MOST people would have walked straight past the plant nestling at the water's edge.

Even if it caught their eye, they probably wouldn't have given it a second glance – much less realised what it meant.

Not all that glamorous, Ooenanthe fistulosa – or tubular water dropwort, to use its slightly more accessible name. More, attractive and unassuming.

But to ranger Adrian Walters, it was a milestone of huge proportions.

The appearance of the six-inch clump was proof that efforts to encourage rare wildlife back to Sudbury's common lands were working.

But it was only the start of the story. It would be another 15 years before careful and dedicated management of the river meadows achieved a prized accolade.

Now the years of work to turn the pastures back into a wildlife haven have been rewarded by the award of special status.

The 115 acres of common land has been named a Suffolk County Wildlife Site – recognising its vital role in preserving threatened species.

Rare plants and animals have returned to the land grazed by cattle for more than 800 years – encouraged by the reinstatement of water channels through the floodplain.

The stunning landscape dear to the hearts of dog walkers and nature lovers is now home to some of Suffolk's most endangered species.

Seeds that have lain dormant for decades have sprouted and the dropwort has been joined by other uncommon plants like flowering rush, round-fruited rush, and skullcap.

More and more insects hover over the meadows. The rare scarce chaser dragonfly has recently moved upstream to Sudbury.

And the teeming insect life makes tasty meals for bats including Daubenton's bat which has been spotted swooping over the river and mill pond.

Birds such as the reed bunting, turtle dove, spotted flycatcher, snipe, and common sandpiper can also be seen.

And animals like the otter, water shrew and water vole are flourishing.

Adrian, who has looked after the meadows for the Sudbury Common Lands Trustees since 1990, said he was delighted with the County Wildlife Site accolade. "The trustees are over the moon," he said. "And I congratulate them for going into the environmentally sensitive area scheme in 1987. Since then, the grant has enabled us to do all sorts of things."

The common lands are also registered as a biodiversity action plan habitat marked out by the Government for urgent conservation action.

For Adrian, his assistant Ian Crighton and their team of dedicated volunteers, patience and painstaking work has paid off.

"It takes time for plants and colonies of animals to become established, and I am so pleased this has now been rewarded," said Adrian.

"When I first spotted the tubular water dropwort in 1993 it was a six-inch patch, and we put a fence round to protect it. Now it has really taken off."

Since then there have been many significant milestones like the return of the water shrew.

Britain's largest shrew stuns its prey with venomous saliva and can even inflict a painful bite on humans – as Adrian knows to his cost, after trying to encourage one into the open to take its photograph.

"One of the most important things we have done has been re-instating the channels, which has brought the water back into the pastures, creating a suitable habitat for more unusual plants and animals," he said.

"And it's not just the rare ones. There has also been an increase in other species."

But however much environmental work is done, the conditions that let the rarities survive depend completely on creatures much more familiar to everyone.

"Cattle are the key to the conservation of the area," said Adrian. "Without the grazing regime the scrub would come up, so continuing the grazing is absolutely crucial."

The County Wildlife Site scheme is managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Biological Records Centre and Natural England.

Martin Sanford, manager of the biological records centre, said Sudbury's common lands were very unusual.

"They are extraordinary because, while there is quite a lot of grazing marsh in the east of the county, there is very little left in the west, because most river meadows have been ploughed up," he said.