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26 September 2005
Heritage Lottery Fund awards £364,000 for the Great Fen Project
Land is purchased to extend existing nature reserve
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £94,000 for the restoration of Darlow’s Farm in Huntingdonshire, following a grant of £270,000 to purchase the site in 2002. Darlow’s Farm is adjacent to the Woodwalton Fen reserve, enlarging the existing nature reserve by 40%. The restoration work is a very important step towards the Great Fen Project vision.
The Great Fen Project is an internationally important habitat restoration scheme, aiming to recreate 37 square kilometres of wetland between Peterborough and Huntingdon by reconnecting Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen National Nature Reserves.
Darlow’s Farm was the first piece of land purchased by the project partners, and has been undergoing restoration since HLF funding was awarded to the project. This grant enabled the partners to employ a member of staff to undertake restoration work including raising water levels on the land to encourage wetland plants to spread, and seeding some areas with a mixture of grass seed, while leaving the land to regenerate naturally in others.
The Great Fen Project is a partnership between the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough, English Nature, the Environment Agency and Huntingdonshire District Council. For more information, email info@greatfen.org.uk or visit www.greatfen.org.uk
