Volunteers have helped breathe new life into Isle of Wight beauty spot Mill Copse, a woodland south of Yarmouth.

Students from the uniformed public services course at the Isle of Wight College have been learning new skills, while helping Wight Nature Fund trustees.

The students are helping as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Scheme.

They have been taught skills including coppicing, hedge-making using natural materials from the copse, and creating wildlife habitats. 

The work was made possible through a grant for the hand tools the students used, from the DEFRA Farming In Protected Landscapes fund, awarded by the Isle of Wight National Landscape (formerly AONB) Partnership.

The volunteering took place over four weeks in February and March, and the newly coppiced area has helped create space for natural plant to species to thrive. 

Vykke Gill, course leader at the college, said: “Participating in the Mill Copse conservation project has been an extraordinarily rewarding experience, not only for the environment but significantly for our students.

"This project has transcended traditional classroom boundaries, providing our students with a unique opportunity to engage directly with the natural world."

Grace, 17, one of the students, said the opportunity has been a real eye opener, and she had never been to Mill Copse before.

"We’re all learning different skills and learning more about the environment we’re in. I’m definitely going to come back because this is a new environment that I can explore and it’s likely that I’m going to be doing volunteering here again.”

Wight Nature Fund trustee Thomas Cowley was on hand to teach some of the skills and direct the work.

He said: "The work of the students has been outstanding. They have been super-keen, often working through inclement weather, to help enhance the environment that will improve biodiversity in Mill Copse.

“On behalf of the trustees of Wight Nature Fund, and the people that use Mill Copse as a recreational destination, I want to thank the Uniformed Services Course at the College for their work.  The difference it has made to our valuable ancient woodland is significant." 

He said the coppicing will increase the biodiversity and help bluebells, butterflies, dormice and red squirrels to flourish.