Member Article

Charity celebrates as Land Appeal target is reached

~~Since its launch in June, contributions poured in from all quarters - members of the public, volunteers, local residents, cash bucket collections and even anonymously; a number of charitable trusts such as The Barbour Foundation and The Charles Hayward Foundation, together with Amble Town Council and Amble and Warkworth Rotary Club also pitched in to help.

The Appeal was launched with the aim of transforming the wildlife charity’s Hauxley reserve on Druridge Bay into an exceptional place to watch wildlife by purchasing the 12 acres of farmland adjacent to its existing reserve thereby allowing it to create circular walking routes taking visitors past a wide range of natural features, viewpoints, information boards and seating as they walk around.

Thanks to all the donations, the Trust is able to make its land purchasing dream a reality.

But the funding doesn’t stop here as additional money is being sought to improve the land and its habitats which, once it is officially owned by the Trust, will include the installation of new fences and paths and the creation of new meadows, hedgerows, woodland and wetland which will connect better with the neighbouring farmland and the Trust’s four other reserves along Druridge Bay.

This extension to the Hauxley reserves will open over the next 12 months with Stage One opening in the spring of 2014.

Commenting on reaching the £75,000 target, Duncan Hutt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Head of Land Management said: “When we launched the Land Appeal in June, we held our breath to see if we could raise it, given the current economic climate.

“We are absolutely over the moon that the target has been achieved and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who saw the potential for making our Hauxley reserve an even more amazing place for both people and wildlife.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Bishop .