yorkshire Electricity.

Darwin Gardens supporters and volunteer workers attended as Chairman Peter Harnett received a prize certificate and cheque for 100 pounds from YWT's Education Officer, Gordon Scaife, and Yorkshire Electricity's Community Affairs Officer, Kevin Rodgers. The prize money has been used to construct a range of bird-nesting boxes which have now been installed in various locations over the Green.

In developing the Millennium Green, named in honour of the world-famous naturalist Charles Darwin, much attention has been given to conserving and enhancing the diversity of wildlife habitats on site. As part of this endeavour, volunteers have recently completed extensive plantings of woodland and grassland bulbs, which we hope will provide a spectacular show of colour next year. As our contribution to National Tree Planting Week, we will be planting rowans and establishing a holly hedge along the top edge of the Green: all volunteers will be welcome to this event - watch out for notices!

Our volunteers have also trimmed an area of scrub at the top end of one of the ghylls, creating a zone of both deep and shallow pools which has become regularly used by dippers.
Keen-eyed visitors may also notice that our signboards have become an ideal haven for hibernating lacewings!

The Darwin Gardens Trust are very proud to receive YWT's recognition of their efforts to benefit wildlife, which follows hot on the heels of their Millennium Projects Award from Yorkshire in Bloom. To be highly ranked in both these competitions is a welcome reward for our efforts to establish a multi-purpose site which will be of enduring benefit to both human and wildlife communities.

Free visitor information leaflets are now available from a box beneath our main signboard (by the car park area), and these also include information and application forms for dedicating flagstones in the Millennium Maze. We welcome your involvement and support for this community project, and hope that it will continue to provide a valuable source of 'recreation & relaxation, education & inspiration' in the future.

Please remember that all our progress updates, plus a host of other information about Darwin Gardens Millennium Green is available on-line at www.darwingardens.co.uk The website now includes a new picture gallery and links to other sites of related interest, making Darwin Gardens Millennium Green a place for all seasons, indoors as well as out!