It’s a beautiful day, the sun is streaming through the windows and I am sat at my computer trying to write my first Monkwood Musings blog for you to read. How do I introduce myself? How do I interest you, the reader? How do I tell people how excited I am to be working as the Engagement Officer for this amazing project to restore land next to one of the Trust's most loved nature reserves, Monkwood?

So. My name is Julie Grainger and I hope that I can write imaginative blogs about this wonderful journey that I and the Trust find ourselves on. And I am very very excited; the idea of a job that involves talking to people about how important it is to look after our wild spaces, and to create more of them, is just amazing and I am so lucky to have been given this opportunity.

Having a blank canvas of eight meadows leads to an inspiring project and, Dom, the reserve manager, has plans to include wood pasture, meadow, an orchard, woodland and hedges. A priority is to maintain and create as many corridors as possible (not the sort that you get told off for running in but the kind that animals, such as dormice, like and need). This will be achieved by careful planning of work by contractors and volunteers with help from local primary schools, Wildgoose Training, parish councils, a nearby historical society and other interested community groups.

It would be great to hear from anyone who lives nearby that might be interested in volunteering or that might want to know more. This summer we are planning to hold an event to showcase the plans for the additional 23 hectares of land at Green Farm, so watch this space for further information.

I couldn't finish my first blog without giving a big thank you to all the funders that made this exciting project possible. Thank you to Trust members, the public, National Lottery players via the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Severn Waste Services, The Banister Charitable Trust, 3dtotal.com Ltd and The LG Harris Charitable Trust, without whose generous donations we would not have been able to save the land and undertake our ambitious vision to recreate a historic and connected landscape.