A GLAZEBURY wood has been spruced up to celebrate World Environment Day.

Volunteers from the Environment Agency swapped their suits for overalls and headed to Windy Bank Wood last Monday to carry out the improvements that will benefit everyone who uses the site.

Some of the work carried out included the planting of specimen oak trees and the creation of a wetland, which will mean a more diverse habitat to attract different species.

The volunteers also spent the day putting up picnic benches.

Building company Alfred McAlpine let the gardeners use its heavy construction equipment to dig up the wetland and another company, Volker Stevin, provided trees for the volunteers to plant.

The 100-acre site, which is owned and managed by the Forestry Commission, straddles the borders of the Mersey Forest and the Red Rose Forest and is surrounded by a site of special scientific interest.

Much of the site used to be intensively managed grassland and arable farmland with limited public access.

The Forestry Commission bought the site in 2002, opened new footpaths and planted thousand of trees.

Wildflower hay meadows and pastures were created with grant aid from DEFRA.

These are now farmed under a countryside stewardship agreement, which encourages farming in an environmentally sensitive way.

Since these changes, there has been a marked increase in the numbers and variety of wildlife including owls, buzzards, cuckoos, pheasants, partridges, mallards, bats, roe deer, foxes, hares, rabbits, weasel and voles.