Nine students from City College Norwich who carried out voluntary conservation work on Mousehold Heath as part of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme have been presented with their DofE bronze awards.

The group, who are on the creative pathways course at the college, made a series of visits to the designated local nature reserve in Norwich, assisting the warden with conservation management including scrub clearance to promote heather growth, cutting back vegetation and maintaining paths.

This was just one element of a number of activities completed by the students in order to earn their awards. The group also went hiking in the Peak District in Derbyshire, completed first aid training and other volunteering and teamwork activities.

One of the group, Dariusz Wojtas, played a key role in setting up an after-college football group for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

'Ekstraklasa' (named after the Polish premier league) has been a big hit with students and continues to be well-attended every Wednesday afternoon.

The group were presented with their awards at a celebration event held college's Debut Restaurant.

Creative Pathways student Chereza Botterman, 18, from Wymondham, said:

'At first I found the Mousehold Heath conservation work tough, but you got used to working in a team very quickly.

'Although it was hard work, we were able to have fun at the same time.'

Norwich City Council's Mousehold Heath Warden Will Stewart, said:

'The group, along with all the members of staff accompanying them, have been a pleasure to work with and I look forward to working with them again in the future.'