SCHOOLCHILDREN in Whalley will soon be able to enjoy a new nature trail - right on their doorstep.

Oakhill College, in Wiswell Lane, enlisted the help of a top environmental consultant and Clitheroe company Castle Cement to convert an overgrown field next to the school into a conservation area.

The site will be used for the benefit of pupils, particularly in the nursery class, who will be able to use the guided walk through the woods; and local ramblers, who will have access to the site even when the school is closed.

Ron Freethy, who works as a consultant to the Mersey Basin Campaign, carried out a bio-diversity study on the site, identifying key wildlife, which will be used to aid educational projects for pupils.

And bosses at Castle Cement's Ribblesdale works happily agreed to donate stone and design and fit a walkway, which criss-crosses a stream. Mr Freethy found that the stream was partly polluted from outflow pipes at the school and, after a short discussion with a plumber, it was put right.

He predicts that trout will be swimming in the stream in the near future and believes the project, which enlisted the help of pupils, will provide long-term benefits for the local environment.

He said: "It is vital we involve youngsters in this type of scheme at an early age. Environmental issues are always top of any agenda.

"If you can involve children in helping to plan a nature trail such as this, it is something they will never forget and something, hopefully, they will always take an interest in."

Staff at the school hope the nature trail will be used by villagers and ramblers, who can access the field without having to walk through the school's grounds.