THE Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Welney Wetland Centre has been awarded the Small Visitor Attraction award at the Regional Enjoy England Awards for Excellence. The centre was also highly commended in the Sustainable Tourism category. After reaching the

THE Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Welney Wetland Centre has been awarded the Small Visitor Attraction award at the Regional Enjoy England Awards for Excellence.

The centre was also highly commended in the Sustainable Tourism category.

After reaching the finals, members of Welney staff attended an awards ceremony at Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds, hosted by East of England Tourism.

The judges were impressed by the new development at Welney, which opened in April 2006, in particular the sustainable features such as solar panels, rainwater harvester, recycled newspaper insulation, reed-bed filter, ground-source heat pump and timber building constructed entirely from sustainable timber.

Centre manager Julie Ward said: "It is a fantastic achievement for all the staff at the centre. The judges go into incredible detail before making their decision and for Welney to come out on top is a real testament to the dedication of the whole team."

The centre entered the first round of the awards last June. Once through to the final, a film crew visited to create a 90-second film, featuring learning manager Sarah Graves, to show the judges. Then the centre received three 'mystery shopper' visits before being chosen as the winners.

As regional winners the Welney Wetland Centre will now go forward to the national awards which will be announced in April 2008.