Fantastic News! - Sightings, 19 Sept

Hello friends. Tonight, not only do you get the day’s bird sightings from Old Moor and satellite reserves, but also some terrific news from the Old Moor team!

First, the sightings from today…

And now that news, I shall pass you over to Danielle Meyer…

“We are absolutely delighted to announce we have received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £788,500 for an exciting heritage project, Giving Nature a Home in the Dearne. All made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, we will become an even better place to visit and get close to nature.

Supported through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we will extend the nature trails, creating a circular walk with improved elevated viewing over field pools, as well as creating a new wild play area near the visitor centre encouraging families to get closer to nature. The plans also look at improving Wombwell Ings as well to provide great benefits to local wildlife.

We will have a strong focus on providing new events and opportunities for local people, communities and groups to visit and get involved with the reserve, including many new volunteering opportunities, and opportunities for current volunteers and staff to learn new skills. The newly designed areas will be accessible for wheelchair users and families with buggies.

Our reserves are well-known places for people of all ages to enjoy with visitors coming from near and far, a network of important sites for wildlife, people and flood relief across South Yorkshire. Our project aims to upgrade the existing outdoor visitor facilities and provide an even more interactive and enjoyable experience.

This is a fantastic opportunity to make exciting improvements to our visitor experience and wildlife habitats. This investment will make a big difference to the us. We’re so thankful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Barnsley Council for the funding that will allow us to make the Dearne Valley an even better place for wildlife and an engaging experience for everyone”.

To find our more and follow the progress of this exciting project, please follow the Old Moor blog on www.rspb.org.uk/OldMoor.”

- Me again. As you can imagine, behind this huge grant was an equally huge bid, carefully constructed over months and involving a huge amount of work for all involved. So, tonight, I can think of no better way to sign off than to add my congratulations. Incredibly well done!

Until next time.