Changes at RSPB Fairhaven Lake
To ensure our longer-term sustainability, the RSPB has been reviewing its operations across the UK so that everything we do aligns to our charitable and strategic aims and delivers the most impact for nature possible, within the resource we have. We focus on what we do best and where we can do this most effectively, with the resources available to us.
Our most recent challenge has been the global and domestic financial pressures of the past two years which have had an ongoing impact; not only on our finances, but also on the finances of our partners, members, and supporters, who are so crucial to helping us save nature.
As part of this review, we looked at our nature reserve operations, including RSPB Fairhaven Lake. Through this review the difficult decision has been made for RSPB operations at Fairhaven Lake to cease. This includes the running of the visitor centre and retail facility, and the education delivery to schools, in line with our national strategy for education.
We know and recognise the RSPB Fairhaven Lake visitor centre has a special place in the hearts of many and this decision is not one we have taken lightly. We are proud that work delivered here by staff and volunteers over the years has benefited wildlife and provided much enjoyment and many opportunities for visitors and school children to connect with and learn about local wildlife and the natural world. This connection with nature will be the long-term legacy of the RSPB’s work at this site. However, moving forward we do need to make changes to focus our finite resources where they can have the most impact for nature and wildlife.
Fairhaven Lake is owned and managed by Fylde Borough Council. We have run the RSPB centre in partnership with Fylde Borough Council since 1997. Costs have been shared, with the provision of the building from the council rent-free.
Fairhaven Lake and all of its other amenities will be unchanged and remain open for the public to continue to enjoy.
This does mean that we will be ending the RSPB operation of the visitor centre and shop.
The provisional plan is to close at some point in 2025. As a charity, it is essential we generate income to fund our work. Initially the shop made a small profit, but due to the ongoing global and domestic financial pressures of the past years which have had an ongoing impact, we have been unable to increase our income enough to match this. This means we can no longer afford to operate the shop at a loss.
In the meantime, the shop and visitor centre will remain open to visitors as usual, except for Christmas Day and some bank holidays. However, there may be some changes to our opening hours at times. Please check our social media for more information.
We will also be ending the RSPB school education scheme at Fairhaven Lake.
We have always analysed and refined our work to focus our resources and ensure we have the biggest impact we can. Following a comprehensive review of our education programmes, we have taken the difficult decision to cease the existing programme of school visits and education sessions guided by RSPB learning officers.
We are now developing a new education approach that we believe, over time, will reach even more children and allow them to connect with nature in a much deeper way.
Our education work will focus on those areas where we can have the greatest impact and where we have a unique role to play. While we will cease the existing programme of school visits and education sessions guided by RSPB learning officers, we will explore new ways to welcome schools to our other nature reserves for free in the future – this will include providing resources to support teachers in planning their visits to our sites, the resources to deliver inspiring learning on our reserves and the guidance on how to extend the value of their visit once they’re back at school. We will be able to share more details about what this means for the way we continue to welcome schools onto our reserves in 2025.
In the meantime, we remain committed to supporting schools and teachers through activities such as Schools Wild Challenge and Big Schools’ Birdwatch, and by maintaining our current digital resources for teachers on our website. We are also increasing our work with schools through our new 'Environment Leaders' qualification and the development of a teacher CPD programme (Continuing Professional Development) that will build the skills and confidence of teachers to support learning in, through, about, and for nature, working in partnership with others.
Young people are at the heart of what we do. This is why we offer free entry to nature reserves for those aged 16-24 and our Youth Council recently collaborated on the 2024 Youth in Nature Summit designed to inspire, empower and unite young people and leaders from across the environmental sector.
Change is always challenging. Since the RSPB began 135 years ago, we have been working to help create a world where wildlife and people can thrive. As a responsible and prudent charity, we monitor the external environment closely and for the RSPB to continue to tackle the nature and climate emergency, we need to be able to adapt and evolve to the ever-changing external environment around us.
Thanks to the generosity of our members, supporters, partners, funders and volunteers, the RSPB is the UK’s leading charity for nature conservation. For this to continue for years to come, we will be even more focused on where this generous support can have the biggest impact – boosting numbers of birds and wildlife, restoring the vital habitats they need, creating better nature havens for members to visit, and bringing more people together who love birds and wildlife and who want to take action to restore the natural world.
We would like to thank Fylde Borough Council, our many visitors and loyal customers over the years and our wonderful team of staff and volunteers for their continued dedication. While it is a difficult decision we have had to make for the reasons outlined, it is worth reflecting that together over the years we have delivered inspiring nature-based experiences to countless children and adults throughout the generations – many of whom have taken that nature connection onwards through their lives.