Thieves foiled

Plans to improve the River Soar in Leicester have received a funding boost of more than £500,000 from The National Lo ery Heritage Fund.

The grant will help to establish Restoring the Soar, a new partnership between the Trust, Leicester City Council and the Canal and River Trust, who are joining forces to develop plans to enhance the river corridor from West Bridge, near the city centre, out to Watermead Park.

Jack snipe

Over the coming months, following consultation sessions with local people, the project team hopes to develop plans to improve the river and its surrounding habitats, as well as explore ideas to help preserve some of the built heritage along the river and investigate options to create new facilities for visitors to the riverside.

“Through this project, we’ll aim to bring communities together to help nature flourish where people live and work and put nature firmly into recovery along a strategically important wildlife corridor,” explains Ben Devine, the Trust’s Head of Nature Recovery.

To find out more about plans for the project please email nature.conservation@leicester.gov.uk

Many of you will have read about the shocking damage caused by thieves attempting to steal specialist equipment from our Volunteer Training Centre at Rutland Water last autumn. The break in caused more than £40,000 in damage and set vital work back by months. Following this shameful incident we have upgraded security on site. The damage has been cleared away and debris removed from the wild ower meadow, which we hope will once again bloom in all its glory this summer. It’s very much back to business as usual for sta and volunteers. We really appreciate all of the kind donations and support we have received in helping us recover.

Burnt out equipment abandoned in the attempt.

Well done Fee – you’re our superstar! Did you know?

Congratulations to Fee Worton, our Nextdoor Nature Community Organiser, who has been awarded the prestigious Marsh Award for Outstanding Public Engagement for her work connecting communities in Leicester with nature.

The Marsh Charitable Trust celebrates those in the charity sector who go above and beyond. In partnership with The Marsh Charitable Trust, The Wildlife Trusts’ Marsh Awards honours volunteers and staff making an exceptional contribution to conservation. Fee was recognised for her passion and energy, inspiring people who might otherwise feel disconnected from nature or powerless to make a difference in conservation. With a constant smile and boundless determination, Fee has built strong relationships with more than 20 organisations and 11 community groups, reaching more than 5,000 people through events and activities in Leicester.

It’s almost 70 years since the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust was founded! In 1956 we began our work as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Conservation and have since grown to become the leading local wildlife conservation charity, working hard to protect and enhance the wildlife and wild places of our counties.

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