Watchtree Nature Reserve Limited
Watchtree Nature Reserve Limited
Mission Statement
“Watchtree Nature Reserve Ltd: aims to provide a sustainable and environmental community asset, to demonstrate the encouragement and conservation of wildlife, through habitat creation.”
Aims
In the longer term Watchtree Nature Reserve Ltd has set the following aims:
- To create something good from something bad
- To achieve control of the site in the long term with the involvement of local people
- To encourage and sustain wildlife, particularly Biodiversity Action Plan species and habitats
- To introduce and sustainable management regime in conjunction with partners
- To create an educational resource for future generations
- To develop partnerships to promote education and understanding
- To inform and provide links to local and wider communities and interest groups
- To provide a research platform for universities
- To make access available to a unique research site
- To provide and maintain a history of the site from prehistoric times to the present day
- To obtain additional funding to eventually replace agreements for core funding from DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Watchtree Nature Reserve is managed by Watchtree Nature Reserve Ltd a not for profit company. The company was formed in August 2004 by seven local people with a strong desire to see the site become both a Foot and Mouth memorial but also a local amenity. Considerable encouragement and assistance was given by DEFRA staff that also saw the need to make the site a local asset. By the spring of 2005 Watchtree Nature Reserve Ltd had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with DEFRA to manage public access to the reserve and in 2006 signed a 25 year lease and 10 year Land Management and Funding Agreement.