First phase complete of action plan to protect nature reserve

More than 500,000 is due to be spent on Foxglove Covert Nature Reserve in Catterick Garrison throughout the next decade, and half of the money has been used in the first year of the programme to aid disabled access.

A new disability-friendly bird hide, access bridge and walkway will be unveiled today, and plans are being drawn up for an outdoor classroom which will be kitted out with equipment including an interactive whiteboard, microscopes and underwater cameras.

A member of the nature reserve's management group, Maj Tony Crease, said: "We have worked extremely hard over the years to make Foxglove Covert a place where wildlife and nature thrive.

"The works we are undertaking will make the site fully accessible to all and we hope people will be inspired to pay us a visit."

Funding has been secured through Natural England's Higher Level Stewardship scheme and the cash will also be used to help maintain the nature reserve's wide variety of habitats, including heathland, a new wetland area, semi-natural woodland and flower rich grassland.

The improvement work has not been solely structural as the funding has paid for a redesign of the reserve's website, while 50 books are being added to a reference library.

Foxglove Covert Nature Reserve, which is in the heart of Europe's largest military base, is home to a number of imaginatively named species including pepper saxifrage grass, diamond-back moth and cuckoo bee.