Birmingham based developer St. Modwen has donated £10,000 to The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country’s Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood regeneration project – an amount that has funded an outdoor classroom and performance area on the site that was once Tolkein’s playground.

Moseley Bog © Timm Sonnenschein. Neil Wyatt, chief executive at the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country; Francesca Jarvis, project officer at the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country and Mike Murray, senior development surveyor at St. Modwen, at the Moseley Bog site.

The money was donated by the St. Modwen Environmental Trust in a bid to help improve the local environment, benefitting the region in which St. Modwen operates.

The outdoor classroom is part of a larger regeneration project at Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood, which will see access improved, the old woodland preserved and attempt to reintroduce the Royal Fern, lost from the bog in the 1980s.

The Moseley Bog site, which is said to have been a childhood favourite of JRR Tolkien and the inspiration behind characters such as Ents and Old Man Willow, will now excite the imagination of school children from across the local area through outdoor art, lessons about native wildlife and literary classes.

Additionally, the new performance area will host next year’s (2012) Middle Earth Weekend, celebrating the literary works of Tolkien through visual and stage productions.

Mike Murray, senior development surveyor at St. Modwen says: “This project has long term benefits for the local community, with generations of visitors returning to enjoy the atmosphere of Moseley Bog year after year. It has been a pleasure to be involved with something that is so steeped in history and I would like to congratulate the Wildlife Trust on everything it has achieved in this special regeneration project.”

On average Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood receives up to 100,000 visitors each year and is recognised as one of Birmingham’s most important natural heritage sites.

Neil Wyatt, chief executive from The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country says: “Moseley Bog is a special place, known around the world and loved by local people, but in truth it has suffered from years of underinvestment. Our project will change this and give everyone the opportunity to see and experience most of the site, without damaging its special atmosphere and unique heritage significance.

“We are all immensely grateful to the generous contribution made by St. Modwen which has funded our new performance area and outdoor classroom. This area will now be able to host a variety of stage productions and activities for all the family, including the ever popular Middle Earth Weekend, ensuring that Moseley Bog remains a popular and enjoyable place to visit.”

The Wildlife Trust champions the natural environment and local wildlife in Birmingham and the surrounding areas. As a registered charity the Trust supports local families and groups to understand, appreciate and enjoy green spaces, whilst preserving the natural heritage and native species of the local area.

The St. Modwen Environmental Trust offers grants to groups seeking to improve their local environment. Further details can be found at www.stmodwenenvironmentaltrust.co.uk

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country is one of 47 local trusts working to make the United Kingdom a better place for people and wildlife. With over 800,000 members, the Wildlife Trusts are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the full range of the UK’s habitats and species, whether they be in the countryside, in cities or at sea. Collectively they manage over 2,000 nature reserves covering more than 90,000 hectares.

Locally The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country works to conserve biodiversity, improve the environment and raise awareness and understanding of wildlife issues. For more information please visit www.bbcwildlife.org.uk