VILLAGE volunteers are celebrating after their efforts to create a wildflower meadow were honoured by a leading horticulture organisation.

The Friends of Bearpark Wood recently completed the meadow in the former pit village near Durham.

They have been awarded the highest level of achievement in the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) It’s Your Neighbourhood scheme.

The Friends have been working to improve the woodland on the site of the former Bearpark Colliery for the benefit of the community.

The group was formed only six months ago by local members of Transition Durham who had been working with Durham County Council, which owns the site, to develop a community orchard and a wildflower meadow.

Funding for the meadow was obtained from Grow Wild and has enabled the group to clear an area and sow seeds harvested from a local meadow by farmer Kevin Wharfe.

It has also paid for local craftsman Matt Whittaker and pupils from Bearpark Primary School to create a bench using locally-sourced oak.

The RHS rated the scheme as outstanding. Its assessor said: “The woodland has potential to be used for a wide range of activities and become a major asset to the village and surrounding area.”

Parts of the woodland have been cleared to make it more accessible.

With Durham Area Action Partnership funding the group hopes to continue improving the area and encouraging local groups to use it.