Nature Connections

Thanks to a grant from the Green Recovery Fund we will soon be starting more work to improve our river and catchment and to connect even more people to this wonderful resource on our doorsteps.

The Aire Rivers Trust’s ‘Nature Connections’ project is one of the first environmental projects awarded a grant from the government’s £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund to help create and retain thousands of green jobs. The projects, spread across England, will see trees planted - 800,000 in total - and protected landscapes and damaged habitats such as moorlands, wetlands and forests restored, alongside wider conservation work. The projects will also support environmental education and connecting people with green spaces.

Supporting Communities Through Improving Waterways

‘Nature Connections’ will connect the communities of Baildon and Keighley to their local waterways with volunteer events run by the Aire Rivers Trust. This funding will create 500 m2 of wild meadow, plant 4000 plug plants, create scrapes in the landscape increasing flood storage, and remove invasive species present around the river corridors.

Flood Storage

Floodable Meadow Creation

Community green spaces

Pocket Park Improvements

Job creation

A New Role Supporting Volunteers and Training

Local Keighley MP Robbie Moore welcomed the project, “It is great to see that local charities like the Aire Rivers Trust are being recognised for the work they do to promote the River Aire and their efforts to restore nature."

“It is important that we provide the right support to charities like this, which are promoting biodiversity and using our natural surroundings in the fight against climate change. This is a key part of the Prime Minister’s ten-point plan to kickstart nature recovery and tackle climate change so we can build back greener following coronavirus.”

The government’s forthcoming Environment Bill puts the environment at the centre of policy making to ensure that we have a cleaner, greener and more resilient country for the next generation. The fund is supporting a range of nature conservation and recovery and nature-based solutions projects, which will contribute towards government’s wider 25 Year Environment Plan commitments, including commitments to increase tree-planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025.

Many of us are now starting to recognise the benefits waterways bring to our communities and wellbeing. Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive, National Lottery Heritage Fund, summed it up as he said: “Supporting our natural environment is one of the most valuable things we can do right now. All these projects are of huge benefit to our beautiful countryside and wildlife, but will also support jobs, health and wellbeing, which are vitally important as we begin to emerge from the coronavirus crisis.”

© Copyright Aire Rivers Trust 2020
The Aire Rivers Trust is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales No: 07464227 and a Registered Charity No: 1145609
Registered Office at: 38 Morton Lane, East Morton, Keighley BD20 5RS