Rachel Wells at the Starston Glebe Meadow planting day earlier this year.

A community and wildlife meadow will be officially opened in the centre of a south Norfolk village on Sunday, April 22.

Jeremy Ford with Oliver, Harry, Eloisa and Daisy at a family tree planting event at Starston Glebe Meadow earlier this year.

The opening ceremony at Glebe Meadow in Starston, near Harleston, will be performed by Professor Tim O’Riordan OBE, president of CPRE Norfolk and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of East Anglia, at 1pm.

He said: “Starston Glebe Meadow is a symbol of reclaimed nature, created by a loving community, which symbolises how we all need to live in the future. Nature needs us as we need nature. The survival of humanity lies in peacefully sharing nature. Starston is providing the beacon for us all.”

Villagers and business in Starston raised more than £10,000 to buy the meadow and, with the help of a community conservation grant from Norfolk County Council, another grant from the Waveney Valley Neighbourhood Board and a lot of hard work from volunteer working parties, it has seen big changes.

As many as 800 hedging plants have been put in and there is now an orchard, mostly East Anglian heritage fruit varieties, and a footbridge. Future plans include nesting boxes, two beehives and an information board.

Michael Bartlett, chairman of the Starston Glebe Meadow Group, said: “This is a real community project with most of the households in Starston contributing in some way. The Glebe Meadow is now open for anyone to use – to walk, sit and relax in the heart of this small Norfolk village.”