THE WARDEN at one of Oxford's most precious green havens needs volunteers to help trim the trees, shear the shrubs and whack the weeds ahead of its summer open day.

Boundary Brook Nature Park custodian Alan Hart says he will take anyone who can keep up with him as he tends more than two acres of land behind Iffley Road.

After he recently had to bid farewell to long-serving assistant Terry Cook, he is now looking for someone who can fill Mr Cook's gardening gloves.

And, he says, if he can do the work at the age of 74, anyone can.

Mr Hart, who travels from his home in Newbury three days a week to prune the hedges and weed the beds, said: "I'm not fussy about who I get – they only need to be as fit as me, and I'm 74."

Mr Hart attributed his own dedication to the fact he was one of the members of Oxford Urban Wildlife Group, which first transformed the East Oxford allotment into a nature reserve in 1990 and which still manages it today.

And Mr Hart said, for anyone who can spare three hours a week on a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday morning, the rewards are manifest.

He said: "There are scenic surroundings and it's quiet – although we're near the centre of Oxford it's absolutely silent."

Volunteers also get the joy of admiring and helping to cultivate the reserve's collection of native trees and plants.

Boundary Brook specialises in providing a haven for British tree species such as oak, silver birch and cherry.

Volunteers get free tea and coffee on any day they work and, Mr Hart added, the satisfaction of a job well done.

Boundary Brook Nature Park today is the result of years of work by volunteers for Oxford Urban Wildlife Group, which took over running the former allotment from Oxford City Council.

In 1988, about six months after Oxford Urban Wildlife Group was set up, the city council's allotments committee announced that as interest in allotments seemed to be waning, the council was considering selling off redundant plots.

With so much wildlife to be found on many allotment sites, the urban wildlife group lobbied the council to consider using some of the land as a reserve.

The council responded by offering the group more than two acres of redundant land on East Ward Allotments.

After producing a five-year management plan, Oxford Urban Wildlife Group was handed lease at a peppercorn rent.

On June 30, 1990, Oxford Urban Wildlife Group officially launched the nature park with a public open day.

This year's summer open day will be held on Sunday, June 19, from 2pm to 5pm, offering guided walks, pond dipping, books for sale and puzzles for children.

To find out more about volunteering call Mr Hart on 07979608013.