My father, Paul Bell, who has died aged 81, worked as an NHS dentist for more than 30 years, but his lifelong passion was for natural history. He had a detailed knowledge of the wildlife of Shropshire and was eager to learn about other environments through observation and reading. He was a member of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust council from 1976, served as trust president from 1988 to 1993 and remained a vice-president until recently.
In the 1970s, Paul started the task of rewilding the four-acre field at our family home near Betton Moss – a pioneering conservation initiative back then and one which he continued working on until his death. This enhanced local biodiversity, resulting in the return of barn owls and increases in other birds, mammals and invertebrates, such as land snails and butterflies, including brimstones. He added ponds and erected nest boxes and refuges of all sizes, for birds and for bats, native bees and small mammals. He also designed and planted a small wood there.
