VETERAN celebrity wildlife campaigner David Bellamy has launched £500,000 schemes to reclaim parts of the north Durham landscape.

The television presenter took part in a parade at the weekend with pupils from Burnside School, to mark the start of two environmental projects in the Stanley area.

The Woodlands and Wildlife initiative, led by Durham County Council, will see the former open cast Chapmans Well site, between Quaking Houses and Maiden Law, aim to increase its biodiversity by recreating natural habitats.

The second project, Saving Stanley Burn, is led by Groundwork West Durham.

The group is working on six sites to enhance and develop Stanley Burn and its denes.

This will include creating woodland, heathland and cleaning up the stream.

Improvements will also be made to the access pathways around Stanley, Quaking Houses, South Moor and New Kyo.

The schemes have attracted £500,000 of grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as part of the £5.2m English Nature-led Mineral Valleys Project.

The celebration event, called Working for Wildlife, featured traditional mining songs and storytelling from local artists Benny Graham and Tony Wilson.

There were also rural craft workshops and a guided tour with Mr Bellamy around the proposed nature reserve at Chapman's Well