The River Link Appeal

"It is a great honour to take over the role of chair of the charity at such an exciting time. We have gone a long way towards restoring the upper reaches of the Little Ouse since our formation in 2002 but there is still much to do to realise the dream to establish a corridor of wildlife friendly habitat combined with walks that all local people can enjoy. Our charity is routed in the local communities, from which it emerged by village conservation groups realising the they could achieve much more if they worked together to achieve common goals. Realising such a dream requires substantial funds in addition to the large amount of voluntary time that local people put in to maintain our sites. It is only by combining the voluntary and professional work that we can deliver an environment that will meet the needs of people and wildlife now and for future generations. We hope that you will be able to help us achieve our goals by providing funds to ensure that the project goes from strength to strength "

The River Link Appeal *Vice Patrons: The Most Hon the Marquess of Cholmondeley, Peter Frost Esq., Her Grace the Duchess of Grafton GCVO, Dr Frederick Ratcliffe CBE JP*
The River Link Appeal, launched in 2005, aims to raise funds to reconnect and restore the important, but fragmented, wildlife sites along the Headwaters of the River Little Ouse
Statement from Nigel Clark - Chair of the charity "It is a great honour to take over the role of chair of the charity at such an exciting time. We have gone a long way towards restoring the upper reaches of the Little Ouse since our formation in 2002 but there is still much to do to realise the dream to establish a corridor of wildlife friendly habitat combined with walks that all local people can enjoy. Our charity is routed in the local communities, from which it emerged by village conservation groups realising the they could achieve much more if they worked together to achieve common goals. Realising such a dream requires substantial funds in addition to the large amount of voluntary time that local people put in to maintain our sites. It is only by combining the voluntary and professional work that we can deliver an environment that will meet the needs of people and wildlife now and for future generations. We hope that you will be able to help us achieve our goals by providing funds to ensure that the project goes from strength to strength "
The unique landscape of wildlife-rich fens and meadows in the Little Ouse valley has been in decline for decades, but the process of protection and restoration is now under way thanks to the voluntary efforts of local residents. From informal village conservation groups, both a new charity committed to involving the local community, and plans for major river corridor restoration project, have emerged. Reinstatement of traditional land management has resulted in remarkable improvements to the wildlife interest of the area over just a few years, and new sites have been opened up to public access. Our aim is to establish a continuous corridor of sustainably managed land around the headwaters of the river. We must build on our initial successes by securing new funds to support further land acquisition, major restoration projects, and increased access. In addition, once taken into conservation management, there is a need for a long-term commitment of funds for land management, to maintain the landscape, wildlife and recreational value of the area. We launched The River Link Appeal to raise urgent funds to continue to provide for the work of the Little Ouse Headwaters Project. Our original appeal target was based on the ongoing management costs and one-off capital costs for restoration of the six sites then managed by The Little Ouse Headwaters Project. In 2007 we expanded the remit of the Appeal to raise the funds for the purchase and restoration of two new sites, Parker's Piece and Bleyswyck's Bank. In 2010 our appeal has been re-launched to fund a new phase in the development of the LOHP. Two important new sites - both critical links in the chain along the Little Ouse headwaters - have become available for purchase and a third site for long-term leasing. If we are successful in these acquisitions it will increase the LOHP's land holding by over a third and substantially increase our requirements for on-going management as well as for the capital costs of habitat restoration. To enable the charity to sustain this increased work load, we must contract more help with site and project management tasks. This is an exciting and challenging phase in our development. It will enable us to make a huge advance in our long term objective of creating a river corridor linking the valley's important wildlife sites. The LOHP is committed to achieving this in a way that retains and enhances our community roots and enables more people to enjoy the valley. To achieve these targets the LOHP, thorough its River Link Appeal, is making applications to both national and local charitable trusts, foundations and companies both directly and through a network of Vice Patrons, or Key Supporters. If you would like to discuss any aspect of the appeal please click here to contact the . We are indebted to the following donors for their generosity: the Alan Evans Memorial Trust, Alfred Williams Charitable Trust, the Animal Defence Trust, The Aquarius Charitable Foundation, the Barbara Barlow Charitable Trust, the Britten-Pears Foundation, the John Buxton Trust, The Charles Hayward Foundation, the CLA Charitable Trust, Sir Timothy Coleman, D C Moncrieff Charitable Trust, DJ Getty Jr Trust, the D'Oyle Carte Charitable Trust, the Fitzmaurice Charitable Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust, the Goodman Trust, the Hamamelis Trust, the H B Allen Charitable Trust, HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust, the Idlewild Trust, the Jack Patson Charitable Trust, the John Spedan Lewis Foundation, the John Jarrold Trust, Leslie Mary Carter Charitable Trust, Kirby Laing Foundation, the Linley Shaw Foundation, Major Bernard Mills CBE, Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, The Mackintosh Foundation, Mr & Mrs J P Marland's Charitable Settlement, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, the Mary Webb Trust, the Paul Bassham Charitable Trust, the Pennycress Trust, Peter Moores Foundation, John Porteous Esq., Dr Fredrick Ratcliffe, Radio Norfolk, Rainford Trust, Robert Kiln Charitable Trust, Rowan Bentall Charitable Trust, the N Smith Charitable Trust, the Somerleyton Charitable Trust, the Robert Kiln Charitable Trust, the WF Southall Trust, The Steel Charitable Trust and the Tubney Charitable Trust.

Back to Home page