By Dollie Wilson

A Dorset sculpture park will donate the proceeds of its open day to a charity.

Sculpture by the Lakes in Pallington, near Dorchester will be donating its entrance fees to the Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) to help the organisation continue funding essential conservation work around the county.

The park will host a number of guided walks throughout the day on Friday, July 19 led by experts from the DWT who will be talking about the nature which can be found there.

Community conservationists will also be on-hand to open up a moth trap and discuss DWT’s Get Dorset Buzzing campaign, which aims to get local people involved in helping the wildlife in their gardens.

Get Dorset Buzzing Community Conservation Officer, Katie Wilkinson said: “Sculpture by the Lakes is a unique place for wildlife, and a wonderful place for people to explore and enjoy.

“This very special event is being held to help celebrate DWT’s Get Dorset Buzzing campaign which is asking local people to pledge to help declining pollinators in their gardens. So far nearly 4,000 people have made the pledge to help.”

The money raised from the day will go towards funding conservation work on 44 nature reserves across Dorset, including habitat restoration work.

Sculpture by the Lakes, nestled in 26 acres of Dorset countryside, is run by sculptor Simon Gudgeon and his wife Monique.

Mrs Gudgeon said: “At the heart of the park is our love of wildlife and flora and fauna, and Simon’s sculptures include many pieces that have been inspired by wildlife.

"The gardens include areas such as our carefully planted butterfly walk and wild areas with old log piles, nettle patches and wildflower walks. In our time here we have recorded over 100 species of birds and we are in the middle of a dragonfly and damselfly survey.

“It only seems fitting that we would support such a wonderful charity as Dorset Wildlife Trust whose work is so aligned with the ethos of the park. We’re very much looking forward to hosting the day and hope it will be a huge success and raise much needed funds for the charity.”

The event will run between 10am-4pm. Visitors should note that Sculpture by the Lakes has a no children under 14 (including babies) and no dogs policy.

To find out more about this event, visit www.dorsetwildifetrust.org.uk/events or call 01202 692033.

Entrance is £7 per person.