STUDLAND has been nominated as Nature Reserve of the Year in a prestigious national award.

The National Trust-run site is one of the nominees in the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards 2017, which were launched on Thursday.

The public have been invited to vote for their favourite nature reserves, with voting closing on Tuesday, February 28.

The winners will be revealed in March.

Studland’s nomination comes after Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison visited the area in 2016 to report on the work of the groundbreaking Cyril Diver Project.

The three-year project, named after the pioneering naturist, brought together an army of citizen scientists to build up a picture of Studland’s flora and fauna in unprecedented detail over three years.

Studland includes some of the best quality lowland heath in Britain, rare dune heath, coastal mudflats and a unique freshwater lake.

It is home to all six native British reptiles, rare birds including Dartford warbler and Nightjar, and is a key site for overwintering ducks and wading birds.

It has been managed by the National Trust since the early 1980s, having been bequeathed to the charity by Dorset landowner Ralph Bankes, along with Corfe Castle and Kinston Lacy, near Wimborne.

Commenting on the nomination, National Trust ecologist David Brown said: “It is an inspiring breathing space for millions of visitors each year, yet it still retains a feeling of wildness and a breathtaking range of exceptional quality habitats for thousands of native species.

“Change is the only constant at Studland – as new dunes are constantly being formed that enclose lower lying wetter areas.”

To vote in the awards, visit countryfile.com/awards.