PRIMARY school children enjoyed a windblown walk on the wild side on a tour of one of March’s hidden gems.

Pupils from All Saints school were shown round the Norwood Road Nature Reserve on an open day organised by Fenland District Council to show off the big strides that have been made in clearing up the little known site.

Members of the Street Pride and Safer Fenland teams have been working there on a joint project with teenagers from the charity Nacro.

Much of the tangled undergrowth has been cleared and the lower part of the reserve has been fitted with a boardwalk enabling visitors to walk around safely and without getting wet or muddy.

One pond dipping area has also been created and work began last week on a second, with more planned in the future. Work is also due to start soon on creating another board walk across the meadow area.

The children were joined on the tour by Councillors Peter Murphy and David Oliver, FDC’s portfolio holders for the environment and community safety, and by Councillor Bernard Keane, the Mayor of March, and his wife Sylvia. Also present was Matt Hamilton from the Wildlife Trust, which has also had an input.

Cllr Murphy said: “Everyone involved has put a tremendous amount of work into this project. They’ve already succeeded in turning a real wilderness into a lovely place to visit and they’ve got plans to do a lot more. Hopefully, more people will now come and enjoy it.”

Cllr Oliver said: “I’d particularly like to congratulate the young people from Nacro for all their efforts. They should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”