Woodmeadow Trust to Hold Vital Summer Fundraiser to Boost Nature Education

This summer the Woodmeadow Trust is launching a campaign to raise the funds it needs to be able to continue delivering its vital outdoor education, work, events, and activities at its acclaimed Three Hagges Woodmeadow, just off the A19 between Selby and York.

Aiming to raise £2,000, the fundraiser will run for nine weeks until Saturday 31 August.

The Trust is looking to raise this money to buy equipment including an outdoor sink, an outdoor whiteboard, sweep nets, pond nets and trays, specimen tubes, firebuckets, camping equipment, and microscopes.

The much-needed equipment will allow the Trust to continue its community outreach work, allowing those of all ages to engage with wildlife and learn about the natural world around them.

This equipment will hugely benefit the wide range of events the Trust holds and will help to meet the growing demands of the Trust’s highly successful outdoor education programme.

In the UK, only 3% of our meadows are left compared to World War Two, and many species are edging dangerously closer to extinction, while the climate crisis is an all too real threat. The UK’s 25-year Plan for the Environment sets out a manifesto to help redress biodiversity and engage communities with the natural environment through Local Nature Recovery Initiatives, of which Three Hagges Woodmeadow is a key example.

Some of the events being held in the coming weeks include the Trust’s flagship 24-hour ‘BioBlitz’ on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 July, a Small Mammal Breakfast on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August, and a Bat Night and BBQ on the evening of Saturday 3 August. To find out about all these events and more, please check the events listing on www.woodmeadowtrust.org.uk.

Rosalind Forbes Adam, chair of the Woodmeadow Trust, said: ‘We have had great comments from pupils who have come to our Woodmeadow this year. One 11 year old said he was “Speechless! It was the best day ever.”

‘Our Education Officer Amber Botham is bringing in so many children and offering them a wealth of opportunities, including pond dipping, insect hunts, wildflower identification, firemaking – and even survival tactics on a desert island! It is joyful to see a young person’s sense of wonder opening up. If the young can discover an appreciation of nature early on they will get much more from it in their future lives.

‘The equipment we are asking for will enable us to create the best programme possible.’

The JustGiving page for the fundraiser can be viewed at tinyurl.com/woodmeadowfundraiser

The Woodmeadow Trust is a charity taking action for nature and people, by creating woodmeadows and inspiring others to plant and protect these beautiful habitats.

Woodmeadows are hardly known in the UK, but until the last century were common in parts of Europe, especially Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. They are mixtures of woodland and meadow that are exceptionally rich in life, and can contain over 60 species per square metre.

Photograph Credit: Woodmeadow Trust