Radstock Museum’s Education Group runs a fossil hunt for young children once a year at the old Writhlington Colliery batch.

The fossil hunt has received a Wessex Watermark Award for £500, which Corinne Riley, Wessex Water’s Digital Video Editor and aerial filming pilot, presented to the Education Group recently.

Writhlington Colliery is a site, both of special scientific interest and national importance. It has yielded fossils of over 100 plant species and the largest collection of Carboniferous Period insect fossils in the UK, including the world’s earliest known Damselfly. Its 3,000 tons of Upper Carboniferous spoil provides a rich hunting ground for professional and amateur fossil hunters, and the fossil hunt is a popular event for children and their parents.

The Watermark Award has helped keep this important site open and cleared of encroaching vegetation.

English Nature, which is responsible for the area, gave the Museum permission to clear it and restore its viability as a fossil source. The work has been carried out by a local contractor and a working party of volunteers. Anny Northcote, Head of Research at Radstock Museum and geologist, Simon Carpenter, are the archaeological consultants for all on-going work and fossil hunts.

Nick Hall, Trustee Chairman for Radstock Museum, said: “The colliery provides an important insight into the structure of the world’s earliest known ‘tropical forest’ ecosystem. The children search the spoil for fossil remains, and imagine their excitement when they discover a plant fossil of 300 million years. Keeping this important site open and scrub-free for future research and fossil hunts is essential work and we are relieved and delighted to have this support from Wessex Water.”

The Watermark Award provides funds for environmental projects within the Wessex Water area. Now in its 25th year, it has supported over 900 environmental initiatives. Organised by The Conservation Foundation, all projects are judged by a panel chaired by its President, David Bellamy.