We have ten Wildlife Watch groups across our region, run by dedicated volunteers who use their experience to nurture a genuine love of nature that hopefully lasts a lifetime.

As well as building dens in the wood, pond dipping in summer and creating festive wreaths when it’s too chilly to spend many hours outdoors, our Watch group members can take part in our fun award scheme. They start off at Hedgehog level and fly on to the more advanced Kestrel Award before ultimately having the opportunity to become a fully-fledged nature ranger.

Recently we were told that one of our Watch group members, Star, has now completed her Kestrel Award. Star is a member of the Longton Brickcroft group which meets once a month and is run by Sue Banister, who wrote to tell us all about Star's achievement.

For her 'Create it' challenge, Star made a super collage of animals and birds using autumn leaves. She wrote a lovely piece of prose about nature and the importance of looking after it, and also did a beautiful colour pencil drawing of a robin.

For the 'Record it' challenge Star visited Mere Sands Wood with her family over the summer, and she produced a fantastic nature diary which was full of information and drawings about the things she saw. Sue tells us that Star’s illustrations really are great.