The members at the June meeting held in the “St.Barnabas Community Centre” Wolverley Road,”

were entertained to a very interesting illustrated talk : “The wildlife of Chaddesley Wood” by Gordon Forrest.

It became a nature reserve in 1973 through the generosity of John Cadbury and is managed by Nature Conservancy Council on a 100 year lease. These 252 acres mostly woods and the two meadows Hockley & Black Meadow make up the nature reserve, the meadows are a site of scientific interest. It is a haven for wild birds, butterflies and animals such as the green wood pecker, (who has a tongue three times the length of it’s beak), the long tail tits, foxes, badgers , field mice, grass snakes, slow worms and many others. The yellow meadow ant heaps which fill the meadow are covered by many wild flowers including orchids during the course of the year. School children from all over Worcestershire pay visits to these woods and the next arrival will be their 50,000 visitor.