West Berkshire & North Hampshire

The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust’s ‘Linking the Landscape’ project has met the criteria needed for Heritage Lottery funding.

The £17,300 grant will enable the development of the exciting new project and allow the Trust to apply for the full £440,000 grant at a later date.

Jacky Akam, from the BBOWT team, explains “‘Linking the Landscape’ will be a five-year project involving many community groups and local residents. We hope it will inspire people to make strong links with the beautiful and wildlife-rich landscape and take an active part in protecting and enhancing it.”

The ‘Linking the Landscape’ team will devise an innovative method to measure the health of the landscape for wildlife so it can expand and thrive. They will cover the landscape from Newbury and Woolhampton and from the River Enborne to the River Kennet.

“The grant will enable us to harness all this and take the initiative forward in exciting new directions, strengthening links and achieving so much more for the people and wildlife of West Berkshire” Jacky adds.

Stuart McLeod, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for south-east England says “We are delighted to give our initial support to this project, which will see lots of opportunities for volunteers and people of all ages to get involved in the natural heritage on their doorstep. We look forward to working with BBOWT and receiving the full application in the future.”