CONSERVATION work featuring community volunteers and the uncovering of a World War Two secret bunker are among the highlights of the Bromyard Downs Project, which is now in its third year.

The project was launched with the aim of reconnecting the local community to the downs, and carrying out practical initiatives to preserve its wildlife, landscape and historical features.

A collaboration between the Bromyard Downs Common Association and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, the project has been funded by the Heritage Lottery.

It is led by Hannah Welsh of the trust, who works closely with the common association, and with many people from the local community including residents of the Downs, regular visitors and local schools.

She said: "The project has been fantastically supported by volunteer groups, many of whom get stuck in to practical work on the Downs.

"The common has traditionally been a mixture of grassland and scrub, and it would have historically been kept as grassland through commoners cutting small trees for firewood and to make hurdles or tools and by grazing their animals.

"Today, the Downs relies on the volunteer work parties to continue this management. The project holds work party days every few weeks which are open to all. The teams get up to all sorts of things including scything, scrub cutting, woodland management, pond restoration, litter picking and much more."

The project has now also reintroduced sheep grazing to manage the grassland, to the benefit of its plant and animal life.

Among the events held on the downs in recent years are dawn chorus surveys, moth trapping, guided walks, and a picnic in 2015 with live music, crafts, food and drink.

In March this year, Herefordshire Archaeology located and excavated World War Two bunkers under Warren Wood, part of the Downs.

The bunkers were intended for troops who would have offered resistance if the Germans had invaded.

"Over 100 members of the public visited the sites and many had a connection to the bunkers, either through playing in them as children or being related to members of the patrol which used them. Many visitors provided useful information - their layout and contents and when and how they were decommissioned," she said.

"People were fascinated by the story of the 'Secret Army'” and the sacrifice and responsibilities that the patrol faced during the war."

Now the Bromyard Downs project is working with the Rural Media Company, Conquest Theatre Youth Group and students of Queen Elizabeth College to create a series of films and a theatre performance about life on the Downs. The films and show will be performed at the Conquest in May 2017.