2017 was the first time the ‘Friends’ group applied to be considered for a Green Flag Award. The reserve was inspected in June, at a time when the whole area was looking wonderful, with 100’s of orchids and wildflowers covering the grassland areas. We all waited patiently for the results to be released and were delighted to find that we had been successful at our first attempt. Representatives of the ‘Friends group’ attended the presentation at Pride Park Stadium, along with volunteers representing groups from the whole of the East of England. It was so good to have all the hard work recognised, it makes all those cold, wet days when we work on the reserve worthwhile. One day we would love to be able to display the flag and would like to be able to raise funding to erect a flagpole near to the entrance to the reserve. A sign that our local reserve is valued and special.