With the arrival of lambing season, the year long work by the Earth Trust kicks up a notch. Daily Info sat down with this fabulous organisation and talked to them about their work and what they've got planend for this year.
Daily Info: For those unfamiliar with it, what does the Earth Trust do?
Earth Trust: A lot of great stuff goes on at Earth Trust! From education and events (such as our upcoming Lambing Festival) plus venue hire at Earth Trust Centre; to land management and nature recovery projects in and around our green spaces.
At the centre of all our work is inspiring people to address climate, biodiversity and wellbeing with the power of natural green spaces. As a charity, we are guardians of some extremely special places – and believe that everyone should have access to good quality, natural green spaces close to where they live, work and play. Our flagship green space covers 500 hectares of wildflowers meadows, wetlands, woodlands and farmland and includes the iconic Wittenham Clumps. We also care for five community reserves within the towns of Oxfordshire, including Thrupp Lake in Abingdon and Castle Meadows in Wallingford. As well as managing some beautiful local spaces, we also undertake pioneering projects like River of Life, the largest wetland creation project in the River Thames catchment. By demonstrating how we can work together with nature to tackle big environmental issues, we feel we can create a future where people and nature thrive in balance – which is essential given the current threats to our climate and the natural world.
DI: And what do you offer to the community?
ET: Our spaces are open and free to access 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Wittenham Clumps is in fact the largest freely accessible natural green space in Oxfordshire. Ensuring our spaces are accessible for everyone is central to everything we do, and we know they provides thousands of people every year with a connection to their local landscape that they might not otherwise have. We believe it has never been more critical to engage people deeply with nature – both for their own wellbeing and to inspire action to protect the natural world for the future. As such, we have a wide range of volunteering opportunities and we are thrilled to have some inspiring engagement projects in the pipeline with like-minded organisations working with people from all walks of life.
DI: What does the Earth Trust have planned for 2023?
ET: 2023 is a big year for us – with the return of our Lambing Festival for the first time in 3 years top of the list. We also have an expanding programme of events and activities (including Art Weeks in May), and are launching a new membership scheme, which will allow people to join our community of changemakers and support a local environmental cause. Our education programme is being diversified and expanded, both in terms of our offering to local schools as well as the physical expansion of our beautiful education garden. And, at our HQ we are opening a Welcome Hub for visitors, and launching a new desk-hire working space offer in our beautifully converted 18th Century barn. Our Spring to Life campaign, which runs throughout spring 2023, feels like it is a fitting description of Earth Trust’s current position as a charity. So much is springing into life for us, and we’re so excited to share it with the public.
DI: The season properly begins with your Lambing Weekend. What can visitors expect from this?
ET: It feels wonderful to be opening our gates again for this much-loved event following a 3 year Covid break. Over the course of 4 days (25th-26th March & 1st-2nd April) visitors can explore the farmyard and visit our lambing sheds. If you’re lucky, you may get to see a lamb being born! There will also be tractor-trailer rides, games, stalls, meet the goats and more. Catering to be provided by Earth Trust’s tenant shepherdess, Emma's Ewesful Acres, local roastery Horsebox Coffee plus a range of other brilliant local suppliers.
DI: During various lockdowns having Earth Trust sites available was truly a blessing. So firstly, thank you for this. And secondly, have you seen uptick in interest in your services from 2020 onwards?
ET: As we know, lockdown brought with them a combination of blessings and curses. The fact that we were all reminded of the true value of getting out into nature for our health and wellbeing, was one of the real highlights for us, as bringing people closer to nature is what we fight for above all else. What’s more, it was a stark reminder that we don’t all have equal access to nature, and that this inequality impacts on those who are most vulnerable. But we know we can do more – and Covid was also a startling reminder of how our actions as people, have a direct impact on the ecosystems we rely on to survive. The experience gave us the opportunity to regroup as a charity, which culminated in the launch our ambitious 5 year strategy. Together, we can take action for people and planet. We hope you will join us.
The Earth Trust's Lambing Weekend takes place on 25th – 26th March and 1st – 2nd April 2023,