The Gowy and Mersey Washlands Living Landscape

Dear Cheshire Wildlife Trust Supporter,

I’m asking for your help with our major new plan, The Gowy and Mersey Washlands Living Landscape. We want to restore, recreate and reconnect floodplain grazing marsh in the River Gowy and River Mersey corridors.

Properly managed grazing marsh supports a wide variety of plants and animals and is especially important for over-wintering birds. We already manage some of the land but we want to link this up with more sites to create a major ‘wildlife highway’.

Our goal is to create a landscape where a resilient network of floodplain grazing marsh provides flood storage and control, together with high quality nature conservation which will be of benefit to wildlife, people and the economy.

If we’re successful, The Gowy and Mersey Washlands Living Landscape could extend to over 2,500 acres and become a model for natural flood management.

A Living Landscape for Cheshire

The Gowy and Mersey Washlands initiative marks the first stage in creating A Living Landscape for Cheshire. We have applied for grant funding for part of this scheme but in order to succeed we must raise the rest from private donations. This is where I’m hoping that you, our members and supporters, will help us.

Funding targets:

• £25,000 – will restore 500 acres of natural floodplain

• £50,000 - will recreate a further 500 acres of natural habitat as stepping stones for wildlife

• £100,000 – will reconnect the rivers and their floodplains, providing a 2,500 acre wildlife highway.

What is A Living Landscape?

The main objective of A Living Landscape is to help wildlife to adapt to the threat of climate change, by connecting up existing natural habitats and developing new ones to create more robust wildlife havens. If we don’t give our wildlife room to move around, a collapse in the diversity of species is inevitable.

A Living Landscape Benefits Us All

A Living Landscape will reconnect people with the natural environment. Schemes like The Gowy and Mersey Washlands initiative will reduce the frequency and severity of flooding incidents, protecting homes and businesses, while providing high quality nature conservation.

Good wildlife networks will also benefit our health and wellbeing. They will bring us closer to those things that are important to our welfare such as woodlands and wild flowers, butterflies and bees, the uplifting sound of birdsong, and the sight of hedgerows laden with blossom and berries.

Can You Help?

A Living Landscape is a long term plan but, as the saying goes, every journey starts with a single footstep. Can you help us to make a start? If so, you can use the secure Donate Now button (right) to make your gift for A Living Landscape in Cheshire or, if you prefer, you can download and print a form (right) and send a cheque.
Thank you so much.
Kind regards,

Janel Fone
Chief Executive

PS: Creating A Living Landscape is a huge task – the biggest in the history of Cheshire Wildlife Trust – and it cannot be achieved without your help.

Download more information about A Living Landscape

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