Surrey Wildlife Trust is today celebrating a £6,340.00 funding boost from SUEZ Communities Trust for a new boardwalk for Chitty's Common, a green oasis and wet woodland on the urban fringe of north-west Guildford. It will improve access to the Common for the local community in Stoughton.

The new 140 metre boardwalk will make it easier for local families and dog walkers to explore the five hectare Common, which is hidden between the houses of Rydes Hill.

With the help of a dedicated local volunteer group, the Friends of Chitty’s Common, Surrey Wildlife Trust is to install a series of wooden boardwalks over the wettest parts of the reserve to ensure that visitors of all ages and abilities are safely able to access the site.

Katy Fielding from Surrey Wildlife Trust said ‘Chitty’s Common is a really important place for local people to get close to nature. Through support from SUEZ Communities Trust we will be able make it easier for people to explore and protect the reserve’.

Accessed on foot via Keens Lane or Rydes Hill Road in Stoughton, local people can view butterflies flying across the open grassland and discover the rich mosaic of habitats. There are wildflowers in the woodland areas, including large swathes of white flowering wild garlic in Spring. There is also plenty of important dead wood that is left in-situ to provide an ideal habitat for many invertebrates including the rare stag beetle.

Marek Gordon, Chairman of SUEZ Communities Trust added “SUEZ Communities Trust provides funding awards through the Landfill Communities Fund. This important source of funding has been available since 1997 and has provided such worthy projects with more than £1.4 billion. We were delighted to be able to offer funding to Surrey Wildlife Trust.”

Chitty’s Common is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust.