PRESS RELEASE

13 August 2009

Cheshire's First Living Landscape secures Major Funding

Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s first Living Landscapes project, the Gowy and Mersey Washlands, is now underway thanks to a £113,254 grant from not-for-profit business, WREN. The project will create a resilient network of wetland habitats with benefits for the local community, economy and wildlife including water vole and otter.

Springwatch presenter and celebrity conservationist Chris Packham, recently launched WREN’s new five-year £10M Biodiversity Action Fund for biodiversity projects across the UK. And Cheshire’s Living Landscape is one of nine projects nationally to benefit from the new pot of funding.

WREN is a not for profit business that awards grants to community projects across the UK on behalf of Waste Recycling Group (WRG). The organisation has committed £10 million over the next five years to biodiversity projects that aim to restore, conserve and revive the UK’s natural habitats and protect endangered species.

Thanks to the WREN funding, plus additional funding from the Environment Agency, Wetland Vision and its ongoing Living Landscape Appeal, Cheshire Wildlife Trust has now begun to implement its new landscape-scale conservation project.

The Gowy and Mersey Washlands Living Landscape focuses on linking up individual wildlife sites and wildlife corridors within a huge project area that follows the course of the River Gowy from its source on the Sandstone Ridge to where it joins the River Mersey, then extends up the Mersey corridor to include Frodsham marsh, then on through Runcorn and into Warrington.

The Trust’s vision is to create a resilient network of wetland habitats that benefit local wildlife as well as people and the economy. The funding raised so far, over £220,000, will be used to improve and restore 750ha (1650 acres) of floodplain grazing marsh, create 50 ha (110 acres) of reedbed and create 50ha of wet woodland over the next six years.

“This is a highly exciting time for Cheshire Wildlife Trust and its plans to create A Living Landscape for Cheshire,” said Charlotte Harris, Director of Conservation for CWT. “The scale of this project means there is scope to make a dramatic improvement on the quality of life for many wildlife species, as well as for people living in Cheshire.

“By creating a wetland landscape within the Gowy and Mersey Washlands we not only create space for wildlife to thrive and disperse but also provide essential ecosystem services such as floodwater storage, carbon capture and tranquil places for local people to visit and enjoy.

“Among the wildlife that will benefit are key species such as curlew, snipe, lapwing, redshank, water vole, otter, great crested newt, lesser silver water beetle and mud snail.

“In addition we hope to learn a great deal about landscape conservation that we can share and use to direct future projects, such as creating a model for sustainable floodwater catchment management.”

Commenting on WREN’s Biodiversity Action Fund, Chris Packham said: “This is a fabulous scheme which puts substantial and much needed sums of real money into real conservation and targets it at intelligent projects which seek to protect and enhance the UK's natural biodiversity - superb!”

Peter Cox, managing director of WREN added: “We’ve funded projects that will enhance, restore and revive some of the UK’s most precious habitats, providing a safe haven for British nature and wildlife. We’re looking forward to seeing Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscape project take shape. We already know it will have a positive impact for many species of wildlife as well as the local community, which is fantastic.”

While the grant funding is a substantial step forward for this project, it does not cover all the project costs so the Trust’s Appeal to raise funding for this project continues: to make a donation or for further information please see www.cheshirewildlifetrust.co.uk/news_appeal.htm or call 01948 820728.

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