A NEW 12-mile ‘wildlife route’ looks set to be created around the city.

The proposed 12-mile circular walking and cycling route would be marked around the edge of the city highlighting Worcester’s green spaces and giving residents the chance to learn about nature in a bid to improve their physical and mental health.

The ‘Wild about Worcester’ project, which has been put forward by volunteers from the Worcester Environmental Group, would see a ‘wildlife corridor’ created to support biodiversity and protect the environment.

The entire route would be lined with easy-to-follow instructions giving walkers, runners, cyclists and those with disabilities the chance to “immerse themselves in green spaces.”

Worcester News:

The routes would also be connected to other places of interest around the city and future plans also include building a visitor centre and café along the route.

Worcester City Council’s environment committee will discuss setting aside £15,000 to help mark the route and promote the project at a meeting in the Guildhall on July 19.

In the proposed second phase of the work, group volunteers will help improve the green spaces the route crosses, planting native and fruit trees, hedges and flowers and installing bird and bat boxes and bug hotels.

Outlining its project, Worcester Environmental Project said: “There are many footpaths and cycle paths around the city but we have an opportunity to create a circular route that links these together, providing residents with easy-to-follow instructions and way-marks.

“This route can be used by residents, either walking or cycling, to access places to exercise and to immerse themselves in the green spaces that our city has to offer.

“Known as ‘Wild about Worcester’, the purpose of the route is to create a wildlife corridor around the city, to get people out in nature to improve their physical and mental well-being and to help people learn about, and be more connected with, our environment and our heritage.”

Worcester City Council declared a ‘biodiversity emergency’ in 2020 which recognises the need to stop parts of the city that are filled with wildlife from being unnecessarily destroyed in the future as well as create more areas for animals to thrive.