Twenty five years after it was launched by the then famous TV environmentalist Dr David Bellamy, Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers are still working closely with Sutton Council to ensure the south London borough remains one of the greenest spots in London.

Week after week, a team of cheerful volunteers sets out to mow, chop and beautify parts of 150 hectares of land in the borough – under the expert guidance of David Warburton, Secretary of SNCV and Biodiversity Officer for Sutton Council.

Chair of the SNCV, Joanne Porter said: “I hope the SNCV can continue to work with the council to improve biodiversity in Sutton for many years into the future.”

And the team, men and women, from teenagers to an 85-year-old man who is one of the group’s longest-serving volunteers, are also busily trying to save the Small Blue Butterfly from local extinction, by creating new habitat for it.

Sitting in his small office in The Ecology Centre,Festival Walk, near Honeywood Walk, in Carshalton David, 35, smiles when asked about the volunteers.

“They’re all sorts of people really,” he says. “Some are young people who want to learn the skills for a career in this field; others are older people who just like to help out for a day or so here and there.

“But we’re glad to take all of them. There’s so much work that needs doing and the more volunteers we get, the more we do. It’s as simple as that. At the moment, volunteers contribute over 700 man days of work around the borough each year, worth another two of me working 5 days a week to do all the necessary tasks!”

David, who arrived in Sutton eight years ago, admits he isn’t sure who first had the visionary idea of setting up the SNCV but is happy to salute the work of the thousands of volunteers who have worked for it since it came into existence as Sutton Conservation Group in 1987.

He says: “They created a lot of wildlife gardens in schools, which are still there today. And, of course, most of the work isn’t big, glamorous projects; it’s the day to day, week to week work which is essential. And they certainly did their share of that.”

One big project the SNCV can point to with pride is Anton Crescent Wetlands. First created in the 1990s as a flood storage wash by the Environment Agency, it was the labour of SNCV that saw it designated a Local Nature Reserve in 2007.

The 1.5 hectare site is now home to a variety of wildlife and in 2011 in a joint project with Sutton Inclusion Centre – a facility for people with profound learning disabilities – a viewing platform was erected.

That was built with the help of volunteers from the Department of Transport and the SNCV is proud of leading the way in building partnerships with organisations and has also used staff from the likes of American Express and KPMG to help with some of its projects.

Currently, top priority for the group is creating extra habitat for the Small Blue Butterfly, which is worrying conservationists as its numbers are scarce and declining.

So, in an effort to preserve the pretty butterfly, which is small but not in actual fact very blue, the South London Small Blue Project was created and Sutton was glad to join neighbouring borough Croydon and partner The Downlands Countryside Management Project in the work.