Following the work that the local community has carried out at Rochford station, it has received a new accreditation.

Friends of Rochford station have been working to make the station more environmentally friendly through plants and animal hotels.

They have received a ‘Wildlife Friendly’ achievement for all of their work.

Greater Anglia partnered with the local Wildlife Trusts to formally recognise the volunteer station adopters and created the ‘Greater Anglia Wildlife Friendly Stations Accreditation Scheme’.

The station adopters who are supported by the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership received the award after the station was assessed by an ecologist who reported on how well the station is doing at supporting native flora and fauna.

The native plants and wildflowers are highly present, which has increased the number of pollinators.

By platform 1 there is a dedicated wildlife area which include these crucial wildflowers and insect hotel and bird box, which is home to a pair of blue tits.

The work that these station adopters have done amongst around 340 volunteers has helped transform 10,000 square metres of land into wildlife zones.

Surveys revealed that since increasing these wildlife zones, species such as bees, butterflies, bats, toads, lizards, slow worms, deer, and many bird species have been visiting the stations.

“The alarming decline in the abundance of wildlife and the plight of species under threat means that just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery, and to do so at scale and with urgency.

“This project with Greater Anglia is a fantastic example of how people can transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places – and change the way we think about land, seizing opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves.”

James Hogg, Development Officer at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the lead Trust for the initiative