Nottingham Wildlife Trust’s first visitor centre was opened earlier this year by Sir David Attenborough.

The centre is situated 7km south west of Nottingham’s city centre, in Attenborough, one of the reserves that the trust maintains, which was opened by Sir David Attenborough forty years ago.

The £2m centre, which has full disabled access, and is situated on one level, is surrounded by water in the 365-hectare nature reserve that runs alongside the River Trent.

Designed by Nottingham-based Groundwork architects, the centre is entirely eco-friendly in both materials and the sources of energy it uses.

Facilities inside include the Reflections Café, the Classroom and Willow Education Peninsula, a display area, a conference room, a shop and an information point.

At the rear of the building is a special outdoor education area complete with a pond, bird feeding stations and a sensory nature trail to enable visitors to observe wildlife at close quarters.

Funding for the project was obtained from the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), RMC Environment fund, Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Broxtowe Borough Council (BBC), as well as from private companies.

The centre will be managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, in partnership with Broxtowe Borough Council and RMC Eastern, which owns the site.