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03
Mar
Great Ouseburn charity hits target to purchase local nature reserve
A charity in Great Ouseburn has raised the required funding to purchase a local field and convert it into a nature reserve.
The Stray Ferret reported in January that the Upper Ouse Conservation Trust had launched a campaign to raise £300,000 by the end of February to buy and repurpose Townend Field. This covered the £275,000 asking price and the legal and administrative fees needed.
The 20.4-acre field was one of several lots put up for sale as part of the Kirby Hall Estate, which is listed as a whole for £10.2m.
The field lies next to Great Ouseburn Community Primary School, which the conservation trust planned to lease a part of it to so it can be used as an outdoor playing area.
In just over four weeks, the conservation trust has now raised £276,000 – enough to purchase the field.
Townend Field backing onto Great Ouseburn Community Primary School
We spoke to trustee Graeme Jackson about the fundraising, who told us that there had been around 200 donations in total. Of these 200, the very first was from Ethan Rayner, a pupil at the local primary school, who donated the contents of his piggy bank (£21) to the cause.
Mr Jackson said:
We are very happy to have raised this amount of money.
In four weeks and one day, we’ve managed to raise over £275,000. It’s an enormous achievement, and it shows the power of the community.
To say none of us had any prior experience running a fundraiser of this magnitude, we’ve been very well organised. We’ve had the benefit of Dame Judi Dench and vast media coverage too. It’s been a very well-run campaign.
We hope that this achievement can be a model for community engagement in the future.
Mr Jackson told us that the conservation trust will be meeting with letting agents Stephensons Rural during the week to discuss the purchase of Townend Field.
If accepted, he believes everything will be completed and work will be able to start on the field in around two months.
The fundraiser will remain open this week to continue to raise money for the legal costs of the purchase. For more information, or to donate, please click here.
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