A GROUP of students had the chance to have a closer look at a range of reptiles that are being relocated to a specially designed new home in Pershore.

The year 5 and 6 students from The River School in Worcester visited The Vale Golf and Country Club in Pershore to learn about the creatures that are being moved to the course from Drakes Broughton, as part of a large reptile translocation project.

Parts of the course, which spans over 150 acres and includes areas of woodland, scrub and rough grassland, are being transformed into a new habitat for the reptiles.

The project is delivered through a partnership between housebuilder Bovis Homes, their environmental consultants The Environmental Dimension Partnership (EDP), ecological landscapers Three Shires Ltd and The Vale Golf Club.

Since April, over 350 slow worms and 65 grass snakes have been moved to the course.

The habitat enhancements taking place include the creation of wildflower meadows, woodland management for reptiles and invertebrates, and installing new places for wildlife to breed, hibernate and forage, including reptile log piles and shelters, bird boxes, a barn owl nest box, bat boxes and invertebrate habitat boxes.