A disused quarry in Worcestershire is to be transformed into a geology research and education centre.
Whitmans Hill quarry in Storridge, near Malvern, is to showcase 400 million years of history thanks to a £123,000 project aimed at securing sites of geological interest.
The quarry has been saved by the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust, which is based at University College Worcester, because of its rich fossil history.
Once part of the sea-bed of a tropical lagoon, Whitmans Hill quarry was, until 1990, mined for limestone.
Over the next ten years the trust will be creating fossil collecting areas, viewing platforms and trail guides.
There will also be interpretation panels dealing with the geology and wildlife of the site, its quarrying history and how the landscape can be conserved in the future. The local community will also be asked for their memories of the quarry, to create a film portraying its mining history.
Director of the trust, Dr Peter Oliver, said he had already received lots of positive feedback from the local community.
"Creating a living museum will no doubt inspire future generations."
