What’s new?
9 July 2009
Local Wildlife Trust launches the Great Outdoors Project
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough has launched a new project – the Great Outdoors Project - to research why some people don’t visit the countryside and to develop new opportunities encouraging local people to get involved with the natural world and the Wildlife Trust’s work.
The conservation charity is inviting people in Northamptonshire to take a closer look at wildlife on their doorstep by going to one of the reserves and telling the charity what they think of it.
This year, the Trust will be meeting local communities near Summer Leys, Wellingborough, and Lings Local Nature Reserve in Northampton. Over the next three years the project will roll out to King’s Wood, Corby, Barnes Meadow and Kingsthorpe in Northampton.
To support this work, the Wildlife Trust has been awarded the first grant in the East Midlands by the Access to Nature grant, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme.
Erin Vos, the Wildlife Trust’s Head of Community and Education, said: “We’re really excited about starting this new fact finding project. We've been given £97,000 to find out what people living near our nature reserves really want from them. These wildernesses are valued by many local people who enjoy the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside. We also want to understand why some people have never visited and we'd like to tailor our programme of events to better meet their needs.”
The Trust will encourage local people to get involved with its work to protect wildlife by volunteering, learning new skills and forming new groups around each reserve. Activities will include guided walks, open days and family wildlife road-shows. The Wildlife Trust will work with 17 key partners and make use of a network of support organisations. A new Community Development Officer will run public events and activities on the reserves and in nearby communities. They will consult local people at every stage.
Announcing the award, Maddy Jago, Natural England’s Regional Director in the East Midlands said; “I am delighted to make this award to the Wildlife Trust – the first award from this programme in the East Midlands. The grant will help the Trust attract new audiences onto Local Nature Reserves, to experience the wonderful local natural environment on their doorstep.”
