Matlock residents have rallied in support of a charitable youth project this week after vandals damaged a birdwatching hide crafted by school students as part of a £1.26million community initiative.

The wood and woven willow hide on the Hurst Farm heritage trail was damaged on Wednesday, July 15, likely between 3.30pm and 5pm, undoing weeks of hard work by a youth ranger programme run in partnership with Highfields School.

While plans are already under way to remake the structure, bolstered by support and donations from local residents, the incident has affected morale more than materials.

Lisa Newton, business development manager for Hurst Farm Wild Works community enterprise, said: “We don’t know who did it, and we’ll be rebuilding it even better than it was, so it’s really just a bit of a shame.

How the bird hide on the Hurst Farm Heritage Trail looked after being attacked by vandals. (Photo: Contributed)

placeholder image — How the bird hide on the Hurst Farm Heritage Trail looked after being attacked by vandals. (Photo: Contributed)

“The youth rangers scheme received such an overwhelming response that we’ve had to set up a second cohort starting in September, with the first group finishing next week.

“We know some of the children don’t get involved in lots of other things, but this has been an opportunity to be outside in nature, learning different kinds of skills, and it’s really caught their imagination. They put so much time and effort into the bird hide and gained a lot from the teamwork. It took hours and hours.

“This was going to be a lasting legacy, something they would walk past every day on their way to school and feel proud of their achievement, so we’re disappointed for them more than anything.”

As well as building the hide, the first nine youth rangers, aged 11-14, have learned to make and cook on fires, survey for invasive species and the essential tasks of woodland management.

The hide was created for use by passers-by and the Hurst Farm birdspotters' group. (Photo: Contributed)

Lisa said: “Since the main heritage trail footpath officially opened in April, we’ve been adding things to make it a bit more interesting like interpretation boards. We’re trying to encourage people to use the woodland and enjoy their green space.

“In that bit of the woodland, where it joins up with Lumsdale, there are loads of different bird species there so we wanted to create a little space where people could come and stand quietly and learn about the birds.

The rangers initiative runs alongside the wider Hurst Farm regeneration project, and particularly its garden – supplying fresh produce to a community pantry – which has generated much good will in recent years.

Lisa said: “We’ve never had any vandalism in the garden area before, and really there’s just a great sense of pride around Hurst Farm.

The willow panels were painstakingly woven by youth rangers over several weeks. (Photo: Contributed)

“It’s a fantastic community. We know it only takes a minority to make bad things happen, but the majority have really spoken today. We’ve had an outpouring of messages, lots of support and donations of wood and money. Somebody has even given us a wildlife camera which we’ll be setting up in the area.

“We do see evidence of people gathering around here in the evenings, sometimes starting fires which is especially worrying at this dry time of year. In a way it’s brilliant that people are using the space, but we want to make sure they’re doing it safely.”

She added: “We were really disappointed when we found out this had happened, and it was quite upsetting for the youth rangers but the team has galvanised with a positive attitude. There’s only one thing to do, which is crack on and rebuild it.”

The Wild Works community activity team Simon Allsop and Johanna Bramham will be getting together with any interested volunteers at the community garden, 4-6pm on Thursday, July 23, to remake the hide.

Staff and volunteers have vowed to replace the hide with an even better version. (Photo: Contributed)

Lisa said: “We might never know who did this but if the message gets back to them, there’s no judgement from us, you don’t have to disclose yourself and if you want to make amends you can come and take part in fixing it. People make mistakes.”

Development of the youth rangers group, the heritage trail and other strands of the project have been made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with additional input from Derbyshire Dales District Council.

Those grants come to an end next year, when Wild Works will merge with the wider Friends of Hurst Farm organisation, and Lisa is currently engaging with local businesses to find alternative means of support.

She said: “We want to expand what we’re doing and address some of the other issues in the community – deprivation, loneliness, young carers, health and wellbeing.

“We have things happening around the garden Monday to Thursday every week. We’re already working with social prescribers, and a big focus will be developing careers and employability.

“People come to us and discover they love being outside and connecting with nature. We’ve already sent people on courses for drystone walling and beekeeping and we have a budget for apprenticeships.

Everyone is invited to join the rebuilding effort. (Photo: Contributed)

“Our first apprentice showed so many fantastic abilities and really grew into the post that we employed her as a ranger. We recently completed a work experience pilot too and that went so well we’ll be offering more opportunities.

“We’re hoping people can come to us and whatever age, learn some new skills and we can then provide references to other potential employers. We want to be someone’s avenue into a green career choices."

For more details, visit hurstfarm.co.uk or facebook.com/HurstFarmWildWorks.