A WORCESTERSHIRE Wildlife Trust volunteer has recently uncovered a childhood present that inspired her to work in the field of conservation.

For her fifth birthday, Dominique Cragg was given the lease of a bird’s nest box at Badger’s Hill Wood, near Evesham, and while rummaging in the loft recently she uncovered the lease certificate.

The present went on to motivate her to pursue a career in nature conservation.

Dominique Cragg, of Hagley, said: “My parents always encouraged us to be outdoors when I was little - playing outside with my brother and sisters is something that really sticks in my mind.

“We would visit the local hills, woods and parks every weekend, climbing trees, paddling in streams and catching leaves in the autumn.

“I was so fascinated by it all - much more so than my siblings – that my first sentence was about David Attenborough and at a young age I corrected my grandma on her speedwell species.

“I’d always loved the natural environment and presents like the rent-a-nest lease really helped to fire this enthusiasm.

“But I hadn’t really considered it as a career until the third year of my degree.

“I studied animal biology but it was when I researched the population decline of house sparrows for my dissertation that the penny dropped – this was what I wanted to do.”

The 25-year-old went on to work on a 12-month graduate placement as a conservation assistant with Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and is now volunteering for the trust and the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre while studying for her master of research degree in ecology and environmental management.

She added: “The trust don’t operate the rent-a-nest scheme at Badger’s Hill Wood now, although it is run elsewhere, but since I found the certificate, I’ve had the chance to go and see where box number 237 used to be.

“The box itself, put up over 20 years ago, no longer exists but trust volunteer Betty Ballard still maintains more than 20 boxes across the small reserve.

“It’s nice to know that the birds are still being given a helping hand in the wood.”

Virtual gifts including the rent-a-nest scheme are still available from Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and can be purchased from worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/shop or by calling 01905 754919.